Bible Passage:1 Corinthians 9:19-23
Pastor: Joel Jenswold
Sermon Date: October 20, 2024

Bulletin October 20, 2024

In the name of, and to the eternal glory of, Jesus,

What is the biggest sacrifice you have ever made for someone?  Have you given up your seat so someone else can sit down?  Have you given up sleep to tend to a sick child?  Have you given money to help someone in need?  Have you given up a bite of your dessert to your spouse? Have you given one of your kidneys so someone else can live?

Why did you do it?  What moved you to make the sacrifice you did?  Was it simple altruism?  You just felt like it was a nice thing to do.  Was it deep love?  Was it tender compassion?  Why’d you do it?  Whenever sacrifice is made, there is something that drives it.  There is something that motivates it.

In our text today, the apostle Paul gets very personal.  He speaks about sacrifices he has made.  He speaks about changing his conduct when dealing with different people.  Sometimes Paul would go without certain things.  He would refrain from certain things depending on who he was with.  Why would Paul do this?  Was he just a wishy-washy people pleaser?  An eager little pup willing to do anything to please the big dogs?  Hardly!  Paul tells us why he was willing to make sacrifices.  At the end of our text he says he did Everything for the Gospel.

At this point in 1 Corinthians, Paul is doing something he doesn’t really love doing.  He is writing about himself.  He sort of has to.  You see, there were some in Corinth who were questioning Paul’s credentials, his bona fides.  They were suspicious of Paul because when he had been in Corinth, he had supported himself by tent-making and hadn’t taken a paycheck from the Corinthians.  This led some to criticize: “That’s kind of weird!  What kind of apostle would do that?”  So Paul defends himself.  Why would he sacrifice a paycheck from them?  For the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Paul had determined that sacrificing a paycheck from the Corinthians was the wiser path of ministry.  He could have taken a paycheck.  But he was willing to sacrifice it for the sake of spreading the good news of Jesus!

This is the very thing Paul did EVERYWHERE.  Paul begins by saying:  …although I am free.  Paul was free.  Jesus had set Paul, and you and me, free.  We are free from sin and guilt.  We are free from God’s wrath and punishment.  We are free from trying to obey rules and laws to earn God’s favor and God’s heaven.  Yet, Paul says, even though he is free, I enslaved myself to all so that I might gain many more. (v. 19)

Paul then explains what he means.  He says that he became like a Jew to the Jews.  What does that mean?  Remember Paul’s mission strategy.  Whenever he came to a new city, he would first go to the Jewish synagogue.  Now, when Paul would show up at synagogue on a Sabbath, he would not walk in eating a ham sandwich.  He was free to have all the ham sandwiches he wanted!  But he knew that for Jews who ate kosher, eating pork was offensive.  If he showed up at synagogue with a ham sandwich, he’s never going to get through the door to tell them about Jesus!  So he was willing to sacrifice a ham sandwich so that I might gain Jews. (v. 20)

Paul would also say that to those who didn’t have the law, he became like a person who didn’t have the law (v. 21)  The law he is talking about here is the Old Testament ceremonial law.  Remember, those laws that governed “cleanness” and “uncleanness” really had served to hedge the Jews off until Christ came.  That is why the Jews had the reputation in the Mediterranean world of being an odd and peculiar people.  How would Paul tell non-Jews about Jesus if he is following those laws that effectively are a dividing wall between Jew and Gentile?  No!  If a group of non-Jews is sitting at the cafe in Corinth having a ham sandwich, Paul would happily sit down with them, order a ham sandwich and try to work Jesus into the conversation!  Why?  So that I might gain those who are without the law. (v. 21)

Paul mentions one more scenario.  He says he became weak to the weak.  Later in this very letter, there is an example of this sort of thing.  In the open market in Corinth a person could find meat for sale.  Let’s just say it’s a nice ribeye.  Now, before that ribeye went on sale in the market, it had been part of an offering over at the temple of Zeus.  Paul will write, “If you want to buy it and grill it for supper, go ahead!  It’s not sin.”  But, there were some with a weak and tender conscience who would look at that ribeye and say, “I’m not comfortable eating that.  It was offered to Zeus.”  Paul says, “If I am with that weak brother, I’m not buying that ribeye.  I’m free to do so!  But I won’t, for my brother’s sake.”   I do everything for the sake of the gospel. (v. 23) 

We don’t live in a world of eating kosher and ribeyes offered to Zeus.  But are there ever sacrifices to make in service to the gospel?  Have you ever sacrificed a few minutes of your time to talk to your neighbor about Jesus?  You say, “But Pastor, they have a sign in their yard for you-know-who!”  Might have to give up arguing politics so you can talk about Jesus!  Are the offerings you return to Jesus “sacrificial”?  Do you ever go without something so that you can give an offering to the Lord?  Or do you simply give what is “comfortable”?  If you think I am trying to guilt or shame you here, I am not.  That is sub-Christian motivation.  Any sacrifice you make is motivated first and only by the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross to save you.

To end today, I want to consider Paul’s closing remark.  I do everything for the sake of the gospel so that I may share in it along with others. (v. 23)  Paul’s point is simple.  Kids, if you have two pieces of candy and your friend has none, what are you going to do?  You’re going to share!  That is what Paul did with the good news of Jesus!  Paul had the good news of Jesus the Savior.  When he met people who didn’t have Jesus, he would do whatever, make any sacrifice, to share Jesus with them!  May that spirit of sacrifice burn in each of us as well!  For Jesus’ sake!

Amen.