22Refusing to Use Your Liberty (9:15-21)

But I have used none of these things. And I am not writing these things that it may be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than have any man make my boast an empty one. 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.

For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law, though not being myself under the Law, 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, 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, that I may by all means save some. And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

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. And 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 buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. (9:15-27)

In 9:15-27 Paul restates (v. 15) and then continues to illustrate the principle that love limits Christian liberty as well as his own policy of not using his right to be supported financially by those to whom he ministered. He gives two reasons why he refused to accept such support. First, he did not want to lose his reward for preaching the gospel without charge (vv. 16-18). Second, and more importantly, he wanted absolutely nothing to hinder his reaching the lost with that gospel (vv. 19-27).

He has just given six reasons (9:1-14) why he had the right to be supported. But I have used none of these things, he continues. He would not take advantage of the right for any reason.

Lest the Corinthians think he had changed his mind and had given those six reasons to convince them to begin supporting him, he adds, And I am not writing these things that it may be done so in my case. His thinking had not changed. He was not using subterfuge, hoping that, despite his protest, they would begin to pay him. He had never taken pay from those he served and he never intended to. Nor was he now asking for that in a disguised way.

That was Paul’s policy wherever he went. He reminded the Thessalonian church, “you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God” (1 Thess. 2:9). In his next letter to that church he repeats the reminder: “Nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we might not be a burden to any of you” (2 Thess. 3:8). He would not accept so much as a free meal from them.

Paul received support from the Thessalonians after he left them, but not while he worked among them. Without doubt that church was among the Macedonian churches that helped support the apostle while he was in Corinth. “I robbed [a word used for plundering a temple] other churches, taking wages from them to serve you; and when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brethren came from Macedonia, they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will continue to do so” (2 Cor. 11:8-9).

Paul’s refusal to accept wages from those he was serving was the result of a deep conviction. It would be better for me to die than have any man make my boast an empty one. He would rather have been dead than have anyone think he preached and taught for money. He was not a prophet for hire, as was Balaam (Num. 22), or in the ministry “for sordid gain” (1 Pet. 5:2). It is this commitment that he declares to the Ephesian elders: “I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 18:33-35).

Boast (kauchēma) refers to that in which one glories or to the basis for glorying. It also carries the idea of rejoicing or reveling. Because it is frequently done in pride, boasting is usually a sin; but it need not be proud and sinful. Paul’s boast was not intended to convey arrogance but joy. He was so glad for that spiritual privilege and commitment in which he rejoiced that he would rather die than contradict it. He had his priorities right, receiving his joy from exercising his privilege to restrict his freedoms rather than from using them. His boasting was far different from boasting of his accomplishments, as he immediately makes clear.

TO KEEP FROM LOSING HIS REWARD

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. (9:16-18)

THE REWARD WAS NOT FOR THE MESSAGE OR THE MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL

Paul spoke of boasting in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:31), “boasting in things pertaining to God” (Rom. 15:17), and such. Even more often he spoke of rejoicing in the gospel, of glorying in the cross, and supremely of glorying in Jesus Christ. But he says, if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of.

He gloried in the gospel but not for it. He had absolutely nothing to do with the giving or the content of the gospel. He simply received the revelation. Nor was he boasting of his commitment to or ability in preaching the gospel. He did preach the gospel, more diligently than anyone of whom we know, but for this he was under compulsion. The Lord stopped him short one day on the road to Damascus, as he was on his way there to persecute Christians. At that time he was set apart as the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:3-6, 15; 26:13-18; cf. Rom. 11:13). Paul chose God’s call in the sense that he was not “disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19), but he really had no choice. He was under compulsion.

As Paul realized later, God had set him apart even from his “mother’s womb” (Gal. 1:15). Like Jeremiah (Jer. 1:5) and John the Baptist (Luke 1: 13-17), Paul was called and ordained by God before he was born. And like Jeremiah, Paul could refrain from preaching. When frustrated and despondent because of rejection and ridicule, Jeremiah tried to stop preaching but could not. “But if I say, ‘I will not remember Him or speak anymore in His name,’ then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it” (Jer. 20:9). To the Colossians Paul said, “I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me” (Col. 1:25).

At some time or another, every preacher whom the Lord has called will realize that he is under God’s compulsion. It is not that God’s calling cannot be ignored, neglected, or slighted, but that it cannot be changed. The man who resists God’s call or tries to give it up will, like Jeremiah, experience a “burning fire shut up in [his] bones” until he obeys. He has no choice.

