Series: Do You Not Know?
Sermon: Denying Self For the Sake of the Gospel
Text: 1 Corinthians 9:3-14.
Introduction:
Have you heard of the mischievous monkey? He was running loose and getting into people’s houses and stealing food. Try as they may, the town’s people could not capture the monkey. One man had an idea. He got a very large jar with a very narrow neck and put some peanuts in the jar. The monkey noticed the jar and looked inside. He reached his hand into the jar to grab the peanuts, but with his fist clenched tightly, he could not remove his hand from the jar. But he refused to let go of his prized catch and so he was captured.
Aren’t we sometimes a lot like that monkey? We’re that way with our rights. We are unwilling to relinquish our rights, even when the cost of holding on is too great.
Lesson:
The Nature of Rights.
We live in a culture deeply concerned with rights. We have legal rights. Our constitution grants us certain rights. The first ten amendments are called the “Bill of Rights.” We have the right to practice any religion we choose without governmental interference. We have the right to speak freely against government policies. We have the right to bear arms, etc. The courts have determined that we have additional rights not delineated by the constitution, such as the right to privacy. Some of our elected officials seem to believe that there is a right to hide evidence of wrongdoing in their congressional offices. In Acts 25:11 Paul appealed to his rights as a Roman citizen to have his case heard by Caesar. We have human rights. Hospital patients have the “Patient’s Bill of Rights”. Taxpayers have the “Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights”. There’s Women’s Rights and Children’s Rights and even Animals have rights. One of the most important rights is the right to life; yet this most basic of human rights is being denied to the weakest members of our society; those can not speak up for themselves, the unborn children being aborted on an unprecedented scale.
As Christian’s we believe that ultimately the most important of these rights come from God. We have been created by God in the image of God. Because you, my brother or sister, have been created in God’s image I owe you a certain amount of respect. Human life has dignity because we have been made in God’s image. We are not mere animals. We are God’s special creation.
The Right to be Paid.
In the scripture under consideration this evening, Paul lays out the case for the right to be paid for one’s labor. Paul is establishing the right for those who labor in the gospel to receive their living from the gospel. I believe the case could be made for other endeavors as well, but Paul is limiting his case because his right to earn his living from the gospel has been called into question.
Paul’s appeal to human authority and natural law. Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Slaves do not make very good soldiers; they are more likely to cut and run. Consider for a moment our own soldiers. We have an all volunteer army. We pay our soldiers. Not very well, considering; but they are paid. They put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms from tyrants who have no qualms about stripping us of our rights or violating our rights. We owe our soldiers more than money could ever pay. We considerate a duty to pay our soldiers.
Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? A farmer plants his crops in expectation of the harvest. He has a right to expect something for his efforts. Sometimes his efforts are fruitless, too much rain, not enough rain, many other conditions can lead to crop failure. Yet who would plant, knowing that there would be no harvest. I believe that what Paul is alluding to is taxation. There would be revolt and revolution if the government had a 100% tax. We complain then the sales tax goes from 5 to 5.5 percent. Or is the income tax goes from 15 to 20 percent. Or when property taxes go up a fraction. In 2006, Tax Freedom day was April 26th. That means from January 1 to April 26, everything you’ve earned has gone to pay your taxes. This past week I had to rent a car. I got a great rate at $15 per day; $60.00 for the four days I would need it. But when I got the bill, it was over $90.00! Tax on a rental car at the Atlanta Airport is over 50%. But 50% is a whole lot better than 100%!
Who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Is that too much to ask? Someone has been tending the flock for you all day long. Would you begrudge them a glass of milk? Would that be right? Would that be fair? Listen to what James says to those who are not adequately paying their workers: 1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. (James 5:1-6).
