"Although I am a free man and not anyone’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win more people. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law—though I myself am not under the law—to win those under the law. 21 To those who are without that law, like one without the law—not being without God’s law but within Christ’s law—to win those without the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some. 23 Now I do all this because of the gospel, so I may become a partner in its benefits.
24 Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize. 25 Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. However, they do it to receive a crown that will fade away, but we a crown that will never fade away. 26 Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. 27 Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified."
I Corinthians 9:19-27
Good Morning Beloved,
Welcome to worship today!
Today's Message: Giving Up To Win
It is my honor and great privilege to share with you the Word of God. As we continue our study of I Corinthians chapter 9, we will be taking a look at verses 19 to 27, as we continue to study this marvelous, and really exciting epistle from the apostle Paul. And I want to begin by just sharing with you a study that I got involved in this week, and as I was studying the whole subject of evangelism because Paul, in this passage, talks about winning people.
First, let's bow our heads in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
First we thank You for Your Word for us today, we give thanks for those whom You have gathered together with us, both near and far, we're so grateful. Lord, we know that evangelism doesn't happen by accident, it comes to those who are ready to be used by You. We know that You do not call the equipped, but You equip the called. We pray that we might have that kind of deep desire, giving us that kind of strength.
Lord, give us the commitment that it takes to be that effective, to be really used of You. We pray that Your Spirit would guide us to take Paul as a model. Help us to make every necessary sacrifice to win someone for Christ, that they may come to You, that You would gain entrance into some hearts here with us today.
Father, we thank You for what You have done in us, trusting in what You can do through us when we come to You, when we've reached that point, of being used by You, as Your Spirit leads us. Use us O' Lord, for the furtherance of the Gospel, for Your increase, all for Your glory
in Jesus’ name we pray
Amen
Open with me your Bibles, to I Corinthians 9:19-27. Follow along with me if you would, as I read to you from our text for today's study.
"Although I am a free man and not anyone’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win more people. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law—though I myself am not under the law—to win those under the law. To those who are without that law, like one without the law—not being without God’s law but within Christ’s law—to win those without the law. To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some. Now I do all this because of the gospel, so I may become a partner in its benefits.
Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize. Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. However, they do it to receive a crown that will fade away, but we a crown that will never fade away. Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified."
So, in verse 19, at the end, "...so that I may win more." As I'm sure that many of you may have noticed in a number of Paul's epistles, he is continuously speaking about this. Paul talks frequently about running to obtain. He talks about a reward. In other words, Paul has something in mind. And what he has in mind here, is winning people to Christ. That is the whole objective of this whole incredible passage.
As I was studying for today's message, I paused to consider the aspect of Paul’s ministry, the aspect of evangelism, which incidentally is only one facet of a multiple ministry that he had of discipling, starting and building churches, training leaders and doing many, many other things. But really, the heart of everything Paul did, was this winning people to Christ.
And, as I began to carefully consider as to why Paul was so effective in his ministry, two main points came to my mind. The first being, Paul had the right message. He had the right message. I believe, this is why so many fail in ministry, is they themselves, aren't sure what the message of the Gospel is, I mean, some have no clue. And, I also believe, that because of this, they are genuinely afraid to have a conversation with people. Why? Think about it for a moment, just in case by others asking questions, the conversation would steer them, far from what they know. So, it's uncomfortable to engage in a meaningful, biblical conversation.
One reason that I believe Paul's ministry was effective is because really knew the Gospel, and he really knew it's message. He said in I Corinthians 15:3-4, "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures."
And Paul was highly motivated. He had a deep motivation because of his love for Christ and he knew that one day he was going to face the Lord to give an account for his actions during his ministry. In II Corinthians 5:10, he said, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." In other words, Paul knew he was going to be face to face with Christ, and the record of his life and his service. On that day, Paul longed to hear those coveted words from Jesus, we all long for, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
The third reason, that I believe Paul's ministry was effective, is he had a divine calling. Later, in this chapter, in verses 16 through 18, he says, "For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me. What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel."
