How Does The Burden of the Gospel Affect Us?

The Burden of the Gospel

© 2024 C. O. Bishop

1st Corinthians 9:1-19

1 Am I am not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.

Mine answer to them that do examine me is this,

Have we not power to eat and to drink? Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working?

Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? For it is written in the law of Moses, thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?

Application of Old Testament Truth in New Testament Practice

10 Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. 11 If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?

12 If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.

13 Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? 14 Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.

15 But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void. 16 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!

17 For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. 18 What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.

19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.

Introduction:

Wherever the Gospel went, there were various responses. The most common response was (and still is) rejection. But, among those who seem to receive the Gospel, there is a wide range of “receptions.”

Some claim to believe the message, and they verbally agree with every point of the message. But when it gets “close to home,” so to speak, then they begin to argue. If the message requires a change in their beliefs or their behavior, they balk. They say, “Well, I don’t see it that way! I don’t think that is what it really means!”

The false believers attack the messengers as the arguments become more intense. They question the credentials of the messenger. If that doesn’t work, they attack his or her looks, mannerisms, grammar, or some other (equally irrelevant) thing. If the message is true, it does not (should not) matter who brings the message. It doesn’t matter whether you “like” that messenger.

God did not tell us what the accusations against Paul were. We can deduce from his defense what the various attacks might have been.

Appearance Is Not A Good Criterion for Judgment

Appearance is not an accurate predictor of the content of books, nor the expertise of teachers. The adage, “Never judge a book by its cover” is especially true in teachers. Our society has taught us to think that, “If a person looks good, they must be good. If they look trustworthy, they must be trustworthy.”

This is not peculiar to our society: God prophesied against the Jews, that they would do the same. Isaiah 3:6, 7 …. a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:

In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people.”

In that prophecy, one person attempts to nominate another for public office, because he looks good, and has appropriate clothing. But. the response is shallow, too. The man says that his outward appearance is deceptive: that he is truly destitute, so he declines to rule.

But when has physical wealth ever been a good predictor of leadership quality? Both outlooks are wrong! Remember Nabal: He was very wealthy, but he was an utter, self-centered fool.

Grammar and Accent are Also Undependable

Rudy Johnson was a humble and a truly Godly man. He was one of my best teachers. But, he had an odd speech impediment that made it very difficult for him to pronounce words correctly. He did not allow it to stop him, though it engendered a good deal of humor amongst those who heard him. Some people meant it as good-natured humor, but some were derisive.

Some simply enjoyed what seemed to be just a dialectic peculiarity, because he also had a deep southern accent. But others rejected him because “he can’t even talk right!”

I enjoyed him immensely, but I did not find out until years later that his garbled speech was due to some medical anomaly. He and his wife both assured me that he wanted to pronounce words correctly, but he was unable to do so. It was frustrating to him, but he served faithfully anyway.

Orthodoxy is Not Necessarily a Guarantee of Godliness

The word “orthodox” simply means “having correct opinions,” or “teaching correctly.” But a person may recite a creed correctly without believing it. They “parrot the words.” They learned the words. But they have not applied the meaning of those words to their own lives.

I have known blatantly ungodly individuals who could correctly quote scriptures and teachers who could correctly teach through a given passage of scripture, though they, themselves, were not believers, and did not believe the Bible was the Word of God. It was “literature” to them.

They had “correct opinions” about what the Bible said, but no personal commitment to those truths. So, at best, a person who chose to pursue the “job” of preaching, because he saw it as a “reasonably well-paid job, with minimal real work,” is a hireling. He may superficially believe that the Bible is “true,” but he does not allow it to direct his life. He may have learned “correct information” only because he saw it as a means by which to “get the job.” But, at worst, he may be a charlatan, hoping to “fleece the flock of God.” Money may be his only motive.

Remember, the Priests and the Pharisees were “orthodox” as a rule, but they hated Jesus, and they had zero care for His flock. They only wanted the prosperity and honor that came along with their social status.

So, Why Did People Reject Paul?

Appearance, Perhaps?

Paul had gone through some pretty savage treatment at the hands of unbelieving Jews, in the weeks or months just before he first arrived in Corinth. (Acts 14, 16 and 17)

Stoned

The people at Lystra (Acts 14:19) stoned Paul. They thought they had killed him. But he eventually got up and walked back into the city, and he left the next day. He suffered some serious injuries in that attack, for sure: possibly permanent disfiguring marks and scars.

