For the Sake of the Gospel
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All the things I do are for the sake of the gospel, so I can be a partner with it.
19 Although I’m free from all people, I make myself a slave to all people, to recruit more of them.
20 I act like a Jew to the Jews, so I can recruit Jews. I act like I’m under the Law to those under the Law, so I can recruit those who are under the Law (though I myself am not under the Law).
21 I act like I’m outside the Law to those who are outside the Law, so I can recruit those outside the Law (though I’m not outside the law of God but rather under the law of Christ).
22 I act weak to the weak, so I can recruit the weak. I have become all things to all people, so I could save some by all possible means.
19 Although I’m free from all people, I make myself a slave to all people, to recruit more of them.
20 I act like a Jew to the Jews, so I can recruit Jews. I act like I’m under the Law to those under the Law, so I can recruit those who are under the Law (though I myself am not under the Law).
21 I act like I’m outside the Law to those who are outside the Law, so I can recruit those outside the Law (though I’m not outside the law of God but rather under the law of Christ).
22 I act weak to the weak, so I can recruit the weak. I have become all things to all people, so I could save some by all possible means.
19 It is written in scripture: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will reject the intelligence of the intelligent.
20 Where are the wise? Where are the legal experts? Where are today’s debaters? Hasn’t God made the wisdom of the world foolish?
21 In God’s wisdom, he determined that the world wouldn’t come to know him through its wisdom. Instead, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of preaching.
Man Survives Car Crash, Wanders into Stranger's House
1 cor
19 Although I’m free from all people, I make myself a slave to all people, to recruit more of them.
20 I act like a Jew to the Jews, so I can recruit Jews. I act like I’m under the Law to those under the Law, so I can recruit those who are under the Law (though I myself am not under the Law).
21 I act like I’m outside the Law to those who are outside the Law, so I can recruit those outside the Law (though I’m not outside the law of God but rather under the law of Christ).
But nothing, not even my life, is more important than my completing my mission. This is nothing other than the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus: to testify about the good news of God’s grace.
15 But I haven’t taken advantage of this. And I’m not writing this so that it will be done for me. It’s better for me to die than to lose my right to brag about this!
16 If I preach the gospel, I have no reason to brag, since I’m obligated to do it. I’m in trouble if I don’t preach the gospel.
17 If I do this voluntarily, I get rewarded for it. But if I’m forced to do it, then I’ve been charged with a responsibility.
18 What reward do I get? That when I preach, I offer the good news free of charge. That’s why I don’t use the rights to which I’m entitled through the gospel.
12 If others have these rights over you, don’t we deserve them all the more? However, we haven’t made use of this right, but we put up with everything so we don’t put any obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.
13 Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get to eat food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share part of what is sacrificed on the altar?
14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who preach the gospel should get their living from the gospel.
In the work of soul-winning, great tact and wisdom are needed. The Saviour never suppressed the truth, but He uttered it always in love. In His intercourse with others, He exercised the greatest tact, and He was always kind and thoughtful. He was never rude, never needlessly spoke a severe word, never gave unnecessary pain to a sensitive soul. He did not censure human weakness. He fearlessly denounced hypocrisy, unbelief, and iniquity, but tears were in His voice as He uttered His scathing rebukes. He never made truth cruel, but ever manifested a deep tenderness for humanity. Every soul was precious in His sight. He bore Himself with divine dignity; yet He bowed with the tenderest compassion and regard to every member of the family of God. He saw in all, souls whom it was His mission to save.
1 cor 9.
Gospel Workers, Revised and Enlarged Tactfulness
In the work of soul-winning, great tact and wisdom are needed. The Saviour never suppressed the truth, but He uttered it always in love. In His intercourse with others, He exercised the greatest tact, and He was always kind and thoughtful. He was never rude, never needlessly spoke a severe word, never gave unnecessary pain to a sensitive soul. He did not censure human weakness. He fearlessly denounced hypocrisy, unbelief, and iniquity, but tears were in His voice as He uttered His scathing rebukes. He never made truth cruel, but ever manifested a deep tenderness for humanity. Every soul was precious in His sight. He bore Himself with divine dignity; yet He bowed with the tenderest compassion and regard to every member of the family of God. He saw in all, souls whom it was His mission to save.
