Live Sacrificially
Ten Guidelines to a Meaningful Christian Life • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
I want to briefly scan through the last part of 1 Cor. 8 and 1 Cor. 9:1-18 and speak of the setting we will look at in a moment.
The last verse of chapter 8 Paul wrote that he would never eat meat again if food would make his brother stumble.
Then in chapter 9:1-18 he speaks of the freedom he has in Christ as a believer and an apostle.
He uses this freedom he has to demonstrate love for others.
He does so because he says he did not make use of these rights he had because it could be an obstacle in the way of the gospel.
He could have rightly demanded many things from this church, but he gave them real and full freedom in Christ.
He wanted them completely dependent on Christ over him or others.
This is letting love be your rule like we looked at last week.
This is living sacrificially as we will see this week.
Paul willingly laid down rights he had because the message of Christ was more important than his rights.
He said I want to boast in nothing but Christ (Gal. 6:14). He also said woe to him if he did not preach the gospel.
He was doing this because he wanted to do it not because others compelled him to act this way. He wanted to give away the gospel and receive nothing from anyone because he wanted to show the church how to live sacrificially and love like Christ.
That is what we do when we live sacrificially.
When we give more money than a normal offering because we want to sacrifice.
When we give more time because the Lord is more worthy.
When we give up a right because it will help another to live a more faithful life.
That is what sacrificial living looks like and this is what we see in 1 Cor. 9:19-27
19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
In these 9 verses we see two prominent observations.
The first one is...
Surrender Self For Others
Surrender Self For Others
From verse 19 to verse 23 we see Paul speaking of all he has done to win others for Christ.
He was free from all.
He could have lived his way and done things his way, but he felt compelled to lay aside his freedom for another.
He surrendered self for others.
What a glorious thought and desire.
Just think of it like this, Paul had many rights and many things he could do, but those things were not as important as other people coming to Christ.
What this shows is that when our focus is so much on living for Christ, our rights become comparatively unimportant.
We will willingly lay down some rights for the better of others.
We will walk away from some things we may have freedom to do because that freedom may cause another to falter and fall.
In verses 20-23 we see this self-sacrifice of Paul’s in action.
When with Jews he would eat the food they ate and not go against the law.
He knew the law was not binding on him but he would act under the law so the Jews would see that he respected them.
It was not a surrender to something or an allowing of himself being tainted by a system, but it was him showing he respected them even if he did not believe they were right.
The same is with the people outside the laws of Judaism.
He would eat with them and never bat an eye if he ate pork or whatever.
This was respect too.
Much like a book I have read called “Misinterpreting Scripture with Western Eyes.”
In this book the authors tell of how on mission trips the locals will present their delicacies or just what they normally eat.
They say that it is best to eat what is in front of you and show that it was good even if it was awful.
They tell of a time when they had some missionaries with them and they ate the food only later to find out it was rat.
One girl vomited even though it had been a few hours after eating it. But this was well after they had spent time with the people.
The point is, sometimes we may have to do something that is not our normal for the sake of the gospel.
We need to be like those we are working with to show them we do not think they are beneath us but on the same plane as us because we are all image bearers of the Lord.
Paul said he became weak to those who were weak.
These are those who are struggling with their faith.
Those who are having battles quitting sin.
Those who are very fresh from leaving something false.
What Paul is saying here is that we are to set aside certain freedoms when with these people.
For example, if a man is struggling with quitting tobacco products, when around that person you do not use them.
If someone is struggling with alcohol, when around them we do not have a drink, and if it requires it we completely leave that behind because they are more important than that.
We set aside our freedoms for a time and become restrained again because that person is more important than our personal likes and enjoyments.
Now, naturally there are going to be some who abuse this system and try and stop us from having fun at all.
But you know what? When we live a life so committed to Christ and His glory their schemes will not work because we are enjoying our life because even when we lay aside all things, we still have Christ and we are honoring Him and that is what is important.
This is the freedom and joy we have in Christ.
We know that the things of this world are nothing compared to Him and that is why we can easily lay them aside for the sake of others.
Christ is more than anything we have here and because He is, we can lay aside our freedoms, desires, wants, passions, likes, and anything else because people mean more.
This includes anger, malice, frustration, or anything else. We can lay that all aside when we are devoted to Christ above all things and we can lay aside all of these things with joy because we know we are honoring our Lord.
We willingly become a servant to others for the fact of we want to win them to Christ more than we desire our own freedoms.
But to do this we must
Develop a Disciplined Mindset
Develop a Disciplined Mindset
In verses 24-27 we see that a disciplined mind is critical to our laying aside our desires.
Verse 24 speaks of running in a race for a crown.
Only the victor gets the crown. But as 25 says, it is perishable and in reality, worthless.
This is the same with our freedoms here.
In the long run they are worthless compared to the souls of others.
If we are so caught up in our own desires and wants we will miss the need of others and let them slip away.
We have a perishable crown then because all we have is our wants and desires over the true prize which is winning others to Christ.
