Confronting Carnality- Part 32 & 33- Gospel Duty/For the Gospel's Sake

Introduction-I Corinthians 9:15-23

In the verses preceding this passage Paul has powerfully demonstrated his own willingness to forfeit his rights in order to further the cause of Christ.

He has made the case that though he has the right to provision and care at the hands of the Corinthian believers, he has chosen voluntarily to forego this provision and care.

This he has done in order that no questions or doubts might arise as to the motivation for his ministry.

In the passage before us tonight, we will come to understand the sense of duty which Paul felt in relation to preaching the gospel and then the lengths that he was willing to go to in order to reach the lost.

This passage will help us to understand the importance of preaching the gospel and the approach we ought to take in order to do so effectively.

A Sense of Duty (Vs. 15-16)

This passage begins with the Apostle Paul clarifying his position in relation to the truths that he has delivered to the Corinthians.

Though he had every right to the same care and provision that others received for their labors, his desire was not to convince them to adhere to this principle in his case.

In fact he states that he would rather die than to forego the opportunity to boast in God’s provision for him.

Paul had voluntarily chosen to forfeit the right to the financial benefits he could have received from them in favor of simply depending upon God and working to provide for himself.

His boasting was in the fact that God had sustained him in spite of his forfeiture of these rights.

He then details his personal perspective on his duty to preach the gospel.

He speaks of the reality that though he has dedicated himself to preaching the gospel, this alone is no reason to glory because he had been pressed into this service by God.

He preaches the gospel now because he knows that this is God’s call upon his life and to do otherwise would be to defy God and to face judgement as a result.

God had chosen Paul to fulfill a specific role in His plan to reach the Gentiles with the gospel, and to dedicate his life to anything else would be disobedience.

Luke 17:7-10- unprofitable servants for doing what we have been commanded.

The command still stands for each of us to go and preach the gospel and to neglect this command is to disobey God.

We may not be called in the same sense as Paul to dedicate our entire life to the preaching of the gospel, but this does not change the fact that it is our duty to endeavor to tell others of Christ.

This is not a duty reserved only for spiritual giants, but is one which falls to every follower of Christ.

A Steward of the Gospel (Vs. 17)

This verse gives some insight into Paul’s perspective on the role he had been given by God.

Many of the disciples had received an invitation from the Lord to forsake all and follow Him.

These then voluntarily chose to leave behind their former lives to follow Christ.

In Paul’s case, God spoke to him while he was yet actively fighting against Him, confronting him and bringing him to repentance in a much more forceful way.

Paul felt that the nature of his call and his former opposition to God and resistance to Him meant that he was not especially worthy of reward.

Paul had not responded voluntarily to an invitation but only after a shocking confrontation did he yield to the Lord.

This is one of the factors which caused him to forfeit his rights to provision from the believers he ministered to.

He viewed himself now as a steward of the gospel and recognized that God had committed this to his trust and as such he would be held personally accountable for preaching it.

2 Corinthians 5:18–19 KJV 1900

And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

A Rich Reward (Vs. 18)

The reward which Paul sought was that he would have the ability to preach the gospel without charge.

This meant that his desire was to be free to preach the gospel with no expectation of pay or return.

This would then prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Paul’s motivation was the furtherance of Christ’s kingdom and not selfish gain.

His intention was that no one would be able to accuse him of the abuse of the authority that he had been given.

It was of the utmost importance to Paul that he should be above reproach in this area.

Paul did not want to depend upon men for provision, but rather he trusted that the one who had called him would also sustain him.

He was not seeking a temporal reward for preaching the gospel but rather he was interested only in eternal rewards.

A Servant to All (Vs. 19)

This verse communicates the fact that because Paul had forfeited his right to pay from those he ministered to, he was free from all men.

He was not under any obligation to preach the gospel as he was not being compensated to do so.

Yet he has voluntarily chosen to make himself servant unto all.

Though there was no contractual obligation for Paul to preach the gospel, he had chosen to expend himself in service to men.

Paul did not view himself as a master of men but rather as a servant to men.

He was willing thus to sacrifice of himself to ensure that all men had the opportunity to respond to the message of the gospel.

He traveled at his own expense, worked when required to support himself, ministered night and day teaching and preaching the Word of God, placed himself at great personal risk on many occasions, and endured severe persecution in many cases, all so that he “might gain the more.”

His desire was to bring men to Christ and he was willing to expend himself in the pursuit of this goal.

He was not interested in gaining wealth or notoriety, rather he was interested only in gaining souls for Christ.

Assimilation for the Gospel’s Sake (Vs. 20-23)

This final section of the passage demonstrates the lengths to which Paul was willing to go in order to bring men to Christ.

In these verses we can clearly see that Paul was not willing to confine his ministry of sharing the gospel to only one segment of society.

It is clearly Paul’s desire to reach Jews, Gentiles, rich, poor, religious and pagan alike.

The apostle Paul was willing to do what was necessary to minister to each of these groups effectively so long as it did not violate his conscience or the Word of God.

This passage really provides an important insight into the relational aspect of ministry as we share the gospel and disciple believers.

He begins with the statement that to the Jews he became as a Jew.

All that this involved was Paul adhering to Jewish customs and traditions as much as it was possible in order to not cause offense to them so that he might have the opportunity to minister to them.

Paul knew that if he were to gain a hearing from the Jews, it would be necessary for him to some degree to adhere to their customs and traditions.

He then speaks of another category—them that are under the law—likely a reference to those who adhered strictly to the dietary restrictions and ritual observances of the law.

Once again Paul was willing to forfeit his liberty and to adhere to the law to whatever degree necessary to effectively minister to this group.

Then on the opposite end of the spectrum Paul mentions those who are without law—likely referencing those who had forsaken the tenants of the law.

He was willing to some degree to adhere to their positions as well (yet always being mindful that he was still subject to Christ and must not in any case violate His commands).

Finally he mentions a grouping that has been previously referenced in the previous chapters—the weak—a reference to those who yet lacked in spiritual maturity and understanding of their liberty in Christ.

Paul once again speaks of his willingness to become as them, voluntarily restricting his own liberty in order to minister to them effectively.

The closing statements of this section are a beautiful demonstration of the mindset which Paul had concerning the ministry that he had been entrusted with.

He states— “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”

Paul’s heart was to go so far as liberty would allow him to go in order to relate to any category of men so that he might be able to first win them to Christ and then disciple them in the faith.

He then gives his motivation for this attitude by stating once more that he undertakes this process— “for the gospel’s sake.”

His desire was to see men come to know Christ and to learn to walk with Him.

He was willing to do whatever was required (short of violating his conscience or the Word of God) to have the opportunity to minister to every segment of society.

Conclusion

It seems that among Christians today there has somehow arisen an idea that the responsibility for preaching the gospel falls to the spiritual leaders or the “clergy” and the ordinary average Christian has no responsibility in this matter.

Yet throughout the scriptures it is clear that we all bear this responsibility to be ambassadors for Christ.

How much more effective would our churches be if every believer felt a sense of duty to share the gospel recognizing that they have been entrusted by God with this vital message.

We are all in a sense stewards of the gospel. We may not be called of God to go to distant lands or to plant churches in unreached regions of the world, but we are all personally responsible for preaching the gospel to those within our reach.

Just as Paul forfeited temporal gains in favor of eternal reward so also should you and I be willing to do the same.

As a church, it is our duty to reach every segment of our community, the rich and the poor, the religious and the atheistic, the military and the civilian.

We must be willing to learn how to relate to each of them in a way that will help us to effectively minister to them.

This we must do “for the gospel’s sake” so that no segment of our community remains unreached!