The Pursuit of Eternal Happiness
Notes
Transcript
This morning’s Scripture lesson is the entirety of 1 Corinthians 9. It is a very tight argument, so I encourage you to follow along as I read.
Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
This is my defense to those who would examine me. Do we not have the right to eat and drink? Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?
Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more?
Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
A week from today, our nation will be celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In that document are these famous words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
In our passage this morning, Paul is voluntarily giving up some of his unalienable rights in order to secure them. This may seem like a contradiction, but it really isn’t.
Paul is continuing his argument he began in chapter eight, that it is better to give up our “liberty” to eat meat sacrificed to idols than to cause one of our brothers or sisters in Christ to “stumble” and thus be “destroyed”. Now, in chapter nine, Paul is going to go beyond that and explain that sometimes we must give up our rights in order to secure them. He begins with the unalienable right to reap a reward for his labor.
The Unalienable Right to Reap the Reward of Our Labor
The Unalienable Right to Reap the Reward of Our Labor
In debating the final form our Declaration of Independence should take, our Founding Fathers took great care to use the correct words. The word “unalienable” means that the God given rights of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” cannot be taken away from us. Now many tyrants and evil governments have denied those under their power of these rights, no one can ever take them away from us. That is the why Americans felt compelled to declare themselves independent from the British government.
Another important word in the Declaration of Independence is the word, “Happiness”. In the first draft the word “Property” was used, but so of the Founding Fathers, pointed out that as Jesus put it “man does not live by bread alone”. Human fulfillment depends upon more than simply the accumulation of property, but that accumulation of wisdom, virtue and most importantly, godliness. This is the meaning of the word “happiness”; this bring us to our text.
Paul is arguing that as a minister, and especially as an Apostle, he has a right to receive a material reward for his labors. This is the “Property” idea that is contained in the word “Happiness” in our Declaration of Independence. To establish this “right”, Paul uses a three-fold argument of Natural Law, Old Covenant Law and the Command of Christ. Pay attention, because this will be a very good example of how we as Christians should make moral decisions.
First, he points to Natural Law, what the Founding Fathers call “Nature’s Law”. Natural Law is the law that Paul in Romans 1 says God has written upon every heart. The other Apostles, soldiers, farmers and shepherds all receive a material reward for their labors. In our heart of hearts, we know that this is the way it should be. If this is the case, how can it be right that Paul and Barnabas are denied such a reward? Clearly, it is not.
Then Paul turns to God’s Word itself, he points out in vss. 8-12, that God forbids the muzzling of oxen when they are treading out grain. If God is so concerned for animals receiving a fair reward for their labor, how much more is God concerned that human beings receive a fair reward for their labor! Moreover, does not the Law teach that those “employed in the temple service get their food from the temple” (vs. 13).
Finally, and most importantly, in 1 Cor 9:14, Paul alludes to Jesus’ command found in Luke 10:7, “the laborer deserves his wages.”
Beyond any shadow of doubt, Paul has established his right to receive financially support for his ministry, but then he does something unexpected, he gives up this right. Why? Because he was in the pursuit of Happiness!
Paul in the Pursuit of Eternal Happiness
Paul in the Pursuit of Eternal Happiness
In verses 15-18, Paul says something quite interesting, perhaps you missed it the first time. Let me read it once more:
But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
According to Paul, because of the unique nature of his calling both to salvation and to ministry, he was compelled to preach the gospel in a way that normal ministers, and perhaps even the other Apostles, are not. He is in a situation much like the prophet Jeremiah who said:
If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”
there is in my heart as it were a burning fire
shut up in my bones,
and I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.
Consequently, Paul had no expectation of eternal reward for voluntarily heeding the call to ministry, he had no choice, the Word of God burned within his bones! However, there would be reward for voluntarily doing ministry without financial reward. Do you see what Paul is doing? He is making a sacrifice now for a greater reward later.
Again, I want to point you to our Declaration of Independence as a means of illustration and clarification. Notice that Founders say, “the pursuit of Happiness” not “the provision of Happiness”. In Matthew 5, we have recorded Jesus’ most famous sermon, The Sermon on the Mount, it begins with way:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The Greek word our English bibles translate “blessed” could just as easily be translated “happiness”. In fact, this “blessed happiness” that Jesus is speaking of is the same type of “happiness” the Founding Fathers had in mind. Notice that the “blessed happiness” The blessing Jesus is talking about is not an entitlement; it must be pursued by obedience, hard work and sacrifice!
In vss. 19-23, Paul turns to another reward, salvation itself. Paul says he not only voluntarily gives up his right to Property, but also his right to Liberty for the sake of the Gospel.
For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
Did you catch that final word? Blessings! We believe the Gospel and we preach the Gospel for the same reason—to be eternally blessed!
This brings me to you.
Are You Pursuing Eternal Happiness?
Are You Pursuing Eternal Happiness?
Not only is Independence Day just a week away, but the Tokyo Olympics are just a few weeks away. Corinth was a big sporting town, it was the home to the Isthmian Games. Using these games as an illustration, Paul writes:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Paul is reminding us that victory in the spiritual realm takes as much, if not more, effort and sacrifice as it does in the physical realm. No one wins a race by running without a plan. No one wins a boxing match by not making their punches count. Without discipline, there will be no “thrill of victory,” only “the agony of defeat”!
Paul is setting himself up as an example to us not out of pride, but out of concern. Paul wants to remind us how much is a stake if we blindly insist on exercising our “rights”, we could lose our eternal happiness. The joy of athletic victory remind us that any truly great happiness demands great sacrifice. It was for “the joy set before him” that Christ endured the cross. Our Declaration of Independence closes with these words, “for the support of this Declaration, with the firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” I ask you, what are you willing to pledge in your pursuit of the eternal happiness of the Gospel?