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Gospel Attitudes |
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Gospel Attitudes |
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Dr. Baldwin, who was pastor of a church for forty-one years, says, "With another, I testify that at thirty, after examining as best I could the philosophies and religions of the world, I said, 'Nothing is better than the Gospel of Christ.' At forty, when burdens began to press heavily, and years seemed to hasten, I said, 'Nothing is as good as the Gospel.' At fifty, when there were empty chairs in the home, and the mound builders had done me service, I said, 'There is nothing to be compared with the Gospel.' At sixty, when my second sight saw through the delusions and vanities of earthly things, I said, 'There is nothing but the Gospel.' " At seventy, amid many limitations and deprivations, I sing:
In verses 14-23, Paul mentions the "Gospel" nine times. It doesn't take one long as they look at the life of Paul to realize the importance of the Gospel to his life. The word "gospel" speaks of a good message that has been delivered. The gospel is the good news. What is this good news? It is the news that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again from the dead. Paul declared in I Corinthians 15:1-2, "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved…" The Gospel is the saving message of Jesus Christ. As you look at the passage before us we see how Paul viewed this message in his life. We see his "Gospel Attitudes" or the attitude he had concerning his ministry and the gospel. He states in verse 32 that the life the lived was for the "gospel's sake." Let's notice these "Gospel Attitudes." First, Paul speaks of: 1. PREACHING THE GOSPEL In verse 14,16, and 18 Paul mentions the matter of preaching the Gospel. There are two particular words that Paul used for preaching. In verse 14 he used a word that means to proclaim. Preaching is a proclamation of the Word of God. A biographer of G. Campbell Morgan said of him, "He believes in having a text and defining his theme. He thinks that if a man quotes a text at the beginning of his sermon and then wanders miles away from it he is not preaching, he is just talking." I agree. Preaching is the proclaiming of God's Word. It is telling people what the Bible says. It is bringing people to an understanding of the Word of God. In verse 16 and 18, Paul used a word for preaching that means, "to announce good news." Preaching is not only a proclamation of the Word of God but also an announcement of the way to God. J.H. Jowett said concerning preachers, "We are not appointed merely to give good advice, but to proclaim good news." Preaching is telling people how to be saved. It is telling people that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again that they might be saved through His finished work. Preaching the Gospel was the great task upon Paul's heart. This was a driving force behind his ministry. Notice how Paul described his ministry of preaching the Gospel. First, he says that: A. He Was Chosen To Preach The Gospel Paul said in verse 16, "For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of." Paul was saying that in himself, he had nothing of which he could boast. He was not a preacher because he deserved to be a preacher or had met some "ministerial" qualification. The only reason he was a preacher of the gospel was because God had chosen him. He had not chosen the ministry. The ministry had chosen him. The truth is, none of us can boast in and of ourselves when it comes to anything God does in our life or through our life. It is all a matter of the grace of God that has been experienced and the gifts of God that have been distributed. All of us must say with Paul, "But by the grace of God I am what I am" (I Cor.15:10). We may glory in the gospel, but we cannot glory for the gospel. Secondly, he says that: B. He Was Compelled To Preach The Gospel Paul also said in verse 16, "for necessity is laid upon me." The word "necessity" speaks of being constrained or compelled. Paul was a man under compulsion. The word "laid" speaks of that which is imposed upon a person. Paul was not only saying that he had chose the ministry, but that it was not something he had necessarily wanted to do. Occasionally I hear of someone who wants to be a preacher. Most of the preachers I know did not necessarily want to preach. It was not something they decided to do or desired to do. As for Paul, he met the Lord on the road to Damascus and shortly thereafter God put him into the ministry. He didn't ask Paul if he would like to preach or wanted to preach. He chose him, called him, and compelled him to preach. When it comes to God's will for all of our lives, it is not a matter of pick and choose. It is a matter of being submissive to what God has designed for our life, desires for our life, and directs in our life. Thirdly, he says that: B. He Was Committed To Preaching The Gospel Paul adds in verse 16, "yea, woe is me, if I preach not the gospel." Paul realized that there would serious consequences in his life if he did not do what God had called him to do. The word "woe" carries with it the ideal of painful and tragic results. He says in verse 17, "For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me." Paul was saying that if he did what God called him to do willingly, there was a reward. But even if it were not what he wanted to do, he must do it because it was something committed to him. The phrase "a dispensation of the gospel" describes the management of a house. The preaching of the gospel was his role as a believer and he had was under responsibility. Again, Paul knew that if he did not do what God had assigned and appointed for him to do, there would serious consequences. The truth is, God has a will for every believer. It may not be the preaching of the Gospel as it was in Paul's life, but none-the-less each has a certain assignment. It is always a serious matter when one disobeys the will of God for their life. Each believer can say, "Woe is me if I don't do God's will." Secondly, Paul spoke of: 2. PROTECTING THE GOSPEL In the previous study (Vs.1-14), we saw how Paul defending his rights to be paid as a preacher. But we read in verse 15, "But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me." Paul says that I did not demand my