In the work of soul-winning, great tact and wisdom are needed. The Saviour never suppressed the truth, but He uttered it always in love. In His intercourse with others, He exercised the greatest tact, and He was always kind and thoughtful. He was never rude, never needlessly spoke a severe word, never gave unnecessary pain to a sensitive soul. He did not censure human weakness. He fearlessly denounced hypocrisy, unbelief, and iniquity, but tears were in His voice as He uttered His scathing rebukes. He never made truth cruel, but ever manifested a deep tenderness for humanity. Every soul was precious in His sight. He bore Himself with divine dignity; yet He bowed with the tenderest compassion and regard to every member of the family of God. He saw in all, souls whom it was His mission to save.
Ellen White, Gospel Workers, (Review and Herald, 1915), 117.
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Man Survives Car Crash, Wanders into Stranger's House
It's 3:30 in the morning. You're sound asleep, but suddenly the light comes on in your room. You open your eyes only to see a stranger standing in your doorway. It sounds like the beginning of a horror movie, but it's exactly what happened to Andy Armstrong of Alexandria, Minnesota—and the stranger in his doorway had just miraculously survived a devastating car accident.
Armstrong had "forgotten to lock a house door" before heading to bed that night; that's how James Sundby had found his way inside, staying inside the house for an unknown amount of time before he came into Armstrong's room. Armstrong (forcefully) told him to leave, and Sundby—with "his face banged up, his sleeves bloodied"—replied, "Oh, man, I'm sorry. I think I'm in the wrong house … I crashed my car." He refused help, however, and left the house (with Armstrong's shoes on).
Checking his house, Armstrong noticed "blood on the kitchen counter and a little bit on the floor." He called the police, who found Sundby in the neighborhood around 20 minutes afterwards.
In the morning, "it was clear what happened: [Sundby had blown] through the stop sign at a T in the road, barreled through a yard, and launched his car off a 35-foot to 40-foot embankment, clearing a span of open water on Lake Le Homme Dieu, before landing on the season's remaining ice." Yet Sundby, who "had no drugs or alcohol in his system and [didn't] remember what happened," was—extraordinarily—alive.
Spiritually speaking, people like James Sundby may wander into our lives or into our churches. After profound trauma or hurts, they come into our "house" dazed and confused. Will we be ready to accept them, love them, and bring them to the Great Physician, Jesus?
Or will we let opportunities slip away due to an unwillingness, or fear, or lost passion for sharing the gospel.
Paul did everything for the sake of the gospel
This is the gospel
8 You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith. This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed. 9 It’s not something you did that you can be proud of. 10 Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives.
As we understand how great a gift it truly is, we overwhelmed with a desire to share it.
Cruise Line Trades Free Cruise for Snapchat Handle
Residents of a sleepy central Virginia town were surprised in March by a coordinated campaign to identify and woo one of their local teenagers.
Carnival Cruise Lines first posted signs all over town, then augmented their effort with a gigantic rolling billboard on a truck.
The sign featured a picture of "Chief Fun Officer" Shaquille O'Neal with the text "DOES ANYBODY KNOW DARIAN?"
The Darian in question was Darian Lipscomb, 15, owner of a Snapchat account with a distinctive handle: @CarnivalCruise. Lipscomb had previously been on several Carnival cruises, and had such a good time that he started a Snapchat account to document his adventures and share with friends.
Carnival representatives eventually found Lipscomb, and surprised him by offering, in exchange for the desirable Snapchat handle, an all-expenses-paid cruise to Barcelona for him and family aboard its newest ship, Carnival Horizon—a trip with a retail value of about $5,000.
"We thought this would be a fun way to claim our handle and reward a 'superfan' at the same time," said Robyn Fink, a spokesperson for Carnival, who also referred to the trip as "a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
Witness - We should be as excited as Darian to "share" the Good News of our experience of salvation with others;
And just as the cruise line sought to find the owner of the handle, we are to be Seeking the lost. Christians are on a mission to seek and find the lost and offer them a personal invitation.
A look at how the gospel changes our lives
Humbled himself to accept...
19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears in the midst of trials that came upon me because of the Jews’ schemes. 20 You know I held back nothing that would be helpful so that I could proclaim to you and teach you both publicly and privately in your homes.
acts 20.19-
19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears in the midst of trials that came upon me because of the Jews’ schemes. 20 You know I held back nothing that would be helpful so that I could proclaim to you and teach you both publicly and privately in your homes.
Common English Bible, (Nashville, TN: Common English Bible, 2011),
18 When they arrived, he said to them, “You know how I lived among you the whole time I was with you, beginning with the first day I arrived in the province of Asia.
19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears in the midst of trials that came upon me because of the Jews’ schemes.
20 You know I held back nothing that would be helpful so that I could proclaim to you and teach you both publicly and privately in your homes.
