Reading: 1 Cor. 9:19-27
How often is the accusation hurled
at us, “Practice what you preach?” Well Paul seems to practice what he
preaches. In Phil. 2 he preaches that our attitude should be like Christ, “Who,
being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be
used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing.” So Paul only wants
to put into practice exactly what Jesus did. Jesus is definitely free and
belongs to no one. In fact he is the creator and owner of all. Yet Jesus made
himself as a slave and did it all for the sake of the gospel. Jesus did
everything he did in order to win the lost and that is what motivates Paul
also.
In Paul’s day it was the different cultures of Judaism and paganism. He could relate to either crowd. He could look like a good Jew because he was born, raised and trained as a Jew. He used to be a top notch Pharisee so he knew their Scriptures very well and used them to prove that Jesus is their Messiah. He was so good that they couldn’t argue against him. All they could do was get mad at him for being what they thought was a heretic and try to kill him.
Yet, with his understanding of God’s grace Paul also knew that he was free from having to maintain the Jewish food regulations and social customs. He no longer had to keep himself separate from the Gentiles. Because of that he could relate to pagans, talk to them, visit with them, eat with them, and even live with them. In this way he was able to share the gospel with them. Paul was so effective at winning Gentiles to the Lord that the Jews were not just angry that Paul was teaching something they didn’t understand or approve of. The Jews were actually jealous that Paul was so good and his religion was growing seemingly at the expense of theirs.
Paul’s principle, all things to all that I might save some, is a key for effective evangelism. Since we want to fulfill the great commission and make more disciples for Christ, we would do well to learn how to apply this principle for ministry in our day. We need to understand how to relate to the people we are trying to reach with the gospel and this ability to do so does not come naturally. It comes spiritually, through the Holy Spirit enabling us.
There is a more recent example of Paul’s principle in action. In 1865 Hudson Taylor founded the China Inland Mission. In a day in which most missionaries maintained their Western comforts and customs as much as possible, Hudson became infamous for getting rid of Western comforts and customs as much as possible. I say infamous because many of his missionary friends thought he was crazy to do what he did. Its value was only proved later. He became well known for wearing Chinese clothes to fit in with the people he was trying to reach. As an added bonus they were less expensive to purchase and maintain because they were local and not imported as Western clothes had to be. Hudson even shaved his head as the Chinese did and started wearing their kind of hats.
He also ate Chinese food with Chinese implements; lived among the Chinese in Chinese housing like real neighbors, instead of the often gated Missionary community with the more modern Western Style housing where they would have been separated from the Chinese people. Hudson also insisted on some pretty high standards for learning the language, and even the dialects of those whom they intended to reach. He was careful to observe local customs and etiquette as much as possible and taught all his missionaries to do the same. One interesting one was that men and women were not allowed to walk or talk together publically. Even husbands and wives were not to be seen walking side by side outdoors.
In his zeal to reach the lost, he even left the relatively safer port cities that provided the protection of British consular authorities and the military power at their disposal. He took great risks and looked and acted as much like a Chinese person as was possible. He was scolded and scorned for it by many of the other missionaries. Can you imagine a happily married Western couple of missionaries resenting the restriction on how they get from one place to another, not allowed to enjoy each other’s company along the way?
But eventually, Hudson’s methods paid off and he came to be highly respected for his effectiveness in reaching the lost. This was born out of the desire to imitate Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word of God, who “became flesh and dwelt among us.” Hudson Taylor believed not only in the theological truth of this creedal affirmation, but also in its necessity for the success of the missionaries. Numerous practical advantages flowed from following the example of Christ. For instance, it saved precious money by relying so much the less on foreign imports. In addition, in European clothing foreigners were instantly recognized as outsiders. They were then often subjected to mobbing and crowding because of prejudices against them. In Chinese clothing he was still known to be a foreigner, but not so much a European. In Chinese clothing, what the missionary wore would attract less notice. But his words would attract more. Taylor’s own experience had taught him what the Spirit had led him to believe, that adoption of Chinese customs was necessary to overcome well-founded prejudices against European ways.
Hudson Taylor said, “If we really desire to see the Chinese [come to faith in our Lord] …, let us as far as possible set before them a correct example: let us in everything unsinful become Chinese, that by all things we may save some. Let us adopt their costume, acquire their language, study to imitate their habits, and approximate to their diet as far as health and constitution will allow. Let us live in their houses, making no unnecessary alterations in external appearance, and only so far modifying internal arrangements as attention to health and efficiency for work absolutely require.” Since Hudson’s contemporary missionaries didn’t at first like Hudson’s ideas and thought he was wrong, it must have been the Holy Spirit that led Hudson to incarnate himself into a Chinese representation as much as possible.
