All right, let's take our Bibles
now and turn with me to 1 Corinthians 9. 1 Corinthians 9. I'd like to look at verses 19
to 23. I finished up last time, or let
me say this, I stopped last Wednesday on verse 19. The Apostle Paul has been relating
to the church at Corinth his burden, the burden of the Lord,
the constraining of the Lord to preach the gospel and also
his freedom that he has in the Lord to be free From all, that's
what he says in verse 19, though I be free from all, free from
the curse of the law, that's a blessed freedom. Free from
the curse of the law. Christ was made a curse that
we might be free from the curse of the law. What's the curse
of the law? Well, death. What does the law demand for
disobedience? Death. That's what the law of
God... I mean, obey that law perfectly. Perfectly. Love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, mind, soul. Perfectly. Don't ever deviate. Well, we don't really need to
read the last nine. The last nine, ten commandments,
we're gone. We've never done that. So Christ
was made a curse. So Paul says, I'm free from all. But he's actually talking about
free from all men. He's free, but he's free from
the demands of men. Men did not call him. Men didn't
teach him the gospel. Men didn't commission him to
preach the gospel. Paul said, I'm free. And he's
free from even the right. He said, I've not even exercised
the right that I have to get monetary compensation from the
church at Corinth. As I said last Wednesday night,
there were some obviously that had accused him. You're just
a traveling preacher is all you are. You're just doing this to
get a love offering. Paul said, just keep your money.
I'd rather die. I'd rather starve to death and
give you the joy of having something to make my glorying void. So, he sets forth now in that
blessed freedom that he has to preach the gospel. He says that
he's now going to exhibit or set forth the freedom that he
has in preaching. He says in verse 20, he said,
well I'm sorry, the latter part of verse 19, though I be free
from all men, yet I have made myself a servant unto all. He said, I've actually made myself
to be a slave. I have enslaved myself that I
might gain the more. Now when you look at that word
gain right there, actually that word right there, gain, is win. That I might win the more. You can rest assured that no
one was more obviously, as set forth in the Word of God, more
convinced that men don't have the ability to win other men
to Christ. I know that that's a real common
term that men use. Being a soul winner, I was reading
an article last week. I received a paper from somebody
that started sending me a periodical, and when I read it, a message
was preached. And this pastor had said that
he gave a challenge to his congregation, that they were going to save,
in the last six months of the year, they were going to save
a thousand souls for Christ. And some of them decided, you
know, I'm going to save fifty. And one woman said, well, if
you can save 50, I can save 100. And so I called the office of
the periodical. I don't know how I got it. And
I told them, I said, would you please take my name off your
mailing list? She said, you don't want to receive them at all?
I said, no, ma'am. I don't want to receive them
at all. Thank you. But that's the common thinking of the day. I'm a soul winner. And there's
a, I mean I can tell you this, it's called the Roman Road. I
mean, you know, it's just a set, it's just a, all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. You know. And they just,
they kind of go down and they've got this, they take scriptures,
they take scriptures out of the Bible. And they'll say, now if
you do this, this, this, and this, then this, this, this,
and this will happen. And then you just, you bring
people right up to that point and you get them to you know,
get down on their knees and then you tell them, I've led you to
the Lord. And the only problem with that
is that it's not scriptural. That's not how God saves His
people. Here's how He saves His people. They listen to the preaching
of the gospel. And they declare. A preacher
stands up and declares what God Almighty has done. And then you
leave people Alone. Leave them alone. If Almighty
God is going to save them, He is going to save them. He is
going to save His people. I know that. And I can sit here
and I can browbeat you and I can make you feel bad. But I can't
give you a new heart. Only God can give a new heart.
So Paul sets forth. He said, I've made myself servant
unto all that I might gain the more. What does he mean by that
he might gain or that he might win? That's what it means. Here's
what it is. He said that I might be according
to the will and purpose of God be the means by which God calls
out His people. Now I will say this, I can't
save anybody. But standing here and preparing
and asking the Lord's blessing upon the preaching of the gospel,
God does use the means of preachers. But preachers don't save anybody.
