The Right Reasons for Sacrificing Rights
April 30, 2023
KEY SCRIPTURE
1 Corinthians 9
1 Corinthians 9:1-2
Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? 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.
You Are Free to Exercise Your Rights Within God’s Guardrails
1 Corinthians 9:8-14
Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 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? 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. If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 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. 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? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
Financial Compensation is Necessary and Appropriate for Vocational Ministers
1 Corinthians 9:14
In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
2 Corinthians 9:7
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
1 Corinthians 19-23
For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 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. 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. 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. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
You May Need to Change Your Ways in Order to be an Effective Christian
Gallup News
-Only 31% of Americans attend services weekly or nearly weekly; 67% did as a child.
-Only 38% of Americans who attended regularly as a child attend regularly now.
-Most nonreligious Americans are uninterested in exploring religion.
“The majority of those who say they went to church frequently
as children attend infrequently, if at all, as adults.”
(December 21, 2022; Jeffrey M. Jones)
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
The Ability to Give Everything to Jesus Depends on Your Spiritual Maturity