What would you give up to allow the gospel to be heard? Would you get a tattoo? Or allow your children to get a tattoo? Could you dress like a modern day Aussie, with tats and nose rings, and ride a bike, if it meant that they would hear the gospel?
Or would you dress like a muslim? Grow a beard, wear traditional muslim women’s clothing, with the head covering? Would you give up the freedom to wear jeans or slacks if you were a girl, or shorts and a tee shirt, if you were a man, if it meant that muslim people heard the gospel? Would you allow your children to grow up in a muslim country? Or even a muslim suburb?
Would you sacrifice some of your children’s western education, if it meant that you could share the gospel? Would you sent your children to a boarding school and not see them? Or your children couldn’t go to the absolutely best school or university, if it meant others hearing the gospel?
Could you change your diet? Become vegetarian, not eat meat. Or what about eat the same boring food every day? If you could cope with it, could you do that to your children, for the sake of the gospel?
Could you lose weight and get under your BMI so that others could hear the gospel?
What would you give up to allow the gospel to be heard? Would you give up drinking alcohol, if it meant that the gospel would get a hearing? Or wear funny clothes, if it meant people could hear the gospel, like a clerical collar, or a surplice? ‘Let the hearer understand’. Or not wear funny clothes, if it meant people could hear the gospel?
Could you make the decision to stay single, if it meant more people could hear the gospel? Or would it effect your choice of the person you married, if it meant more people could hear the gospel? Could you handle not being a parent or a grandparent, if it meant that more people would hear the gospel? Or not seeing your kids or grandkids very much?
Would you allow the opportunity to preach the gospel effect your style of hairstyle or makeup, ladies? Or the sort of clothes you bought or wore? Would you allow being a Christian, gentlemen, effect your style of haircut or clothes?
Could you gentlemen undergo a painful operation like circumcision without anesthetic, if you didn’t have to do it, but doing it meant that others would hear the gospel?
All of these issues are issues of freedom. Christians are free in all of these issues. There is nothing wrong with alcohol per se, though Christians are called not to get drunk. While Christians are called to modesty, styles of clothing or dress don't matter, and often depends more on culture. All food is clean. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, and if it is a matter of freedom, you can do it or not do it. And while in all things we are called to moderation, the Kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink.
Yet I can give examples of Christians who have made decisions about all of these things for the sake of the gospel.
I know of a Christian who lost weight to go overseas to teach the bible. I know of Christians who put up with boring food to preach the gospel. There are plenty of people who wear what we would call muslim clothes for the sake of the gospel. Many missionaries take their children to Africa or Asia, and home school their kids, or send their kids to boarding school, or have their children live in a different culture and adapt to it, for the sake of the gospel. And Christian parents and grandparents don’t see their kids nearly as much, for the sake of the gospel.
All sorts of Christian people have made these sorts of decisions. They didn’t have to. But they do it.
Martin Luther said, ‘A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all'.
And he got it from Jesus, who said, Mark 10:43-44:
whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. (NIV)
And of course, Christians have the perfect example of the free Lord of all being the slave of all. For Jesus himself, the Lord of all, said:
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45 NIV)
Consider Christ. From before the foundation of the world, Jesus has been rich, powerful, and free. Because he was and is God. No one is as free as God. God the Son, as God, is as free as anyone can be. Yet, we read in Philippians 2: 6-8, that Christ:
… being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8 NIV)
We’ve already seen in 1 Corinthians that Christ is our redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). A redemption is the price paid to set a slave or a prisoner of war free. Christ our passover lamb, has been sacrificed (1 Corinthians 5:7). We have been bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23). His death was a sacrifice for our sins, his life was the price to set us free (compare 1 Corinthians 15:3). So we believers have been set free from sin and death and God’s anger (1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 42-58).
You are free, so use your freedom as Christ did, to serve others.
And of course, this is all copying the Apostle Paul, who copied Christ.
Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. (1 Corinthians 9:19 NIV)
Paul voluntary enslaves himself to the service of others. His enslavement is an exercise of Christian liberty. Paul is free from all. He is Christ’s slave. But He is also free for them.
