1 Corinthians 9:19

For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself a servant unto all, that I might win the more. And unto the Jews, I became as a Jew, that I might win the Jews. To them that are under the law, I became as under the law, that I might win them that are under the law. To them that are without the law, I became as without the law, being not without the law to God, but under the law to Christ, that I might win them that are without the law. To the weak, I became as the weak, that I might win the weak. I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be a partaker thereof with you.

Know ye not that they which run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain. Every man that strives for mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly. So fight I, not as one that beats the air, but I keep my body under and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Father, we ask for your wisdom and guidance as we study your word. It is our desire that we not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. And so we pray that you would do just that. Sanctify and cleanse us by the washing of the water of your word. We pray that you, by your Spirit, would guide us into all truth now, for we ask it in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.

Paul has been building for the last couple of chapters this theme of laying aside our liberties, renouncing our rights for the sake of others, for the sake of the kingdom, for the sake of the gospel. As we come here to verse 19, Paul makes very clear that he is a free man, though I am free from all men.

No one owned Paul. He was a slave to no man and a hireling to none. Yet, he says here that he had made himself a slave unto all. The Greek word that Paul chooses for servant or slave here is "doulos," which means to make a slave or to reduce to bondage. This verse is, therefore, something of a paradox on the surface. He says, "Though I am free, though I am not a slave, I have made myself a slave, a servant."

It is for this very reason that Paul would identify himself on several occasions in his letters as a bondservant, a "doulos." In Romans chapter 1, verse 1, he writes, "Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God." In Philippians chapter 1, verse 1, he states, "Paul and Timothy, the servants or the bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi." In Titus chapter 1, verse 1, he says, "Paul, a bondservant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness."

Paul called himself a bondservant of Christ, but his service to Christ was evidenced by his service to others within the body of Christ. But why did Paul, a free man, make himself a slave? Why would anyone put themselves in that position? In 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 5, he states that he had made himself a "doulos," a servant, for Jesus' sake, for the sake of the Lord. Here in verse 19, at the end of the verse, he says, "Though I am free of all men, yet I have made myself a servant unto all." Why? "That I may win the more."

Now, you might think that the position of a servant would be a position of loss. Not so. We would think that to place ourselves in the position of a servant, a bondservant, a slave, would be to lose everything. But that is not how Paul looked at it. The culture of this world looks down upon the servant, but the kingdom of God and the economy of God's kingdom are wholly different from our culture here in this world.

Remember the words that Jesus shared with his disciples back in the Gospel of Mark. Listen as I read from Mark chapter 10, verse 42. Jesus called unto his disciples and he said,

You know that they which are accounted to rule in this world over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you, said Jesus to His disciples. Whosoever will be great among you shall be your servant, and whosoever will be the chiefest shall be the servant of all.

The reality is that if you want to win in the kingdom of God, then we ought to follow the example of Jesus and remember the pattern of Paul: to lay down our lives, to take up our cross, and to sacrificially serve. In so doing, we win, as Paul says here in this passage. He will make it very clear as we go on. But just what does he mean by winning? Winning was Paul's clear purpose. If you were ever to ask Paul the question, "What is your aim? What is it that you're doing, Paul?" the response would come without hesitation: "I am seeking to win."

To win what? To win people to Christ. Five times in the first four verses here in our study, Paul uses the word "win." Then, in verse 21, he shows what he means by that word when he says, "I am made all things to all men that I might by all means save some." He switches the words; he uses the word "save" instead of "win." Paul was wholly dedicated to what the Scriptures call a wise work. Proverbs 11:30 states, "He that wins souls is wise."

The purpose of Paul's life was to win souls, and the purpose of your life will dictate the pattern of your life. If the purpose is winning souls, then the activities and orientation of your life will be in line with that purpose. You will change the way that you live to meet the purpose you have for your life.

In the remaining verses of chapter nine, we will see that Paul's pattern of life was perfectly in line with this purpose. He was endeavoring to win souls by doing that wise work. He says in verse 20, "And unto the Jews, I became as a Jew that I might win the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might win them that are under the law." Paul was prepared to modify his habits, adjust his lifestyle, and set aside his preferences.

For the cause of the kingdom and the salvation of others, he was free in Christ. He understood the great liberty he had as a follower of Jesus, but he was willing to deny himself certain liberties for the opportunity to minister to as many people as possible. He was willing to lay aside his liberties and renounce his rights so that he might see the salvation of others.

