Introduction and Scripture Reading

Well, let’s open our Bibles to 1 Corinthians 9. We’re going to be starting in verse 19 today. The intent was originally to get all the way through verse 27, but I don’t think I’ll be able to do that. We’ll probably stop around verse 23 so we can still have time for small groups tonight.

Jake asked me to come in and teach regarding evangelism since he’s not going to be here today. For those of you who don’t know, that’s my bread-and-butter topic. I love evangelism. I feel like that’s probably what I’m most versed in, so this is a fun time for me—just preaching what I love.

Let’s read this passage. We’ll start in verse 19 and read through verse 27. This is from the ESV:

“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

Illustration: The 100-Meter Dash

In 2005, a runner named Asafa Powell entered the stage in the Olympics for the 100-meter dash. This is a very competitive race; everyone wants the title of the fastest man in the world. Even beating the world record by as little as a millisecond is considered an incredible athletic feat.

In 2005, as he was preparing for the race, Sports commentators and writers were shocked when it was over because he hadn’t beaten the record by just one millisecond—he had beaten it by 22 milliseconds. Many thought this record would stand for a long time, but in the next two and a half years, he went on a world-record-breaking spree, shaving off another 33 milliseconds total from what he had already set.

Then came Usain Bolt. Not too long after, Bolt broke that record again and again, shaving off not just another fraction of a second but 123 milliseconds. He ended up running the fastest 100 meters ever recorded and holding the longest-standing world record for that event—15 years and counting. I share all this because I want you to think about the months leading up to the race. How many milkshakes do you think Usain Bolt had? How many days off? How many cheat days do you think he took?

From what reporters have said, Bolt mentioned one cheat day during his preparation where he ate a chicken nugget—his favorite food. His workout regimen was six hours a day, so intense that he had to consume 4,500 calories daily to make up for all that he burned. Most of the food he had to eat, he didn’t even like. He didn’t like those backbreaking workouts, either, but he pushed through them six days a week for months on end because it was physically best for his body to rest only one day a week.

Why did he do all this? It doesn’t sound like fun. But we can all answer that: he did it to be the fastest man in the world. He gave up freedoms—milkshakes, chicken nuggets, comfort—so he could win the prize, and that’s exactly what he did.

Freedoms in Corinth

We’ll see today that the Corinthians didn’t have such a view of self-discipline. In Corinth, they had a saying: “All things are lawful for me.” You can see it in 1 Corinthians 6:12 and 10:23. What they meant was: “If I can legally do it under the law of Christ (meaning it’s not technically sin), then I should do it.” That was the extent of their thinking. We see this show up in 1 Corinthians 8, where people would go to a temple, buy meat sacrificed to a certain idol, and then eat it in front of baby Christians who had just come out of idol worship at that same temple.

This was a huge stumbling block, causing some to shipwreck their faith. Yet these Corinthians saw nothing wrong with it. Their defense was, “We know idols are nothing. God is the only God, so it’s not sin to eat meat sacrificed to an idol.” In that sense, they were correct, but they were also very wrong. They used their freedoms to the detriment of others. They didn’t ask whether they should do it, whether it was beneficial for the weaker believer or for their own walk with Christ. They loved their milkshakes, so to speak, and wouldn’t give them up for the betterment of their church family.

Here in 1 Corinthians 9, Paul becomes the model of the opposite. In verses 24 and 25, he uses the illustration of a runner—like Usain Bolt—training systematically and giving up freedoms to win the prize.

Paul’s Outline: Though Free, a Slave to Win Some

Our outline is this: though he is free, Paul makes himself a slave to two parties in order that he might win some to Christ. The first party we see in the text is simply other people—people of all kinds.

He starts in verse 19: “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.”

Paul was not literally a slave. Biblical slavery often meant being a prisoner of war, being born into it, or owing a debt you couldn’t pay. Slaves had no freedom in their decisions and were owned by others. Paul had no such obligation. It’s almost ironic for him to say, “I’m free from all,” because we know he was the Apostle Paul. There probably wasn’t a position with greater authority besides Christ Himself. Matthew 28 says Jesus has all authority, and He vested that authority in His apostles, including Paul. So, Paul wasn’t anyone’s slave. But here’s what he did with his authority: he made himself a servant to all.

Some translations say “a slave to all.” It means he willingly subjected his will to another person’s. He chose this. Though he didn’t have to labor or suffer at someone else’s command, he did so for a particular reason: “that I might win more of them.” We have to understand that these people were not all believers. Many were unregenerate, enslaved to sin, and living in hate toward God. Yet Paul made himself their servant.

Paul’s Hardships: 2 Corinthians 11

Keep your finger in 1 Corinthians 9 and turn to 2 Corinthians 11. Look at verse 24 and think of the things Paul endured to win people to Christ:

“Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.”