Paul, Apollos, and Barnabas now belong to the church (1 Cor 3:21-22). The Christian is freed from sin to serve. And Paul is thus a slave to the church. He is the minister of the church, serving it with all Christ’s enabling power.
Paul treats himself as a servant of all people, whether Jews, Gentiles, or the church of God. Chapter 9 verse 22:
I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. (1 Corinthians 9:22 NIV)
Again, chapter 10 verses 32 and following:
Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God - even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:32-11:1 NIV)
Motivated by love for the lost, Paul says, I want to save them. So I am flexible in my freedoms. I don’t use all my freedoms. But I make myself a slave to everyone.
And Paul uses three practical examples. Two examples relate to his own freedoms: Paul is free to marry, and free to be financially supported. They are examples of freedoms that Paul has not used. And one example relates to the Corinthians, the presenting issue. Paul talks about their freedoms with regard to food sacrificed to idols.
Paul is free to marry. He has just said that Christians can marry, in 1 Corinthians 7. It is not wrong or sin for a single Christian to marry, if they are otherwise free. In fact, the Apostles were married. The Lord’s brothers, James, and Jude, were married. And Paul says he has the same right. Chapter 9 verse 5:
Don't we have the right to take a believing wife [literally, a sister [as] a wife] along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas? (1 Corinthians 9:5 NIV)
Paul is single. He is unmarried. He and Barnabas don’t take a believing wife along with them. They did not use the right of being free to marry (1 Corinthians 9:12).
Apostles and the Lord’s brothers, and bishops, presbyters and deacons, have the right to be married. They are free not to use that right. But they are also free to use that right. They can be married.
And this is the problem of Roman Catholicism, and to a lesser extent, Orthodoxy. For Roman Catholicism, in the main, does not ordain married men. And if an ordained man gets married, he has to leave the ordained ministry. God gives freedom with one hand, and Romanism enforces that it not be used - they take it with the other. That is their cruel and unnecessary legalism.
Yet, here is Paul saying, ‘I freely go without a wife’. I have the right, says Paul, contrary to Roman Catholicism. Yet, I don’t exercise it. I don’t exercise it for the reasons explained in 1 Corinthians 7, that singleness is better, so I can be given to undivided devotion to the Lord.
And friends, we know of Protestant, Evangelical Christians who have stayed single: John Chapman and John Stott are two. But they were not forbidden from marrying. They simply exercised their freedom to not marry, a freedom that cannot and should not be taken away from them by the church.
Likewise, Paul has the right to receive financial support from the church. Chapter 9 verses 14 to 15:
In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. But I have not used any of these rights. (1 Corinthians 9:14-15 NIV)
Paul has the right to be financially supported by the church. If he were married, his wife too has that right. But he says to the Corinthians, I have not made use of those rights. Paul and Barnabas work for a living (1 Corinthians 9:6).
Two issues of freedom, where Paul has not used his rights. Freedom to marry, but Paul doesn't use it. Freedom to financial support, but Paul doesn’t take it.
And so Paul then addresses the issue the Corinthians needed to know about. Was it OK for Christians to eat meat sacrificed to idols? Much meat was sacrificed to idols, and was later sold in the market. And Paul’s answer is three fold.
First, an idol is nothing and food is no problem. 1 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 4:
So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. (NIV)
The idol is no real god to be afraid of. We have one God and Father and one Lord Jesus. So the false gods are no gods at all.
Again, 1 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 8:
But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. (1 Corinthians 8:8 NIV)
Food doesn’t get you any closer to God. Fish on Friday doesn’t get you any closer to God. Ramadan doesn’t get you any closer to God. Fasting doesn’t get you any closer to God.
And so Paul lays down a broad rule that all food is clean, no matter what people have said over it or spoken over it when it was killed. Chapter 10 verses 25 to 27:
Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it." If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. (1 Corinthians 10:25-27 NIV)
That is the first thing. God is one, and all food is clean. Everything that God made is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
Here is the freedom we have in Christ. A Christian can go to a pagan unbelievers house, and eat their food. You are free.