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Suffer
shipwrecked, hungry, perils
Grew, matured, improved
Phil 3:14
Shared gospel
All the things I do are for the sake of the gospel, so I can be a partner with it.
19 Although I’m free from all people, I make myself a slave to all people, to recruit more of them.
20 I act like a Jew to the Jews, so I can recruit Jews. I act like I’m under the Law to those under the Law, so I can recruit those who are under the Law (though I myself am not under the Law).
21 I act like I’m outside the Law to those who are outside the Law, so I can recruit those outside the Law (though I’m not outside the law of God but rather under the law of Christ).
22 I act weak to the weak, so I can recruit the weak. I have become all things to all people, so I could save some by all possible means.
1 cor 9.19
He Adapted his approach
Adapted
Wedding feast at the beginning
Mathew’s house
Zachaeus
Ellen White, Evangelism, (Review and Herald, 1946), 54–55.
When invited to a feast, Christ accepted the invitation, that He might, while sitting at the table, sow the seeds of truth in the hearts of those present. He knew that the seed thus sown would spring up and bring forth fruit. He knew that some of those sitting at meat with Him would afterward respond to His call, “Follow Me.” Ours is the privilege of studying Christ’s manner of teaching as He went from place to place, everywhere sowing the seeds of truth.—Ellen White, Manuscript 113, 1902.
Paul talked about not worrying about what we eat
27 If an unbeliever invites you to eat with them and you want to go, eat whatever is served, without asking questions because of your conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This meat was sacrificed in a temple,” then don’t eat it for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience.
29 Now when I say “conscience” I don’t mean yours but the other person’s. Why should my freedom be judged by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I participate with gratitude, why should I be blamed for food I thank God for?
Something that was used in secular and even pagan usage, but it isn’t a problem for him. He’s not using it for that purpose. He is saying it isn’t guilt by association. But for the sake of the one he is working with directly, right there at that moment, over dinner, He will refrain. So it’s not in his face. Showing respect.
Converse application...
come to my birthday party. New friend, co-worker… But we may be uncomfortable wondering what will be going on at the party. A dJ with some music we aren’t comfortable with. We don’t know if drinking…
And in their mind, if you are their friend you will go to the party, unless you have a legitimate excuse. You go to the party. It’s expected. So they will have trouble developing relationship if you reject the invitation. For the sake of the conscience of the friend. They are thinking, I am a Christian, I shouldn’t be offending people and hurting them. Well, in applying Paul’s words, we aren’t really doing wrong by not going. It’s a cultural slight. Not like we are hitting him or bullying. But for the sake of the gospel, to help with the relationship, I choose to go.
31 So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, you should do it all for God’s glory. 32 Don’t offend either Jews or Greeks, or God’s church. 33 This is the same thing that I do. I please everyone in everything I do. I don’t look out for my own advantage, but I look out for many people so that they can be saved.
We may each apply it differently in our lives,
Alesia friend, b-day party, Ellya
The point it to Stay aware and navigate ministry prayerfully and carefully.
Jesus had to navigate this reality.
He was invited to a wedding feast, that ran out of wine.
He made a decision about how to minister to Matthew. He invited him to follow and went to a feast in Matthew’s house. That offended some...
11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 When Jesus heard it, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. 13 Go and learn what this means: I want mercy and not sacrifice. I didn’t come to call righteous people, but sinners.”
But for the sake of the gospel, to better reach Matthew, he dined with him, even though it wasn’t going to go over well with everyone.
Jesus attended feasts
He was ridiculed at times because he wouldn’t follow all of the expectations of the day. He lived with the accusations and gossip.
Wedding feast at the beginning
Mathew’s house
Zachaeus
Ellen White, Evangelism, (Review and Herald, 1946), 54–55.
When invited to a feast, Christ accepted the invitation, that He might, while sitting at the table, sow the seeds of truth in the hearts of those present. He knew that the seed thus sown would spring up and bring forth fruit. He knew that some of those sitting at meat with Him would afterward respond to His call, “Follow Me.” Ours is the privilege of studying Christ’s manner of teaching as He went from place to place, everywhere sowing the seeds of truth.—Ellen White, Manuscript 113, 1902.
It all works when we can express the love God has for people when we do all we can to show that love to his people.
It all works when we can express the love God has for people when we do all we can to show that love to his people.
