Our accomplished violinist this morning is the
mother of Pastor David Ward. Star Ward, thank
you very much. Do you do impressions too? You
don't. Well, David doesn't play the violin either,
so I guess that's fair enough. Thank you very
much to your ministry this morning, and today
is the last day that Mark will be with us. Your
ministry here, how much we've appreciated his
work on staff. And at the end of July, on Sunday
night, 27th, isn't it, here's going to be a concert.
And I think that night, are you not also going
to have a brand new release? That's the plan.
The plan is he's going to have a CD that he is
producing with some of his work on the synthesizer,
and it'll be released that night. It'll be the
premiere night. So we're looking forward to that
evening night. And after the service today, Paula
will be out in the lobby and by a table there.
some of her music and stop by and say hello to
her and take some of that home with you. Let's
open our Bibles together now please to 1st Corinthians
chapter 9. The Revolutionary War in 1776 was
a struggle for freedom. This week we remember
the signing of the Declaration of Independence
and the colony said to Britain, we are a free
people. There were many champions of freedom
in those days. Washington, Jefferson, Franklin.
Another one who made a statement that many of
us learned in school years ago was Patrick Henry,
who was from the Virginia colony, and who was
a delegate to both the First and Second Continental
Congresses. Patrick Henry speaking before a group
of Virginians, however, in 1775 was arguing for
a defense within the state of Virginia against
Britain and made the statement, as to what others
may choose to do, what others may choose what
course they will as for me, give me liberty or
give me death. He was a champion of freedom,
and today as we look in 1 Corinthians chapter
9, we're going to see another champion of freedom,
and that is the Apostle Paul. There was no one
who championed the Christian freedom from the
law or argued more articulately against legalism
than the Apostle Paul. In the book of Galatians,
he called rule -keeping as a means for pleasing
God a yoke of slavery. He declared it to be a
false gospel. The Apostle Paul boasted of his
freedom and of our rights as Christians, as those
who are liberated from the bondage of keeping
rules and obeying man -made traditions. And yet,
though Paul was the champion of Christian freedom,
he also warned that we Christians must not use
our freedom for self -service. He warned that
we must not use our rights so that we can do
what pleases ourselves. Paul insists that we
must use our liberty for Christ's sake and limit
our rights for what brings good to others. I
begin reading in verse 19 of 1 Corinthians 9.
I have made myself a slave to all, that I might
win the more. And to the Jews I became as a Jew,
that I might win Jews. To those who are under
the law as under the law, though not being myself
under the law, that I might win those who are
under the law. To those who are without law as
without law, although not being without the law
of God, but under the law of Christ. that I might
win those who are without loss. To the weak I
became weak, that I might win the weak. I have
become all things to all men that I might by
all means save from. And I do all things for
the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow
partaker of it. Do you not know that those who
run in a race all run? but only one receives
the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
And every one who competes in the game exercises
self -control in all things. They then do it
to receive a perishable wreath, but we and imperishable.
Therefore I run in such a way as not without
aim. I box in such a way as not beating the air,
but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest
possibly after I have preached to others, I myself
should be disqualified." And so the apostle says
that for Christ's sake we must limit our liberty,
our rights, so that we may do what is for the
ultimate good of others. That, of course, is
the way Jesus himself lived. He said, for even
the Son of Man did not come to be served but
to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.
How far that spirit seems to be for many Christians
today who want to be served and not to be bothered
with service and who want to insist on their
rights while neglecting the needs of others and
who seem to think that somehow we have been saved
to enjoy the good life. of materialistic America.
In chapter 8, the apostle Paul acknowledges Christian
liberty. He says in that chapter, as we have
studied, that we are not in bondage to the ignorant
worship of idols and to the taboos that surround
that. But he balances what he says in that chapter
about liberty against Christian love, which means
putting others before oneself. the chief false
religion of our age, is in fact the worship of
one's self, adoring, esteeming, living for, exalting
one's self, which is exactly the opposite of
the worship of Jesus Christ, who calls his people
to self -sacrifice, not self -worship. Indeed,
there is nothing as self -destructive as self
-worship. Our walk with God delivers us from
that destruction. Now, in chapter 9, the apostle
goes on to apply this principle of limiting liberty
to himself, as David preached to you last week
regarding his own situation of his rights as
an apostle. And now I will... Move us a further
further ahead in our text as we think about the
Apostles application of this principle of limiting
self liberty Christian liberty And he says to
us in essence in this paragraph we have read
I will determine he said To live for the sake
of others in the gospel Paul says I determine
to live for the sake of others and for the sake
of the gospel. You see, it is that kind of choice
that makes life truly worth living, and which
in the end will bring us eternal reward. The
world's notion that living for others will rob
you of a meaningful and happy life is wrong.