Paul certainly had a sense of the divine call to evangelize. In I Timothy 1:12, he says, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service"
I believe the fourth reason Paul's ministry was effective, is he was energized by the Holy Spirit.
He knew what is was to walk in the Spirit, to be kept filled by the Spirit and to obey the Spirit.
Paul knew first hand what is was to experience the power of the Spirit of God in his life. In Acts 13:2 the Holy Spirit said, "While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
Another reason I believe Paul was effective, is he had a great boldness for the Gospel message.
In Romans 1:16-17, Paul said, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith."
However, I believe the greatest reason Paul's ministry was effective, was he had a strategy. He had a strategy the worked, an unwavering desire to see people saved. He loved people. He was genuinely concerned that people not go to hell. I mean he really cared. He cared that they come to Christ. In Romans 1:9-15, he said, "For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.
I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome."
Let's look at verses 19-23, where Paul says, "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. 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; 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. 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. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it."
What Paul is saying, in other words, a relationship with God is not bound by any religious ceremonies, customs or ritual. "I am not bound to keep Jewish ceremonies. I am not bound to eat certain things and not eat. I am no longer circumscribed to Jewish ceremony and Jewish tradition."
"Similarly, I am free from all ceremony of Gentile tradition as well. I am free from all the routines and the rituals of Gentile life. I am free in the fact that I have a relationship to God that is based on the work of Jesus Christ and that is personal and internal and separate from all externals. I have the liberty, then, to reject all ceremony, and all externals, and all side issues."
"I’ve been taken out of all of those kinds of constraints. Like every Christian, I’m free to enjoy that liberty. I can do just about what I want, technically speaking. I have no need to yield to human opinion. I have no need to yield to custom or ceremony. However, here’s the key – "Yet I have made myself a slave unto all." Paul uses the word "from" there is literally in the Greek "out of" - that is to say "I am free out of all." He is free, yet a slave.
If we quickly turn to Exodus 21, in the first six verses, we see this same paradox. It says that if a slave reaches the place where he has the right to be freed, and you say, "You’re free," he also has the right to come back to you and say, "I don’t want to be free. I love you. My service to you is not an act of obedience as much as it is an act of love. Can I stay?" As we see in verses five and six, "But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently." The word used here, to enslave, the verb meaning to make yourself a slave, is very strong.
The same word is used in relation to marriage in I Corinthians 7:15, and in Romans 6:18 and 22 in relation to our union with Christ. So, we see it is an important use of the word, indicating the strongest kind of union. So, what Paul is saying is, I will just put myself up and do whatever it takes to reach you, to minister to you, and to meet your needs. He is truly a slave. He is denying himself in the truest sense.
Paul is following and demonstrating the pattern set by Christ, in Mark 10:44-45, "and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. 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 is saying, "I am willing to sacrifice everything to be your servant."
I have been frequently been asked, "Doesn't this go a bit too far?" Well, it goes as far as it needs to go in order to reach someone. In other words, how many things do you set aside to reach somebody? Anything that stands in the way of reaching them. That's what you do. That's what we are called to do. And we clearly see that Paul illustrates this in verse 19, when he says, "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more." I am willing to give more to gain more for Christ. Paul's objective and motive was clear, winning souls for Christ.
Proverbs 11:30 says, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise wins souls."
Paul says essentially the same thing in Romans 11:14-16, "if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too." I will do anything to reach Israel, even provoke jealousy. It was Paul's preaching to Gentiles that would provoke their jealousy. Saying to themselves, "What is this they're getting and we're not?" When they began looking into, it caused them to be saved. In other words, "I would do anything if people would become saved. I will be a prisoner. I will go to jail. I will set my life aside. I will die. I will do anything. And short of those things, I even certainly will sacrifice some of my rights."
How many more would become saved today, if Christians were willing to make such sacrifices for the salvation of another?
Paul was no more equipped to win souls over for Christ then any of us gathered here today. As he says, in I Corinthians 2:1-5, "And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." Paul's message was not empowered by his eloquent speaking, in fact, Paul was not the most tactful public speaker, he was rather abrasive and bold, the power was in the message of the Gospel. You and I need no particular skills, in order to win souls over for Christ, the power is in the Gospel given to us through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we can take no credit, we simply share the Gospel message and the Gospel through the Holy Spirit does the work.
