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... 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... Know ye not, that they which run a race all run, but one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain... 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.

A free man who made himself a slave—because in the kingdom of God, the servant is the one who wins.

A Free Man Who Made Himself a Slave

Paul has been building over the last couple of chapters a theme of laying aside our liberties and renouncing our rights for the sake of others, for the sake of the kingdom, for the sake of the gospel. As we come 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 of no man, a hireling to none. And yet he says he had made himself a slave unto all.

The Greek word Paul chooses for servant here is doulos, meaning to make a slave or to reduce to bondage. The verse is therefore something of a paradox at the surface: though I am free, I have made myself a slave. For this very reason Paul identifies himself on several occasions as a bondservant—in Romans 1:1, "Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ"; in Philippians 1:1, "Paul and Timothy, the servants of Jesus Christ"; in Titus 1:1, "Paul, a bondservant of God."

Why a Free Man Would Become a Servant

Paul called himself a bondservant of Christ, but his service to Christ was evidenced by his service to others within the body of Christ. So why did a free man make himself a slave? In 2 Corinthians 4:5 he says he had made himself a doulos for Jesus' sake. And here in verse 19 he gives the second reason: "that I may win the more."

You might think the position of a servant is the position of loss—that to place ourselves as a bondservant is to lose everything. But that is not how Paul looked at it. The culture of this world looks down upon the servant, but the economy of God's kingdom is wholly different. Remember the words of Jesus in Mark 10:42:

You know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them... But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you shall be your servant, and whosoever will be the chiefest shall be the servant of all.

If you want to win in the kingdom of God, follow the example of Jesus and the pattern of Paul: lay down your life, take up your cross, sacrificially serve. And in so doing, you win.

Winning Was Paul's Clear Purpose

What does Paul mean by winning? If you ever asked Paul, "What is your aim?" the response would come without hesitation: "I am seeking to win." To win what? To win people to Christ. Five times in these first four verses Paul uses the word win. Then in verse 22 he shows what he means when he switches the word, saying, "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some."

Paul was wholly dedicated to what Scripture calls a wise work. Proverbs 11:30 says, "He that wins souls is wise." The purpose of your life will dictate the pattern of your life. If your purpose is winning souls, then the orientation of your life will line up with that purpose. You will change the way you live to meet the purpose you have for your life—and Paul's pattern was perfectly in line with his purpose.

Modifying Habits for the Kingdom

"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." 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, yet willing to deny himself certain liberties for the opportunity to minister to as many people as possible.

In our day someone might say, "This is who I am. I don't change for anybody." Isn't that the motto in America today? But is it really true? It's amazing how many people will modify their habits and set aside their preferences for a temporal gain. Someone wants a promotion, so they come in early and stay late. Someone wants a relationship, so they alter their appearance, pretend to like music they don't, and shift their preferences to long walks on the beach. You want to fit into an outfit, so you jog yourself into the ground and count calories like your life depended on it. All this for a temporal, earthly gain. Do you think it goes unnoticed by our Heavenly Father that we will do such things to serve ourselves but not to serve His kingdom?

Not a Chameleon, but a Student of Culture

Don't misunderstand Paul. He was not some slick, politician-like chameleon who changed his mannerisms depending on which group he was with. That is the very thing he rebuked Peter for in Galatians—Peter fellowshipped with Gentiles until Jews showed up, then set them aside. Paul rebuked that.

Nor was Paul so dominated by political correctness that he went to every length to avoid offense. He knew the gospel is offensive to those who are perishing. He didn't craft the message to never offend, but he sought to make sure his life was never a hindrance to the message going forth. So Paul was a student of culture. He knew his Jewish brothers would be offended by unclean foods, so he would cut those things out so as not to lay a stumbling block before them.

When he says, "to them that are under the law, as under the law," he refers to those who held the law with pharisaical zeal—bound to rites, rituals, and vows. Before he was Paul the apostle, he was Saul the Pharisee. In Acts 18, leaving Corinth, he shaved his head in Cenchrea because of a vow. In Acts 21, in Jerusalem, he was again encouraged to take a vow and shave his head. Were such things required of him as a Christian? No. Were they forbidden? No. Would they open a door for the gospel? No doubt. It was a gray area—not forbidden, not commanded—but Paul did it because he wanted to win people to Christ.

Reaching Those Without the Law

"To them that are without the law, as without the law... that I might win them that are without the law." For Paul, identifying with Jews was relatively easy—it would be like you identifying with Americans. But here he says to the Gentiles, those without the law, "I became like a Gentile that I might win them." Paul was sensitive enough to be culturally relevant with those he ministered to. Meat sacrificed to idols was no big deal to the common Corinthian Gentile, so if Paul went into such a home, you would not have heard him demand to know whether the meat had been offered to an idol. He sought to tear down any wall that would block his ministry.