So for us, if there is hallal meat, it doesn’t matter. Allah is not God, but God our Father is God, together with Son and Spirit. And Father, Son and Spirit give us everything for our good. If someone gives me food and it was offered to a false god, I’m not harmed in anyway. I don’t believe in that false god. I’m not partaking in worshipping that god. I’m just eating food. Because God is the true provider of everything good, and he is to be thanked.
But secondly, while I might be free about this, I am not an island. What other believers think matters to me. And not every believer is free of the pull of idolatry. Just like some believers have no problem with having one or two beers and stopping there, and other believers are pulled into drunkenness. Just like some believers might well be able to minister to prostitutes, but others might be pulled into sexual sin. So some believers are weak regarding idol sacrifices. Some believers have no problem realizing that they are free to eat whatever. But there are weak believers, who feel that they should not eat anything from an idols temple. And if weak believers are troubled by our liberty, that matters to us.
So 1 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 7:
Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. (1 Corinthians 8:7 NIV)
You don’t get to choose your brothers and sisters at church. God chooses them for you. And you have to take them as you find them. They might be so accustomed to idols that eating meat in an idol’s temple, or eating meat that has been sacrificed to idols, reminds them of everything about their pagan life that they’ve left behind. It might be like a Christian alcoholic who sees the minister come out of the pub. Or the Christian person with the gambling problem seeing a Christian come out of the casino or the gambling lounge. And they think, OK, it’s alright for me to get drunk, or to gamble again. 1 Corinthians chapter 8 verses 9 to 13 gives a warning to the strong Christian about the weak Christian. Verses 9 to 13:
Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling-block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall. (NIV)
And so, it is not just a matter of my freedom. It is also a matter of how I exercise my freedom. Because I need to watch out whether others will be led astray. And the weakness of others is a good reason not to exercise your freedom.
Imagine you had a friend who was a recovering alcoholic. It would be pretty thoughtless if you offered him your homebrew, wouldn’t it?
It’s like offering me tim tams when I’ve said I’m on weight watchers. You are free to eat them. But they are not good to me.
So first, you are free to eat whatever, because the false gods are not gods, and all food is clean.
Second, but you need to use that freedom carefully, because there are weaker Christians who you can spiritually hurt. And third, there are some times when you can’t eat. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 20:
…the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. (NIV)
Eating at an unbeliever's home is one thing. But partaking in pagan sacrifices is another. We are not to partner in the sacrifices to demons. If it is a matter of a meal only, we can eat. If it is a matter of religion, or serving their gods, we must not eat.
These things are relevant in a multicultural, multifaith society. So on Hurstville Road I was invited to offer incense to the Buddha. My answer was, thankfully, no! We cannot join with them in the worship of demons.
So we can see that there are limits to our freedom. And the main limit is the law of love. Chapter 10 verse 24:
Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. (1 Corinthians 10:24 NIV)
The limit of liberty is the law of love. We are free, but our freedom is for service of the saints. And even though we are not under the law of God for justification, we still have a law to follow. 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 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. (NIV)
Paul is no longer under the law of Moses and bound to it. He no longer depends on the law of Moses for his justification. By works of the law, meaning good works, no one can be justified. So he now depends on Christ. And he no longer practices all the Jewish ceremonial laws.
But he is still bound by Christ’s law, which is God’s law. While Paul has liberty, he is not a libertine.
And friends, we too are under the law of Christ. The law of love, to love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. Our justification is apart from this law. But we are not exempt from this law either. It is the yardstick by which we serve him. James calls this law, the law of love, the law of liberty. And so it is. For it is a law that teaches us what it is to be truly human. To love God and neighbor is truly human. And to do all that you can to save some is truly a humanitarian work.
Martin Luther said, ‘A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all'.
In 1732, the German Moravian Johann Dober (1706-1766) decided to work among the slaves of the Caribbean so as to preach the gospel to them. While not selling himself into slavery, he worked and preached for just under 2 years before he returned to Europe. He had started a ministry that lasted 50 years and saw 13,000 slaves baptised prior to any other missionaries arriving.
