Picking Your Fights
1 Corinthians
9:1-23
©Copyright February
3, 2008 by Bruce Goettsche SERIES:
Solving Problems in the
I don’t know from
whom or when I learned the lesson, but it has been one of the most important
pieces of wisdom I have ever gained: you need to learn to pick your
fights. This is not saying you need to
pick fights. This gem of wisdom says you need to decide what you are willing to
fight; what you are willing to risk everything for; and then relax on the other
stuff.
We all know people
who fight about everything. They love to
argue. They fight about politics, sports, the economy, and naturally, even
things in the church. What happens to
these people is that they become marginalized.
People simply don’t pay much attention to them. The fact is, if you fight about everything,
no one will ever take you seriously about anything.
On the other side
of the issue consider the person who generally gets along with everyone. They roll with the punches and don’t make
much of a stink about anything. When
these people become agitated, other people have a tendency to listen to what they
have to say. Their response is “out of
character” so immediately we are attentive to what is happening.
In 1 Corinthians 8
and 9 (and continuing on after that) the Apostle Paul is explaining to us the
spiritual importance of “picking your fights”.
Last week Paul introduced us to this subject by addressing whether or
not Christians should eat meat sacrificed to idols. Basically Paul’s answer to the question was
this: “we have every right to eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols
because idols are nothing. However, if
you encounter people who object to this practice . . . it is not a battle worth
fighting. It is better to give up your
“rights” so you can protect the person who has the weaker conscience.” In other words, it’s not a battle worth
fighting.
This morning as we
move to chapter 9 it may appear that Paul has suddenly changed the
subject. He hasn’t. He is simply illustrating this important
principle.
Paul’s Rights as
an Apostle
From verse 3 we know
that Paul was facing some kind of criticism. In fact, as we read both 1 and 2
Corinthians it appears that Paul had a somewhat stormy relationship with the
church in
What happened to
Paul is a common problem in ministry (and in many other jobs). If you are in a position where you lead
people, you will have people taking shots at you. It is common for people to
criticize the financial aspects of the lives of Christian leaders. You probably have heard people criticize
missionaries for having too many kids (as if it were any of our business!) or
living too extravagantly (even though we would not want to live as they
do). Over the years I have had people
criticize me for purchasing a computer, a new car, and a host of other
things. The mentality seems to be: If I
wouldn’t spend my money this way, you shouldn’t either (even though they would
not allow that same reasoning to be applied the other way). This kind of
scrutiny is no fun, but it is part of serving in a public arena.
In response to his
critics Paul asserted his qualifications as an apostle.
After establishing
his apostolic credentials Paul continues,
Don’t we have
the right to food and drink? 5 Don’t we have the right to take a
believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers
and Cephas? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who
plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does
not drink of the milk? 8 Do I say this merely from a human point of
view? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the
Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”
Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10 Surely he says this for
us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows
and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the
harvest. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much
if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 If others have this right
of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?
Paul asks several
questions that all imply an obvious answer: shouldn’t he be allowed to eat and
drink like everyone else? Shouldn’t he
be allowed to get married and have a family?
Shouldn’t he be entitled to make a living from his work? Of course Paul has a right to these things!
Paul is not
finished. He continues to drive home his
point. He used some contemporary
illustrations. If a person gives himself
to being a soldier for his country, we expect the country to compensate the
soldier and provide for that soldier’s needs.
A person who has a vineyard is certainly entitled to partake of the
grapes or the wine that comes from them.
Even more, the owner of the vineyard is entitled to make money from the
sale of those grapes. We would say, “Of
course!”
Paul continues, He
asks: Isn’t a person who has dairy cows is entitled to enjoy the milk, the milk
byproducts, and the sale of the milk? Shouldn’t
the person who raises livestock be entitled to sell the animals or to butcher
them for his own consumption? Yes
Next Paul turns to
the law. He quotes Deuteronomy 25:4, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading
the grain.” The principle was simple: if
the ox is doing the work, the ox should draw a tangible and material reward for
that labor . . . he should be able to eat from the grain that he is
treading. Paul points out that God
wasn’t just teaching us about oxen, He was giving us a principle of life: you
should be able to gain support from the work that you do.
Paul’s then turns
to the temple in verse 13. The priests
were to be supported through the offerings of the people. Part of an offering at the temple was given
to the priests who worked at the temple to support them. Paul says this proves that the person who
gives himself to the Lord’s work should be sustained through that work.
But why is Paul telling us these
things? Paul argues that based on these
principles, he had a right to collect support from the people of
Don’t you know
that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who
serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14 In the
same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive
their living from the gospel. (13-14)
Was Paul looking
for a pay raise? Nope. Not even close. It’s true that this passage argues that God’s
people should provide materially for those who care for and provide for them
spiritually. However, Paul states that fact as a given. That’s not the point he
was trying to make. Paul is getting ready to tell us about picking our fights.
Why Paul Gave Up
His Rights?