I've always been taken aback by Peter's first words to the Gentiles of Cornelius' house in Acts 10. Remember the vision—the sheet with clean and unclean animals, the voice saying, "Rise, Peter, kill and eat," and Peter answering, "Not so, Lord." Then he goes to Caesarea, and his first words to a Gentile household are: "You know how that it is an unlawful thing for a Jew to keep company with you." Could you imagine going to a non-believer's home for dinner and announcing it's not appropriate for a Christian to eat with a heathen? We would hope never to do that.

Yet in some ways the Western church today is building walls that separate us from the world God told us to go into. We have Christian music because we won't listen to "that secular stuff." We have Christian schools. There are churches with their own fitness centers, coffee shops, and bookstores so people don't have to go out into the dangerous world. But didn't Jesus tell us to go into the world?

Under the Law to Christ

Paul makes very clear he was not without the law before God. He adds parenthetically, "being not without the law to God, but under the law to Christ." Paul did not live with an "anything goes" mentality in cross-cultural ministry. He did not cast off righteous living to gain an open door. If someone had said, "Paul, prostitution is culturally acceptable here in Corinth—it opens a door for the gospel," he would have said, "No, it's forbidden by God." If someone said, "Join me at the temple of Apollo to offer a sacrifice," there's no way Paul would have done it.

Here is the important principle: we should always be guided by the ethical standards of the kingdom of God in our dealings here on earth. Remember that our witness in this world is worship. The way we live on a daily basis is to be worship to God—we are to do all as unto the Lord. What we do on a Sunday morning singing praises is part of worship, but it is not worship in whole. The way you drive on the 15 freeway... maybe we won't go there.

To the Weak I Became as the Weak

"To the weak I became as the weak, that I might gain the weak." First, what Paul is not saying: he is not talking about becoming morally weak to reach the morally indigent. Paul did not loosen his moral standards. Some have foolishly interpreted this passage to feel content living like a pagan, telling themselves they're ministering to pagans. That's nonsense—that person is morally indigent themselves and needs to repent. We don't become pagans to reach pagans.

The best way to interpret Scripture is with Scripture, and a text without a context is a pretext to a proof text. Go back to 1 Corinthians 8. Verse 7 says, "There is not in every man that knowledge. For some, with conscience of the idol, eat it as a thing offered unto an idol, and their conscience being weak is defiled." The same Greek word. The weak one is the one whose doctrinal knowledge and understanding is weak.

If they need the gospel brought to them slowly, with ABCs, Paul was strong enough to bring it down to their level. This doesn't diminish the power of the gospel; it brings it to people where they are. Paul became as Jewish as needed to reach Jews, as Gentile as he could to reach Gentiles, as weak as necessary to reach the weak—"that I might by all means save some." Take that purpose away and the passage makes no sense. The bottom line was reaching people for the gospel.

Incarnational and Missional

Paul was prepared to cross the cultural gap instead of asking people to cross it to him. This means our ministry is to be incarnational and missional—two big words in Christian circles today. What do they mean? Basically, that we should be Christ-like.

Aren't you thankful God didn't say, "Find a way to get to Me, and when you get here we'll sort out your sin problem"? That is the epitome of every world religion. But that's not Christianity. God was incarnated as a man in Jesus Christ to accomplish the mission of our salvation. He is incarnational; He is missional. We should be the same—willing to step outside our cultural way of life to reach those with a different worldview, speaking in terms they can grasp. Talking to a person who knows nothing of the Bible about justification, sanctification, and consecration will leave them asking, "What language are you speaking?"

Read John 4 this afternoon. Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well. It was forbidden for a Jewish man to speak to a woman alone, and Jews had no dealings with Samaritans, yet Jesus says, "Give me a drink." She points out he's not supposed to be talking to her—and then you watch the way He ministers salvation to her.

What If This Were Our Purpose?

"And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be a partaker thereof with you." Paul did what he did not for his own sake but for the sake of the King, His kingdom, and the message of that kingdom. If something in your heart nods in agreement, consider: what would the world look like if this were our purpose? I believe biblically it is.

Imagine the impact if even half of our church—about 300 adults—committed this year to winning just one person to Christ and discipling them to win another. Those 300 would win 300, then those 600 would win 600, and those 1,200 would win 1,200. In ten years you'd have over 300,000.

Many Christians cry foul about the shift of American culture, largely because the American church has been more like a thermometer than a thermostat—we are not engaging our culture. If we shifted our whole lives in line with the truth that he who wins souls is wise, imagine the transformation just in Escondido. CNN, MSNBC, Fox News—they'd all be freaking out. There would be a cultural earthquake in the United States of America.

What Is an Evangelical Christian?

We of Calvary Chapel have been labeled evangelical Christians—and many in our culture are scared of evangelical Christians, even labeling us extremists. Barna Research defines a born-again Christian as a person who has made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important today, and who believes that when they die they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Christ as Savior.

Evangelicals meet that born-again criteria plus seven conditions: that their faith is very important today; that they have a personal responsibility to share their beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; that Satan exists; that salvation is possible only through grace and not works; that Jesus lived a sinless life; that the Bible is accurate in all it teaches; and that God is the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created and still rules the universe. That's a good definition. If we are evangelical Christians, that means we share our faith with people who don't share our faith.

