Presentation19
Introduction
Paul was a great enigma to many of the leaders of the church at Corinth. He
baffled those whose motivation and attitude towards Christian service stood
in need of correction;
a. the power brokers who manipulated the lives of others,
b. the publicity seekers who basked in the limelight of
public leadership,
c. the crass materialists who saw Christian service as a
source of great material gain.
Introduction
The key which helps us understand so much of the apostle’s behaviour is
found in v12, "We endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of
the gospel of Christ". The word translated ‘obstacle’ used only here in the N.T.
means "a cutting into" and was used of breaking up a road to prevent the
enemy's advance. Paul is saying, ‘I will avoid doing anything which might put
an obstruction in the way of the advance of the gospel’.
Nothing challenged the attitude of Paul to Christian service
as much as that thought.
Cf also 1 Cor. 9.22 “I have become all things to
all men so that by all possible means I might
save some”.
Right to Material Support
The prevailing mood in recent years could be characterized by the expression,
‘fight for your rights’. People are more concerned about their rights than ever
before. Here, Paul begins by talking about his rights. As an apostle and
preacher. He reminds his readers in v4-6 that he had certain rights which
included the right to food and drink, to have a wife travelling with him and
therefore her expenses met and to have the freedom not to have to work for a
living.
Many of the leaders in Corinthian church were claiming
these rights for themselves and they criticised Paul for
not asking for financial support. In that day the
greater the speaker the more he would charge!
Paul is able to list 5 reasons why the gospel
worker should be provided for.
Right to Material Support
1. Common practice: It was common practice for soldier, farmer,
shepherd to benefit from their work so too the preacher.
2. Scriptural precept: God's law had made it clear, "you shall not muzzle
an ox when it is treading the grain". Why? Because its hard work
deserves to be rewarded. If true of the ox then so to of the preacher.
3. Natural justice: Should you not support those who bring spiritual
blessings to you?
4. Jewish Custom: In the Jewish temple the same principle was in daily
operation. A portion of the sacrifice went to the priest.
5. Jesus’ instruction: the Lord himself had said that "those who
proclaim the gospel should live by the gospel." cf Matt10.8-10.
Right to Material Support
But having just made a watertight case for claiming his personal rights,
Paul then proceeds in v12 to puncture it. He says, "We have not made
use of this right".
Why not Paul? Lest he put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of
Christ. It was important to Paul that he should not be seen as someone
who was in the business of evangelism and
church planting because it could increase his
personal wealth. What a great stumbling
block that could become to the
unbelieving world.
Right to Material Support
Sadly, the gospel is often ridiculed because those engaged in its proclamation
are seen to be in it for the money. In the middle ages men took up office in
the church simply because it was seen as a route to material prosperity.
In our own day on both sides of the Atlantic, Christian work can generate a
great deal of money and shadows of suspicion are often cast on the lavish
lifestyles of many Christian workers!
A minister entered the ministry during WWII at a time when others did so in
pursuit of material security. But he vowed before
God that he would never accept more than
the minimum stipend and despite becoming
one of the best known preachers in the
land he kept his vow and lived on the
bare minimum!
Right to Material Support
That minister like the apostle did not see preaching simply as a job, but as a
glorious privilege. The gospel burned within his bones. It was his God given
duty to proclaim it. Paul wrote, "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”. 1
Cor 9.16. His attitude reflects the teaching of Jesus in Lk.17:7-10...
“Suppose one of you had a servant ploughing or looking after the sheep.
Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along
now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get
yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat
and drink'? Would he thank the servant
because he did what he was told to do?
So you also, when you have done everything
you were told to do, should say,
'We are unworthy servants; we have
only done our duty.' "
Paul and His Reputation
Such was Paul's passion to bring men to Christ, that we read in v22 that he
was prepared to be "all things to all men". Is he saying "I am prepared to be
two-faced, I am willing to compromise”?
No not at all! Rather he is saying,
‘I am prepared to let go of neutral things which some hold dear, to shed
cultural prejudice if it enables me to win others to Christ. It may mean that
other Christians will misunderstand me and that my reputation takes a
nosedive but I wont cling too tightly to that kind of reputation, which courts
the applause and approval of men’.
Paul and His Reputation
What did Paul do? In the company of the Jew he would observe Jewish
fashion and custom, he would use their forms of teaching as he sought
to win them to Christ. When they covered their heads for worship he
would cover his. In the company of those under the law - here he is
describing the legal prescriptions the Jews followed - Paul would do all
in his power to accommodate them.