Ramond Lull, the Spanish mystic, lived a careless and luxurious life for many years. He wrote that in a vision one night Christ came to him carrying a cross and said, “Carry this cross for me, Ramond.” He pushed Christ away and refused. In a later vision the same thing happened: Christ offered the cross and Ramond refused it. In a third vision Christ laid the cross in the man’s arms and walked away. “What else could I do,” Ramond explained, “but take it up?”

Added to that sense of constraint is a serious and compelling responsibility, which Paul articulates in the words, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. In effect, he says that failure to obey that call would result in his suffering serious chastisement. The severest judgments are promised on unfaithful ministers (James 3:1).

Paul gladly preached the gospel, but he did not do it voluntarily. Against my will does not indicate he was unwilling to obey but that his will had no part in the call itself. It was not his choice to serve Christ, so consequently, he did not receive a reward but a stewardship. He was under obligation to preach, for which he neither deserved nor expected reward.

Stewardship indicates that someone gives us something or some responsibility that is valued to them, which we are to care for properly. That is the case in every call to minister. God gives the minister what He highly values for safe care, and promises stern discipline to the one who falls short. Paul uses the interjection woe (ouai) to indicate the impending pain.

THE REWARD WAS FOR PREACHING WITHOUT CHARGE

Having mentioned what his reward could not be for, Paul now mentions what it would be for.

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. (9:18)

The gospel was thrust on Paul; he was under compulsion to preach it, and would have been in serious trouble with the Lord if he had not. But he was not under compulsion in regard to payment for it. In that he was entirely free to expect support from those he served. He chose not to be paid because he wanted it that way, not because it was necessary. In that choice he found great satisfaction and joy, and for that choice he knew he would receive a reward.

He was determined not to make full use of [his] right in the gospel. He would work after hours, day and night, to earn his own living rather than be a burden to those he served or cause them to think he was in the ministry for the money.

With great happiness and satisfaction Paul forsook a liberty, he refused to take advantage of a right, in order to make a contribution of his very own to the work of Christ.

TO WIN THE LOST TO CHRIST

Paul’s second, and more important, reason for forsaking his right to financial support was to be able to win the lost to Christ without hindrance.

In verses 19-27 he explains two ways in which he sought to enhance his preaching of Christ: through self-denial and self-control.

THROUGH SELF-DENIAL

The primary purpose of Paul’s not taking full advantage of his Christian liberty was that [he] might win the more. He deeply believed that “he who is wise wins souls” (Prov 11:30) and was willing to do anything and to sacrifice anything to win people to Jesus Christ. As far as his rights were concerned he was free from all men, but because of his love for all men he would gladly limit those rights for their sakes. He had, figuratively, become a slave to all. He would modify his habits, his preferences, his entire life-style if any of those things caused someone to stumble, to be offended, or to be hindered from faith in the Lord.

Again we are reminded that in the gray areas of living, those that involve practices about which the Bible does not speak, Paul, as all believers, was free to do as his conscience allowed. But love would not let him do anything that the consciences of weaker believers would not allow Love would not even allow him to do things that would be offensive to unbelievers to whom he witnessed. He would put every questionable thing in his life under the control of love.

Under the Mosaic law every Hebrew who was enslaved by another Hebrew had to be offered his freedom after six years. But if he loved his master and preferred to remain in that household, he could become a permanent slave, and his ear was pierced as a sign of his voluntary enslavement (Ex. 21:2-6).

In a figurative way Paul made himself such a slave to other men. I have made myself a slave is only two words in Greek (edoulōsa, “I enslave,” and emauton, “myself”). That word for enslavement is very strong. It is used to describe Israel’s 400-year experience in Egypt (Acts 7:6), the marriage bond (1 Cor. 7:15), addiction to wine (Titus 2:3), and the Christian’s new relationship to righteousness (Rom. 6:18). It was not a small or easy thing that Paul enslaved himself to all. But his Lord had taught that “whoever wishes to be first… shall be slave of all” (Mark 10:44).

Paul’s willing adjustment of his living in order to identify with those to whom he witnessed was part of what today we call preevangelism. What he did in this regard was not a part of the gospel; it had nothing to do with the gospel. But it helped many unbelievers to listen to the gospel and be more open to receive it.

To illustrate his voluntary slavery Paul mentions three ways in which he had adapted, and would continue to adapt, his living in order to help others be more receptive to Christ. Each of these illustrations, like the statement of the principle itself (v. 19), ends with a purpose clause (“that I might/may … “) indicating his great desire to win people to Christ.

