Welcome to Fellowship! We're glad you're here! Please fill out our CONNECT CARD.

Celebrate Recovery is a safe place with kind people who are working together to deal with hurts, habits, and hangups. Have questions? Contact our CR Leader - Tim Hughey

SUMMER KIDZ is our Wed night Summer program full of fun, friends, and learning God's Scriptures. Have questions? Contact our Children's Coordinator - Shannon Curtis

Check our website for upcoming events and over 530 past teachings on many different topics.

Help us forward the mission of Fellowship to share Jesus with young and old, with people across the street and people across the ocean. GIVE ONLINE or at the Giving Boxes at each exit.

Many people have disciplined body & mind to attain worthy goals, but at the end of life, very few of those accomplishments will matter. But…what if we put that kind of effort into knowing Jesus and making Him known to others? Followers of Jesus are to run, ever aware of the PRIZE at the end of the race.

Paul was free to eat any food, even food sacrificed to idols, which represent false gods. Some believers who knew this were being stumbling blocks to younger believers who couldn’t yet understand this truth. These believers cared more about their freedom than their younger brothers’/sisters’ faith. Paul cared more about the young Christians faith, and was careful not to do anything that caused other Christians to fall. 

If anybody is free it would be an apostle of Jesus, those who had seen Jesus and been sent out by Him to carry the gospel to others. (Paul testifies about Jesus’ call on his life in Acts 9:1-22; Ac 22:6–11; 26:12–18; 1 Cor 15:8). Despite being an apostle, Paul limits his own freedom to encourage these people he loves so much, those who are the seal of his apostleship. Just as a seal from a signet ring gave proof as to who the letter was from, Paul’s impact on the lives of Corinthians prove he was an apostle of the Lord Jesus, called to carry the gospel message to them.

Couldn’t Paul exercise his freedom to eat or drink whatever he wanted? Yep…but he didn’t. Paul also notes that and the Lord’s brothers (Jacob/James & Judah) and Cephas (Peter) were married and able to bring their wives on their mission. 

• Catholics maintain that Peter was the first pope, but this is not true, as Roman Catholicism didn’t become authoritative until the 6th century (with Pope Gregory I - 590 CE). If Peter was the first pope then he was married, and this should do away with necessity of priestly celibacy. 

Couldn’t Paul exercise the same freedom - to marry and bring his wife with him? Sure. But he didn’t. 

Soldiers, farmers, and shepherds don’t work for free; they are all provided for by those they serve. So too the apostles could refrain from working another job. But Paul and Barnabas chose not to use this freedom either.

The quote about not muzzling an ox comes from Deut 25:4. God’s people were commanded to feed the ox while it was working for them. Paul reasons that if God commands animals be “paid” for their work, then God is much more concerned that people are paid for their work - that he who threshes should thresh in hope of sharing the crop. 

In the Old Covenant system the Jewish priests who served at the temple would be given some of the meat from the offerings of the altar (Lv 6:16,26; 7:6,31–32; Nm 5:9–10; 18:8–20,31; Dt 18:1). This illustration made sense to pagans as priests at the temple of Apollo and Aphrodite would have eaten from the offerings as well. 

Paul notes that in the New Covenant system, “the Lord” (JESUS) has commanded that those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel. 

Why didn’t Paul capitalize on his right to receive compensation?

1. Paul was a Pharisee who had been trained to teach the Scriptures, but also to work a trade. Pharisees were the blue-collar religious leaders of their day, men who rubbed shoulders with the working class because they were the working class. (Sadducees were the elite class.)
2. Paul didn’t want to be indebted to anyone. Traveling teachers & philosophers like Paul supported themselves in one of four ways: charging fees, staying in well-to-do households, begging, or working at a trade. 

• Staying at a wealthy Corinthian’s house or receiving money from Corinthians meant his financiers might expect Paul to support his political agenda. Paul wouldn’t allow his ministry to be impacted in this way. This is why he lived with the Christian couple he worked with - Aquila & Priscilla (Acts 18:1-3).

★Note: Paul sometimes had churches from another city provide for his mission needs, but did not receive funds from those in the city he was staying in.

While Paul was free from all, not indebted to any man, he chose to become a slave to everyone. A Hebrew who sold himself into slavery to repay a debt had to be set free on the 7th year of his work, but…he could choose to remain as a permanent slave, by having his ear pierced as a sign of his desire to stay (Ex 21:2-6). Paul had chosen to be a slave to everyone to win more people for Jesus, regardless of their religious or ethnic background. 

