The Church Evangelistic - 9/7/08

Sermon Series: The Church ________________
Sermon Title: The Church – Evangelistic
Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 9:19-27

Theme: The idea of this passage is that Paul is outlining the lengths that the Church should go to in order to save those outside of the grace of God.

Introduction: What is it that motivates you to do the hard things? The things that you would probably not do if there was any way to get out of it. Life is full of tasks that need to be accomplished whether we want to or not. (Training for the bike races)

Transition: Today we are going to continue our study of the book of 1 Corinthians with one of the better known passages here. The Apostle Paul gives us some of the motivations for a lifestyle that is passionate about taking the Gospel message to the world.

I. Because People are Lost
a. A significant principle here is that Paul feels he is saving those who do not now know Christ as savior.
i. I think that today there are several attitudes toward sharing the gospel message.
1. Some feel as if they are selling and if they just have the best ad campaign or sales tactic then people will buy the product.
2. Some feel as if they are sharing a lifestyle choice no doubt one that will bring its benefits.
ii. In verse 22 he says that he becomes all things to all people so that he might save some. The word that he uses there swvzw is one that carries with it the connotation of saving from some kind of serious harm, either physical; like in battle or from disease, or spiritual; from some kind of an eternal threat.
1. You see when scripture talks about the need to bring people into the a relationship with the Lord it always talks about the need to save them.
2. I think that for a lot of us we have lost the urgency of speaking the Gospel message to those around us because we simply don’t see them as being in incredible danger.
3. We may feel like they have made bad lifestyle choices or that they are in need of a paradigm which determines that they have better consequences of their decisions because they are made with a Christian worldview in mind, but we simply forget that the main reason people need to hear the Gospel message is because they are in incredible danger and need to be saved.
b. Illustration of saving: In 1981, a Minnesota radio station reported a story about a stolen car in California. Police were staging an intense search for the vehicle and the driver, even to the point of placing announcements on local radio stations to contact the thief. On the front seat of the stolen car sat a box of crackers that, unknown to the thief, were laced with poison. The car owner had intended to use the crackers as rat bait. Now the police and the owner of the VW Bug were more interested in apprehending the thief to save his life than to recover the car. – A stolen VW became a lot less important than the fact that this person who stole it was in danger of dying because he did not have the knowledge necessary to keep from eating the poison that was on the seat beside him. Everyone involved in the situation decided that his life was more important than whether or not he had stolen the car. I wonder if we view people’s need for salvation with that kind of intenseness?
II. To Share the Load
a. One of the words that deserves special attention is κερδησω - this is the aorist form of κερδαινω - This same word is used in 19, 20 (2), 21and 22. TDNT notes that it comes from kevrdw and means to gain, to take advantage, to profit. Although the word here is regularly translated “to win” the idea is that there is a profit involved and advantage if these people are brought into relationship with Christ.
i. On one hand because Paul is putting this section in context with a conversation which is taking place concerning his right to wages - it appears that Paul is saying that his wages - the profit that he might receive as a preacher and teacher are insignificant to the profit that he gains when the Jews (those under the law); and the gentiles (those not under the law); and the weak are saved.
ii. This thought is even clearer in verse 23 when he says that he will become a partner in the gospels benefits. The significant thing here is that in the Greek text there is no word for benefits or blessings here yet four of the versions I use add that phrase. I guess that it might be implied in the text but it seems to me that what is rather being said has more to do with the fact that when he partners in the gospel with others than the saving of those can exponentially grow with the added workers in this incredible enterprise.
iii. When I went to Church camp this summer the missionaries that spoke at the camp were Ryan and Lori Eidson, missionaries who have been and are going back to China. One evening they took a string where each inch represented a number of people in China – the number of people who were unreached with the Gospel message was staggering and then he showed the tiny number of Christian missionaries which are at work in that part of the world and it is incredibly tiny compared the population. What he showed us was that even if the numbers of missionaries were quadrupled every year for the next five years it wouldn’t make a dent in the work of evangelism which needs to take place in that part of the world.
iv. So what is the answer? The answer today is the same as the answer was to that handful of Christians in Jerusalem who first carried the Gospel message the body of Christ is self duplicating – it is a part of dna of the body. When we hear and receive the gospel message we immediately become an emissary for the king. Our new lives and understanding of the need compels us to share the good news with others.
1. When Jennifer was here she told us the same thing. So the question for us today is: Are we a part of the body? Are we reduplicating the saving genes to others in our sphere of influence?
III. To Receive the Prize
a. Finally Paul tells us his last motivation for being an evangelist – for going through the hardship and suffering which this lifestyle had wrought in his life – to win the prize.
b. The word that he uses here to signify the prize that is awaiting for him is stephanos – literally it is talking about a crown. IN the ancient world crowns were important symbols which were used in a variety of social settings to set people apart for special merit. It is obvious from his use of the athletic metaphor that he is thinking of the laurel crown given to the winner of the contest in one of the important games of the time – either the Olympics or the Pannopolese games which took place here in Corinth.
c. This passage paints a vibrant picture in my mind as I have just finished watching some incredible feats of athletic prowess ourselves. Most of us will remember for a long time the joy which was etched on the face of Michael Phelps as gold medal after medal was placed around his neck during his stunning achievements at the last games. Or the Turkish weight lifter who broke his arm trying to lift a weight which was too heavy for his frame.
d. I think that most of us think about evangelism as something that we feel a little guilty about because we know that we should share our faith more and invite people more, but I think few of us have the same clear picture that Paul does of physically standing in God’s presence before all of the saints of the world and receiving the special recognition of a job well done.