1 Corinthians 9:19-27 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
In the above focus, Paul expresses how he runs the race of his new life IN CHRIST. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? What prize is Paul seeking? He is seeking eternal peace with God, to hear God say to him, “Enter into my rest my good and faithful servant." Paul is not running the course of his one and only life to hear the praises of men, to receive their accolades, their honor, their gifts. He is competing hard for the praises of God. I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. He understands that his faith IN CHRIST and in the works of Christ transformed him into a new creature, a born-again life. He is no longer in the old man’s skin; he is now covered with the skin of new life. Even though he is in the fleshly body of a man, Paul desires all people to know that he is living a life that emanates from God, a God of love. He no longer follows the dictates of the law, attempting to be pleasing to God through works of his own. No, HE IS FREE; his freedom originates in Christ Jesus and his work on the cross. His good works could never win favor with a righteous and holy God. Everlasting life with God demands complete holiness; not a residue of sin anywhere can be found in eternity. Yes, free in Christ, at home with God himself is Paul’s inheritance. The law that once bound him to the treadmill of good works has been abandoned in Paul’s life. His futile attempt to please a righteous and holy God through his works has been put aside by him. He now with great confidence can say, there is now no condemnation for those who are IN CHRIST JESUS, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4) If Paul does not live by the engine of the law, then what power propels his life to be at peace with God? What power source does he activate to please the Creator? What is the template of his life? The love of God for his creation is his source of power, love that has no restraints. We see the Pharisees bound by good works criticizing Jesus for celebrating with a mixed crowd of sinners at Matthew’s house. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:10-13) For the righteous Pharisees, Jesus was interacting with the scum of the world, the losers within the society of men. They possessed no love for this kind of people. Why hang with them, why laugh and smile in their company? Why enjoy a glass of wine with them? Jesus, don’t you realize who they are? James designated this kind of lack of love as sin. No matter how well you keep the law and its regulations, yet contain favoritism for some over others, you are the worst kind of sinner. As far as God's evaluation of you, you might as well have broken every law that God has ever commanded. If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (James 2:8-10) These supposedly righteous observers and critics of Jesus were under God’s heavy hand of judgment.
In the above focus for today, we see Paul determined to care for all kinds of people. He wishes for them to find Christ, to discover God by faith in Jesus Christ. I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. Paul, the former law-bound Pharisee, was now a man possessed by the love of God for all people. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. In some sense, he was a chameleon, willing to alter his beliefs and behaviors to please others so that he might be successful in winning others to Christ. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. We also see this kind of behavior in Christ. He ministers to many kinds of people. Because of this, the Pharisees were critical of his lifestyle. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” (Matthew 11:19) But the results prove the wisdom of his choice of lifestyle: Jesus met with all kinds of people. He healed many, fed many, taught many; large crowds followed him everywhere. If He would have been selective in his associations, He would not have had such a huge impact on the Jewish society and today in the world. Jesus and Paul were motivated by God’s love for people and they were fulfilling the law of Moses completely. Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40) Paul went to the weak in faith and in body. He brought them strength, encouragement, and healing. The works of his new life IN CHRIST followed him everywhere, even in jail. In Philippi, after an earthquake, the prisoners’ chains fell off of them, setting them free to escape, but Paul encouraged them not to run away, but to stay where they were. The jailer feared that his prisoners had escaped. The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” (Acts 16:29-31) We see the jailer and his household saved because Paul and Silas were in the jail, identified with the weak, the no-accounts of society. God had placed him in that jail so that he could save some, the jailer and his household for sure, but maybe some of the prisoners were saved who experienced the whole scene. These prisoners heard the simple message of redemption. As Jesus said, Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24) We might even assume that some of those prisoners who were eventually freed from jail because of their sentences being up, walked out of that jail possessing a new life IN CHRIST. Paul understood the power of God; he knew the work of the Holy Spirit in restoring people to be right with God, so his message to all people was Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.
On the day of judgment, Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep are the redeemed who lived a life as Paul lived, one of service to God. The sheep lived a life under the banner of God’s love for ALL PEOPLE. Jesus Christ, the eternal shepherd, will separate the sheep from the goats. He knows his sheep, they are part of his fold. He places the goats in one place and his own sheep in another place. Because Jesus is blessed by God, so are his followers, come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ (Matthew 25:34-36) Because Jesus is blessed by God, his fold is blessed by God, for God loves his Son. The sheep follow their shepherd; they know his voice. He has them lie down in green pastures, in his security, and He refreshes them with the water of eternal life. The sheep do not always have an easy life as Paul discovered. Sometimes we would not define our lives as lying in green pastures or by cool waters. But God defines our lives, not us. Paul did everything to benefit others in his life; he became a slave to all people for their benefit and for God’s glory. Jesus revealed clearly the kind of life he desired for his followers. He wrapped a towel around his waist and proceeded to wash his disciples' feet. He was illustrating that He was the servant to all people. Peter protested and said he would not allow his master to wash his feet. Then Jesus said to him, if I do not serve you by washing your feet, you have no part in me and subsequently no part in my my commission for you to go into the world serving others. Friends around this breakfast table, the message of serving is for you as it was for Paul, Peter, and the disciples. You must serve all, not determining who is worth serving and who is not worth serving. In the Old Testament we see three women who probably would not have been worth serving when considering their background, their ethnicity; two were even under God’s judgement such as Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute. God had told the Israelites to kill all Canaanites. However because of her faith in the God of creation, as with the Greek Philippi jailer, Rahab's whole family was delivered from destruction. She became an ancestor of Jesus. Then there is Bathsheba a Hittite woman. God ordered the destruction of the Hittites, for they were residents of Canaan, but Bathsheba, the Hittite, who David took illegally for himself, stealing her from her husband became the mother of King Solomon. Finally, a Moabite woman, not part of God’s chosen people is selected by God to be the great-grandmother of David, whose kingdom will reign forever through Jesus Christ. These three women are not God’s chosen Israelites, but they are part of God’s kingdom as the redeemed. As Paul ran hard to get a crown that will last forever, friends let us run as Paul ran. Let us be with the weak, the hurting, the tired, the weary of life. They need us to be where they are, for we have the bread of life and the refreshing water from the eternal well of life: Christ Jesus! Share what God has given you today and He will increase your supply.
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