Now, in our day, one might say, "Hey, man, this is who I am. I don't change for anybody." Isn't that something of the motto in America today? "I am who I am, and you got to be who you are. I won't change for anybody." Really? Is that really a reality in the lives of people in our nation? Because, as I see it, it's just not. It's amazing to me how many people will modify their habits and adjust their lifestyles, setting aside their preferences for a temporal gain.

What do I mean? Well, someone wants that promotion at work. They'll come in before anybody else gets there. They'll jump at every opportunity to do the extra work. They'll stay later than every single other employee in that business so that they can get that temporal promotion. Or maybe a person wants a relationship with that special someone. They will alter their appearance, pretend to like music that they really don't like, and shift their preferences to enjoy long walks on the beach and sappy romantic comedies.

You want to fit into that outfit, so you jog. You tell people you like it, but you really don't. You jog yourself into the ground, cut out every enjoyable delight, and count calories like your life depended upon it. Why? For a temporal endeavor. All this effort is for a temporal gain, an earthly gain that's not eternal.

Do you think that this goes unnoticed by our Heavenly Father? That we will do such things to serve ourselves but will not do so to serve His kingdom? Again, Paul was prepared to modify his habits, adjust his lifestyle, and set aside his preferences.

For the cause of the kingdom and the salvation of others, I don't want you to misunderstand the Apostle Paul. He was not some sort of slick, politician-like chameleon who changed his mannerisms depending upon which group of people he was hanging out with at that moment. That's the very thing that Paul rebuked the Apostle Peter for in the book of Galatians. Peter was being kind of like that shifty chameleon. He would spend time with Gentiles, fellowshipping with them, as long as there were no Jews around. But as soon as the Jews came around, he had to set them aside because they were unclean Gentiles. Then he was only with the Jews, and Paul rebuked this.

Paul was not some sort of slick politician. He was not so dominated by political correctness that he went to every possible length to avoid offending anyone. He knew very well that the message he had was an offensive message. The message that we preach is offensive to those who are perishing. People who are still walking in their sin and enjoying their sin don't like the message of the gospel; they will be offended by it. Paul knew that was the case. He didn't craft the message in a way to never offend anybody, but he did seek to ensure that his life was never a hindrance to the message going forth.

Paul was a student of culture. He knew that his brothers, the Jews, would be offended by pork or other unclean foods, so he would cut those things out of his life to avoid laying a stumbling block before them when he was in their presence. To the Jews, he became as a Jew that he might win the Jews. He also said to those who are under the law, he became as one under the law that he might win those under the law.

Aren't all Jews under the law? Don't they all view themselves as being under the law? Well, some more than others. Remember, before Paul was Paul the Apostle, he was Saul the Pharisee. The Pharisees viewed themselves as separate from the rest of the general Jewish population because they were the ones who truly adhered to all the law, along with all the traditions and customs. He knew that those who held to the law with pharisaical zeal were bound to rites, rituals, and vows. As we see in the book of Acts and in some of Paul's other letters, he had no problem taking such vows to show his devotion to the Lord.

In Acts chapter 18, when Paul was getting ready to leave the city of Corinth to go back to Jerusalem, it says that he went to Centuria and shaved his head because he had taken a vow. He was returning to Jerusalem, and he knew that this would give him an opportunity to minister among his people.

Again, in Acts chapter 21, when he had gone to Jerusalem for the second time in his ministry, it says that there were people there who thought he was telling Jews to depart from the law of Moses and not to seek to follow the Lord and the law. He was encouraged again to shave his head as part of a vow, and Paul did so. Why? So that by all means he might win some. Were such things required of him as a Christian? No. Were they forbidden to him as a Christian? No. Would they open a door for the gospel? No doubt they would.

Paul describes this as something of a gray area. It is not forbidden, and it is not commanded, but he chose to do it because he wanted to win people to Christ. To the Jew, he became as a Jew. To those who were under the law, he became as one under the law, that he might win the more.

In verse 21, he continues, "To them that are without the law, as without the law." He clarifies that he is not without the law to God, but under the law to Christ, that he might win those who are without the law. Paul was formerly a Pharisee. He was a Jew by heritage and grew up under all the rules, rights, and laws of Judaism. It was certainly not difficult for him to identify culturally with Jewish Pharisees or with Jews in general. It would be like you identifying with Americans; it is just not all that difficult to do.