This is why Paul further says in verses 26-27 that he does not run aimlessly, or box the air, but that he disciplines himself and keeps himself under control so he is not disqualified, or useless, or worthless.
What this means is that we must work to keep our passions and desires under control.
We must work like an athlete to do this.
We all know that when someone is in intense training they workout almost everyday if not everyday for an extended time.
They get their diet dialed in and do not eat junk food but only food that fuels their bodies.
They sleep as they should, cut alcohol, drop unnecessary activities, cut their screen time, read more, and cut sweets completely.
They do not do this from a natural ability but because they commit to it and are disciplined.
They are not running aimlessly or boxing the air aimlessly but have everything in a planned method that results in a desired result.
We can do the same thing if we look at people the way Paul did and see them as people important to the Lord.
Each one is just as important to Christ as you or me.
If we do not lay down desires and freedoms because we have the right to do what we do, then we say to every person struggling with whatever “right” we have that they are not good enough for us to lay aside something for a spell.
What this text doesn’t say is that Paul surrendered these rights completely, just that he did this when it was necessary for the cause of the gospel.
He did not forfeit all his rights completely but just for the time necessary to help these people find Christ and grow in Christ, but he did say that if eating meat would cause another to fall he would never eat meat again.
We must be willing to sacrifice totally for others just as Paul was and when we do this we honor Christ.
We can do this because it is not you doing it when you are committed to Christ.
Christ gives you the grace and ability to live out a life that honors Him.
If it was by our power alone, we would never attain to this.
It takes Christ working in us and through us and our failures to ever get where we can lay aside our freedoms for others.
It is growth which is why Paul said he disciplines his body and keeps it under control because it is hard work because we do want what we want and when we can live in freedom then we have to lay it aside for others, that is hard.
Christ gives us all the ability to do it but it is up to us to exercise that ability and keep it strong. It takes work but when we allow Love to be our rule and we desire to live sacrificially, we can lay aside freedoms for others.
We can because we do it all for the sake of the gospel, that we may share with them in its blessings.
Application
Application
How do we do this thing though is the question.
Well within this chapter Paul gives us the applications to live this way.
First, we avoid a know-it-all attitude. Just because we have the answers and know what is right, sometimes we must hold off and just be there with others for a spell. We do not want them thinking we are know-it-alls.
Second, make others feel accepted. We do not have to affirm what others do to make them feel accepted. We do come in and learn who they are and love them where they are and by doing this we may very well draw them to Christ. Jesus did this with tax collectors and harlots, we can do the same with others just as Paul describes in this section.
Third, be sensitive to others needs and concerns. We become weak to the weak and learn what is tough for them. We learn what they struggle with and we make sure and avoid those things while around them and help them to leave those struggles behind. Not being a know-it-all works with this one. Just because we know something is okay, we do not berate this brother or sister with the truth and try and force them to go along. We do life with them and come alongside them and guide them into the right path, we do not force them.
It is like gathering wild cattle. You do not force wild cattle anywhere, you just guide them. The moment you force them, you cause a blow up and lose them. When you just guide them along and keep them pointed in the general direction you want them to go, you usually get them where you want them to go and they think it was their idea. This is what we do with those who have struggles and are weaker in the faith.
Finally, we always look for opportunities to tell of Christ. When we are disciplined and ready at all times, we will see an opportunity. People out there need Christ more than they know. Paul kept himself disciplined so he could be ready and prepared at all times. That is what we must do too.
We must be ready at the drop of a hat to share Christ and love on others who need that love. This can be as simple as just dropping a few freedoms and rights in Christ just so you can make an inroad with someone. Eventually they will see that you dropped that for them and they will see how you truly care for them and that you were not just a phony.
Conclusion
Conclusion
I want to end with this story
Cliff Barrows, song leader of the Billy Graham Crusade ministry, tells a story about his children when they were younger. They had done something he had forbidden them to do. They were told if they did the same thing again they would have to be disciplined. When he returned from work and found that they hadn’t minded, his heart went out to them. “I just couldn’t discipline them,” he said.
Any loving father can understand Cliff’s dilemma. Most of us have been in the same position. He said, “Bobby and Bettie Ruth were very small. I called them into my room, took off my belt and then my shirt, with a bare back I knelt down at the bed. I made them both strap me with the belt ten times each. You should have heard the crying. From them, I mean. The crying was from them. They didn’t want to do it. But I told them the penalty had to be paid and so through their sobs and tears they did what I told them.
“I smile when I remember the incident,” he said. “I must admit I wasn’t much of a hero. It hurt. I haven’t offered to do that again. It was a once-for-all sacrifice, I guess we could say, but I never had to spank those two children again, because they got the point. We kissed each other. And when it was over we prayed together.” (Billy Graham, How to be Born Again, in Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1501 Other Stories (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 543–544.).
He gave up his rights as a parent and took abuse that taught an important lesson to his children.
When we give up some rights as believers, we may take some abuse but in the end it will impact who it is supposed to and the lesson of the amazing gift of the gospel will be taught to them.