When Paul was around Jews he became like a Jew. Although Paul was a Jew, it is obvious that He did not always live like a Jew - Paul evidently didn’t feel bound by the dietary law, the Sabbath, the festivals, nor the rabbinical traditions (see Col 2:16). Yet, when Paul was around other Jews he did all he could do not to offend them (e.g. following dietary restrictions), but to gain an audience with them. For example, Paul takes the Nazarite vow (purifying himself in a ceremonial washing and shaving head) to demonstrate to the Jews that he is a Jew who follows the Old Testament law (Acts 21:17–24). 

Ultimately, many Jews were offended by the message of Jesus, but it wasn’t because Paul was flaunting his freedom in front of them. He made himself a slave, limiting his freedom, in order to win those under the law - Jews.

Paul uses a different tactic to reach non-Jews - those without the law. Paul likely ate what they ate, dressed like they dressed, and went where they went and adapted to the culture - all without disobeying God. 

Paul mentions another group that he found common ground with - the weak - likely either people weak in their faith or maybe generally recognized as physically or intellectually weaker people of their society. Paul would take the time to explain the gospel for those who didn’t understand quickly. Further, Paul would have been careful not to eat or drink anything that caused confusion for the more immature Christians in Corinth. 

Paul uses a different tactic to reach non-Jews - those without the law. Paul likely ate what they ate, dressed like they dressed, and went where they went and adapted to the culture - all without disobeying God. 

Paul mentions another group that he found common ground with - the weak - likely either people weak in their faith or maybe generally recognized as physically or intellectually weaker people of their society. Paul would take the time to explain the gospel for those who didn’t understand quickly. Further, Paul would have been careful not to eat or drink anything that caused confusion for the more immature Christians in Corinth. 

That sounds like a lot of effort doesn’t it? Learning the cultures and adjusting to the cultural norms?

WHY? To see as many saved from their sins as possible!

• Are we like that? Do we so want to see people follow Jesus so that we are willing to put our preferences on the back burner, and find some common ground with others - to care for people different than us but have the same NEEDS as us - forgiveness & a relationship with the God who created them - by every possible means to save some? Paul discovered that getting the GOSPEL out to others is more important than our comfort.

WHAT are the blessings of the gospel? 

• To see people follow Jesus here on Earth and live with them forever! 
• To hear “well done” by our Creator & Redeemer.

The Isthmian Games were held every 2 years and the competitors trained for 10 months, while the last month was spent in Corinth being supervised in daily workouts in the gym and on the athletic fields. These people didn’t restrict their diet, train to exhaustion, and invest all this time to LOSE. 

They were preparing to win the prize. 

• That prize was a perishable crown - Some say it was a wreath braided from withered celery (Plutarch), which would obviously rot. Others say it was interwoven pine straw. This perishable crown would not last for long.
• We seek an imperishable crown - one that won’t rot, but will last - eternal life! This is the crown of victory.

Paul isn’t just going through the motions. He is training hard to compete for the prize with the end of the race in mind. While on earth, Paul is becoming a disciplined disciple, whose WALK matches up with his TALK. He wants to make sure that his life of preaching to others is backed up by his faithfulness in following Jesus.

Need Some Help?

• A follower of Jesus, but you don’t know where to start? Ask a mature believer for some help. Check out our Groups on Sunday 10am or Wed Night Guys/Ladies Group 6:30pm. 
• NOT yet a follower of Jesus, and you have questions? Ask us or another real follower of Jesus.

Take some time to discuss these questions with your family, friends, or group.

discussionquestions

Take some time to discuss these questions with your family, friends, or group. 

1. What challenged/encouraged you most from today’s teaching? Explain why.
2. Read 1 Cor 9:12-14. What are the rights of those who preach the gospel and why was Paul willing to lay aside those rights?
3. What are some of your rights and freedoms as a Christian? Under what circumstances should we take advantage of our rights, and when should we willingly waive them?
4. Read 1 Cor 9:19-23. Why did Paul make himself a slave to everyone? (9:19) and to what extent did Paul go to see people follow Jesus? (9:20–23)
5. How can we show our love to unbelievers while refusing to participate in activity that is sinful?
6. What right have you given up because it may have caused others to stumble?
7. What actions could disqualify a person from being rewarded by God for serving Him? What should you do to be assured of finishing your life well?
8. How can neglecting spiritual disciplines (such as prayer, Bible study, and worship) disqualify a Christian from having an influence on unbelievers?
9. What other questions has this teaching or discussion prompted for us to talk about?
10. Share prayer needs and pray for one another. Continue to pray for our Supreme Court decision on Roe v Wade. Pray for Christians in Ukraine and Russia to carry the message of Jesus with them wherever they go. Also, PRAY that God will greatly use us to impact people who need to follow Jesus.