But we are not foreign missionaries. Our customs and ways are outwardly exactly the same as our neighbors. If you stood a European missionary in Western clothes next to a native Chinese person you could tell them apart instantly. But if you stand a Christian American next to an unbelieving American, it would be a lot harder to tell the difference just by looking at them. And really if we want to reach the lost, that’s a good thing!
So how do we apply Paul’s teaching to our own situation? In many ways we already have. It is one reason why we don’t wear suits in church anymore. We have adapted a lot to the culture around us. The really important thing is that we come alongside of the lost in every possible way we can that is not sinful. There are ministries that hang out in bars, but they don’t indulge in drunkenness. They engage broken people in spiritual conversation. But not everyone can do that. I know I am not very good at it. I went to a party once with my coworkers from the factory. It was at a bar. I was a totally ineffective, shy, wall flower. My skill set doesn’t work in that setting.
So how do we apply Paul’s teaching to our own situation? I have already said that the ability to live out Paul’s principle for evangelism doesn’t come naturally. It comes spiritually. Therefore we do not want to rush willy-nilly into any wild ideas or make any attempts to evangelize in our own strength. We must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. But we do not simply want to assume that power is there either.
The secret lies in the second half of today’s reading. Without the proper spiritual training you will not be able to be all things to all people. You will not see the difference between being under the Law of Christ, which is to love all people, and being under the Law of legalism which is to control your own outward behavior in front of all people. You will be less able to adopt to different environments or customs. You will not be able to be all things to all people. You will probably not be able to resist all the temptations that would lead you to sin along with the sinners in your efforts to identify with them.
That’s why the next thing Paul says after introducing his principle is, “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. 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. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
Did you hear the main point there? Strict training! Paul used sports metaphors such as running a race, competing in the games and boxing to teach his Corinthians friends about the importance of deliberate discipleship training. He used sports metaphors because the Greek Corinthians held in their city some very important athletic events that rivaled the Olympics back then. Yes sports was big business back then just as it is today. Everybody in Paul’s audience understood the importance of rigorous training for success at sports and Paul wanted his new Christian friends to practice some rigorous spiritual training for the sake of the gospel.
What was the prize Paul wanted to win? Not his own salvation. That was a gift already given way back on the road to Damascus. But listen to what Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20. “For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.” Paul wanted to win the prize that is based on how hard he worked to lead new souls to meet Jesus, disciple the new believers and build up the church. That’s exactly the same goals we have today! We can do what Paul did if we are willing to enter in to the required training!
Paul is calling us to join the army of Christian soldiers where we all have to go through the same boot camp. We all need to train ourselves to regularly feed from the Word of God. We all need to thoroughly know God's Word. What would you do in the unlikely event that God picked you up and moved you to a new place where nothing was familiar? Suppose you wanted to make the best of it and so you start looking for a church to attend. But you look around and find out there is no church near you. Nobody goes to church. What do you do? Do you give up on church? Of course not. You start a church!
That means you have to have a Bible and know it well enough to share it with your neighbors. Then of course you also have to get to know your neighbors so you learn what they think about and long for, so you can relate the gospel to them in a way that addresses the needs they talk about. Then of course you also have to pray for chances to share the gospel and pray for how to do that and pray that the people will listen and believe you. Pray. Pray! Pray!
You say, “Wait a minute pastor. I can’t do that. That would be too hard.” Ok that’s fair. But it’s not an excuse. It just means that means you have to get into training so you can do that. And you maybe don’t have to go all the way to seminary, but you have to get as good as you can get. And that is a lifelong process. Keep on growing in the Lord. Put your energy into it. Remember, whatever isn’t growing is dying.
And guess what, even though you probably will not be moved to a place where no one goes to church, surely even now you are surrounded by people who do not go to church. Your calling in life is to try to reach them. This means you have to get to know your neighbors so you learn what they think about and long for, so you can relate the gospel to them in a way that addresses the needs they talk about. Then of course you also have to pray for chances to share the gospel and pray for how to do that and pray that the people will listen and believe you. Pray. Pray! Pray where you are!
Paul said to Timothy, in 1 Tim 2:1-2, “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” And just a few verses later he said, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” In Hebrews 5:12 Paul really challenged some of his followers when he said, “by this time you ought to be teachers, [but] you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!”
If Paul can expect his followers to take this work of learning how to disciple others so seriously, shouldn’t we also take up the challenge? We also can ask, "Are you discipling anyone?' Is your life summarized by a passion to invest what God has taught you into the lives of others? If it’s not. Why not? If you’re not actively seeking to share Christ, how do you even know you are a genuine Christian, spirit filled, on fire for the Lord and on your way to Heaven?
