For the Sake of the Gospel- Part 2

Intro:

I went to Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary from 2003-2008 graduating with a Masters of Divinity. One focus of the seminary was evangelism. Every week, during our chapel services we had report hour where students shared one experience of sharing the gospel with the lost. Sharing the gospel was a requirement for the student body as they studied at this seminary.

One term you might not have heard when you started seminary but one you used by the time you graduated was soul-winning. I remember not being too familiar with that term until I went to the school but observing myself using it more and more afterwards.

That term can be misunderstood. I remember thinking, are human souls like trophies or championships that need to be won through victory on the field of competition? I have come to learn that this term comes from passages like the one we will study today. Using a metaphor, Paul relates his gospel ministry to the Isthmian games held 10 miles outside Corinth. This biennial event is supposed to have drawn more spectators than the Olympic games of that day. These games were held on the Isthmus of Corinth, a land bridge connecting Greece to Peloponnesis. History shows that events at the games included foot racing, chariot racing, common day track events like disc and javelin throwing, and a form of boxing and wrestling. Paul was familiar with the games as he ministered in Corinth and most likely used that event as a major tool in preaching the gospel.

But Paul states with metaphorically,

1 Corinthians 9:19 (NASB95)

19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more.

Paul uses the phrase to “win more” using the competitive imagery that will permeate this passage. So do we win souls? In on sense, yes. We are in a battle against evil in this world and the church of the Lord Jesus has been commissioned to go fight the battle, in order to win souls to faith in Christ. We win by the power and soveriegn work of Christ. We gain victory over Satan and his demons who seek to keep them bound up until their are destroyed in their own depravity. When a person hears the gospel and repents and trust in Christ, this is a win for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Now we know that out feeble attempts to persuade people to come to Christ is nothing without the work of the Holy Spirit first giving eyes to see sin and regeneration to come forth out of the grave in belief. Stepping further back in time, we know that no one comes to faith in Christ who is not predestined from the foundation of the world to come. So we fight the battle with the Lord as our strength and we win some for the Kingdom of God and his glory, not the Kingdom and exaltation of man.

Therefore, Paul gives us a hearty challenge to consider his call to declare the gospel without hindrance and likewise we go forth into the world with similar fervor to win souls or make disciples. Let’s look at a few purposeful components of living a life of winning souls for Christ.

1. Gospel-driven sacrifice

1 Corinthians 9:19 NASB95

19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more.

Paul has already spent the majority of chapters 8-9 defending his liberty in Christ. As Christ saves a person from sin, their freedom from the burdens of meritorious work before God is a liberating joy in Christ. But the Corinthians had begun practicing their liberty without considering the weakened consciences of some babes in Christ in their midst. They were practicing liberty without love for their neighbor.

Paul states in chapter 8,

1 Corinthians 8:13 NASB95

13 Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.

Paul had become aware of that lack of love among Corinthians believers and he was making an argument that although we have freedoms in Christ, like to enjoy meat sold in the market, if eating that meat offends a weaker brother in the faith(who once saw that meat as a sacrifice to a pagan god) then Paul would abstain out of love for his brother in Christ.

Therefore, Paul states in v 19 that he is “free from all men” meaning that Christ has given him liberty so that no man has supreme authority over him except Christ. He is bound then to follow Christ and his teachings and to live his life to accomplish the task that the Lord set before Him. Paul’s argument then is while Christ has given freedom and thus he is not bound to any man but Christ, he still seeks to become a slave to men for the sake of the gospel.

Paul use the term translated “slave” most literally in order to contrast his freedom in Christ. Although Christ sets him free, he intentionally makes himself subservient to mankind so that he might win some to Christ. In other words, Paul is seeking to serve others and make sacrifices of his own rights in Christ, so that he can effectively preach the gospel.

One example he gives was taking money given to support him financially. He told the Corinthians that he, an apostle, had the right to be paid for his ministry to the church. But he refused that right so that no one would see his payment as an obstacle and thus not hear the message he was preaching to them. Now similarly, he says, my right is to submit only to Christ but for gospel intentionality, I will submit myself also to man in order to win him.