In 1866, Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) and his companions sailed to China, swapping their English clothing for traditional Chinese dress. It was scandalous at the time for English missionaries to dress like Chinese. Taylor shaved his red hair revealing his pale English head, and sported a pigtail. His mission work was responsible, humanly speaking, for more people being converted to Christianity than at any other time since the Apostle Paul.
C T Studd (1860-1931) played cricket for England in the first Ashes test in 1882. Fortunately, he lost. His name is on the Ashes urn. But that’s not why he is famous. He wrote, “Only one life 'twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last.” So he offered himself to Hudson Taylor, likewise donning Chinese dress and a pigtail. He first evangelised China, then India and Africa. His preaching influenced Howard Mowll, later Archbishop of Sydney.
Let’s pray.
8:1Now concerning food offered to idols (Περὶ δὲ τῶν εἰδωλοθύτων): we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up (ἡ γνῶσις φυσιοῖ, ἡ δὲ ἀγάπη οἰκοδομεῖ). 2If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know (εἴ τις δοκεῖ ἐγνωκέναι τι, οὔπω ἔγνω καθὼς δεῖ γνῶναι). 3But if anyone loves God, he is known by God (εἰ δέ τις ἀγαπᾷ τὸν θεόν, οὗτος ἔγνωσται ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ).
4Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols (Περὶ τῆς βρώσεως οὖν τῶν εἰδωλοθύτων), we know that “an idol has no real existence,” [οὐδὲν εἴδωλον ἐν κόσμῳ, an idol is nothing in the world] and that “there is no God but one [οὐδεὶς θεὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς].” 5For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth (καὶ γὰρ εἴπερ εἰσὶν λεγόμενοι θεοὶ εἴτε ἐν οὐρανῷ εἴτε ἐπὶ γῆς,)—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords” (ὥσπερ εἰσὶν θεοὶ πολλοὶ καὶ κύριοι πολλοί)— 6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist [ἀλλ’ ἡμῖν εἷς θεὸς ὁ πατὴρ ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς αὐτόν], and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist [καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς δι’ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς δι’ αὐτοῦ].
7However, not all possess this knowledge [Ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐν πᾶσιν ἡ γνῶσις]. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol [τινὲς δὲ τῇ συνηθείᾳ, custom, ἕως ἄρτι τοῦ εἰδώλου ὡς εἰδωλόθυτον ἐσθίουσιν], and their conscience, being weak, is defiled [καὶ ἡ συνείδησις αὐτῶν ἀσθενὴς οὖσα μολύνεται]. 8 Food will not commend us to God [bring us into God’s presence, βρῶμα δὲ ἡμᾶς οὐ παραστήσει τῷ θεῷ]. We are no worse off if we do not eat [οὔτε ἐὰν μὴ φάγωμεν ὑστερούμεθα, nor do we lack anything if we do not eat], and no better off if we do [οὔτε ἐὰν φάγωμεν περισσεύομεν, for we do not abound if we eat].
9But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak [βλέπετε δὲ μή πως ἡ ἐξουσία ὑμῶν αὕτη πρόσκομμα γένηται τοῖς ἀσθενέσιν]. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge [reclining to eat] eating in an idol’s temple [10ἐὰν γάρ τις ἴδῃ σὲ τὸν ἔχοντα γνῶσιν ἐν εἰδωλείῳ κατακείμενον], will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? [οὐχὶ ἡ συνείδησις αὐτοῦ ἀσθενοῦς ὄντος οἰκοδομηθήσεται εἰς τὸ τὰ εἰδωλόθυτα ἐσθίειν;] 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died [ἀπόλλυται γὰρ ὁ ἀσθενῶν ἐν τῇ σῇ γνώσει, ὁ ἀδελφὸς δι’ ὃν Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν]. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ [οὕτως δὲ ἁμαρτάνοντες εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τύπτοντες αὐτῶν τὴν συνείδησιν ἀσθενοῦσαν εἰς Χριστὸν ἁμαρτάνετε]. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble [διόπερ εἰ βρῶμα σκανδαλίζει τὸν ἀδελφόν μου, οὐ μὴ φάγω κρέα εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ἵνα μὴ τὸν ἀδελφόν μου σκανδαλίσω].