Notice a recurring idea,
Paul had the right to have a wife. (Celibacy was not a requirement for
ministry). Paul however concluded that
he would be able to serve the Lord better if he was single. He would not have been as free to travel if he
was married. Paul felt he could not be
both a faithful ambassador to the Gentiles and be a good husband.
Paul also said he had a right to receive support from the church at
However, there are some who give this stereotype legitimacy. Certain speakers and recording artists have
contracts that have a long list of demands.
They have requirements regarding fees, food, hotel accommodations, phone
service and some even want a certain kind of car to pick them up at the
airport. These people have lost their
credibility immediately because they seem to be doing a job rather than serving
the Lord.
In verse 16 Paul said this was not his motivation. He preached because
he was compelled to preach. He preached
because it was the job that God gave him to do.
He was convinced that the message he had to give to others was the most
vitally important message the world could ever hear: that God wanted a
relationship with them and had provided a way for that to happen through the
person and work of Jesus Christ.
One of the books I read early in my life gave this sage advice to those
who were thinking about Pastoral ministry: If you can do something else; if you
can be happy in some other pursuit . . . . pursue it. If you are truly called to preach you will
never be happy doing something else.”
Paul didn’t take what he rightfully could have expected because he
believed (in this case) that it was better for him to, “offer [the gospel] free
of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.” In other words, Paul had every right to
expect to be taken care of, but because he saw that this might hinder some
people from coming to faith, he gave up that right.
Let me illustrate it from our own church practice. We have a right to pass the offering plate at
every service we have. It is right and
fitting for people to respond materially to spiritual enrichment. A church that takes an offering at every
gathering is not wrong. However, because
we believe that some people feel the church is only concerned about
their money, we have determined that the ONLY time we will take an offering for
the operating expenses of the church is during our Sunday morning worship. We may take up special offerings for a group
or project at special events but we do not collect to pay operating expenses at
any time other than Sunday morning. Any
other service (which often includes visitors) will not include an
offering. Why? Because we want people to
know that we care about them as people more than we do about their money.
Maybe you can think about it another way. We know that a physician may
attend the sick for the highest of motives, even though he/she receives payment
for services. However, when the physician donates his time to the poor or to a
missionary endeavor, their motivation is beyond question. They are obviously not seeking gain for themselves.
Paul gave up fighting about his rights so that he could present the
gospel more effectively. He was (if you
will) picking his fight. He chose to
build a bridge to those who might dismiss the gospel, rather than fight against
those who begrudged him support.
CONTEMPORARY
APPLICATION
Paul continues his
discussion,
Though I am free
and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as
possible. 20 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. 21 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. 22
To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to
all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all
this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Paul is not confessing an unwillingness to take a stand. He is not flip-flopping on issues. What he is
saying is that he is not going to let relatively minor issues become a barrier
that hinder the proclamation of the gospel.
He is saying is that he had learned to pick his fights. He wasn’t going to fight about meat,
circumcision, or favorite teachers. Paul
wasn’t going to fight over whether or not
I believe if Paul (or better yet, Jesus) were standing here they would tell
us that one of the reasons the church of today has lost its power is because it
has forgotten to pick its fights. By protesting
everything, we dilute our message about the most important thing: becoming
followers of Jesus Christ. One of the
reasons our witness is so weak is because we choose to fight about a person’s
appearance, their lifestyle, and even their sexual practices rather than
forgetting about those things for now, so we can focus on what is of first
importance. The world has concluded that
we are narrow-minded and angry people because we are always protesting. We are guilty of trying to make people behave
like Christians before they have even met Christ!
So here is the question: Are you willing to be Christ’s ambassadors as
if Christ were making his appeal through you?
Before you answer this let me ask another question: are you willing to let
the lesser things go for the sake of the gospel message?
Are you willing to overlook these things and build a relationship with
these people? Are you wiling to give up,
Life if filled with
choices. You CANNOT and will not have it
all. You must decide what is most
important and let the other stuff go.
Rather than diluting our energy on lesser things, we must focus on the
main issue: bringing people into a relationship with Christ. Jesus calls us to follow Him without distraction.
So before we
conclude, let me ask another question.
Are you wondering what this Christianity stuff is all about? If so, I want you to know it is not about a
certain political agenda, it is not about reforming society, and it is not
about getting or giving money.
Christianity is about a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ.
God sent Christ into the world to show you and to show me the way home. Jesus gave His life for all the bad things we
have done. He has promised that if we
will turn to Him; if we will put our confidence and trust in Him, He will
forgive us and will give us His Spirit to make us new.
You can become one
of His followers today. Ask Him to apply His salvation to your account. Ask Him to make you new through the work of
His Spirit in your life. If you ask, the
Bible says you will receive. And when
you receive you will discover that your relationship with Him is so wonderful
and significant that many of the other things that used to seem so significant,
are just not worth fighting about.
©Copyright February 3, 2008 by Bruce Goettsche SERIES: Solving Problems in the