But we can acknowledge that winning souls or making disciples as we say today take sacrifice. We become subservient to other men in order to share the gospel with them. Love best demonstrated in the Lord Jesus, is sacrficial love. I think about the time it takes to build relationships and how that relationship with an unbeliever is necessary to share the gospel with them. How appropriate to put off one thing in order to gain something better.

Parents: We die to myself everyday in order to build a relationships with our kids in order to teach them about Christ. It’s our highest goal as a parents.

For the disciples Andrew and Peter, fishing for men meant first laying down their vocational nets in the family business. Personal sacrifice is necessary in many different ways if we are going to win people to Christ. Following Christ means laying aside personal preferences and obeying Christ’s great commission also means sacrifice will be required. This of course was modeled perfectly by our Lord himself who said,

Mark 10:45 (NASB95)

45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Paul gives us a strategy to follow in winning souls:

2. Gospel-driven strategy

First he gives us a scope to follow:

The Scope for evangelism

slave to all (19)

all things to all men (22)

The scope Paul lays out here is that he is seeking to reach all types of people with the gospel. “All” here means the types of people he wants to reach, without prejudice. We cannot have limits in our evangelism and Jesus’ mission for Paul was to start with the Jews and move beyond to the Gentiles.

This task for Paul is similar to our task of taking the gospel to all nations.

Acts 1:8 NASB95

8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Jesus gave his apostles the scope of reaching the world and that world was a diverse world that needed no discrimination. Jews reaching Samartians and Gentiles in that commission was no easy commission to receive without first dying to the flesh. The summary of the Great Commission: Go and make disciples of all your cultural and social enemies that stretch across the globe.

When we consider the gospel call, are we committed to the degree that our enemies might here the gospel preached from our lips?

Paul gives specifics of those the Lord called him to reach. He gives three

The Specific Call

While the Lord wants global mission to be our hearts, he may call us to reach a certain group of people. A certain culture, most importantly, one that you already have connection to biologically, culturally, or providentially.

Do not discount the fact that the Lord providentially places us and determines our alloted boundaries on this earth. He will naturally then give us a target audience with our family, co-workers and friends. But also he sends us places where he wants us to serve. He gives us hearts for those people specifically.

1 Corinthians 9:20–22 NASB95

20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.

Jews:

Paul was born a Hebrew, and therefore, he had an target audience assigned to him and a burden for them to be won to Christ. As one who had submitted to Christ, he now no longer lived seeking salvation through observing the law. Now Christ was his only salvation and so to reach Jews, he first must not think spiritually like Jews. His identity rested in the finished work of Christ.

But ceremonial traditions of the Jews were ways that Paul could reach Jews with the gospel. He would attend synagogues and preach the gospel. He would engage in ritual practices in order to reach leave the door open for them to hear the gospel. He might follow dietary laws when around Jews but not in his daily life and practice. Why? He strategically knew that his freedom in Christ required love for his neighbor. Sacrificing certain freedoms in order to win the lost is necessary.

In Acts 21, we read where Paul participated in a Jewish purification ritual in order to win Jews. He had no obligation or desire to submit himself to any of those rituals or ceremonies again, and yet to reach the lost, he did what was necessary.

Secondly, he states that he seeks to win those without the law who we can understand as Gentiles. God had given his law through Moses and so those without the law were Gentiles in that region. While Paul is not speaking of non-Jews across the world, it definitely applied to a reach beyond our cultural norms with the gospel.

Paul moved from preaching the gospel to the Jews to preaching to Gentile nations. God’s plan of redemption would see both Jews and Gentiles coming to faith in Christ throughout history, the remnant of Jews having the Gentiles grafted to the vine making up the True Israel, the church. Those Gentiles that we read about in Acts are just the beginning of the Holy Spirit’s great work in the church.

Finally, Paul mentions the third group the weak. Paul has already mentioned this group in the last few chapters as ones who are weak in their faith spiritually. Their consciences are not yet strengthened and so they are susceptible to

Evangelism without Evil

He states that He is not under the law but…under the law of Christ. He states that so that the Corinthians understand that he has not abandoned his obedience to Christ and the trust that he has in the gospel alone for his salvation. This is important because Christ is not calling us to an evangelism that sacrifices holiness.

The Church cannot ignore conviction of sin, the promptings of our conscience, or disregard the commands of the Lord toward holy living in the name of reaching the lost.

Application: Do you recognize the scope? What are your specifics?