9:1Am I not free? [Οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐλεύθερος;] Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? [οὐ τὸ ἔργον μου ὑμεῖς ἐστε ἐν κυρίῳ; You are my work in the Lord, aren’t you?] 2If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal [ἡ σφραγίς] of my apostleship in the Lord.
3This is my defence to those who would examine me [Ἡ ἐμὴ ἀπολογία τοῖς ἐμὲ ἀνακρίνουσίν ἐστιν αὕτη.]. 4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink? [μὴ οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν φαγεῖν καὶ πεῖν;] 5Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? [μὴ οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν ἀδελφὴν γυναῖκα, a sister [as] a wife, περιάγειν ὡς καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ἀπόστολοι, the rest of the Apostles, καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ Κηφᾶς;] 6Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? [ἢ μόνος ἐγὼ καὶ Βαρναβᾶς οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν μὴ ἐργάζεσθαι;]
7Who serves as a soldier at his own expense [Τίς στρατεύεται ἰδίοις ὀψωνίοις ποτέ;, and pays his own rations]? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? [τίς φυτεύει ἀμπελῶνα καὶ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐσθίει;] Or who tends a flock [shepherds sheep] without getting some of the milk? [ἢ τίς ποιμαίνει ποίμνην, shepherds sheep, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ γάλακτος τῆς ποίμνης οὐκ ἐσθίει;, and does not eat from the milk of the flock]?
8Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? [Μὴ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον ταῦτα λαλῶ ἢ καὶ ὁ νόμος ταῦτα οὐ λέγει;] 9For it is written in the Law of Moses [ἐν γὰρ τῷ Μωϋσέως νόμῳ γέγραπται·], “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain [οὐ κημώσεις βοῦν ἀλοῶντα].” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10Does he not certainly speak for our sake? [μὴ τῶν βοῶν μέλει τῷ θεῷ10ἢ δι’ ἡμᾶς πάντως λέγει;] It was written for our sake [δι’ ἡμᾶς γὰρ ἐγράφη], because the plowman should plow in hope [ὅτι ὀφείλει ἐπ’ ἐλπίδι ὁ ἀροτριῶν ἀροτριᾶν] and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop [καὶ ὁ ἀλοῶν ἐπ’ ἐλπίδι τοῦ μετέχειν]. 11If we have sown spiritual things among you [εἰ ἡμεῖς ὑμῖν τὰ πνευματικὰ ἐσπείραμεν], is it too much if we reap material things from you? [μέγα εἰ ἡμεῖς ὑμῶν τὰ σαρκικὰ, fleshly, θερίσομεν;] 12aIf others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? [Εἰ ἄλλοι τῆς ὑμῶν ἐξουσίας μετέχουσιν, οὐ μᾶλλον ἡμεῖς;]
12bNevertheless, we have not made use of this right [ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐχρησάμεθα τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ ταύτῃ], but we endure anything [ἀλλὰ πάντα στέγομεν] rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ [ἵνα μή τινα ἐγκοπὴν δῶμεν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ].
13Do you not know that [Οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι] those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple [οἱ τὰ ἱερὰ ἐργαζόμενοι, working, [τὰ] ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἐσθίουσιν, they eat the things from the temple], and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings [οἱ τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ παρεδρεύοντες, regularly attending τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ συμμερίζονται; have a share in the altar]? 14In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel [οὕτως καὶ ὁ κύριος διέταξεν τοῖς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον καταγγέλλουσιν ἐκ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ζῆν].