God saves people. God saves His people. But Paul
says, I've made myself servant unto all. And then he's going
to explain what he meant. He says, I've made myself servant
unto all. Now let's look at the first all
that he's talking about. Verse 20. Unto and unto the Jews
I became as a Jew. Now, he's going to talk to Jews. He's going to talk to those who
are under the law. He's going to talk to those who
are without the law. and he's going to talk to the
weak, and he's going to just talk to these and become a servant
to each one of them. But here's the amazing thing
about the Apostle Paul. He preached one message. He preached one message. Here's
what he preached. 1 Corinthians 2. For I determined
not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Now does that mean that all he
preached was that on a certain day that the Lord was actually
crucified? Everybody believes that. I guarantee you there's not anybody
that you'll get to admit, you know, unless they're just, you
know, not thinking. But a devil will admit that,
that he was crucified. But what does it mean when we
say Christ and Him crucified? that message that was the greatest
of offense to the religious world. Christ and Him crucified means
this. God Almighty eternally purposed
to save a people that He knew were going to fall from the foundation
of the world. You think man's fall in the garden
slipped up on God? He didn't know it. Now I've got
to do something different. God knew that man would fall.
Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Why? Because God knew that man would fall. But in the eternal
purpose and will of God, God Almighty would get the greatest
of glory according to His Word. By allowing man to do exactly
what man wanted to do. Rebel against God and save Him. Show mercy to Him. Redeem Him. Regenerate Him. God is getting
honor and glory to Himself in the person of Christ by saving
His people. So when we say Christ and Him
crucified, we're saying that first of all, God Almighty eternally
chose to save a people that He knew were going to fall. and
that he sent his son, call his name Jesus, for he shall save
his people from their sins. He came into this world, he lived
for them and earned righteousness as a man. And he went to the
cross for them and died for them and put away their sins. That's
what it means when you say, I am determined. to preach nothing
among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Not that he made
it possible, but that he finished the work. So Paul preached one
message, never changed his mind. He wasn't a flip-flopper. He
didn't preach one to this one and one message to this one.
He changed it a little bit. That's what men do. They kind
of fit their message. If I know that you want to hear
something, then I'll preach this. If I go over here, I know they
want to hear something else. Paul, he preached one message. He wasn't
preaching a variety of things. He preached the gospel of God's
sovereign grace. On to the Jews, he said. I became
as a Jew that I might gain the Jews. Now, let me tell you who
he was talking to first. He was talking to the national
Jew, a national Jew, just a Jew. A Jew that he was born into a
family and he could trace his lineage back to Abraham. And
he was a Jew in name only. And believe it or not, a national
Jew. Just a natural, you know, I'm
a Lusianian. Alright, just a natural Lusianian. That's what I am. That's where
I came from. I'm a natural American. I'm just American. That's where
I was born. I was born in America. These
guys he's talking to were just Jews. They were born in Judah. They were Judeans. They were
from Abraham. And they were from that lineage
of Abraham. And they put all of their hope
in being a natural descendant from Abraham. And so Paul says,
he says, unto the Jews I became. Now what do you mean you became
a Jew? Paul, you are a Jew. You were
born a natural Jew. You're a natural Jew. What do
you mean you became? He explained it too. He put Himself in their place. He knew what they were thinking. He became as one of them, the
way they were thinking. He knew how they thought, and
so He explained Christ and Him crucified to the natural Jew
in the way that they understood. They were putting all of their
confidence And I'm a Jew. When I was in college, I was
going to pledge a fraternity. And you know, we had to go through
pledge and all that kind of stuff. And there was one boy. And I'll be honest with you,
I just, I can remember, I just didn't really care for him. I
don't know, I don't think anybody cared for him. But I mean, he
was trying to do the best he could, and I don't think he was
going to get in. And I think he realized he wasn't going to
get in. And he came up to me one day and he said, Marvin,
he said, you know, I don't know if I'm going to get in this fraternity.