Now, it may have been constrictive to him in some ways, having turned away from those things. It may have seemed more foreign to him as the years went on after his transformation in Christ. However, I imagine it was relatively easy for Paul to be a Jew unto the Jews or to be as one under the law to those who were under the law.

On the other hand, in verse 21, he says, "To those that are without the law," referring to Gentiles. To those Gentiles, he became like a Gentile that he might win them. Paul was sensitive enough to be culturally relevant and appropriate with those he ministered to.

Meat sacrificed to idols was no big deal to the common Corinthian Gentile in the first century. If Paul went into the home of a common Corinthian Gentile, where it was just accepted that the meat had been sacrificed to idols, you would probably not have heard Paul ask the question, "Wait a minute, hold on, has this been sacrificed to an idol?" The Scriptures and the church in Israel said that we shouldn't eat meat sacrificed to idols. So, if it is, I can't eat. However, he would not have done that because he was seeking to tear down any sort of wall or barrier that would allow him to minister to those he was coming in contact with.

To be honest with you, I've always been taken aback a bit by Peter's first words to the Gentiles in Cornelius' house in Acts chapter 10. Do you remember that story? Early in the spread of the gospel throughout Jerusalem and Judea, Peter was one day down by the sea at a house. He saw a vision of a table coming before him with all kinds of clean and unclean meats on it. A voice spoke to him, saying, "Rise, Peter, kill and eat." Peter responded, "Not so, Lord. I've never eaten anything common or unclean." This happened three times. The Lord told him, "Don't call anything common or unclean, which I have set apart or sanctified."

Right then, he was met by some people from Cornelius' house, a Gentile in Caesarea. When Peter went up to Caesarea, his very first words were staggering to me. When he entered the house of a Gentile to preach the gospel for the very first time, in Acts chapter 10, verse 28, he said to them, "You know how that it is an unlawful thing for me, a Jew, to keep company with you, Gentiles." Could you imagine? I think Peter really struggled with these kinds of things.

Imagine going over to the house of a non-believer for dinner and saying, "I just have to tell you, this is very, well, it's just not really appropriate for me, a Christian, to partake of food with you, a heathen." We just would never do that, or I would hope that wouldn't be the case. However, there are some ways in which we, in the Western church today, are building walls.

That separates us from the rest of the world, the world that God has told us to go into and preach the gospel. We build things up. How so? We have Christian music. We don't want to listen to that secular stuff because that's bad, and we can't identify. Oh, you shouldn't listen to that stuff. It's Christian; it's holy. We educate our kids in Christian schools. No knock on Christian schools, but we just keep separating ourselves more and more. We want to have our own.

I mean, there are some churches today where they have health fitness centers. They have their own coffee shops and bookstores. They have their own stores for people to come to shop at because you don't want to go out into the world; the world is dangerous. Stay away from all those heathens out there in the world. Well, wait a minute. Didn't Jesus tell us to go into the world?

Now, Paul makes it very clear that he was not without the law before God. To them that are without the law, I became as one without the law that I might win them. However, he says, parenthetically, I'm not without the law before God, but I'm under the law to Christ. It's so very important to recognize that Paul did not live with some sort of anything-goes mentality in ministering in a cross-cultural context. He makes it very clear that he did not live like a heathen or cast away righteous living to gain an open door for the gospel among other heathens. He was still governed by God's law before God.

If someone had said to Paul, "Hey, Paul, here in Corinth, it's culturally acceptable to engage in the prostitution of this great city," do you think Paul would have said, "Well, it opens the door of the gospel for me. It's culturally acceptable. Let's go"? No, no, it's forbidden by God. He would have said, "No, I can't live like that." If someone said, "Paul, join me. I'm going up to the temple of Apollo to offer a sacrifice," there's no possible way that we could see Paul doing those things. He would certainly have rightly declined.

But I do believe we find a very important principle for our lives and ministry here in this verse. We should always be guided by the ethical standards of the Kingdom of God in our dealings here upon the earth. I think it's very, very important for us to remember that our witness in this world is worship.

The way we live in this world is worship. We are to do all as unto the Lord. What we do here on a Sunday morning, as we sing praises to God, is certainly a part of worship. However, that is not worship in its entirety. The way we live on a daily basis is to be worshiped to God.