rights and he did not explain his rights so they would do something for him. He had forfeited his rights as far as these Corinthian believers were concerned. There was a reason he had done so. First, there was: A. The Fear Of Paul He states in verse 15 that he had forfeited his rights because he did not want to make his "glorying void." Paul gloried in the fact that he had preached the gospel without mixed or impure motives. A fear that possessed him was that his motives would be questioned. The word "void" means, "to empty." He did not want his preaching to be empty, without effect, or meaningless. He had forfeited his rights so that no one could doubt him or question him therefore making him an ineffective preacher of the gospel. He said in verse 18, "What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel." The word "abuse" means to "to use up." He did not want to "use up" his ability to reach others. The only reward he sought was to be an effective preacher. Paul's fear was that he would hinder his ability to reach others. He gave up his rights to protect the gospel; that is ability to preach the gospel effectively. An unknown author has written these words:
The believer should ever be conscious that he or she does nothing that would hinder or hurt their effectiveness to serve God and be a witness to others. I think of J.C. Penney. He was a devout Christian and was very conscious of his reputation. At a social function, the merchant prince, took ginger ale, and someone mistakenly reported that he drank a cocktail. He said, "I am sure that a reputation which I value has been endangered by my drinking ginger ale. Hereafter it will be plain water or tomato juice for me."3 There are a lot of people I hell because of people going to heaven. We should guard our lives so as to guard our testimony. We also see: B. THE FEELINGS OF PAUL How serious was Paul about protecting the gospel. He says in verse 15, "for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void." Paul said, "I would rather die, than to be a hindrance to the Gospel. I would rather die than hurt my ability to preach." In Paul's mind, nothing could be worse than to hurt his ability to reach others. I recently read about how back in 1958 a small community in Pennsylvania built a little, red brick building that was to be their police department, their fire department, and their city hall. They were proud of their little building because it was the result of sacrificial giving and careful planning. The dedication of the building was the biggest event of the year and more than 6000 people attended. However, within two months they began to notice cracks in the building. Eventually they found the doors would not close correctly and the windows would not shut all the way. In time the floor shifted and left ugly gaps in the floor and the roof began to leak. Finally the building had to be evacuated to the embarrassment of the builder and the disgust of the taxpayers. It was discovered that blasts from a nearby mining area had slowly destroyed the building. Beneath the foundation there were small shifts and changes taking place that caused the whole foundation to crack. A city official had to finally write across the door of the building, "Condemned. Not fit for public use."4 The worse thing that could happen to a believer is become, "Not fit for spiritual use." As far as Paul was concerned, he would rather die than such a thing happen to him. Thirdly, notice that Paul speaks of: 3. PRESENTING THE GOSPEL Beginning in verse 19 Paul describes his behavior so he could present the gospel. He was not chosen to preach the gospel and conscious of protecting the gospel; he was also continually presenting the gospel. The presenting of the gospel revealed: A. The Purpose Of His Ministry Paul said in verse 19, "For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain more." Paul was in bondage to men, what they expected of him or thought of him, yet he had made himself a slave with one purpose in mind. That was purpose was to "gain more." The word "gain" speaks of "having an advantage." Paul's purpose was taking every advantage before him to present the gospel and win people to Christ. You might say, Paul was going to heaven and he wanted everybody to go with him. He knew Christ and he wanted everyone he met to know Him as well. I think of David Brainerd who labored among the poor, benighted Indians on the banks of the Delaware. He once said, "I care not where I live, or what hardships I go through, so that I can but gain souls to Christ. While I am asleep, I dream of these things; as soon as I awake, the first thing I think of is this great work. All my desire is the conversion of sinners, and all my hope is in God."5 In 1904, King Edward VII invited William Booth him to Buckingham Palace in 1904. When the king asked Booth to write in his autograph album, the old man-now seventy-five-bent forward, took the pen, and summed up his life's work:
What is your ambition in life? Is it to "gain" souls for Christ? Also, in his presenting of the gospel we see: B. The Practice Of His Ministry Notice verses 20-22. Paul describes his behavior to 3 classes of people; the Jews, Gentiles, and the weak. Paul simply describes identifying and associating with people as they are in order to have an advantage to win them to Christ. He was not saying that he lived like them or behaved like them but that he identified with so that he could reach them. I think of Hudson Taylor and when he went to China. Shortly after arriving there as a missionary he broke the trend of the missionaries that were there. He began wearing the clothing of the Chinese and began wearing his hair like them. You could say that he became as the Chinese to gain the Chinese. Paul did nothing that would violate any scriptural principle, but when around Jews he behaved as a Jew; when around Gentiles he behaved as a Gentile; and when around the weak he became weak. The motive of his behavior was to win them. He explains why in verse 23, "And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you." All he did was for the gospel's sake. All he did was for the purpose of being able to present the gospel.
Paul was a preacher. He lived to preach and tell the Good News. He was ever
conscious of hurting his ability to win others. He lived to win others. I think
he is a good example for all of us. |