One Name, One Prayer

You know someone who doesn't share your faith—a friend, family member, or co-worker. Close your eyes and think of that person whose name or face just popped into your mind. Ask the Lord to begin to work in their heart by His Spirit, for evangelism starts by the Spirit of God. Now the heavy one: ask the Lord to give you an opportunity to share your faith with them this year.

Write their name down—not on your bulletin, which you'll throw away, but on the blank page in the back of your Bible; call it your soul page. Begin to pray that God by His Spirit will work in their life, that He will give you an opportunity, and that He will equip you to minister to them and disciple them. If you feel you can't disciple anyone, sign up for the school of discipleship and we'll equip you.

From Self-Denial to Self-Discipline

How was Paul able to deny himself? Was he simply stronger than the rest of us? No—he was also able to discipline himself. Verse 24: "Know ye not that they which run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain."

The Corinthians understood training for an athletic event. Just behind the Olympics were the Isthmian Games, held in Corinth every other year, named for the isthmus there. These games ran from the 6th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D. Athletes trained rigorously for ten months, the last month in Corinth itself, in full public view. Many were shown to be disqualified in training alone. They all ran, but only one received the prize. "You, church," Paul says, "so run that you can win the prize."

Temperate in All Things

"Every man that strives for mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible." Master-level athletes don't casually train two or three times a week—they strive for mastery. The Greek word for strive is agonizomai, from which we get our word agonize. When others sleep, they are awake training. When others indulge in life's pleasures, they deny themselves. When others quit, they press on. Their sleep, diet, and exercise are not determined by their rights or liberties but by their rigorous training schedule, whether they want it or not.

The winner of the Isthmian games received a braided pine crown. How many of you would discipline yourself for a braided pine crown? With it came notoriety—a hero's status, maybe even a marble statue—but it wasn't immortal. It was a corruptible crown. We strive for an incorruptible one. We are in a race—not against one another in the body of Christ, but for our King and His kingdom. Not a race where only one wins, but one in which all who pay the price of careful training can win. What do they win? In the context of this passage, souls.

You can take this passage and preach great messages about how we win the abundant life or win Christ—and other Scriptures support that we win an incorruptible inheritance and a crown of righteousness. But what's the context here? He who runs wins souls. MacArthur says every Christian runs his own race, enabling each one to be a winner, winning souls to Christ. And he adds: "Holding tightly to our liberties and rights is a sure way to lose the race of soul-winning."

A Rebuke to the Half-Hearted

When I read this last week, it cut me to the heart, and I didn't want to be the only one cut. MacArthur writes: "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.

I Keep My Body Under

"I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beats the air." Paul shifts from running to fighting: I don't fight like a shadow boxer just jumping around. I'm engaged in the battle, fighting the good fight of faith. "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."

"I keep my body under" literally means to beat black and blue, to hit under the eye. Many have wrongly used this verse for self-mutilation and flagellation over the years, but that is not what it means. Paul is saying, "I put myself through training like an athlete so I can accomplish the mission." To bring the body into subjection means to make the body your slave. Most of us are slaves to our bodies. The body says eat, so we eat. It says eat more, so we eat more. It says sleep, so we sleep.

If you've read C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, you'll remember the little devils reminding their client that he's hungry, that he's tired, that it's warm in here this morning—whenever he starts to think about spiritual things. The enemy does a good job with our flesh. Paul endeavored to make his body his slave. An athlete runs when he'd rather rest, eats a balanced meal when he'd rather have a chocolate sundae, goes to bed when he'd rather stay up, and gets up early when he'd rather sleep. An athlete leads his body; he does not follow it.

Searching Our Lives

I believe God is speaking this very thing to us. We have been distracted by our flesh and our culture, prompted by the enemy, into thinking this life is all about us—that we were created just for the enjoyment of this life. God has created many wonderful things for us to enjoy, but the ultimate purpose is His pleasure and glory, that He would be exalted among all the peoples of the earth. Those of us who already know Him ought to endeavor to reach those who don't.

So we must ask: Lord, are there things in my life hindering me from being the best witness? Are there liberties I'm holding onto that You want me to lay aside for the sake of the King and the gospel? Are there rights I need to renounce because, though available to me, they hinder my witness? The church in America has been hampered in its witness because we've forgotten we are not here to serve ourselves but to serve God.

At the end of Jeremiah 5, God says, "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? It's clear. By His Spirit, we can submit and say, "God, work this into our lives—transform us that we would live more for You than for ourselves."

I can't imagine what would happen in our nation if just half the church determined to do that by the power of the Spirit. Remember, God chose twelve ordinary men. One denied and departed. The other ten turned the world upside down—or right side up. I would love to hear Rachel Maddow on MSNBC say, "These Christians are turning the world upside down." And may it be that she too would come to the knowledge of the truth.

Closing Prayer

Father, we certainly need Your strength by Your Spirit to do the things 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's a dangerous prayer to pray. But God, we want to be bringing 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.