I invite you, for example, to compare two people
whose A spiritual status I do not comment upon,
but whose lives are significantly in the opposite
direction. On the one hand, consider Donald Trump,
who represents all that our age seeks to worship.
And opposite Donald Trump placed a mother, Teresa,
for example, who lives for the poor of Calcutta
and other cities of the world. Tell me. Which
is happier? And whose life is going to make a
difference in the end, Donald Trump or Mother
Teresa? Paul, in this text, draws three pictures
of himself as he sought to apply this principle
of self -sacrifice to his own life. In the first
place, in verses 19 through 23, He says for the
gospel's sake, he serves as a slave. A slave,
you see, really has no personal rights. Now,
Paul said in the beginning, I'm free from all
men. He claims I have rights. But he says, I
have chosen rather to forego my rights and to
enslave myself to all men. You see, Paul understood
that his purpose in being alive was found in
something other than living for his own pursuit.
Now consider who sang this. It is Paul the apostle.
Paul, one of the writers of scripture. Paul,
the greatest missionary in the history of the
Christian church. Paul, one of the most brilliant
men of the ancient world, of whom we would likely
have heard even if he had never become a Christian.
such was his brilliance. But this man chose to
limit his life for the sake of the debt that
he felt he owed to others. And why did he do
this? He tells us that he might win the more,
that he might gain the more. The word gain here
means to make profit. Paul is not thinking of
money. He is thinking of soul. He says, I am
willing to enslave myself to all that I might
win the more to Christ. You see, Paul had a vision
of the world as the Lord sees the world. So he
accommodated himself that he might win others
to Christ. He accommodates himself to the Jews,
he says in verse 20, those who are under the
law. those who feel compelled because of their
traditions to obey vows and dietary laws and
ceremonial regulations. That's what Paul wants
of you. He says, I'm no longer under the law
myself, but he says, nonetheless, I will abide
under the Jewish law when it's necessary so that
I may win my kinsman to Christ. Indeed, Paul
so loved his Jewish brothers that he was willing,
had it been possible, to be severed from Christ
if only they would come to faith. In verse 21,
he says that he accommodates himself to the Gentiles,
those who have no law, those who are ignorant
of the Old Testament's regulations. And so when
he went wherever there were Gentiles, he sought
to live as they did. He ate what they ate. He
dressed as they would dress. He followed their
traditions so as far as the traditions did not
contradict the moral law of God. Paul says, I'm
not irresponsible. I don't live an unregulated
life. He says, I'm... Not without law to God,
but he says, actually what I am is in law to
Christ, is his little play on words here. Paul
did not compromise God's moral standards, but
he did accommodate himself to the customs of
the people, the Gentiles, whom he sought to reach.
This is the whole principle of what's called
contextualization. It is the job of a missionary
going into a culture to understand the cultural
context and to accommodate his lifestyle and,
insofar as he can, the message itself, so that
the people in that culture, from their context,
can understand it and see the truth that is in
Christ. That's what Paul is saying here. And
that's how you and I are to live as well. in
the culture in which we live, to understand what's
happening in our culture and insofar as we can
to contextualize the message without compromising
it itself. But then Paul says in verse 22 that
he accommodates himself to the weak brothers,
those who are weak, whose consciences are easily
touched. He says he is willing to limit his freedom
among them that he might accommodate himself
to their weaker understanding of things. I understand
when Paul says he made himself a slave to these,
he is not saying that he compromised the gospel.
