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Becoming all things to all men (1 Corinthians 9:1-23)

Mark BarnesMark Barnes, May 1, 2011
Part of the Lessons from the church in Corinth series, preached at a Sunday Morning service

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https://www.bethel-clydach.co.uk/sermons/?show&file_name=2011-05-01-am.mp3 Download
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1 Corinthians 9:1–23 (Listen)

9:1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? 2 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.

3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 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? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 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?

8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 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? 10 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. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 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.

13 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? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

15 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. 16 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! 17 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. 18 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.

19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 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. 21 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. 22 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. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

(ESV)

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We love sharing our faith with others, but we also know from our own experience that many people need time and space to think through the message of the Bible for themselves. So if you want to explore what Christianity offers, we think you'll find Bethel a great place to do that. If you want to just listen, that's fine. If you've got questions, we'll do our best to help. If you've problems that no-one else seems to be able to help with — perhaps a bereavement, family crisis, or spiralling debts — then you'll find Bethel a place where you can not only get emotional and practical support, but spiritual help, too.
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“I started to see I wasn't the nice guy I thought I was”

After I retired I missed spending time with people and thought I’d find some sort of community in a church. I was quite nervous about going by myself. Eventually, when I did go to Bethel, it was quite reassuring. There were even people on the front door to welcome me. Listening to the preacher came as a bit of a shock though. He said no-one was good enough to go to heaven. I thought that as long as your good deeds are more than your bad you’ll be fine and go to heaven but this wasn't what God said in the Bible. I started to see I wasn't the nice guy I thought I was. God was on my mind more than ever and I knew I needed him so I started to go to Bethel regularly. I often thought about the wrong things I’d done in my life and wondered if God really wanted me.
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