Paul’s appeal to the Law. “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” This comes from Deuteronomy 25:4. Right between the maximum penalty of 40 stripes for an offense worthy of the punishment of beating and just before the laws for Levirate marriage. It seems a bit out of place. Anyway, what’s that got to do with it? Paul points out that God is more concerned with human beings than he is with oxen. In fact, what Paul says here is that when God commanded that the oxen not be muzzled he did so not because he was concerned about the ox, but that he was concerned about human beings. Look again at verse 10. The various translations say that this was done “assuredly” or “altogether” or “entirely” for our sake! Paul indicates that this verse about oxen was written for the plowman and the thresher as well as for the ox. Paul then asks, “Is it too much to apply these things spiritually?” If someone has benefited you spiritually, is it too much to ask that they are repaid in material ways? Do you see how Paul is reasoning with them?
Paul’s appeal to precedence. “If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more?” To deny that Paul, in particular, or any one, in general, has no right to be blessed materially for the efforts he has made to bless others spiritually is to deny, in principle, what they have already accepted as common practice. A friend of mine once suggested that a preacher’s compensation be based on the contributions of those whom he converted, kind of like a “Network Marketing” system—Amway or Shaklee style. How fast would the church grow if you got paid commissions for every convert. And overrides on the converts of your converts. I imagine that evangelism might explode, at least for a while. I think he was just joking about this, but I’m not sure. Nor am I suggesting such a pay scale! Paul points out the precedence from the Old Testament priesthood. Here is where we find our “Do you not know” saying in verse 13. The priests get their food from the temple. Part of the sacrifices of the peace offering were reserved to provide for the priests (Leviticus 7:28-36).
The Right to Give Up Your Rights.
In Paul’s case, he decided not to take full advantage of his rights. Why did Paul give up his right to be paid? He didn’t want to put an obstacle in anybody’s way. I think my friend’s compensation “scheme” might be an obstacle to someone becoming a Christian. You’d have to wonder, “Are you doing this because you care about me or because you care about the money.” I am so tired of seeing these scam artists passing themselves off as preachers trying to get you to send them your money; yet some people are gullible to their schemes. Paul wanted his reward for preaching the gospel to be that he do so free of charge. He made himself a servant to all. To the Jews he became a Jew. To the gentiles he became as a gentile. To the weak he became weak. His goal: to win as many as possible, to share in their spiritual blessing.
How did Paul give up his right to be paid? Sometimes he worked as a tent-maker or a leather craftsman. Other times he received support from other congregations.
Are there other reasons a person should give up his right to be paid? I believe so. Sometimes it’s hard to say some things that need to be said when those who need to hear it are those who give you your paycheck. I strongly believe that those who earn their living from the gospel ought to have other job skills for situations such as this. Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that if the church here or its leadership is doing something wrong, I won’t sit silently by. That may cost me my job, but I believe I owe you that. I have to stand up for what I believe is right, regardless of who it is that’s in the wrong. I hope and trust that this will never happen here. But it can happen. I have a friend who is in full time ministry. The leaders (they didn’t have elders) relieved him of his duties and the next week they had women leading the assembly and instrumental music. He now drives a school bus and has started another congregation.
Are there other times when we should set aside our other rights? We must set aside the right to take your brother in Christ to court. Sometimes we ought to set aside the right to divorce an unfaithful spouse. For every right that is given to us by God there is probably some circumstance when it is best not to insist on our rights, but to cling to the righteousness of God, cling to God’s protection, his mercy and his grace.
Conclusion
Even God set’s his rights aside from time to time. When you sin against God, he has the right to condemn you to hell for all eternity, but he offers grace instead. He has the right to close his eyes and stop his ears from your pleas for mercy, yet he sees your condition and listens to your prayers. He had the right to stay in heaven and leave our sin unatoned for, yet he came to this earth, endured the shame and torture of the cross to give you life; and not just a meager existence, but an abundant life. God set his own rights aside for you. How will you respond? Will you insist on your rights at the expense of a soul that could be saved? Or will you, like the Apostle Paul, become all things to all people so that by all means you might win some?
Invitation