Just last week there was a letter in the Minneapolis
newspaper from the rector of the Basilica of
Mary in Minneapolis, a man who surely must be
one of the most liberal of the Roman Catholic
leaders in our region. And he argues that those
who are absolutists, that is those who believe
that Jesus Christ is what he said he is, the
way, the truth, and the light, have been the
source of a lot of problems. And that what we
need to do is understand that there are many
truths. So that is the pluralistic lie of our
age that this religious leader is articulating.
what he says flies in the face of what Paul preached,
Paul the Apostle. For he was an absolutist. He
believed that there was one gospel and that one
gospel would be found in the death, burial, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. And ladies and
gentlemen, we are absolutists too, if we follow
Jesus Christ. There are not many truths. There
is one. And Paul knew that. He didn't compromise
it. Nor does what he say here indicate that he
was involved in the sins of others to win them
Nor is he saying here that somehow he was a chameleon
But he changed his convictions depending upon
which group he was with he did change his practice
But not his conviction Paul's heart was to identify
with all people just as just as Jesus Christ
identified Himself with us, and yet did not partake
in our sins or condone it, but He identified
with us, so that He might declare the Father
to us. So the point here is this, that for the
gospel's sake, you and I need to see ourselves
as servants. without a claim to our personal
rights, without demanding our way, so that our
master's plan for the winning of the world may
be realized. We need to adjust our habits, our
choices, our preferences in order to win souls.
We need to adapt our way of living in order to
make others more receptive to our message. in
the sense that Paul is saying here that he served
as a slave. Now, secondly, as Paul moves ahead
beginning in verse 24, he says, for the gospel's
sake, he ran as a runner. Corinth was the location
of what was called the Isthmian Games, one of
the four national festivals of the Greeks. The
Isthmian Games involved horse, foot, and chariot
racing, wrestling, boxing, musical and poetic
trials and animal contests. To the victor was
given a garland of leaves or a wreath of pine
as a symbol of his victory. Paul is drawing upon
this athletic metaphor so that he can make an
analogy with us in our Christian life. Paul is
saying here in essence that the runner is every
believer. It's you and it's me. We are also running
in the race. The race is the course of life that
God has laid before us. No course exactly the
same. Courses that are of different lengths,
but we each have a race to run. It is the will
of God. And there's the finish line. where Christ
stands and will give his approval at the judgment.
Now there are some obvious contrasts, aren't
there, between the Isthmian games and what Paul
writes. The one is an earthly race, the other
a heavenly race. In one there is one winner,
to him the wreath. In the other case, every Christian
can be a winner by running his course well. To
the one there is a corruptible crown that fades
within days. To the other an incorruptible crown
of glory received from Christ himself. So Paul's
point is this, that as runners in our race we
are to run to win. We as Christians must be wholehearted
in this thing. There are some things that may
be okay for the average person. But for a Christian
athlete, they are off -bound. Now, we have liberty.
Oh, of course we do. The Paul says, if you want
to win the race, you must forego some of your
liberty. John MacArthur says, the athlete's disciplined
self -control is a rebuke of the half -hearted,
out -of -shape Christians. who do almost nothing
to prepare themselves to witness to the loss,
and consequently seldom do. Yes, we have freedom
in Jesus Christ. We have rights. But we also
have a race. And Paul says there are times when
we must put aside our freedom. We must discipline
ourselves. We must be self -controlled. An athlete
has to watch what he eats. He has to train rigorously.
He has to pace himself. And so we in our race
likewise must be disciplined and willing to set
aside our rights in order to live in such a way
and to run our race in such a way that we win
people to Christ and cross that goal line to
Christ well done. And so his point here is this,
that for the gospel's sake, you and I need to
see our lives as a race. And we must go all out
to win. We must not expect to, as the hymn writer
says, be carried to the skies on flowery beds
of ease, while others fight to win the prize
and sail through bloody seas. We must give our
best effort. We must discipline ourselves with
self -control and lay aside the extraneous, lay
aside the luxuries of life to win. And then Paul
draws a third picture, a servant, a runner. He
says, for the gospel's sake, he fights as a fighter.
Ancient boxing was a serious game. The fifth
of the boxer were wrapped in leather thongs,
and in the leather thongs there were studs of
metal knobs. That's how they boxed in those days,
not the tatted boxing gloves of today. Paul is
saying here in these last verses that he was
not playing at this thing of being a Christian.
He was not shadow boxing. He sought to make every
blow count. Too many Christians today are playing
games with God. Paul says this is a boxing match
that is deadly serious. The disciplined boxer
must have mastery over his fleshly appetites.