Consider the way you drive on the 15 Freeway. Maybe we won't go there. Paul continues in verse 22, "To the weak I became as the weak, that I might gain the weak. I made all things to all men that I might by all means save some." The Jews, the zealous legalists, and the Gentiles of verses 20 and 21 are very clear.

But what does Paul mean by "the weak" here? First, let's clarify what he is not talking about. He is not referring to becoming morally weak to reach the morally indigent of this world. Paul did not loosen his moral standards so that he could reach out to those who have no moral standards. Sadly, some might think that this is the application of Paul's words by looking at the witness of some who call themselves Christians today.

Some have foolishly interpreted this passage in such a way that they feel content to live like pagans, encouraging themselves by saying, "Well, I'm seeking to minister to other pagans." Nonsense. That is not what this passage means in any sense. That person is morally indigent themselves, and they need to repent. We do not become like pagans so that we can reach out to pagans. We still need to walk in a way that is honoring and glorifying to our God.

So, that is clearly not what Paul is saying when he states, "To the weak I became as the weak." But what does he mean? Here at Calvary Chapel, we believe that the best way to explain and interpret Scripture is with Scripture. Some people have used this verse as a proof text for just going out and living like the rest of the world, thinking that maybe someday they will get an opportunity to share their faith with others while they are passing the joint.

Guys, I really want to tell you something.

It's not going to work. Some people have used this as a proof text for those kinds of things. However, it has been said that a text without a context is a pretext to a proof text. If you can figure that out, let me know later.

We want to look at this in context. What does Paul mean by "the weak" when he says, "To the weak I became as the weak"? We can go back to 1 Corinthians chapter 8 and look at verse 4. Remember the context: as concerning the eating of things offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is no other God but one. We know this.

In verse 7, it says, "Howbeit, there is not in every man that knowledge." Not everybody has that knowledge. For some, with conscience of the idol unto this hour, eat it as a thing offered unto an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. But meat commends us not to God. For neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we eat not are we the worse.

Take heed, lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak. If any man sees you, which have knowledge, sit at meat in an idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols? And through your knowledge shall the weaker brother perish for whom Christ died?

When you sin against the brethren and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if meat makes my brother to stumble, I will eat no flesh while the world stands, lest I make my brother to stumble.

The weak individual to whom Paul is referring here is the one whose doctrinal knowledge and understanding is weak. If they need the gospel and doctrine brought to them slowly, with the ABCs, Paul was strong enough to do that, to bring it down to a level where they were. This doesn't mean that we diminish the power or strength of the gospel, but we are able to bring it to people where they are at.

If they have come from a background so spoiled by religiosity, and they need to be carefully and tenderly carried along, again, Paul was strong enough to come down to their level. Ultimately, we need to be willing to start where people are at. Paul became as Jewish as was needed to reach the Jews.

As Gentile as he could to reach the Gentiles, as weak as was necessary to reach the weak. Why? That I might by all means save some. Now, if you take that purpose away from this passage, it makes no sense. The bottom line was reaching people for the gospel.

To the Jews, I became a Jew. Why, Paul? Well, because I wanted to be liked? No. To those that are without the law, I became as one without the law. Why? Well, because I was afraid of them and I didn't want any problems? No. Paul says, I did this that I might bring them to salvation, that I might win them. Paul was prepared to cross the cultural gap instead of asking them to cross the cultural gap to him.

This is very important. This means that we, in our ministry, are to be incarnational and missional. These are two big words in Christian circles today. The church needs to be incarnational and missional. And you may ask, what in the world does that mean? It means we need to be Christ-like. That's what it means, basically. We should be Christ-like.

Aren't you thankful that God didn't say to us, "Listen, find a way to get to me, and when you get here, we'll try and sort out this whole sin problem that you have"? I mean, isn't that the epitome of all world religions? Find a way to get to God and then try and sort that whole problem out. But that's not Christianity. No, no, that's not it at all. God was incarnated as a man to accomplish the mission for our salvation. God became a man in the form of Jesus Christ to accomplish the mission of our salvation. He is incarnational. He is missional.

We should be the same, meaning that we should be willing to step outside of our cultural way of life to reach those who have a different perspective, a different worldview, and to speak in terms that they can grasp, that they can understand. Talking to a person who has no understanding of the Bible, speaking to them in terms of justification and sanctification, and being wholly set apart and consecrated to the one true God, they are going to go, "What in the world? What language are you speaking?" He asks us.

