1 Corinthians 9:7-12,19-23
7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? 8 Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10 Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?
But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.
19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Christians Have Rights (and Roles) Too!
Have you ever heard about the 3 things you’re never supposed to talk about in polite conversation? Politics, religion, and money. Well, we’re going to talk about all 3 today.
I’ve never preached on this text before – and this is my 500th sermon! – because it’s kind of awkward. 1 Corinthians 9 is the proof passage for why you pay pastors. As a pastor, that’s an uncomfortable topic. I don’t particularly enjoy talking about my salary or why you should give it to me. But let’s do the awkward thing and talk about money because by the end, I promise it won’t be about money at all.
Paul starts out by giving us several examples of something that is completely absurd:
Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and doesn’t drink the milk?[1]
That would be ridiculous. We wouldn’t dream of making our military pay for the right to defend us with their lives. We wouldn’t dream of asking the people who provide us with our food to pay for the privilege of doing so. In both cases, we should be bending over backwards to show our appreciation to the people who render us such necessary service.
This isn’t rocket science. It’s common sense. But it’s more than that. It’s biblical. It’s divine. It’s a direct command from God himself:
For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”[2]
Not only would that be nothing short of animal cruelty, it would be counterproductive. If you want that ox to tread out the grain, it’s going to need energy and sustenance to do the work you want it to do. So, just as it is in your best interest to feed your beasts of burden, it is in your best interest to physically support those who serve you spiritually. Jesus himself says it, “The worker deserves his wages.”[3] He has every right to expect material support from you for offering spiritual service to you.
Paul makes a convincing and common sense case for paying your pastor. But then he says something almost as absurd as expecting a soldier to serve in the military at his own expense:
But we did not use this right.[4]
Who would do that? Who would refuse the wages he had every right to claim? You wouldn’t do that, would you? At the end of the month, when your boss hands you your cheque would you say, “Don’t worry about it; this month’s on me”? Of course not! So why would Paul? Was he independently wealthy? Did he not need the money? He definitely did. In fact, we read about that last week – how, when Paul was in Thessalonica, it was the people in Philippi who paid his way. Paul had needs, just like the rest of us. Why would he relinquish his right to remuneration? He tells us:
On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.[5]
What Paul is saying here about paying your pastor is 100% true and timelessly relevant. No Christian anywhere should expect to be spiritually served at someone else’s expense. But in the broader context of his letter to the Christians in Corinth, this is just one example of a larger point that Paul was making, like what he says a chapter earlier:
Be careful that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.[6]
Christians have rights – like the right of a pastor to expect to be paid. But that’s just one example. You have rights, like the right to worship in a three-piece suit or a t-shirt and flip flops, to use the common cup or the individual (the alcoholic wine or non-alcoholic grape juice) in the Sacrament, to listen to a certain genre of music, to vote for a certain political party, to drive a certain kind of car – without any other Christian judging you for the choices that you make.
But in the exercise of your rights, you have to be careful that you do not become a stumbling block in the way of someone else’s faith.
Far too often, I think we forget how much our words and actions impact the faith of the people around us. We are all too often content to see them only as our sons and daughters – our fathers and mothers, our coworkers and neighbours – and to forget that they are blood-bought children of God with spiritual needs of their own. And that’s an immediately practical reality we face every day of our lives.
It’s one thing for me to have the freedom to root for a different sports team than my dad. We are free to disagree. My cheering for the Cowboys when they lay a beatdown on his Lions might hurt his feelings, but it won’t hurt his faith. On the other hand, if I drink a six pack of beer while watching the game in front of a family member who struggles with alcoholism, then I could hurt their feelings and their faith. Instead of being an instrument of God’s grace to that person’s life, I could become a stumbling block for them, i.e. a cause of sin in their lives and a roadblock preventing the Gospel from finding a home in their heart.
Your actions – the way you exercise your God-given rights and freedoms – can negatively impact someone else’s faith. And then they’re not rights and freedoms anymore. They’re sin. Paul minces no words about this:
When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.[7]
And that sword cuts both ways. That’s not only true of the things you do, it’s also true of the things you are willing to have done to you. Remember what we heard Paul say earlier:
We put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.[8]
Is that true of you? Or are you easily offended at the exercise of someone else’s God-given rights and freedoms? If someone disagrees with you about a policy or a politician do you get huffy about it and take your ball and go home, or worse, do you harbour hatred in your heart and say things, out loud or to yourself, that are hateful and hurtful? If someone makes a choice that you wouldn’t have made (that in itself isn’t sinful), do you turn up your nose at them or tear them down to their face or behind their back?
Are you willing to give up your rights and freedoms – to inconvenience yourself and swim in a sea of discomfort – for the sake of someone else’s faith? To go out of your way and risk your relationship so that they can hear the gospel? Are you willing to forego your righteous anger and forgive a person who sinned against you so that they can see in you the love of Christ for them?
Paul talks about how he was willing to do that:
Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews.[9]
Did you know that when Paul went to Lystra and Derbe, he encouraged Timothy to be circumcised just so as not to offend the weak consciences of the Jews there? That’s a pretty drastic step to take just to avoid the possibility of causing offense. But Paul and Timothy weren’t hell-bent on asserting their rights. They were willing to put up with anything rather than hinder the Gospel of Christ. If getting circumcised would open the door of talking about Jesus to a Jew, they were willing to do it, as crazy as it sounds.
To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.[10]
Did you know that Paul was willing never to eat meat again if it meant reaching people who weren’t sure whether eating meat was ethical? He was willing to change his entire lifestyle in service to the Gospel and to other people.
Paul is a shining example of putting up with anything rather than hindering the gospel of Christ. But here’s the thing, when Paul did it, that made him a good guy. When Jesus did it, that made him your Saviour.
Think about the rights and freedoms that Jesus relinquished for you. He had the right to stay in heaven and not get his hands dirty or descend into this sin-filled world and get tangled up in the messes we make. He had the right to insist on being treated better by the very people he came to save. He had the right to defend himself when he was unjustly arrested and falsely accused and wrongfully condemned. But he surrendered those rights and willingly put up with injustice and torment and death for you.
That’s what he said in our Gospel today:
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”[11]
Jesus did not put his own rights or freedoms – or bodily needs – ahead of his love for you. He gave up everything to win your forgiveness and your salvation and your eternal life and your heart.
That’s why Paul was willing to be the good guy he was and put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ, because the gospel of Christ means forgiveness, life, and salvation for all who believe. Because he knew that his words and actions had an impact on the faith of the other people around him. And their spiritual wellbeing was so much more important than the enjoyment of his personal, God-given rights and freedoms.
And that’s true for you too. You have God-given rights and freedoms as a Christian, but you also have a role in God’s plan of salvation for the people in your life. Be careful that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. Instead do everything for the sake of the gospel. Be all things to all people so that by all possible means you might save some, just as you have been saved and forgiven and set free by the selfless sacrifice of our Saviour Jesus. Amen.
[1] 1 Corinthians 9:7
[2] 1 Corinthians 9:9
[3] Luke 10:7
[4] 1 Corinthians 9:12
[5] 1 Corinthians 9:12
[6] 1 Corinthians 8:9
[7] 1 Corinthians 8:12
[8] 1 Corinthians 9:12
[9] 1 Corinthians 9:19,20
[10] 1 Corinthians 9:22
[11] Mark 10:45