And he said, but I got one thing going for me, one thing. I'm
from New Orleans. And I thought, what has that
got to do with it? You're from New Orleans and that's
it, that's the only thing I got going for me. He thought that
because he was from New Orleans, that he was naturally going to
get, they'll say, well, let's put him in. A Jew thought, because
I'm a Jew, because I was born into this family, into that lineage,
because I'm a Jew, here's what Paul said to him. He was made
like unto a Jew. He made himself into their thinking. And this is what he said, Romans
2, 28-29. He said, He's not a Jew, which
is one outwardly. They thought it was. Because
they'd been circumcised, you know, on the 8th day. Neither
is that circumcision, which is outward of the flesh, but he's
a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision that is of the
heart, in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not
of men, but of God. He told them, you know, the Lord
speaking, he said, Matthew 3, and I think not to say within
yourselves, we have Abraham to our father. For I say unto you
that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
He said, you think that because you're a Jew, that God Almighty
is obligated to show salvation to you? The Lord said, God could
make rocks to be Jews. So to that physical Jew Paul
preached, Christ, at Him crucified, telling them, revealing to His
hearers that a man is not righteous before God because of his nationality,
because he's been physically circumcised. I may be able to
trace my lineage back to George Washington, but that doesn't
make me a patriot. See what I'm saying? He preached that a man
is a true Jew. That is one redeemed, chosen,
redeemed, regenerated by the grace of God. That's a true Jew.
One inwardly. Who has had the work of God's
grace wrought in his heart. Whose heart, his heart has been
circumcised by the power, the filth of sin. has been put away. That's what circumcision pictured. He worships God in spirit and
in truth and his desire is not to secure the praise of men but
of God. That's a true Jew. So Paul says
unto the Jews I became as a Jew. They were just thinking I'm just
born here so I'm saved. I was born in his family. Then
he said to them that are under the law, as under the law, that
I might gain them that are under the law. Well, he's still talking
to Jews, but now these Jews are the ones that not only put their
confidence in their race, but in their faithfulness to their
religion. I mean, you know, there may have
been a Jew, well he knew he had to go to the synagogue every
once in a while, but he didn't put any confidence in religion
and stuff. But these did. I mean, there's
a lot of Americans. I mean, some Americans don't
care anything about going to church. Some do. Well, the same
way here. Some were just Jews. They didn't
necessarily adhere to all that. But those that were under the
law, they were still adhering to the demands of the ceremonial
law. continuing to stay with circumcision,
Sabbaths, and rituals prescribed by the law of Moses for righteousness. And what Paul did, he came to
them. And he was still preaching Christ and Him crucified. But
to them, he explained it. He explained what it was. You
know, I could preach, if I'm going to preach to one group
of people, and there's a belief that they've got, and you're
going to preach to them and you know there's a problem that they
have and they're wrong. Well deal with it. Show them
where they are. Show them what the problem is
in the scriptures. So what he did was he preached
to those that were under the law. They're Jews. But these
were religious Jews. They went to the services. They
preached that the demands for keeping the ceremonial law died
with Christ. They were still, they were wanting
to Hang on to this scaffolding and the shadows and the pictures
and the type. Listen, Paul said, Ephesians
2, 14-15, For he is our peace, who hath made both one, hath
broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having
abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances. For to make in himself of twain
One new man, so making peace. So to those who felt the need
not to leave the ceremonies, hang on. Paul graciously preached
Christ is where men meet God and God meets men. He is our
Passover. Not that ritual for 1,500 years. They had the Jewish nation, the
nation of Israel, they had to keep the Passover. They kept
the Passover just like the unleavened bread. Whenever Christ was crucified
and that veil was rent from top to bottom, that holy of holies,
that for 1500 years, the high priest one day out of the year
could go in there, not without blood. That thing was opened
up in the temple in Jerusalem. And everybody could look at it.