God does call us to be incarnational and missional. Take some time this afternoon when you get home after all the football games and such. I commend you for being here; I know there are things going on. Take some time to read John chapter 4. It is a great passage where we see this played out in the life of our Lord.

As Jesus meets the woman at the well in Samaria, it was forbidden for a Jewish man to speak to a woman alone unless she was his wife. Even more so, Jews never had any dealings with Samaritans. Yet, there in John chapter 4, this woman comes out to the well near the city of Sychar, and Jesus is there by himself. He says, "Would you give me a drink?" She wants to inform him that he has done a great faux pas. "You're a Jew; you're not supposed to talk to me. I'm a Samaritan woman. Hello?"

Then you watch the way that Jesus ministers to her, ultimately bringing salvation to her. Paul's reasoning in verse 23 states, "And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be a partaker thereof with you." Paul was a bondservant of Christ. He did what he did not for his own sake, but for the sake of the King, for the sake of His kingdom, and for the sake of the message of that kingdom. "This I do for the gospel's sake. I will lay aside my liberties. I will renounce my rights if it means that I can bring the gospel to those who don't know it and have not received it."

Now, if there is something in your heart today that nods in agreement with this, then I want you to consider: What would the world look like if this was our purpose? I believe that biblically it is. If we recognize this to be our purpose and orient our lives in such a way to meet that purpose, what would be the effect? Could you imagine the impact if we in this room today did that? What if just half of the church embraced this mission?

Here at Calvary Chapel of Escondido, a church of about 600 adults, what if 300 of them said, "I am going to commit myself and my life to winning souls"? This year, just this year, I will seek to win one person to Christ and disciple them to also win another person to Christ. If 300 of us committed to winning just one person and discipling them this year, then 300 would win 300. Those 600 would win 600, and those 1,200 would win 1,200. Continuing this pattern, in 10 years, you would have over 300,000.

Now, there are a lot of people in America today, many Christians, crying foul about the shift in culture. This is largely because the American church has been more like a thermometer than a thermostat, and we are not engaging our culture. If we determined that we are going to shift our whole lives to align with this purpose—"He who saves souls is wise"—could you imagine the shift in culture just in Escondido if we committed to doing that? Just this group here.

If that started to happen in the church in America today, I guarantee you that CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News would all be freaking out. It would be kind of cool to watch the transformation that would take place. You think the cultural slide is crazy right now? Could you imagine if the church engaged in the culture in that way? There would be a cultural earthquake in the United States of America.

We, who are a part of Calvary Chapel, have been labeled evangelical Christians. Did you know that you are an evangelical Christian? There are many in the culture in America today who are scared of evangelical Christians. We are actually labeled in some circles as extremists. During the 2008 presidential campaign, many people were afraid of the evangelical vote because we are seen as narrow-minded, issue voters who are immovable on many subjects. As a result, there is a great deal of fear surrounding us.

Do you even know what an evangelical Christian is? I want to read to you from Barna Research their definition of born-again and evangelical Christians. A born-again Christian is defined as a person who has made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today. They also indicate that they believe when they die, they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as Savior. That's a born-again Christian.

How many of you would identify with that today? Raise your hand. I don't see as many hands as I would hope. Maybe we need to do an altar call right now. That's a born-again Christian. Barna goes on to explain that evangelicals meet the criteria of born-again Christians plus seven other conditions. These include saying that their faith is very important in their life today, believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians, believing that Satan exists, and believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace and not works.

Additionally, evangelicals believe that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth, assert that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches, and describe God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today. That's the description of an evangelical Christian, and I believe that's a good definition.

We have to wonder, are we evangelical Christians? If so, that means we are Christians who share our faith with people who don't share our faith. Now, certainly, you know some people who don't share your faith—friends, family members, co-workers. I guarantee you probably just had at least one person come to mind.

I want you to do something. Close your eyes and think about that person. Someone's name or face just popped into your mind. There they are. While your eyes are closed, I want you to ask the Lord to begin to work in that person's heart by His Spirit. Evangelism starts by the Spirit of God.

Now here's the heavy one: ask the Lord to give you an opportunity to share your faith with them this year. Now open your eyes and write their name down. Not on your bulletin; you'll throw it away. You probably have...

A blank page in the back of your Bible is called the soul page. Okay, I made that up, but write their name on it. I challenge you to begin to pray that God, by His Spirit, will work in their life. Pray that God will give you an opportunity to share with them. I guarantee you God will answer that prayer. Then, pray that God will equip you to be able to minister to them and disciple them.

