The Rights
of an Apostle 1Am I not free? Am I
not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus
our Lord? Are you not the result of my
work in the Lord? 2Even though I may not
be an apostle to others, surely I am to
you! For you are the seal of my
apostleship in the Lord. 3This is my
defense to those who sit in judgment on
me. 4Don't we have the right to food and
drink? 5Don't we have the right to take
a believing wife along with us, as do
the other apostles and the Lord's
brothers and Cephas[a]? 6Or is it only I
and Barnabas who must work for a living?
7Who serves as a soldier at his own
expense? Who plants a vineyard and does
not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock
and does not drink of the milk? 8Do I
say this merely from a human point of
view? Doesn't the Law say the same
thing? 9For it is written in the Law of
Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is
treading out the grain."[b] Is it about
oxen that God is concerned? 10Surely he
says this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this
was written for us, because when the
plowman plows and the thresher threshes,
they ought to do so in the hope of
sharing in the harvest. 11If we have
sown spiritual seed among you, is it too
much if we reap a material harvest from
you? 12If 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. 13Don't you know that
those who work in the temple get their
food from the temple, and those who
serve at the altar share in what is
offered on the altar? 14In the same way,
the Lord has commanded that those who
preach the gospel should receive their
living from the gospel. 15But I have
not used any of these rights. And I am
not writing this in the hope that you
will do such things for me. I would
rather die than have anyone deprive me
of this boast. 16Yet when I preach the
gospel, I cannot boast, for I am
compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do
not preach the gospel! 17If I preach
voluntarily, I have a reward; if not
voluntarily, I am simply discharging the
trust committed to me. 18What then is my
reward? Just this: that in preaching the
gospel I may offer it free of charge,
and so not make use of my rights in
preaching it. 19Though I am free and
belong to no man, I make myself a slave
to everyone, to win as many as possible.
20To 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. 21To 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. 22To the weak I became weak, to win
the weak. I have become all things to
all men so that by all possible means I
might save some. 23I do all this for the
sake of the gospel, that I may share in
its blessings. 24Do 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. 25Everyone
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.
26Therefore I do not run like a man
running aimlessly; I do not fight like a
man beating the air. 27No, I beat my
body and make it my slave so that after
I have preached to others, I myself will
not be disqualified for the prize.
KEY VERSE: "I have become all
things to all men so that by all
possible means I might save some. I do
all this for the sake of the gospel,
that I may share in its blessings." (1
Corinthians 9:22-23)
Thought:
(Sent in by Eric Mesa - Eric was a
student of mine back in Ft. Lauderdale
and is currently a student at Florida
State University)
My, how
refreshing it is to see a new Christian.
They're so into God and so happy about
their newfound faith, and rightfully so!
The only other time that I see such
enthusiasm about our Master is during a
church retreat. However, I'd like to
write some suggestions for the new
Christian. If you are a veteran in God's
army, then perhaps you could pass this
on to those you know who may be new
Christians.
First of all, don't
just drop all of your old friends! I've
seen many a new Christian decide that
since he is casting off his old life, he
has to break ties with all of his
friends. I think this is very
counterproductive to your mission.
Remember what our Lord did; Jesus hung
out with the sinners. "It is not the
healthy who need a doctor, " He said,
"but the sick." Additionally, if you
suddenly stop hanging out with all of
your friends they won't want to convert
to Christianity because they'll think
that you have to leave everyone you
know. A better approach would be to
continue to spend time with your friends
and tell them about this new change in
your life. A good line from an old
Newsboys song describes it perfectly. A
group of non-Christian friends sing, "At
first we were scare you'd start
rejecting us" Many people are scared
that becoming a Christian leads to some
kind of mystical new life where one
can't do ordinary things like watch
football or hang out with some buddies.
They may be scarred from contact with
one such "hyper-Christian". At this
point I must say two important things.
You should spend time with your friends,
but you should not continue to do sinful
things with them. When Jesus hung out
with the prostitutes He did not engage
in sexual sins. Additionally, if your
friends always engage in destructive
behavior, then I would advise breaking
ties with them. This of course, would be
something on the extreme end such as
friends who were in a gang or whose sole
purpose when meeting was to destroy
things (including their bodies).
While you're talking to your friends
remember that it's not easy to hear that
we are destined to damnation for all of
eternity if we do not accept Christ as
our savior. Be careful in how you phrase
your beliefs. I remember telling someone
that it was ok to decide if they would
be a Christian later as long as they
didn't die from now until then. Needless
to say, the encounter did not go very
well. In fact, that person never spoke
to me again. I'm not saying to be silent
about your Christianity, but you should
be wary of certain scary Baptist
catch-phrases like "you're gonna burn if
you don't turn!" (Scary to the
non-believer anyway) Also remember that
this is America and that each person is
entitled so his or her own beliefs. Very
rarely is a person argued to
Christianity. In fact, constant arguing
may turn someone off to Christ.
Remember, your mission is to help more
people get to Heaven. If someone doesn't
want to believe in God right now, simply
show him through your actions how God
has made your life better. When he sees
you helping others when you wouldn't
have, acting without expecting something
in return, no longer being manipulative,
and overall just a better person, then
he will begin to wonder if maybe there
is something to this Jesus-fellow.
That is why it's important to be as
consistent as you possibly can. People
will mess up (I mess up, even Howard
messes up!), but some of your friends
will use any purported example of
hypocrisy as an excuse not to convert to
Christianity. With that in mind, make
sure that your friend realizes that you
aren't claiming to be perfect now that
you're a Christian. God will simply
assist you in resisting temptations, but
you will fall sometimes.
Finally, becoming a Christian does not
mean that you have to convert all of
your old CDs into coasters or
mini-Frisbees. You don't even have to
start listening to the "Hallelujah"
station. You simply have to be wise in
what you listen to. You don't have to
automatically cease listening to
anything that isn't Christian. Certain
songs like, for example, "Beautiful Day"
by U2 are perfectly fine to listen to.
Most Eminem songs, however, should no
longer be on your play list. On the
other side of the coin, there are TONS
of great Christian artists out there in
a variety of styles. Although it used to
be quite cheesy, Christian music has
evolved to the level where it is now on
par with secular music. If you like rap,
check out the amazing group GRITS. If
you like rock, check out DCTalk or
Plumb. There is Christian dance music,
techno music, and electronica. For any
genre that you like, there will be a
Christian artist who performs in that
style. It's worth checking out because
it's music that comes guaranteed with a
positive message and it won't have all
those annoying blanks where the
profanity used to be.
Being a
Christian is a very exciting prospect.
You have returned to your Father. If you
remember these simple tips I think that
it will help you to have more success in
spreading the Gospel to your friends as
well as making you a well-rounded
Christian.
Questions to consider:
***When was the last time I led
someone to Christ?
***What are
some ways I can do a better job of
portraying Christ to those around me?
***Am I currently coming along
side a new believer and helping them
begin this exciting journey?
***Pray and ask God to open up
opportunities for you to share Him with
those around you.
Links: (When avail. copy & paste into
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