Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

The Rights of an Apostle

9 I am free. I am an apostle. I have seen the Lord Jesus and have led you to have faith in him. ² Others may think that I am not an apostle, but you are proof that I am an apostle to you.

³ When people question me, I tell them ⁴ that Barnabas and I have the right to our food and drink. ⁵ We each have the right to marry one of the Lord's followers and to take her along with us, just as the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Peter^[a] do. ⁶ Are we the only ones who have to support ourselves by working at another job? ⁷ Do soldiers pay their own salaries? Don't people who raise grapes eat some of what they grow? Don't shepherds get milk from their own goats?

^8-9 (A) I am not saying this on my own authority. The Law of Moses tells us not to muzzle an ox when it is grinding grain. But was God concerned only about an ox? ¹⁰ No, he wasn't! He was talking about us. This was written in the Scriptures so that all who plow and all who grind the grain will look forward to sharing in the harvest.

^11 (B) When we told the message to you, it was like planting spiritual seed. So we have the right to accept material things as our harvest from you. ¹² If others have the right to do this, we have an even greater right. But we haven't used this right of ours. We are willing to put up with anything to keep from causing trouble for the message about Christ.

^13 (C) Don't you know that people who work in the temple make their living from what is brought to the temple? Don't you know that a person who serves at the altar is given part of what is offered? ^14 (D) In the same way, the Lord wants everyone who preaches the good news to make a living from preaching this message.

¹⁵ But I have never used these privileges of mine, and I am not writing this because I want to start now. I would rather die than have someone rob me of the right to take pride in this. ¹⁶ I don't have any reason to brag about preaching the good news. Preaching is something God told me to do, and if I don't do it, I am doomed. ¹⁷ If I preach because I want to, I will be paid. But even if I don't want to, it is still something God has sent me to do. ¹⁸ What pay am I given? It is the chance to preach the good news free of charge and not to use the privileges that are mine because I am a preacher.

¹⁹ I am not anyone's slave. But I have become a slave to everyone, so I can win as many people as possible. ²⁰ When I am with the Jews, I live like a Jew to win Jews. They are ruled by the Law of Moses, and I am not. But I live by the Law to win them. ²¹ And when I am with people who are not ruled by the Law, I forget about the Law to win them. Of course, I never really forget about the law of God. In fact, I am ruled by the law of Christ. ²² When I am with people whose faith is weak, I live as they do to win them. I do everything I can to win everyone I possibly can. ²³ I do all this for the good news, because I want to share in its blessings.

A Race and a Fight

^24 (E) You know that many runners enter a race, and only one of them wins the prize. So run to win! ^25 (F) Athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last forever. ²⁶ I don't run without a goal. And I don't box by beating my fists in the air. ²⁷ I keep my body under control and make it my slave, so I won't lose out after telling the good news to others.

Don't Worship Idols

10 ^(G) Friends, I want to remind you that all our ancestors walked under the cloud and went through the sea. ² This was like being baptized and becoming followers of Moses. ^3 (H) All of them also ate the same spiritual food ^4 (I) and drank the same spiritual drink, which flowed from the spiritual rock that followed them. That rock was Christ. ^5 (J) But most of them did not please God. So they died, and their bodies were scattered all over the desert.

⁶ What happened to them is a warning to keep us from wanting to do the same evil things. ^7 (K) They worshiped idols, just as the Scriptures say, “The people sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up to dance around.” So don't worship idols. ^8 (L) Some of those people did shameful things, and in a single day about 23,000 died. Don't do shameful things as they did. ^9 (M) And don't try to test Christ,^[b] as some of them did and were later bitten by poisonous snakes. ^10 (N) Don't even grumble, as some of them did and were killed by the destroying angel. ¹¹ These things happened to them as a warning to us. All this was written in the Scriptures to teach us who live in these last days.

¹² Even if you think you can stand up to temptation, be careful not to fall. ^13 (O) You are tempted in the same way that everyone else is tempted. But God can be trusted not to let you be tempted too much, and he will show you how to escape from your temptations.

¹⁴ My friends, you must keep away from idols. ¹⁵ I am speaking to you as people who have enough sense to know what I am talking about. ^16 (P) When we drink from the cup we ask God to bless, isn't that sharing in the blood of Christ? When we eat the bread we break, isn't that sharing in the body of Christ? ¹⁷ By sharing in the same loaf of bread, we become one body, even though there are many of us.

^18 (Q)(R) Aren't the people of Israel sharing in the worship when they gather around the altar and eat the sacrifices offered there? ¹⁹ Am I saying that either the idols or the food sacrificed to them is anything at all? ^20 (S) No, I am not! This food is really sacrificed to demons and not to God. I don't want you to have anything to do with demons. ²¹ You cannot drink from the cup of demons and still drink from the Lord's cup. You cannot eat at the table of demons and still eat at the Lord's table. ^22 (T) We would make the Lord jealous if we did this. And we are not stronger than the Lord.

Always Honor God

^23 (U) Some of you say, “We can do whatever we want to!” But I tell you not everything may be good or helpful. ²⁴ We should think about others and not about ourselves. ²⁵ However, when you buy meat in the market, go ahead and eat it. Keep your conscience clear by not asking where the meat came from. ^26 (V) The Scriptures say, “The earth and everything in it belong to the Lord.”

²⁷ If an unbeliever invites you to dinner, and you want to go, then go. Eat whatever you are served. Don't cause a problem for someone's conscience by asking where the food came from. ^28-29 But if you are told it has been sacrificed to idols, don't cause a problem by eating it. I don't mean a problem for yourself, but for the one who told you. Why should my freedom be limited by someone else's conscience? ³⁰ If I give thanks for what I eat, why should anyone accuse me of doing wrong?

³¹ When you eat or drink or do anything else, always do it to honor God. ³² Don't cause problems for Jews or Greeks or anyone else who belongs to God's church. ³³ I always try to please others instead of myself, in the hope that many of them will be saved.