Do you have an avocation? I don’t mean a hobby you play at – or a job you work at – but something that really interests you – something you’ll spend hours and hours working on, even when you don’t have to?
For some people its fishing – they not only have specific flies to catch specific fish in specific streams – but they actually make them themselves and go to places where people talk about nothing but how to make better flies. For you it might be sewing, or decorating, or even exercise. When I was a kid my interest was in two things – model trains and spaceflight.
An avocation is something you feel compelled to do – that you enjoy doing just for the sheer joy of the activity – and probably something that you spend more on than you bring in from!
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have the Lord as your avocation? That might seem silly to think about at first – but in many ways that was the Apostle Paul’s avocation. It was something he committed to, and expended his own resources to do, something where he was always surrounding himself with others whom he could relate the gospel to – and something he was always trying to excel in.
So today in chapter 9, we’re going to explore having the Lord as your avocation – finding the best fit for you, fitting in with others, and becoming fit to excel in His service.
This is a continuation of Paul’s argument from chapter 8 – that even though we have rights and freedom in Christ, we don’t always exercise them if it means we can avoid hurting, and help build one another up.
1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? 2 Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
Paul was an apostle – he could say that because he fulfilled the requirements of an apostle – having seen the Lord face to face after His resurrection, commissioned specifically by Jesus, and with miracles attesting to the apostleship.
Not everyone thought of Paul as an apostle – but the fruit of what Paul did in Corinth is one of the proofs of that position.
Some people claim today that they are apostles. There was even a movie out called “The Apostle.”
Ephesians 4:10-11 says “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers”
Unlikely that anyone today can make that claim. However, if you think of an apostle as a church planter – with a small “a” then you’ll be all right.
The Corinthians claimed that Paul wasn’t an apostle partly because he was not a full-time vocational minister.
3 This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. 4 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? 6 Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?
Paul says – I have a right to be paid – just because I choose to work making tents and not charge you for my services doesn’t make what I do invalid. Bi-vocational ministry is certainly valid – I do it, and so do many others in the body of Christ. Paul says I could be paid, but I choose not to. But that also doesn’t negate vocational ministry either:
7 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? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 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.
So – there is nothing wrong being paid for ministry – there is nothing wrong with volunteering for ministry. A key here is verse 12 – Paul says if by getting paid he hinders the gospel, then he will do it for free. I think this shows that the heart of Paul’s calling was to do what God wanted him to do, whether he got paid or not. That certainly is a good way to test your motivations if you are in vocational ministry. Would you still do it if you didn’t get paid?
And I think it’s a good thing for all of us to realize – what if you got no benefit at all from what you do for the Lord – no monetary, spiritual, emotional – no benefit at all. Would you still do it?
But Paul’s point here isn’t to guilt them into paying him.
15 But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast. 16 Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.
Paul is compelled to preach. Are we compelled to do what God has called us to do? It reminds me of: Jeremiah 20:9
“But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot.”
I know for myself that God has called me to teach and lead worship. I can’t help do that, and monetary remuneration doesn’t really factor into the equation.
Now what being paid does do is free up more time, to do more of what God has called you to do. So there may come a time when you become a full time missionary, or a pastor, or other worker in full time ministry – make sure, though, that it doesn’t just become a job – make sure God’s call is still a “fire in your bones.” If the money becomes the object – its time to move on.
He’s describing a way of life in ministry – free to work, free to get paid – making the choice for whatever is best for the kingdom of God. Next, Paul takes that principal to a new level:
19 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.
The idea here is to understand the world view of others. The Jews understood God in a way different than the gentiles – so Paul’s approach is different. To a philosopher you approach the gospel in a way different than to a biker.
When Moses asked God His name in the desert – God said “Tell them I AM sent you.” “I AM” means “the becoming one.” God becomes what we need – and His message becomes what every person needs right from where they are. That’s why shouting at people the words in the Bible isn’t the most effective way to evangelize. But getting to know someone – that they lost their father when they were young for instance – can open up discussions about how God wants to be the Father we never knew. Look for those opportunities.
Next, Paul takes this driven quality about preaching and applies it to how we should live our lives in Christ:
24 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. 25 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. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
A note here- when Paul says “disqualified” he’s not saying that his eternal salvation is at stake. Another way to interpret the sentence is saying that he doesn’t want God to say he can’t run – can’t preach. It’s like when there is a false start in the race, and the runners get called back or the one who went first is disqualified from racing. Paul so badly wants to “run” in this race of sharing life with others that he doesn’t want to do anything to keep him from being effective, and he wants to do his best to prepare so he can maximize his effectiveness for the Lord.
Corinth was the site of the second largest athletic competition in the world at that time. So these folks would have understood – watching an athlete prepare for competition. It takes dedication, it takes concentration, it takes wanting to win more than anything else.
I’ve been exercising lately – on a treadmill – and man, it’s hard to keep going for 20 minutes solid. I want to quit after the first five. I have to really keep concentrating till I get over that hump and can last the whole time. I don’t just get on the thing and set it at 2 miles an hour either – I work it.
Athletes compete for a prize that doesn’t last – but as Christians we need to run our race to win – for a prize that will never go away. What does Paul mean?
James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
There are rewards, like the crown of life, coming to those who run the race – who persevere under trials, who are obedient to the Lord even to their own hurt. A few weeks ago I mentioned the judgment seat of Christ. In chapter 3 Paul talks about how what we build for the Lord will be judged. That which we did for ourselves will burn away – but that which we did for Him will remain.
At that time Jesus will hand out rewards, crowns. We don’t know the nature of the rewards – some have suggested that we don’t even keep them but throw those crowns down at the feet of Jesus (Revelation 4:10-11).
But I think what Paul is saying here is that the reward we run for is the reward of being obedient to what God has called us to do, and seeing the fruit of that obedience in the lives of others – to see people saved or encouraged or healed.
Conclusion
1. How does God’s work fit you?
Have you given much thought to what God has called you to do? I don’t mean necessarily some grand scheme He’s laid out – but have you thought about your place in the body of Christ? What do you like to do, what are you good at, what areas of your life has the Lord touched that could encourage or heal others? All these questions can help you figure it out.
2 Corinthians 5:20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
We are all envoys of the King of Kings – but just how we bring His message of peace and reconciliation through Jesus is between us and God. We shouldn’t feel guilty because we get paid – nor should we feel compelled to go into “vocational” ministry because we are “just” a volunteer.
• Live a dependent life on God, and an independent life of others in order to do God’s work (vs 1-18)
2. How do you fit in with others as you share the gospel?
Do you have a preconception of what a person who belongs to God should be like? The Jews of Jesus’ day sure did – and they were wrong. Much of what we think of as “Christian” is really cultural, not spiritual.
It’s vital that we go back to matters of internal character, rather than external appearance or world view as we go about doing God’s work.
• Live a dynamic life when it comes to preaching the gospel (vs 19-23)
3. How fit are you in your spiritual walk to do the best job possible?
Knowing what God wants us to do and being relevant to the people around us doesn’t just come naturally. It takes creating a vibrant relationship with God – a transparent relationship to Him, allowing Him to examine and cleanse and mature you – then you can have a powerful effect on those who do not yet know God.
2 Tim 2:15-16 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (or “study to show thyself approved unto God…”)
The words “do your best” come from a Greek word that translates: be earnest, use all dispatch, be diligent, to make an effort.
My encouragement is to us all is to ask God for such a love – a love for Him and love for the lost – that we discipline ourselves like Paul – let God work in you, and take the time and effort to learn about Him so you can be ready to run when the gun goes off.
• Lead a disciplined life for the Lord (vs 24-27)