Nobody ever looked at that. You know, Almighty God set forth
that the laws and the ceremonies and the shadows and types, they're
over. So He said to those under the
law, He said, I became as those under the law. He explained it. He said, I know what you're thinking.
I made myself. as one, as you, in explanation. He said there's no more need
of that temporary holy of holies in the wilderness. You know,
there's no more need. Christ died in all the types
and all the shadows. You know, remember when, whenever
the Lord told Moses, you know, the snakes, fire serpents biting
the people, make a brazen serpent. Raise it up on a pole. Everybody
that looks. Now that was a picture of Christ.
The Lord said that. As Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
Those that looked, a picture of looking by faith, they lived. But the people later, they started
burning incense to that brazen serpent. And so Hezekiah, the
king, destroyed it. He burned it up. And that's how
these people, they were hanging on. Can you imagine if they would
have had, you know, let's say that one of them had actually
the actual, the cover that went on top of the ark. I'm talking
about that cover of that precious ark of the covenant that was
beaten out of one piece of gold and it had the cherubims and
they touched it Solid gold. The atonement. They had that. You know what the best thing
to do with it? Just melt it down. Or they had an actual piece of
the cross upon which Christ died. The actual piece. They knew it.
They could document it. An actual. Burn it. Burn it. You say, what? Yeah. It's been put away. Christ and
Him crucified. They were holding on to all of
these things. And Almighty God ended it. Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. The
law, the types, the shadows, the pictures, they cannot save. They cannot justify. They cannot
make us righteous. They pictured Christ, and when
He came, all of the other stuff was put away. Gone. Gone. But then Paul says in verse
21, to them that are without law, as being without law, being
not, without law to God, but under the law to Christ, that
I might gain them that are without law. He said, I became as a national
Jew just to show them God can make Jews out of rocks. You're
not saved by being just born a Jew. Those that were under
the law, hanging on, trying to keep those commandments and trying
to keep those days and Sabbaths and trying to make sure, you
know, going back Paul says Christ is the end of that for righteousness. We still, I'm telling you, we
still got some of that and we still struggle with it. Surely
there's some laws that we, you know, we don't look to the law
for righteousness. There's nothing wrong with the
law of God. You know, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit
adultery. That is absolutely right. But if you think you're
righteous before God because you did that or didn't do that,
you're wrong. was Christ and Him crucified.
And these then, those are without the law. What are those? Well,
they're Gentiles. They're Gentiles. Those that
were not given the law, never obligated to the ceremonial law.
That's who he's talking about. Those that we see even today.
Gentiles. Different concepts of how God
reconciles His people. Let me show you what I mean.
Here's the best one I can think of. Acts chapter 17. Hold your
place in Corinthians. Acts 17. Paul became as those
without the law. Acts 17. Verse 22. I thought what a beautiful picture,
a beautiful type of all of the different religions in this world
today. Gentiles. Gentiles. Acts 17,
22, 23. Then Paul stood in the midst
of Mars Hill and said, You men of Athens, I perceive that in
all things you are too superstitious. That means religious. You are
so religious. For as I pass by and beheld your
devotions, that is your gods that you worship, I found an
altar with this inscription to the unknown God, whom therefore
you ignorantly worship. Him declare I unto you. Now here's
what he was saying. While he was in Mars Hill, he
saw and came across these people and they had multiple gods. They
had all these statues and this god and this god and this god.
Well, those that are without the law now, not under the ceremonial
law, never have been, Gentiles. Us. That's us. You know? We're
doing the same thing. Gentiles by nature, by the grace
of God we don't now, but by nature. That's what we're doing. You
know? This one said his God says you got to speak in tongues.
That's what my God says. Well this God over here says
you got to be baptized to be saved. That's what they say.