The Lord desires His church to show forth to the world the beauty of holiness. She is to demonstrate the power of Christian religion. Heaven is to be reflected in the character of the Christian. The song of gratitude and praise is to be heard by those in darkness. For the good tidings of the gospel, for its promises and assurances, we are to express our gratitude by seeking to do others good. The doing of this work will bring rays of heavenly righteousness to wearied, perplexed, suffering souls. It is as a fountain opened for the wayworn, thirsty traveler. At every work of mercy, every work of love, angels of God are present.
- Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, (Pacific Press, 1855), 9:30–31.
Alesia friend, b-day party
For the sake of the gospel
23 All the things I do are for the sake of the gospel, so I can be a partner with it.
They might ask, why are you so nice to me? Because Jesus was so nice to me, I want to express my gratitude by being nice to someone else.
I heard recently of a law-abiding, middle-class family whose son had broken their hearts by becoming involved in gang activity, including the drugs and crime that go along with it. One day he witnessed a serious crime conducted by a rival gang member whose identity was well known to him. The rival gang was concerned that he might go to the police with the information he had, so they drove by his family home one night and shot up the house as a warning to him to remain silent.
As you can imagine, the quiet suburban community in which they lived was outraged that this family was bringing gangs into their neighborhood. When a second drive-by shooting occurred at the house, narrowly missing the family inside, the neighbors began to mutter among themselves. They wanted the family out of their suburb. Because the boy’s family was only renting the house, their neighbors began a whisper campaign that they should consider moving away.
Frost, Michael. The Road to Missional, Journey to the Center of the Church (Shapevine) . Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. in Edmonton, Canada, whose son had broken their hearts by becoming involved in gang activity, including the drugs and crime that go along with it. One day he witnessed a serious crime conducted by a rival gang member whose identity was well known to him. The rival gang was concerned that he might go to the police with the information he had, so they drove by his family home one night and shot up the house as a warning to him to remain silent. As you can imagine, the quiet suburban community in which they lived was outraged that this family was bringing gangs into their neighborhood. When a second drive-by shooting occurred at the house, narrowly missing the family inside, the neighbors began to mutter among themselves. They wanted the family out of their suburb. Because the boy’s family was only renting the house, their neighbors began a whisper campaign that they should consider moving away. Try to imagine the horror this family was dealing with. They were already beside themselves with worry for their son and brother. Now they were terrified for their own lives. And to make matters worse, they knew their neighbors were turning against them. Two Christian families in that suburb, however, saw that reconciled relationships were an evidence of the reign of God. They were not willing to let this horrified family slip away to face their demons alone somewhere else. They arranged a community meeting and managed to convince their neighbors that this was no way to treat people in such a dreadful situation. Together with their neighbors they developed a series of strategies for protecting each other (neighborhood watch patrols, curfews for children, and so forth) and then they approached the terrorized family with gifts and expressed the whole community’s concern for them, letting them know that they didn’t want them to move away, and telling them they would stand with them no matter what. This is what it looks like when the redeemed ones cooperate with the universal reign of God in their neighborhood. It is evidenced by reconciliation, hospitality, and generosity, no matter how costly. We reprocess our anger—or in this case, fear—into grace and express that through costly demonstrations of love.
Try to imagine the horror this family was dealing with. They were already beside themselves with worry for their son and brother. Now they were terrified for their own lives. And to make matters worse, they knew their neighbors were turning against them.
Two Christian families in that suburb, however, saw that reconciled relationships were an evidence of the reign of God and the gospel in action. They were not willing to let this horrified family slip away to face their demons alone somewhere else. They arranged a community meeting and managed to convince their neighbors that this was no way to treat people in such a dreadful situation.
Together with their neighbors they developed a series of strategies for protecting each other (neighborhood watch patrols, curfews for children, and so forth) and then they approached the terrorized family with gifts and expressed the whole community’s concern for them, letting them know that they didn’t want them to move away, and telling them they would stand with them no matter what.
This is an example of what it looks like when the redeemed ones exemplify the gospel, cooperate with the universal reign of God in their neighborhood. It is evidenced by reconciliation, hospitality, and generosity, no matter how costly. We reprocess our anger—or in this case, fear—into grace and express that through costly demonstrations of love. - Frost, Michael. The Road to Missional, Journey to the Center of the Church (Shapevine) . Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Frost, Michael. The Road to Missional, Journey to the Center of the Church (Shapevine) . Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Show us the way to live out the gospel in our relationships, showing mercy, loving, appreciating their goodness, and bidding them to follow Jesus.
What then do we do? This is a bold comprehensive moto.
Serve humbly
willing to go through trials
Tactfully approach mission with care, prayer, to people everywhere
Examples of White changing methods
Apply “for the sake” to our context