Paul pictures here as though it were his body,
and by that he means the appetites that appeal
to his flesh, including being easy on oneself,
enjoying the luxuries of a society and a culture
like ours in America. Pulse this here, I buff
it in my body. Literally says I strike it under
the eye. I make it black and blue. that it might
be my slave. He says, I will not become the slave
of the appetites of my body. What is that? He
warns that if indeed we do that, we become disqualified.
Disqualified. Last night, Mike Tyson was disqualified.
He bit the ear of the Xander Holyfield, my goodness.
Have you ever heard of such a thing in boxing?
He twice bit the ear. Did he not have dinner
before he boxed or what? The end of the third
round disqualified, furious, angry about it.
He broke the rules. and he failed in his challenge
to regain his title and he should disqualified
Paul had one fear in life and that was that after
he had even preached to others that somehow he
would allow his body's appetite to so overcome
him and life will become such a comfortable thing
and so easy that he would be disqualified in
his match. And so his point is that for the gospel's
sake, you and I need to live not to be disqualified.
We need to finish well. We do not want to become
sidetracked on self -focused pursuits, but we
must discipline our own desires and train hard
and give up pleasing ourselves for the sake of
winning others. to Christ. Paul's whole life
had one focus. It had one point, and that's found
in verse 23. I do all things for the sake of
the gospel. That was it. Everything that Paul
did was read through that grid. It was measured
by that standard. I do all things for the gospel.
In a self -centered culture like ours, we have
to ask ourselves some hard questions. I was reminded
of this recently in a conversation with my good
friend, our retired missionary, Homer Payne.
He dropped by the office one day just to chat
before he left for Bolivia. And he said to me,
Galen, we are the Laodicean Church. And I reacted
to that a little bit. I said, well, you mean
that this is the age of the Laodicean Church?
He says, no, we are. We in America are the Laodicean
Church. And I really haven't gotten over yet
what that said to my heart. We are so soft, so
rich, so increased with goods, so comfortable,
so filled with our luxuries, that we are lukewarm
in our commitment to Jesus Christ. Jesus calls
upon us to repent. of that lukewarmness, our
self -sufficiency, and to come to Him and buy
what we truly need. We need to ask ourselves
hard questions like, what is the value of a soul
to me? Am I willing to invest to my own loss
in the work of Jesus Christ for the sake of a
soul? Am I willing to lay aside my own pursuits
and interests for the good of another? Very practical
message today. How willing are we to adjust the
time that we arrive at church in order to accommodate
a new ministry that will gain the more? This
fall, all of us will be called upon to make that
kind of an adjustment. And yet we, some of us,
repel the idea of having to change the time that
we arrive at church. So I ask where is the spirit
of verse 23 in that sort of attitude? How willing
are we to change the room that we meet in? Think
of the embarrassment of really even having to
ask that question. How willing are we to even
change the room that we meet in for the sake
of the Gospel? How willing are we to lay aside
our own preferences in music or in preaching
or whatever for the sake of the Gospel? You and
I can only be doers of the Word of God If we
will apply what verse 23 says, if we don't apply
that then let's call ourselves hearers of the
word who deceive ourselves because that's what
James says that we are. Paul says you have a
change for me, you have a culture that I need
to identify with, you have people I need to reach,
I am willing to do whatever it takes. In limiting
my own tastes and my own preferences, I am willing
to do whatever it takes, for the sake of the
Gospel, that I may be a partaker of it with others
that yet need to be reached. Corey Ten Boom said,
the measure of life, after all, is not its duration,
but its donation. It's what I'm willing to give.
One reason that we can hear a testimony like
the Nicholsons gave this morning is because they
gave to the ministry of the Church. We receive
back from ministry in proportion to what we are
willing to give to it. Just a bottom line principle.
We receive. from ministry in proportion to what
we give. That is the true measure of life, and
it is to that principle that Paul calls us in
this text today. So by the grace of God, let's
live what verse 23 says, which Paul applies in
very practical ways. I do all things. Just tell
me what needs to be done, says Paul. I'll do
all things for the sake of the gospel. What an
attitude, and that's why Paul was such a winner.
Let's pray. Father, may we be winners, too, in
our attitudes, in our service, and adopt the
attitude of life that he had for the sake of
the Gospel. In Jesus' name, Amen. I'm going to
ask you to remain seated now as we have the opportunity
to give. and to tell Paula that we've appreciated
her ministry this morning. God bless you. As
you give, ushers will come now and see you sing.
Thank you.