Practical Ministry Training

I Corinthians 9-10

“Preacher’s Rights?” (9:1-18)
The ninth chapter is all about Paul’s status as an apostle. To be an apostle, you had to have seen Jesus in the flesh. Paul did not do that, but he did have a special encounter with Christ on the Damascus road. He is an apostle of a different sort. Paul obviously tires of being a bi-vocational minister, part tent-maker and part apostle. Those churches that pay their preachers tend to use chapter nine, verses 7-14 as their support. Historically, the priests were always sustained by the food and money given by the people at the temple. Paul sees himself and the other apostles in a similar role. Yet, he himself does not get paid for his service to the gospel. Famous preachers like Joel Osteen and Rick Warren do not take salaries from their churches. Instead, their book sales have paid them much more than their churches ever could. This also allows them to be absolutely free to preach what they wish to preach and lead the way they wish to lead.

“Go! Fight! Win!” (9:19-27)
When I was a District Superintendent there was a traveling gift given among them. If you received “Winnie” (a rainbow colored stuffed bear), then you could award it to another superintendent. Winnie was so named because there was a district superintendent who described every pastor in his district as “winsome.” I received “Winnie” when I became pastor at St. Luke’s. I later passed the bear to Lewis Holland when he was appointed to Plainview. And with the bear I attached I Corinthians 9:19-22: “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law, so as to win those under the law. To those not have the law I became like one not having the law, so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might WIN SOME.”

Paul finishes his “win some” speech with the illustration of Olympic competition. We do fight to win in the Christian faith, but it is not for a crown or a belt, but rather for the winning of lost people for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Winning people for Christ takes intentionality, time, persistence and effort. What are you doing and who are you sharing Christ with? May you “win some.” Maybe I need to get a rainbow-colored bear for our class.

“Learning from History” (10:1-13)
The history of the children of God, Jew and Gentile is mixed at best. Paul mentions three kinds of sin to which the Israelites fell: idolatry, sexual immorality and grumbling against God. Is there any denying that human beings are prone to do all three of these kinds of sin? Therefore, we are to be diligent over the quality of our lives in following Jesus.

The rest of chapter 10 continues the discussion on eating food sacrificed to idols. As Christians we are free, but we are also responsible. In Paul’s words, “Everything is permissible, but not everything is constructive.