Now you may say, "I cannot disciple someone." Well, sign up for the school of discipleship. We'll equip you to do that. Paul was willing to deny himself certain liberties, pleasures, and enjoyments. He was willing to deny himself so that he might be able to better minister to those he was coming in contact with.

How was he able to deny himself? Was he just stronger than the rest of us? No, he was also able to discipline himself. In verse 24, moving from self-denial, we come to self-discipline. Know ye not that they which run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain the prize.

The Corinthians understood the concept of training for an athletic event. Throughout the ancient Greek and Roman empires, there were what were called the Panhellenic Games. You've probably heard of the Olympic Games, which we still hold today. They were restarted in the late 1800s, but they were part of ancient Greek culture. Just behind the Olympic Games were the Isthmian Games, which took place in Corinth every other year, during the second and fourth year of the Olympiad.

The people would gather there to compete in these Games, named the Isthmian Games because of the Isthmus that was located in the city of Corinth. The Games ran from the 6th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D. For a very long time, these Games went on. Athletes preparing for these Games would train for a 10-month period, with the last month of rigorous training taking place in the city of Corinth.

There in their gymnasium and in their fields, everybody had an opportunity to watch the athletes preparing. Many of those athletes were shown to be disqualified, castaways in the training alone. Then the Games would come, and there were many different events in which they would compete. One was a race.

Paul says, "Do you not know that those who run a race all run, but only one receives the prize?" They all train vigorously, deny themselves, and discipline themselves, but only one wins that prize on the day. "You, church," he says, "so run in a way that you can win the prize."

Every man that strives for mastery is temperate in all things. Now, they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we strive for an incorruptible crown. Those who prepare for the opportunity to compete at the master's level in athletics do not train casually, perhaps two or three times a week. They strive for mastery in their sport.

The Greek word for "strive" in verse 25 is agonizomai, from which we get our English word "agonize." This inner drive causes them to discipline themselves and govern nearly every aspect of their lives. When others are sleeping, they are awake training. When others indulge in the pleasures of this life, they deny themselves those same pleasures and hungers of their bodies. When others would quit, they press on. They are determined, disciplined, controlled, governed, and temperate, says Paul.

The sleep, diet, and exercise of an athlete at that level are not determined by their rights or liberties; they are determined by a rigorous training schedule, whether they want to or not. Paul notes that they do it to obtain a corruptible crown. The winner of the Isthmian Games was given a braided pine crown. How many of you would say, "Yes, I’m going to discipline myself for a braided pine crown?" Right on!

With that crown came some notoriety in the culture, and they were often looked to as heroes. Sometimes, they might even have a marble statue fashioned in their honor.

Of them, but it wasn't immortal, was it? It was a corruptible crown. Paul says we strive for an incorruptible crown. We are in a race. Many times, that illustration is used in the New Testament to speak of the walk that we have as believers, the mission that we're on. We're in a race. It's not a race against one another in the body of Christ, but a race for our King and for His kingdom.

Not a race where one wins, but one in which all who pay the price of careful training can win. What do they win? Well, what's the context of this passage? They win souls. Now, I know you can take this passage, and many have, and they've used it to preach great messages about how we win this great, abundant life and we win Christ. Those things are all true. There are other passages of Scripture that support the fact that we win Christ and we win an inheritance that's incorruptible. We win a crown of righteousness that does not fade away.

But what's the context of the passage? He who runs wins what? He wins souls. Five times, he said, "I want to win Jews. I want to win those that are under the law. I want to win Gentiles. I want to win those who are weak." Every Christian runs his own race, says MacArthur, enabling each one of us to be a winner, winning souls to Christ. He goes on to say that holding tightly to our liberties and rights is a sure way to lose the race of soul winning.

And so, this being the case, we ought to run in a way that we can win the prize. We already have immortality in Jesus Christ. We've already been promised a crown of righteousness to those who endure and press on. When I read this last week, it cut me to the heart, and I didn't want to be the only one cut to the heart.

MacArthur says the athlete's disciplined self-control is a rebuke of the half-hearted, out-of-shape Christians who do almost nothing to prepare themselves to witness to the lost. Ouch! Let me read it again. The athlete's disciplined self-control is a rebuke of the half-hearted, out-of-shape Christians who do almost nothing to prepare themselves to witness to the lost and consequently seldom do. I didn't say it.

