Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

Paul’s Rights as an Apostle

9 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Haven’t I seen Jesus our Lord? Aren’t you the result of my work for the Lord? ² Others may not think of me as an apostle. But I am certainly one to you! You are the proof that I am the Lord’s apostle.

³ That is what I say to stand up for myself when people judge me. ⁴ Don’t we have the right to eat and drink? ⁵ Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife with us when we travel? The other apostles do. The Lord’s brothers do. Peter does. ⁶ Or are Barnabas and I the only ones who have to do other work for a living? Are we the only ones who can’t just do the work of apostles all the time?

⁷ Who serves as a soldier but doesn’t get paid? Who plants a vineyard but doesn’t eat any of its grapes? Who takes care of a flock but doesn’t drink any of the milk? ⁸ Do I say this only on human authority? The Law says the same thing. ⁹ Here is what is written in the Law of Moses. “Do not stop an ox from eating while it helps separate the grain from the straw.” (Deuteronomy 25:4) Is it oxen that God is concerned about? ¹⁰ Doesn’t he say that for us? Yes, it was written for us. Whoever plows and separates the grain hopes to share the harvest. And it is right for them to hope for this. ¹¹ We have planted spiritual seed among you. Is it too much to ask that we receive from you some things we need? ¹² Others have the right to receive help from you. Don’t we have even more right to do so?

But we didn’t use that right. No, we have put up with everything. We didn’t want to keep the good news of Christ from spreading.

¹³ People who serve in the temple get their food from the temple. Don’t you know this? People who serve at the altar eat from what is offered on the altar. Don’t you know this? ¹⁴ So those who preach the good news should also receive their living from their work. That is what the Lord has commanded.

¹⁵ But I haven’t used any of those rights. And I’m not writing because I hope you will do things like that for me. I would rather die than allow anyone to take away my pride in my work. ¹⁶ But when I preach the good news, I can’t brag. I have to preach it. How terrible it will be for me if I do not preach the good news! ¹⁷ If I preach because I want to, I get a reward. If I preach because I have to, I’m only doing my duty. ¹⁸ Then what reward do I get? Here is what it is. I am able to preach the good news free of charge. And I can do this without using all my rights as a person who preaches the good news.

Paul Uses His Freedom to Share the Good News

¹⁹ I am free and don’t belong to anyone. But I have made myself a slave to everyone. I do it to win as many as I can to Christ. ²⁰ To the Jews I became like a Jew. That was to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one who was under the law. I did this even though I myself am not under the law. That was to win those under the law. ²¹ To those who don’t have the law I became like one who doesn’t have the law. I did this even though I am not free from God’s law. I am under Christ’s law. Now I can win those who don’t have the law. ²² To those who are weak I became weak. That was to win the weak. I have become all things to all people. I have done this so that in all possible ways I might save some. ²³ I do all this because of the good news. And I want to share in its blessings.

Training to Win the Prize

²⁴ In a race all the runners run. But only one gets the prize. You know that, don’t you? So run in a way that will get you the prize. ²⁵ All who take part in the games train hard. They do it to get a crown that will not last. But we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶ So I do not run like someone who doesn’t run toward the finish line. I do not fight like a boxer who hits nothing but air. ²⁷ No, I train my body and bring it under control. Then after I have preached to others, I myself will not break the rules. If I did break them, I would fail to win the prize.

Warnings From Israel’s History

10 Brothers and sisters, I want you to know something about our people who lived long ago. They were all led by the cloud. They all walked through the Red Sea. ² They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ³ They all ate the same spiritual food. ⁴ They all drank the same spiritual water. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them. That rock was Christ. ⁵ But God was not pleased with most of them. Their bodies were scattered in the desert.

⁶ Now those things happened as examples for us. They are supposed to keep us from wanting evil things. The people of Israel wanted these evil things. ⁷ So don’t worship statues of gods, as some of them did. It is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up to dance wildly in front of their god.” (Exodus 32:6) ⁸ We should not commit sexual sins, as some of them did. In one day 23,000 of them died. ⁹ We should not test the Messiah, as some of them did. They were killed by snakes. ¹⁰ Don’t speak against God. That’s what some of the people of Israel did. And they were killed by the destroying angel.

¹¹ Those things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us. That’s because we are living at the time when God’s work is being completed. ¹² So be careful. When you think you are standing firm, you might fall. ¹³ You are tempted in the same way all other human beings are. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted any more than you can take. But when you are tempted, God will give you a way out. Then you will be able to deal with it.

Sharing in the Lord’s Supper

¹⁴ My dear friends, run away from statues of gods. Don’t worship them. ¹⁵ I’m talking to people who are reasonable. Judge for yourselves what I say. ¹⁶ We give thanks for the cup at the Lord’s Supper. When we do, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? When we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ? ¹⁷ Just as there is one loaf, so we who are many are one body. We all share the one loaf.

¹⁸ Think about the people of Israel. Don’t those who eat the offerings share in the altar? ¹⁹ Do I mean that food sacrificed to a statue of a god is anything? Do I mean that a statue of a god is anything? ²⁰ No! But what is sacrificed by those who worship statues of gods is really sacrificed to demons. It is not sacrificed to God. I don’t want you to be sharing with demons. ²¹ You can’t drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too. You can’t have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. ²² Are we trying to make the Lord jealous? Are we stronger than he is?

The Believer’s Freedom

²³ You say, “I have the right to do anything.” But not everything is helpful. Again you say, “I have the right to do anything.” But not everything builds us up. ²⁴ No one should look out for their own interests. Instead, they should look out for the interests of others.

²⁵ Eat anything sold in the meat market. Don’t ask if it’s right or wrong. ²⁶ Scripture says, “The earth belongs to the Lord. And so does everything in it.” (Psalm 24:1)

²⁷ Suppose an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go. Then eat anything that is put in front of you. Don’t ask if it’s right or wrong. ²⁸ But suppose someone says to you, “This food has been sacrificed to a statue of a god.” Then don’t eat it. Keep in mind the good of the person who told you. And don’t eat because of a sense of what is right and wrong. ²⁹ I’m talking about the other person’s sense of what is right and wrong, not yours. Why is my freedom being judged by what someone else thinks? ³⁰ Suppose I give thanks when I eat. Then why should I be blamed for eating food I thank God for?

³¹ So eat and drink and do everything else for the glory of God. ³² Don’t do anything that causes another person to trip and fall. It doesn’t matter if that person is a Jew or a Greek or a member of God’s church. ³³ Follow my example. I try to please everyone in every way. I’m not looking out for what is good for me. I’m looking out for the interests of others. I do it so that they might be saved.