We might not all have the same gifts and abilities. But we should all have the same zeal as Paul. Who said, “I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
You need to be burdened for the lost. That is the heart of Christ. You need to be burdened for those around you and asking the Lord, “What can I do? How can I introduce you to those who are lost?” And if you don’t know anybody who is lost, you need to be praying about that too. It’s not enough to be comfortable with your own salvation. You have a mission to fulfill and it’s Christ’s great commission. And that's how you practice what you preach. Let us pray. “Lord open our eyes to the harvest around us. Forgive us for our complacency…”
In Paul’s day it was the different cultures of Judaism and paganism. He could relate to either crowd. He could look like a good Jew because he was born, raised and trained as a Jew. He used to be a top notch Pharisee so he knew their Scriptures very well and used them to prove that Jesus is their Messiah. He was so good that they couldn’t argue against him. All they could do was get mad at him for being what they thought was a heretic and try to kill him.
Yet, with his understanding of God’s grace Paul also knew that he was free from having to maintain the Jewish food regulations and social customs. He no longer had to keep himself separate from the Gentiles. Because of that he could relate to pagans, talk to them, visit with them, eat with them, and even live with them. In this way he was able to share the gospel with them. Paul was so effective at winning Gentiles to the Lord that the Jews were not just angry that Paul was teaching something they didn’t understand or approve of. The Jews were actually jealous that Paul was so good and his religion was growing seemingly at the expense of theirs.
Paul’s principle, all things to all that I might save some, is a key for effective evangelism. Since we want to fulfill the great commission and make more disciples for Christ, we would do well to learn how to apply this principle for ministry in our day. We need to understand how to relate to the people we are trying to reach with the gospel and this ability to do so does not come naturally. It comes spiritually, through the Holy Spirit enabling us.
There is a more recent example of Paul’s principle in action. In 1865 Hudson Taylor founded the China Inland Mission. In a day in which most missionaries maintained their Western comforts and customs as much as possible, Hudson became infamous for getting rid of Western comforts and customs as much as possible. I say infamous because many of his missionary friends thought he was crazy to do what he did. Its value was only proved later. He became well known for wearing Chinese clothes to fit in with the people he was trying to reach. As an added bonus they were less expensive to purchase and maintain because they were local and not imported as Western clothes had to be. Hudson even shaved his head as the Chinese did and started wearing their kind of hats.
He also ate Chinese food with Chinese implements; lived among the Chinese in Chinese housing like real neighbors, instead of the often gated Missionary community with the more modern Western Style housing where they would have been separated from the Chinese people. Hudson also insisted on some pretty high standards for learning the language, and even the dialects of those whom they intended to reach. He was careful to observe local customs and etiquette as much as possible and taught all his missionaries to do the same. One interesting one was that men and women were not allowed to walk or talk together publically. Even husbands and wives were not to be seen walking side by side outdoors.
In his zeal to reach the lost, he even left the relatively safer port cities that provided the protection of British consular authorities and the military power at their disposal. He took great risks and looked and acted as much like a Chinese person as was possible. He was scolded and scorned for it by many of the other missionaries. Can you imagine a happily married Western couple of missionaries resenting the restriction on how they get from one place to another, not allowed to enjoy each other’s company along the way?
But eventually, Hudson’s methods paid off and he came to be highly respected for his effectiveness in reaching the lost. This was born out of the desire to imitate Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word of God, who “became flesh and dwelt among us.” Hudson Taylor believed not only in the theological truth of this creedal affirmation, but also in its necessity for the success of the missionaries. Numerous practical advantages flowed from following the example of Christ. For instance, it saved precious money by relying so much the less on foreign imports. In addition, in European clothing foreigners were instantly recognized as outsiders. They were then often subjected to mobbing and crowding because of prejudices against them. In Chinese clothing he was still known to be a foreigner, but not so much a European. In Chinese clothing, what the missionary wore would attract less notice. But his words would attract more. Taylor’s own experience had taught him what the Spirit had led him to believe, that adoption of Chinese customs was necessary to overcome well-founded prejudices against European ways.
Hudson Taylor said, “If we really desire to see the Chinese [come to faith in our Lord] …, let us as far as possible set before them a correct example: let us in everything unsinful become Chinese, that by all things we may save some. Let us adopt their costume, acquire their language, study to imitate their habits, and approximate to their diet as far as health and constitution will allow. Let us live in their houses, making no unnecessary alterations in external appearance, and only so far modifying internal arrangements as attention to health and efficiency for work absolutely require.” Since Hudson’s contemporary missionaries didn’t at first like Hudson’s ideas and thought he was wrong, it must have been the Holy Spirit that led Hudson to incarnate himself into a Chinese representation as much as possible.
But we are not foreign missionaries. Our customs and ways are outwardly exactly the same as our neighbors. If you stood a European missionary in Western clothes next to a native Chinese person you could tell them apart instantly. But if you stand a Christian American next to an unbelieving American, it would be a lot harder to tell the difference just by looking at them. And really if we want to reach the lost, that’s a good thing!