When he was preaching the gospel he sought to be
sensitive to their religious heritage. He would observe
their laws concerning food and drink and similar
matters. Oh he was free from all these ceremonial
regulations with regard to the law but he laid
aside that freedom in order to win them.
Paul and His Reputation
In the company of those who were without the law, i.e. the Gentiles,
Paul accommodated them also. He would disregard all Jewish
ceremonial observances, which he followed in the company of Jews. He
would modify not the content of his preaching but his approach so that
it made the strongest appeal to his hearers.
However, he adds the safeguard in v23 that he would never break God's
moral law in order to be one of the boys.
Paul and His Reputation
When Howard Taylor went to China he appalled other western missionaries
by dressing in Chinese costume and growing his hair in the Chinese fashion.
The Westerners including other Western missionaries looked down on him
with contempt, for slumming it, for going native!
However, Taylor’s decision opened up doors of evangelistic
service that had remained closed to others who had
insisted on parading their British-ness around
the streets of China.
Paul and His Reputation
It is not always easy to identify with many of the sub-cultures around us. A
minister who does a lot of work in a senior school makes a point of knowing
which pop groups are in the top ten, not because he enjoys pop music but to
give him a point of contact with the young people.
Paul’s sermon structure was not clichéd it was tailored to suit different
audiences. Christians language is alien to the non Christian ear. e.g "Come to
the cross and get washed in the blood”,
could sound like an invitation to a gang
fight at the traffic lights. These verses
encourage us to think of ways in which
we can become ‘all things to all men’.
We need to learn to build bridges into a
different world from the one many
of us live in.
Paul and His Reputation
Among other things that involves relating to people at their level of
experience. And so Paul says, ‘to the weak I became weak’. He was able to
enter into the feelings and experience of people who were wobbly with
regard to the Christian faith. We can be so intent on making strong Christians,
that we look on those who are weak with contempt and spend little time
supporting them.
Paul and His Reputation
A young Christian student went to his minister and told him that he was
struggling with a certain temptation. The minister could have said, “what a
pathetic creature you are, you are a disappointment I had expected more of
you”. That would have been devastating! But he said, “I have struggled with
exactly the same temptation for many years”. The student left the church
walking on air. The comfort of knowing that others experienced the same
problem was liberating.
The minister’s answer followed this principle,
"to the weak I became weak". We are often impatient
when the weaknesses of others lie outside our own
experience. How many weak Christians are
discouraged because they have met with a
lack of compassion or patience?
Paul and His Reputation
We need to be adaptable and flexible yet also we are to be as unbreakable as
tempered steel. That means being able to get as close as we can to others
while also being able to distinguish between evangelistic enterprise and mere
novelty. George Whitfield was concerned by the lack of church attendance in
the 18thC. He lived in a day when formal church culture had little in common
with ordinary people. He wrote,
"Something out of common must be done
to awaken a thoughtless world".
He began field preaching and gathered
crowds of thousands. We for our part have
to think of ways in which we can do
‘something out of common’.
Paul and His Reputation
In our eagerness to win others we must distinguish between accommodation
and compromise. It is not always easy. When some of the Jewish Christians of
Paul’s day tried to enforce circumcision on the Gentile Christians, implying
that without it their salvation was incomplete, Paul fought them vigorously.
However, when Paul decided to take Timothy with him on his missionary
journeys he circumcised him so they could access Jewish synagogues.
Is that not a glaring contradiction? No! The issue in the first case
was one of doctrinal compromise and addressed the question,
‘what is necessary for a man’s salvation?’
But the issue in the second case was accommodation,
‘what will make it easier to preach to the Jews?’
Conclusion
Paul's eagerness not to put obstacles before others cost him a great deal. It
cost him financially, it cost him with regard to his reputation. His lack of
cultural prejudice produced a great deal of opposition in Jerusalem. The man
who once looked on the Gentile world with contempt could say in v19, "I
make myself a slave of everyone". Paul's approach also cost him socially.
Pioneers are lonely people. People follow trends only once a practice has
been tested and proved. Dare we begin to dismantle some of the barriers that
might prevent others from responding to the gospel?
"I do all this," says Paul, "for the sake of the
gospel, that I may share in its blessings".
Paul did not race aimlessly but towards
the crown of fruitful service.