15But I have made no use of any of these rights [Ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ κέχρημαι οὐδενὶ τούτων], nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision [Οὐκ ἔγραψα δὲ ταῦτα, ἵνα οὕτως γένηται ἐν ἐμοί]. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting [καλὸν γάρ μοι μᾶλλον ἀποθανεῖν ἤ τὸ καύχημά μου οὐδεὶς κενώσει]. 16For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting [ἐὰν γὰρ εὐαγγελίζωμαι, οὐκ ἔστιν μοι καύχημα·]. For necessity is laid upon me [ἀνάγκη γάρ μοι ἐπίκειται]. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! [οὐαὶ γάρ μοί ἐστιν ἐὰν μὴ εὐαγγελίσωμαι] 17For if I do this of my own will [εἰ γὰρ ἑκὼν τοῦτο πράσσω, ἑκών, ἑκοῦσα, ἑκον, adj, unforced, voluntary, willing, also Rom 8:20], I have a reward [μισθὸν ἔχω, wage], but if not of my own will [εἰ δὲ ἄκων, if unwillingly, ἄκων, ἄκουσα, ἄκον, contracted from ἀέκων, not of one’s own will, unwilling], I am still entrusted with a stewardship [οἰκονομίαν πεπίστευμαι].
18 What then is my reward [τίς οὖν μού ἐστιν ὁ μισθός; wage]? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge [ἵνα εὐαγγελιζόμενος ἀδάπανον θήσω τὸ εὐαγγέλιον], so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel [εἰς τὸ μὴ καταχρήσασθαι τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ μου ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ, καταχράομαι, I use fully, much, excessively, ill, use up, consume; also 1 Cor 7:31].
19For though I am free from all [Ἐλεύθερος γὰρ ὢν ἐκ πάντων], I have made myself a servant to all [πᾶσιν ἐμαυτὸν ἐδούλωσα, enslave myself], that I might win more of them [ἵνα τοὺς πλείονας κερδήσω].·20To the Jews I became as a Jew [καὶ ἐγενόμην τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ὡς Ἰουδαῖος,], in order to win Jews [ἵνα Ἰουδαίους κερδήσω·]. To those under the law I became as one under the law [τοῖς ὑπὸ νόμον ὡς ὑπὸ νόμον] (though not being myself under the law [μὴ ὢν αὐτὸς ὑπὸ νόμον]) that I might win those under the law [ἵνα τοὺς ὑπὸ νόμον κερδήσω]. 21To those outside the law I became as one outside the law [τοῖς ἀνόμοις ὡς ἄνομος] (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ [μὴ ὢν ἄνομος θεοῦ ἀλλ’ ἔννομος Χριστοῦ]) that I might win those outside the law [ἵνα κερδάνω τοὺς ἀνόμους·]. 22To the weak I became weak [ἐγενόμην τοῖς ἀσθενέσιν ἀσθενής], that I might win the weak [ἵνα τοὺς ἀσθενεῖς κερδήσω]. I have become all things to all people [τοῖς πᾶσιν γέγονα πάντα], that by all means I might save some [ἵνα πάντως τινὰς σώσω]. 23I do it all for the sake of the gospel [πάντα δὲ ποιῶ διὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον], that I may share with them in its blessings [ἵνα συγκοινωνὸς αὐτοῦ γένωμαι, συγκοινωνός, I might become a participant with others, joint partner, takes the genitive of the thing shared in].
24Do you not know that [Οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι] in a race all the runners [οἱ ἐν σταδίῳ τρέχοντες πάντες, all those running in the stadium] run [μὲν τρέχουσιν], but only one receives the prize? [εἷς δὲ λαμβάνει τὸ βραβεῖον;] So run that you may obtain it [οὕτως τρέχετε ἵνα καταλάβητε]. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things [πᾶς δὲ ὁ ἀγωνιζόμενος πάντα ἐγκρατεύεται]. They do it to receive a perishable wreath [ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὖν ἵνα φθαρτὸν στέφανον λάβωσιν], but we an imperishable [ἡμεῖς δὲ ἄφθαρτον]. 26 So I do not run aimlessly [ἐγὼ τοίνυν οὕτως τρέχω ὡς οὐκ ἀδήλως]; I do not box as one beating the air [οὕτως πυκτεύω ὡς οὐκ ἀέρα δέρων]. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control [ἀλλ’ ὑπωπιάζω μου τὸ σῶμα καὶ δουλαγωγῶ, I beat up my body and enslave it], lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified [μή πως ἄλλοις κηρύξας αὐτὸς ἀδόκιμος γένωμαι, become rejected].