So how do we apply Paul’s teaching to our own situation? In many ways we already have. It is one reason why we don’t wear suits in church anymore. We have adapted a lot to the culture around us. The really important thing is that we come alongside of the lost in every possible way we can that is not sinful. There are ministries that hang out in bars, but they don’t indulge in drunkenness. They engage broken people in spiritual conversation. But not everyone can do that. I know I am not very good at it. I went to a party once with my coworkers from the factory. It was at a bar. I was a totally ineffective, shy, wall flower. My skill set doesn’t work in that setting.
So how do we apply Paul’s teaching to our own situation? I have already said that the ability to live out Paul’s principle for evangelism doesn’t come naturally. It comes spiritually. Therefore we do not want to rush willy-nilly into any wild ideas or make any attempts to evangelize in our own strength. We must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. But we do not simply want to assume that power is there either.
The secret lies in the second half of today’s reading. Without the proper spiritual training you will not be able to be all things to all people. You will not see the difference between being under the Law of Christ, which is to love all people, and being under the Law of legalism which is to control your own outward behavior in front of all people. You will be less able to adopt to different environments or customs. You will not be able to be all things to all people. You will probably not be able to resist all the temptations that would lead you to sin along with the sinners in your efforts to identify with them.
That’s why the next thing Paul says after introducing his principle is, “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. 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. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
Did you hear the main point there? Strict training! Paul used sports metaphors such as running a race, competing in the games and boxing to teach his Corinthians friends about the importance of deliberate discipleship training. He used sports metaphors because the Greek Corinthians held in their city some very important athletic events that rivaled the Olympics back then. Yes sports was big business back then just as it is today. Everybody in Paul’s audience understood the importance of rigorous training for success at sports and Paul wanted his new Christian friends to practice some rigorous spiritual training for the sake of the gospel.
What was the prize Paul wanted to win? Not his own salvation. That was a gift already given way back on the road to Damascus. But listen to what Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20. “For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.” Paul wanted to win the prize that is based on how hard he worked to lead new souls to meet Jesus, disciple the new believers and build up the church. That’s exactly the same goals we have today! We can do what Paul did if we are willing to enter in to the required training!
Paul is calling us to join the army of Christian soldiers where we all have to go through the same boot camp. We all need to train ourselves to regularly feed from the Word of God. We all need to thoroughly know God's Word. What would you do in the unlikely event that God picked you up and moved you to a new place where nothing was familiar? Suppose you wanted to make the best of it and so you start looking for a church to attend. But you look around and find out there is no church near you. Nobody goes to church. What do you do? Do you give up on church? Of course not. You start a church!
That means you have to have a Bible and know it well enough to share it with your neighbors. Then of course you also have to get to know your neighbors so you learn what they think about and long for, so you can relate the gospel to them in a way that addresses the needs they talk about. Then of course you also have to pray for chances to share the gospel and pray for how to do that and pray that the people will listen and believe you. Pray. Pray! Pray!
You say, “Wait a minute pastor. I can’t do that. That would be too hard.” Ok that’s fair. But it’s not an excuse. It just means that means you have to get into training so you can do that. And you maybe don’t have to go all the way to seminary, but you have to get as good as you can get. And that is a lifelong process. Keep on growing in the Lord. Put your energy into it. Remember, whatever isn’t growing is dying.
And guess what, even though you probably will not be moved to a place where no one goes to church, surely even now you are surrounded by people who do not go to church. Your calling in life is to try to reach them. This means you have to get to know your neighbors so you learn what they think about and long for, so you can relate the gospel to them in a way that addresses the needs they talk about. Then of course you also have to pray for chances to share the gospel and pray for how to do that and pray that the people will listen and believe you. Pray. Pray! Pray where you are!
Paul said to Timothy, in 1 Tim 2:1-2, “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” And just a few verses later he said, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” In Hebrews 5:12 Paul really challenged some of his followers when he said, “by this time you ought to be teachers, [but] you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!”
If Paul can expect his followers to take this work of learning how to disciple others so seriously, shouldn’t we also take up the challenge? We also can ask, "Are you discipling anyone?' Is your life summarized by a passion to invest what God has taught you into the lives of others? If it’s not. Why not? If you’re not actively seeking to share Christ, how do you even know you are a genuine Christian, spirit filled, on fire for the Lord and on your way to Heaven?
We might not all have the same gifts and abilities. But we should all have the same zeal as Paul. Who said, “I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
You need to be burdened for the lost. That is the heart of Christ. You need to be burdened for those around you and asking the Lord, “What can I do? How can I introduce you to those who are lost?” And if you don’t know anybody who is lost, you need to be praying about that too. It’s not enough to be comfortable with your own salvation. You have a mission to fulfill and it’s Christ’s great commission. And that's how you practice what you preach. Let us pray. “Lord open our eyes to the harvest around us. Forgive us for our complacency…”
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