In verse 20, Paul gets into some practical applications, just showing us the areas in which he worked this way. "To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews;" Here, he’s talking about the race of Jews; under the Jews racially. "I became as a Jew. In other words, I adapted their customs." Why? What is Paul saying here? Here’s the purpose clause, "In order that I might gain the Jews." So, whatever their ceremonial law dictates, if it's important to eat a meal a certain way, prepared a certain, I'll do that. Why, in order that I might win them. That was Paul purpose, winning souls for Christ. Paul spoke the truth by accommodating them. If you go in to offend, you'll lose them.
We see an illustration of this in Acts 15. Where the Jerusalem Council was meeting, first church council was meeting to try to determine what they should do with the Gentile converts. In other words, they were still hung up on Jewish tradition. And Gentiles were becoming saved. So, they were saying among themselves, "These Gentiles are getting saved, what are we going to do about this?"
The Judaizers were saying, "How they can’t be real Christians?; they haven’t been circumcised.” And so, the Jerusalem Council discusses the issue. So, we see James, the chairman of the council saying in verses 19-21, "Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath."
Simply, what he’s saying here is, number one, stay away from what offends not only the Gentile new believers, but even more so what offends the Jews. Because the Jews were offended by false gods. So, stay away. Second, stay far away from fornication. Well, that's obvious, right? After all, fornication is sexual sin. And connected to Gentile worship was sexual sin.
And third, stay away from things strangled. Why? Because Gentiles would eat certain things that had been strangled as a way of killing them. Which means that they had never been cut with an open wound. And, that was wrong for a Jew because a Jew had to have the blood drained before he could eat anything, as it was in violation of Jewish law and their ceremony.
The fourth thing was to stay away from blood. Wait, what? Well, because Gentiles, in many of their ceremonies, drank blood. Essentially, he is saying, "We've welcomed you into the family, so what would you do these four things!" Stay away from them. And in verse 21, "For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath." Who are they? The Jews. Being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.
So why were they to abstain from these things? As not to offend. Offend who? The Jews. They were not to offend the Jews. Because if they did that, they Jews wouldn't ever listen to them. Don’t do anything that’s going to eliminate the possibility of winning them.
In Acts chapter 16, we see an illustration of this. "Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe. So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily."
Why would Paul do that? Did he believe that he must be circumcised to be saved? Absolutely not!
In Paul's ministry, his number one strategy winning souls to Christ. Here's a guy who came from a mixed marriage, and that was very distasteful, unacceptable, so they would see him only as the son of an uncircumcised Gentile. So, Paul says, "In order to gain entrance in these towns, to gain the acceptance to evangelize, we need to have him circumcised. Not for salvation, but to evangelize.
I have had some ask, "Is this a violation of grace?" No, because it was not for salvation. Timothy was not circumcised in order to be saved. He was already a believer. He was already a disciple of Jesus Christ. It's only purpose was to gain entrance to the Jewish community. The point here is this, Paul was accommodating the Jews. It was a bit painful, but it demonstrates how far Paul and Timothy were willing to go to open the vital lines of communication with the Jewish communities.
Though Paul and Timothy were not under the Jewish law, they had been freed from it, this is an illustration of what he says in verses 20-23, "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; 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. 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. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it."
In other words, Paul was saying, I am willing to whatever I must do, and even though I am not under the thing, in order to preach the Gospel to those who need to hear its message. If that means putting myself under their ceremonies, though I am free from it, I will partake of it to evangelize to them.
Now, I want to be clear about something, this doesn’t mean that I’ll compromise and follow their evil things, the evil that they do, or follow their hypocrisies. No! But rather, I will keep those neutral gray-area things, those ceremonial things, the things that do not really matter one way or the other, if that’ll gain me entrance into their hearts and mind, to win souls over to Christ. And, as we can see by the illustrations, I've shown you, this was something Paul was really serious about.
As we read in Romans chapter 14, verses 5-8, "One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s."