To the Jews I became as a Jew. First, within scriptural limits he would be as Jewish as necessary when working with Jews. In Christ he was no longer bound to the ceremonies, rituals, and traditions of Judaism. Following or not following any of those things had no affect on his spiritual life. But if following them would open a door for his witnessing to Jews, he would gladly accommodate. What had once been legal restraints now had become love restraints. His motive was clearly to win Jews to salvation in Jesus Christ.

Speaking of his fellow Jews, Paul said, “My heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation” (Rom. 10:1). Even if preaching to the Gentiles caused some Jews to accept Christ out of jealousy, that would be good (11:14). Earlier in that same letter he said, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (9:3).

If he was willing to do that for the sake of his fellow Jews, he could surely abide by their ceremonial regulations, observe a special day, or refrain from eating certain foods—if doing those things would help win those who are under the Law. When Paul wanted to take Timothy with him in his ministry he had him circumcised, “because of the Jews who were in those parts” where he intended to go (Acts 16:3). Timothy’s circumcision was of no benefit to him and certainly not to Paul. But it could be of great benefit to their ministry among Jews and was a small price for the prospect of winning some of them to the Lord.

At the advice of James and other leaders of the Jerusalem church, Paul willingly paid for and participated in a Jewish purification ceremony with four other Jewish Christians. He took part in the ritual in order to prove to the Jewish critics of Christianity that he was not teaching Jews to completely abandon Moses and the Old Testament law (Acts 21:20-26). The special Jewish vow Paul took in Cenchrea (Acts 18:18) may have been for the sake of some Jews.

Because Jews were still under the Law, Paul would himself act as under the Law when he worked among them. He did not believe, teach, or give the least suggestion that following the law was of any spiritual benefit. It could not gain or keep salvation, but it was a way of opening doors to work among the Jews.

To those who are without law, as without law. Second, Paul was willing to live like a Gentile when he worked among Gentiles.

To keep from being misunderstood, he makes it clear that he is not talking about ignoring or violating God’s moral law The Ten Commandments and all of God’s other moral laws have, if anything, been strengthened under the New Covenant. For example, not only is it sin to commit murder but also to be inordinately angry with your brother or to call him a fool. Not only is adultery sinful, but so is lust (Matt. 5:21-30). Love does not abrogate God’s moral law but fulfills it (Rom. 13:8, 10; cf. Matt. 5:17). None of us in Christ is without [outside] the law of God, but rather are under the law of Christ. Every believer is under complete legal obligation to Jesus Christ—even though love, rather than the externalities of the law, is to be the guiding force.

In other than moral matters, however, Paul identified as closely as possible with Gentile customs. He ate what they ate, went where they went, and dressed as they dressed. The purpose again was to win the Gentiles to Christ.

To the weak I became weak. Third, Paul was willing to identify with those, whether Jew or Gentile, who did not have the power of understanding to grasp the gospel. When among those who were weak he acted weak. He stooped to the level of their weakness of comprehension. To those who needed simple or repeated presentations, that is what he gave them. No doubt he demonstrated that kind of consideration in the case of the Corinthians themselves (cf. 2:1-5). His purpose was to win them to salvation.

In summary, Paul became all things to all men, that he might by all means save some. He did not compromise the gospel. He would not change the least truth in the least way in order to satisfy anyone. But he would condescend in any way for anyone if that would in any way help bring him to Christ. He would never set aside a truth of the gospel, but he would gladly restrict his liberty in the gospel. He would not offend Jew, Gentile, or those weak in understanding.

If a person is offended by God’s Word, that is his problem. If he is offended by biblical doctrine, standards, or church discipline, that is his problem. That person is offended by God. But if he is offended by our unnecessary behavior or practices—no matter how good and acceptable those may be in themselves—his problem becomes our problem. It is not a problem of law but a problem of love, and love always demands more than the law “Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two” (Matt. 5:39-41).

Paul’s life centered in living out the gospel and in preaching and teaching the gospel. Nothing else was of any concern to him. I do all things for the sake of the gospel. His life was the gospel. He therefore set aside anything that would hinder its power and effectiveness.

Fellow partaker (sunkoinōnos) refers to joint participation, joint sharing. The idea here is that Paul wanted everyone else to be a fellow partaker with him in the benefits and blessing of the gospel. He wanted them to be with him in the family of God.

THROUGH SELF-CONTROL

Liberty cannot be limited without self-control. Our sinfulness resents and resists restrictions, sometimes even in the name of spiritual freedom. It is one thing to acknowledge the principle of living by love; it is another to follow it. Paul followed it because he wanted to be a winner.