MacArthur did. I just read it, so you can write to him and tell him I didn't like that quote.

Paul continues in verse 26: "I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; and so I fight, not as one who beats the air." He shifts from the illustration of running to the illustration of a fight. He says, "I don't fight like a shadow boxer, just kind of jumping around." I'm engaged in the battle, he says, fighting the good fight of faith.

But I keep my body under, and I bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. When Paul says, "I keep my body under," it literally means, in the Greek, to beat black and blue, to hit under the eye.

Now, I have to say, many have wrongly interpreted and used this verse for all sorts of crazy self-mutilation and flagellation over the years within the church. That's not what it's saying at all—that we should beat ourselves up physically. Paul's saying, "I put myself through the training like an athlete so that I might be able to successfully accomplish the mission." I bring my body into subjection, which means I make my body my slave.

Most of us are slaves to our bodies. Our body says, "Eat," so we eat. Our body says, "Eat more," so we eat more. Our body says, "Sleep," so we sleep. If it says, "Keep sleeping," we keep sleeping. If you've ever read The Screwtape Letters, a great book by C.S. Lewis, you know he shows these little devils discussing how to distract their client—reminding him that he's hungry, reminding him that he's tired.

Whenever he starts to think about spiritual things, they remind him that it's really kind of warm in here this morning or that he's hungry right now. The enemy does a good job with our flesh, doesn't he? Paul endeavored to make his body his slave. We could spend weeks on that statement, I think. An athlete endeavoring to win...

Paul says we ought not to allow this manner of life. He runs when he would rather be resting. He eats a balanced meal when he would rather have a chocolate sundae. He goes to bed when he would rather stay up. He gets up early when he would rather sleep. An athlete leads his body; he does not follow it. It is his slave and not the other way around.

I believe that God, at least in my life, and I'm quite sure for our church as a whole, is speaking this very thing to us. We have been distracted by our flesh, by our culture, emphasized by the enemy, no doubt, to think that this life is all about us. That we were created just for the enjoyment of the things of this life. Now, don't get me wrong. God has created so many wonderful things for us to enjoy. But ultimately, the purpose is His pleasure, His glorification, that He would be exalted among all the peoples of this earth. This means that we, who already know Him and exalt Him in our lives, ought to endeavor to reach those who don't know Him, so that His glory and His exaltation would be extended.

We have to take the time to question: Are there things in my life, Lord, that are hindering me from being the best witness and worshiping You in that way? Are there liberties that I'm holding on to that perhaps You want me to lay aside for the sake of the King, for the sake of Your kingdom, for the sake of the Gospel? Are there rights that I need to renounce that, although they're available to me, perhaps they're hindering me from being an effective witness in the culture?

I think the church in America has been hampered in its witness for the very fact that we've forgotten that we are not here to serve ourselves but to serve God. I'm praying that the Lord would shake us up first, that He would start with us. At the end of Jeremiah chapter 5, God says to the prophet Jeremiah, "The prophets prophesy falsely, the priests bear rule by their own strength, and My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?" The question comes down to us: How will we apply what God is speaking to us? It's very clear what He's saying to us. We don't have to spend a lot of time interpreting what He's saying here.

But we can, by His Spirit, submit ourselves to Him and say, "God, would You work this into our lives today, this week, this month, this year? God, transform us so that we would live more for You than for ourselves." I can't even imagine what would happen in our nation if just half of the church within Calvary Chapel determined to do that by the power of the Spirit.

Remember, God chose twelve ordinary men. One of them denied and departed, but ten of them, afterwards, God turned the world upside down. Actually, I think He turned it right side up, but the estimation of the people of their day was that these Christians had turned the world upside down. I would love to hear Rachel Maddow on MSNBC say, "These Christians are turning the world upside down." Yes, amen! May it be that she would come to the knowledge of the truth as well.

Let's stand and pray together. Father, we certainly need Your strength by Your Spirit to do the things that we see in Your Word. As we prepare to go from here, we pray that You would fill us to overflowing with Your Spirit. Empty us of anything that is hindering You from having full control. Take those things from us. I know, Lord, that is a dangerous prayer for us to pray, but God, we want to be endeavoring to bring forth Your Word into this dark world unhindered. Lord, work that in my life. Work that into the lives of my brothers and sisters here this morning, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.