At what point would you or I say, “I’m done”? Maybe after the second shipwreck or the second beating. But Paul’s evangelistic enslavement was steadfast. It was actually a joy for him to be poured out for others, not just a task. We’ll see more of his motivation in verse 23, but let me emphasize: this is the most important evangelism tip I can give anyone.

The Heart of Evangelism

We could talk strategies all day: how to start a conversation so it’s not too awkward, how to answer certain questions. That’s useful, and I love talking about it. But the most important factor is a heart that truly cares for other people—enough to suffer for them, to give up comforts for them, because you genuinely love the lost.

You could have all the practical skills and apologetics, but if you don’t love people, you’ll give up the moment something hard happens. On the other hand, you might not be polished at all—maybe you get awkward every time you bring up Jesus, and you don’t know all the answers—but if your heart loves people and you know the gospel, you will keep going. God gives grace to the humble. He’ll use you as a fruitful tool if you genuinely care about the lost.

Becoming All Things to All People

In verses 20 through 22, Paul talks about different groups he becomes a slave to: Jews, those under the law, those outside the law, and the weak. He says he becomes like each group to win some of them. This doesn’t mean Paul would sin. The first chapters of 1 Corinthians emphasize that the message of God must be preached in a way that does not discredit the gospel. Rather, Paul is talking about adopting cultural preferences—communication styles, dress, food—so that while the gospel is a foreign message, he himself is not a foreign messenger.

This idea is crucial. It’s easy to dismiss a message from someone who seems completely alien to you. Paul would go to Philippi, Corinth, Jerusalem—very different cultures—and set aside aspects of his own background so he could relate to the people there and proclaim Christ more effectively.

We can do the same. Who you are is not so static that you can’t adapt. Yes, some things about you—like your height—aren’t changing. But your preferences and comforts often can be set aside. If holding on to them prevents you from reaching certain people, then you might be holding them idolatrously. Paul says, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” We should examine ourselves. Are we willing to give up freedoms for the sake of others?

The Blessings of the Gospel

In verse 23, Paul says, “I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.” What are those blessings? Forgiveness of sin, being justified before God, being freed from sin’s enslavement, freed from its mind-darkening effects, adopted into God’s family, given wisdom for living, promised growth in Christlikeness, reconciled to the Father, promised future glorification, promised a new spiritual family, access to God in prayer, freedom from the power of death, deliverance from the judgment to come, the promise that God works all things for our good, heavenly rewards, an indwelling Holy Spirit, and so much more.

Those outside Christ have none of this. They are separated from God, under judgment, enslaved to sin. When you meditate on what you have in Christ and then think of friends and classmates who don’t have it, that alone should motivate you to give up comforts and freedoms so that you might share the gospel with them. It motivated Paul to endure beatings, shipwrecks, and nights adrift at sea. He knew the blessings of the gospel, and he wanted others to share in them.

This might not mean going to Papua New Guinea or rural Africa. It could just mean dying to your comfort in day-to-day life. How many times have we stayed silent when we had an opportunity to share Jesus, simply because it was uncomfortable? I know I have. It often reveals a love of self that outweighs love for others.

Paul used his freedoms not to serve himself, but to serve the lost. An application for us is to dwell on the benefits we have in Christ and let that fuel our desire to reach those who don’t. This passage focuses on Paul’s example, but remember, Paul followed Christ’s example. Jesus—though He was free from all, though He had no reason to leave the perfect communion of the Trinity—became a servant. He washed feet. He suffered and died to save us. If He had not taken on humanity, He couldn’t have redeemed us. When you give up freedoms for the sake of souls, you’re not just imitating Paul; you’re imitating Christ.

Conclusion and Closing Prayer

So, is your life more like that of the Corinthians—clinging to your freedoms, using them for yourself? Or is your life more like Paul’s, sacrificing comforts to serve others? If your habit is always to choose yourself, don’t be surprised if that defines your entire life. But if you start developing the habit of dying to yourself now, you’ll look back on a fruitful life spent for the glory of God and the good of others.

In doing these things, you’re imitating both Paul and Christ. Let’s pray and then go to small groups.

Lord, we thank You that You are not a distant God. You’re not uncaring, but You care for the lowly, those who have nothing to offer You. What could we offer You? Yet You give and give from Your abundance to those who are unlovely. You didn’t have to, but You chose to, for the benefit of those You love, continually calling those who hate You to come to You.

We thank You for Paul’s example. He practiced this until he died. He gave himself up for the sake of others, becoming like Philippians and Corinthians and Thessalonians and Bereans, setting aside aspects of himself so he could save people. This is such a high calling and something good for us to think about.

I pray that as we enter small groups, we’d speak honestly and openly. Help us desire from our hearts to imitate You in these things. We love You, and we pray this in Your Son’s name, amen.