The Greeks had two great athletic festivals, the Olympic games and the Isthmian games. The Isthmian games were held at Corinth and were therefore intimately familiar to those to whom Paul was writing. Contestants in the games had to prove rigorous training for ten months. The last month was spent at Corinth, with supervised daily workouts in the gymnasium and athletic fields.

The race was always a major attraction at the games, and that is the figure Paul uses to illustrate the faithful Christian life. Those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize. No one would train so hard for so long without intending to win. Yet out of the large number of runners, only one wins.

A great difference between those races and the Christian “race” is that every Christian who will pay the price of careful training can win. We do not compete against each other but against the obstacles—practical, physical, and spiritual—that would hinder us. In a sense, every Christian runs his own race, enabling each one of us to be a winner in winning souls to Christ. Paul therefore counsels all believers to run in such a way that you may win, by setting aside anything that might hinder the reception of the gospel.

Holding tightly to liberties and rights is a sure way to. lose the race of soul-winning. Many of the Corinthian Christians seriously limited their testimony because they would not limit their liberty. They refused to give up their rights, and in so doing they won few and offended many.

If the Olympic and Isthmian athletes exercised such great discipline and self-control in all things, why cannot Christians, Paul asks. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

In the Isthmian games the prize was a pine wreath. The contestants competed for more than that, of course. The wreath represented fame, acclaim, and the life of a hero. Winners were immortalized, much as they are today. But that “immortality” was just as mortal as the wreath itself, and lasted little longer. Both were perishable.

Christians do not run for a short-lived pine wreath or for short-lived fame. They already have true immortality. They run in order to receive a “crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award… on that day” (2 Tim. 4:8), “an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven” (1 Pet. 1:4). That prize is imperishable.

But the imperishable requires self-control just as the perishable. No Christian will be successful in witnessing, or in anything else worthwhile, without discipline. Every good thing we accomplish—whether in learning, business, artistic skill, marriage, spiritual living, witnessing, or whatever—is accomplished through discipline and self-control.

If an athlete expects to excel, he voluntarily, and often severely, restricts his liberty. His sleep, his diet, and his exercise, are not determined by his rights or by his feelings but by the requirements of his training. Professional athletes today often are highly paid. But the Isthmian games were amateur, as the Olympics are today. Amateur athletes train rigorously for years, often at considerable expense, for the sake of an inexpensive prize and the brief acclaim that goes with it.

The athlete’s disciplined self-control is a rebuke of half-hearted, out-of-shape Christians who do almost nothing to prepare themselves to witness to the lost—and consequently seldom do.

Paul had a purpose in running. He was not without aim. His goal, which he states four times in verses 19-22, was to win as many people to Jesus Christ as possible by as many means as possible.

Changing metaphors, he says that he boxed in such a way, as not beating the air. He did not shadow box; he was always fighting the real fight, “the good fight” (1 Tim. 1:18). He was not just working up a sweat, but engaging in a real battle.

A considerable part of that fight was against Paul’s own body. I buffet my body and make it my slave. Buffet (hupōpiazō) literally means to hit under the eye. He figuratively would give his body a black eye, knock it out if necessary. Make it my slave (doulagōgeō) is from the same root as “made… a slave” in verse 19. Paul put his body into subjection, into slavery to his mission of winning souls for Christ.

Most people, including many Christians, are instead slaves to their bodies. Their bodies tell their minds what to do. Their bodies decide when to eat, what to eat, how much to eat, when to sleep and get up, and so on. An athlete cannot allow that. He follows the training rules, not his body. He runs when he would rather be resting, he eats a balanced meal when he would rather have a chocolate sundae, he goes to bed when he would rather stay up, and he gets up early to train when he would rather stay in bed. An athlete leads his body; he does not follow it. It is his slave, not the other way around.

Paul trained rigorously lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. Here is another metaphor from the Isthmian games. A contestant who failed to meet the training requirements was disqualified. He could not even run, much less win. Paul did not want to spend his life preaching the requirements to others and then be disqualified for not meeting the requirements himself.

Many believers start the Christian life with enthusiasm and devotion. They train carefully for a while but soon tire of the effort and begin to “break training.” Before long they are disqualified from being effective witnesses. They do not have what it takes, because they are unwilling to pay the price. The flesh, the world, everyday affairs, personal interests, and often simple laziness hinder spiritual growth and preparation for service.

Even good things can interfere with the best. Fulfillment of freedoms can interfere with fulfillment of love. Following our own ways can keep others from knowing the Way. Souls are won by those who are prepared to be used when the Spirit chooses to use them.