Beaten

The magistrates at Philippi savagely beat Paul and Silas in Acts 16:22, 23. He and Silas were probably still bleeding from that beating when they came to Thessalonica. (His arrival there was only a few days after the Philippian Jailer had dressed his wounds and those of Silas.)

At Thessalonica, there was a riot and a revival, in response to the Gospel. Many had believed the Gospel, but the unbelieving Jews stirred up a mob of Gentiles and made an attack on the house where Paul had been staying. Paul wasn’t there at the moment, though; and the believers sent him away for his safety and theirs. He had only been in Thessalonica for about three weeks.

Paul then went to Athens, but only stayed a short while. He preached there, but he had very little fruit, so he left and went to Corinth. And, there, he preached only Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.

As a result of all of the above, he arrived in Corinth looking “pretty rough.” We don’t know just how badly he was wounded in the stoning at Lystra, but we suspect there were severe head wounds, and later, it is revealed that his eyes were affected. We can’t prove it was because of the stoning at Lystra, but it seems likely. So… the people who eventually argued against Paul had his appearance to use for “ammunition,” if they chose to do so.

In reality, those scars should have been seen as emblems of integrity: Paul had endured the stoning and the beatings, and he continued to teach, wherever he went. (People don’t usually do that for a message they know to be a lie.) See his comment about those scars in Galatians 6:17.

Language, Mannerisms, and Motives?

Paul was a Jew from Tarsus, so whatever stigma that added could be used as well. His detractors were local, whether Jews or Gentiles, so they may have seemed more attractive to their audience simply because they spoke in the same way as their hearers. (They sounded less “foreign.”)

Further, Paul says he came to them determined to “…know nothing except Christ and Him Crucified.” (1st Corinthians 2:1, 2) His detractors had no such limitation, and some of them (we see later) were professional orators. Paul was simply giving the truth of the Gospel.

Unorthodox Teaching

Unlike the Judaizers, Paul was preaching the Gospel of Christ, which eliminated the “partition” between Jews and Gentiles. So, to both the Jews and the Gentiles, Paul seemed to be teaching “strange doctrines.” Had they listened closely (and some did) they would have learned that this “new doctrine” was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. In other words, it was not “unorthodox,” in the truest sense. It was just “unusual:” They had never heard it before.

Unorthodox Behavior

Also, unlike other “traveling teachers,” Paul was not “taking up a collection.” He was not demanding anything in return for the message he proclaimed.

There is a common notion that something of lesser “price” must therefore be of lesser “worth.” It is a common idea today, too. “There must be a reason it is free, or offered at such a low price!” “You get what you pay for!” “Yes, you got it for free and it has been worth every penny!”

We know the price of something without knowing its value. Notice that the words “priceless” and “valueless” have opposite meanings.

So, the fact that Paul refused to be a burden to his listeners may have been one of the things used as an accusation against him.

Corrective Teaching

Paul pointed out that he DID have the right to expect support from those he taught, but that he chose to forego that right, so as not to burden these new believers.

He pointed out that the other apostles were married, and were supported, but that he had chosen to serve single, and to support his ministry by physical work. (As a tentmaker with Aquila and Priscilla, there in Corinth. Acts 18:1-3) They saw him working, supporting himself and his entourage, and they jumped to the wrong conclusion that he had less credibility and authority than the traveling teachers who perhaps rented an auditorium and then charged admission fees to attend. In verse 18, he said that would have been an abuse of his authority.

Paul confirmed that it was ordained by God in the Old Testament that the teachers and leaders were to be supported by those of the flock.

Pauls Motive in Declining Pay

But, in verses 15-18, he said that he would sooner die than have his testimony destroyed by such a small issue. He went on to say that his assignment was to preach the Gospel of Christ, whether he did so willingly or unwillingly. If he worked willingly, there was a reward coming! But, if he was unwilling, the assignment did not change: You see, he saw the preaching of the Gospel as his only job. And if he failed to do it, he was in trouble with the Lord!

Remember in verse one, he said, “Am I not free?” (meaning, “I am not your slave!”) But he concludes in verse 19 that though he truly was free from bondage to any human, he counted it a privilege and a reward, to offer the Gospel of Christ free of charge. Therefore, he willingly became the servant (slave) of all people so that he might reach more people with the Gospel.

We would do well to emulate that attitude, ourselves.

Lord Jesus, please allow us to emulate Your Humility as described in Philippians chapter two, and empty ourselves of our incessant demand for recognition. Let us lay aside our “rights” and our self-aggrandizement and our self-affirmation, and offer Glory only to You!

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