This one says over here you got to exercise your free will and
got to walk down the aisle and pray through. That's what he
says. This one right here says you've got to be a member of
this particular church. You've got to be able to trace all of
the lineage back to the apostles. If you can't trace your lineage
back to the apostles, then you're not in true church. Paul said, I beheld all your
devotions. And I perceive that you're way,
way, way too religious. So what did he say? He said,
I noticed this one statue that you've got. And I said, he said,
what you're doing is you're trying to cover your base. You know,
just in case there's one to the unknown God. Paul was made like
those without the law. He understood, he explained it
to them. He set forth, he said, that's
the God I'm going to tell you about. I'm going to tell you
about Christ and Him crucified. He accommodated Himself to them
with their way of thinking, explaining, not compromise, not preaching
another gospel, not preaching another message to these or to
the Jews or those under the law. No, no. Preach the same message,
but He accommodated Himself to them. And He walked before and
He taught them the truth of the gospel and showed them that the
way that they were keeping that moral law of unrighteousness,
you know, they were wrong, but he said, but you're not without
a law at all, you're under the law of Christ. What does that
mean? The law of love. That law that moves a man in
heart to adorn the gospel that he believes. That law of Christ
that loves the God of this Bible. That law of Christ that loves
His people. that loves His gospel. That's what He did. He accommodated
Himself to them. You had Jews, you had those under
the law, you had those without the law, and then lastly, to
the weak. Became I as weak that I might
gain the weak. I made all things to all men
that I might by all means save some, or be the means by which
God saves some. When He became as a weak, to
those that were weak in faith. Those that struggled with their
liberty in the Lord. Those who questioned certain
things, such as eating meat offered to idols. Paul says, I became
as them. I explained to them in my teaching,
in my actions. He said, I became as one of them. What do you mean, Paul? He said,
he withheld his liberty rather than offend him. Did it bother
Paul to eat meat offered to idols? Did it make any difference? Was
that meat any different than any other? But he said, rather
than offend, one weaken the faith. He said, I'll withhold from doing
that. I'm not going to do anything.
I'm not going to exercise my liberty, those that were weak.
I'm not going to exercise my liberty and needlessly offend
somebody. Needlessly. For what? Is it an
issue of the gospel? No. No. No. But rather than offend
them, Paul says, I became as weak. It bothered them. Paul said,
I'm not going to do it. He knew that a piece of meat,
or one day over another day, a matter of indifference, didn't
carry any weight concerning salvation. So don't do it. If somebody has
a problem with something, and it bothers them, and it's not
an issue concerning salvation, concerning the gospel, concerning
the glory of God, Don't flaunt your liberty. Don't do it just
to show them that you can. It's wrong. Paul says, I made
myself servant to all that I might gain them more. I made myself
entering in as they are, preaching the same message. We then that
are strong, that is strong in conviction, strong in in the
gospel, convinced of the gospel, ought to bear the infirmities
of the weak and not please ourselves. Be patient, be patient toward
all men. And then he says in verse 23,
and I'll close, This I do for the gospel's sake, that I might
be partaker thereof with you. He wisely led by the Spirit of
God was made all things to all men, And so should we. Absolutely. We're never compromising the
truth, but striving to meet men where they are, realizing that
God's going to save His people through the preaching of the
one message that He's been pleased to bless, the gospel of God's
sovereign grace in Christ. But if there is one and they
don't understand, Rather than cut them off, just, you know,
browbeat them and stuff like that, be patient with them. Paul
said to the Jew, I became as a Jew. I taught them. Those under
the law, as those under the law, I taught them what Scripture
says. Those without the law, without the law. Those who are
weak, he said, why did you do that, Paul? For the sake of the
gospel. For the sake of God's honor, glory, and praise in the
Lord Jesus Christ. I pray God teach us these things.
For Christ's sake, our good. Amen. All right, Gary.