In other words, if it's not a matter of right or wrong, if it's one of these gray areas, then go along with whoever you're with. Why? Because, you have got some people who think dietary laws are in; similarly, some who think they’re out. Some think the Sabbath’s in; some think they’re out. Paul is saying, that's fine. Don’t make that a problem. Don't let that be the issue that keeps them from hearing the Gospel, just go along with whoever you’re with.
And, as we read in I Corinthians 9:21, Paul did the same with the Gentiles. "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." Again, to be clear, he was not speaking about moral law! Paul makes that clear when he says, "not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ."
I know that often, some people have been known to misinterpret that as no wonder Paul preached to the Gentiles, he was really living it up, having a good ole time. So, that is why he says, "not being without the law of God, but under the law of Christ." I uphold the moral laws, and I uphold the law of love given by our Lord Jesus Christ, I don't reject those things! But I'm free from not being able to participate in the things that do not matter, And, in order to win them over to Christ, so those things, I do, to gain their acceptance, for Christ. So to be clear, he says, "I’m not talking about moral law to God, and I’m not talking about the law of love regarding Christ."
In other words, "So, when I’m with them, I become like them. I just adapt myself to them. If they’ve got hang-ups, I just get right in and say, ‘If that bothers you, I won’t do that; I’ll just do whatever will open up my life to you and gain entrance.’” He was very sensitive to people who were easily offended. His purpose? To gain the weak. The word used gain is a rather interesting word. It is a commercial term meaning to make a profit. So Paul is saying "I’m in this business of evangelism to make a profit." And what he means is, "I want to win more souls to Christ, more dividends for Christ."
Paul sums this up at the end of verse 22, ".... I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some." He was willing to condescend from his rights, set them aside to do whatever he needed to do to in order to reach some one. So, do you know what he did? He was to the Jew as a Jew, to the Gentile as a Gentile, to the weak brother as a weak brother. Why did he do this? To win them to Christ. Paul was saying, "To win them to Christ, I will be anything."
There are some who have said that Paul was compromising in order to reach them. However, there is difference between condescension and limiting your liberty and compromise is the difference between what is optional and what is not optional. To condescend to meet somebody at their own level is to set aside a liberty that I have that is optional to come down and meet that guy. To compromise is to set aside a truth that I have no business setting aside.
The difference is in II Corinthians 2:14-17. Paul says, "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God."
In some translations, the word "huckster" is used instead of peddling. Do you know what a huckster is? A huckster sells a cheap gospel that’s palatable to everybody, he does this by stripping it of its offensive character. He doesn’t talk about the crucifixion; he doesn’t talk about hell, and he doesn’t talk about anything that’s going to offend others. He sells a cheapened gospel. In other words, he sells glass as diamonds, and people will buy into it, but they don't know any better. They do not understand the difference.
In Closing....
Compromise is where you set aside the truth; condescension is where you set aside a liberty that you could exercise to meet a man on his own level. Paul never compromised the Gospel message, he was not a people pleaser. We see the evidence of this in Galatians 1:10, where he says, "For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ."
Then in verse 23, Paul tells us, "I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it." Why does he do this? For the gospel’s sake! What a man. What a life. Paul literally had one thought, "How can I win people to Christ? I do everything for the gospel’s sake. My whole life is set with that intention, that I might be a partaker of it with you. Sugkoinōnos, partakers that I might be a co-sharer with you. I want you and me to be in Christ's family together. So, I’ll do anything to see that happen. That's self-denial. That's self-denial!
And, in verses 24-27, Paul says, "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. 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. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified." Here, Paul demonstrates another very important principal to us. Self-control. If you’re going to really limit your liberty, it’s really going to require great self discipline.
Because there are going to be "old things" that your body will want to do. You're going to have to cut out some things. Self-denial comes first. Self-denial says, "I’m not the most important; they are."
They all knew about athletics, they understood this. Everybody trains, everybody runs, but only one wins! Only one wins. So, Paul is saying, "run in such a way, that you win."
If you’re in this race to win souls to Christ, then you’re going to have to run to win it.
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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