Paul finally concludes with a few illustrations to conclude his commission to make Christ known.

3. Gospel-driven steadfastness

Finally let’s look at how Paul concludes this declaration of gospel steadfastness. This is where Paul truly uses the illustration of the Isthmian Games to drive home his point regarding his gospel ministry. He makes three statements that give us 3 specific components of being faithful to the winning souls for God’s kingdom

Winning souls requires determination

1 Corinthians 9:24 NASB95

24 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.

We could call this the spiritual race for the human soul. God has sent us out as his ambassadors and our opponents are Satan and his minions. They want to keep the lost blinded by sin and bound in darkness.

2 Timothy 2:24–26 NASB95

24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, 25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

This describes the race we are running with the goal line as the salvation of the lost in this world. Our opponents are running beside us, always seeking to gain a lead and so our commitment in this race is to not finish second or third on the podium. Our determination should be to win the hearts of all the lost by pointing them to Christ for there is no other name under heaven by which men will be saved.

For Paul, running the race seeking to win meant that he was going to do whatever his conscience would permit him to do, surrendering his rights, in order to win those who needed to trust in Christ. He was determined to do all that was necessary for the sake of the gospel.

Winning souls requires discipline

1 Corinthians 9:25–27 NASB95

25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Preparation

Paul now illustrates his gospel steadfastness to the way that an athlete disciplines his body for the sake of competing. The rigorous training that goes into being a professional athlete can be summarized by hard work and discipline. These athletes in Corinth would train continually before their coaches, much like athletics today, in order to qualify to compete in the games. Only the strongest, fastest, and most skilled would make it to compete. Competition was the final stage of the process but it all started with discipline.

Paul summarizes that discipline exercised like a boxer focused on hitting someone and not just the air. Also he mentions a runner not running aimlessly, but with purpose and discipline. All of these pictures paint for us how followers of Jesus Christ, like Paul, must see the preparation and discipline to be prepared to share the gospel.

But many people are unprepared to share the gospel. They are untrained and undisciplined and they wonder why when the gospel opportunity arises, the stumble through it awkwardly.

Macarthur writes:

1 Corinthians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Through Self-Control)

The athlete’s disciplined self-control is a rebuke of half-hearted, out-of-shape Christians who do almost nothing to prepare themselves to witness to the lost—and consequently seldom do

Holy Living

The second aspect to our discipline is the way we live in this world so as not to be disqualified as we share the gospel with others. When an athletes plans to compete, he must put in the hard work and then be approved by his coaches in order to progress to the actual competition. The athletes we see on TV are a minority in comparison to the ones who didn’t make it. Many of whom did not put in the work that was necessary and therefore they were unqualified.

For Paul being unqualified in declaring the gospel refers to holy living and obedience to Christ. This is why Paul writes these words because his personal walk with Christ and his work in gospel ministry cannot be tainted by failures to walk in obedience. He is determined to not be a stumbling block as he states in chapter 8 to anyone by the way in which he lives for Christ.

Therefore, our preparation is important as a spiritual discipline so that we may know what to say in order to share Christ. But our obedience to Christ reflects who we are in Christ. What is truly our identity in this world. People do not need to just hear of how Jesus transforms a person, but they need to see a transformed and obedient ambassador speaking the gospel to them. This is why relationships are most effective in winning souls because what you may say to a person about Christ, they should have already seen demonstrated in your life.

In 1877, Charles H. Spurgeon wrote to his son offering advice for ministry faithfulness:

“Give them the Gospel. Study all you can, preach boldly and let your behavior be with great discretion. Live to Him, and you will be better than great.”- Spurgeon

How are you prepared and disciplined for the task of taking the gospel to the nations? If you want training in evangelism, then carve out time to learn from others.

Examine yourself to see if you are in the faith. Does your life reflect a faithful but not perfect ambassador for Christ?

Will you commit to be consistent in making disciples as you go in this world?

Keith and Kristen Getty

Facing a task unfinished That drives us to our knees A need that, undiminished Rebukes our slothful ease We, who rejoice to know Thee Renew before Thy throne The solemn pledge we owe Thee To go and make Thee known

We go to all the world

With Kingdom hope unfurled

No other name with power to save,

but Jesus Christ the Lord.

lords supper