A Win-Some Witness. Paul s calling was to be a winsome witness, in order to win Today, let s consider what it takes, from Paul s.

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1 February 4, th Sunday After Epiphany I Cor. 9:19-27 COJLBC A Win-Some Witness by Mark Jarvinen INTRODUCTION Acts 9 contains the account of the conversion to Christ, of Saul of Tarsus, the great persecutor of the Church. On the road to Damascus, en route to carry out threats against the Church there, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around Saul. Blinded, he fell to the ground and encountered Jesus. Shortly thereafter, in the city of Damascus, the Lord appeared in a vision to a disciple named Ananias, telling him to go to the home of a man named Judas, find Saul of Tarsus, and restore his sight. Ananias, having heard of Saul s reputation as a persecutor of the Church, hesitated. The Lord reassured him with the words: Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. (Acts 9:15-16) Ananias was obedient and found Saul as he was instructed, laid hands on him, prayed over him to receive his sight and the Holy Spirit, and then Saul was baptized. Thus began the career of the most prolific missionary the world has ever known. In vv. 22b-23 of today s text from I Corinthians, Saul, who later became Paul, writes: Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. 23 I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. Paul s calling was to be a winsome witness, in order to win some for Christ. Today, let s consider what it takes, from Paul s 1

2 perspective, to be a winsome witness, who would win some for Christ. I ll read the text in its entirety from I Corinthians 9: THE TEXT 19 Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. 20 When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. 21 When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. 22 When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. 23 I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. 24 Don t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. (I Corinthians 9:19-27) In his book, entitled The Way of the Modern World, written 20 years ago, scholar, Craig Gay, a professor of theology and culture at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, speaks of the sociological concept called secularization. He defines this term as a subtle and largely inadvertent process in which religion, as it has been traditionally understood, forfeits its place in society. He goes on to describe this process in which religious ideas, values, and institutions lose their public status, influence, and eventually even their plausibility in modern societies. Gay says this decline of religion is practically indisputable. With post-modernism having come of age over the past 20 years, Dr. Gay s assertions seem even 2

3 more indisputable. According to Gay, Belief in God and the practice of religion, has moved from being central in the life of Western societies, to something `sub-cultural, or `one of the many private forms of involvement which some people indulge in. That said, with this decline of religion has come a commensurate decline in morality. For example, fifty years ago, few would have believed we would today have abortion on demand, legalized homosexual marriage, legalized physician assisted suicide in an increasing number of states, and open nudity on television. Even though many of us are uncomfortable with the many changes in our culture, we must understand that It is for such a time as this that we, like Paul in his world, have been called to be winsome witnesses for Christ. We have been called to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to this generation in order that some might be saved. FIRST THINGS FIRST Before we consider guidelines in witnessing for Christ in this changing generation, let s be reminded from Scripture what doesn t change. Hebrews 13:8-9 says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So do not be attracted by strange new ideas. In a changing world, Jesus is our constant. What Scripture reveals about Christ, in terms of who He is as the divine Son of God, and what He came to this earth to do - to live a sinless life and die a sacrificial death on behalf of all sinners, and then to be raised to life from the dead, so that by faith in Him, we might inherit eternal life - must never change as the central message we proclaim. Therefore, 3

4 if we are to reach people for Christ, we must learn to live in the world God has placed us in while not being conformed to it and absorbed by it. Romans 12:2 in the J.B. Phillips New Testament is wonderfully translated as follows: Don t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, and meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. GUIDELINES FOR A WINSOME WITNESS A winsome witness is I. One Who is a Servant. Martin Luther, in his treatise written in 1520, called On Christian Freedom, wrote the following memorable quote based on the writings of the Apostle Paul: A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none, and a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all. When it came to winsome witnessing, Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church, in v. 19 of our text Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. In I Corinthians 10:24, Paul wrote something similar: Don t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. In other words, as followers of Christ, we are called to put others first and not claim our own rights. Paul sought to be a servant to all men, FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOSPEL. We can lament about the sad shape our world is in today and how morality has changed so much that we find ourselves not engaging with people who don t think, talk, and act like we do. But as Christians called to be salt and light in the 4

5 world, can we simply ignore them? Paul s answer would be that it doesn t matter who they are, our calling as Christians is to serve them, that some might be saved. Paraphrasing Paul from our text, he would say: When I am around the Jews, I try to love and serve them and be respectful of who they are and the traditions they hold, so they could be led to Christ. When I m around the Gentiles, I do the same, but if it comes down to honoring the traditions of the Jews, or respecting the cultural norms of the Gentiles in areas that don t violate the Law of Christ, I ll choose the way that won t hinder the Gentiles from coming to Christ. I m in the world but not of the world with the goal that some might be saved. To repeat v. 22, Paul writes: Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. Paul seemed realistic about the fact that his missionary efforts wouldn t save every single person, but he also understood that God s heart was that all would be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (I Timothy 2:4). Therefore, as a witnessing strategist, Paul understood the value of common ground. A classic example is Paul in Athens, of whom we read in Acts 17: So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: To the unknown god. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. On the basis of this common ground, Paul entered into a rather thorough presentation of the Gospel to his Gentile listeners. Therefore one who winsomely witnesses is a servant of all, who finds common ground, but is also 5

6 II. One Who Shares the Good News. I dare say that some of you, somewhere along the line, have heard, or read, and possibly even quoted the following words attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, the 13 th Century founder of the Franciscan Order and patron saint of animals and the environment Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary. It so happens that this is a blatant misquote. Here s what I found out on a web page of the highly reputable Gospel Coalition: Here's the fact: Our good Francis never said such a thing. None of his disciples, early or later biographers have these words coming from his mouth. It doesn't show up in any of his writings. Not even close really. The closest comes from his Rule 1221, Chapter XII, on how the Franciscan monks should practice their preaching: `No brother should preach contrary to the form and regulations of the holy Church nor unless he has been permitted by his minister All the Friars should preach by their deeds. In other words, `make sure you practice what you preach. I d say Assisi s Rule 1221 is excellent advice for any preacher, however, the above misquote has often been misused by handlers of the Word to convey the notion that our witness is mainly, or almost always that which we live out rather than what we say to others. The Apostle Paul certainly would have agreed with the importance of having a Christian walk marked by love, care, and compassion for others, and we could look at numerous Scriptures in support. However, Paul also knew the importance of sharing the Gospel message with others verbally as he wrote in Romans 10:14-15,17 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? 6

7 As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news! 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. In today s text, Paul writes that not only should a win-some witness include taking on the attitude of a servant, putting the needs of others ahead of your own, and being one who shares the Good News of Christ with others in words and by example, but also, a winsome witness is the fruit of III. One Who is Diligent in Training I particularly like the following phrases from vv : Speaking of a race, Paul says in v So run to win! Then in v. 26, he writes: So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. Certainly this speaks to the importance of being diligent in training, in order to become a winsome witness for Christ. Part of our training involves diligently building our knowledge base through the study of God s Word, especially a thorough grasp of the person and work of Christ, but also coming to a firm understanding of humanity s greatest and deepest need for God s salvation through faith in Jesus. In terms of diligently building our knowledge base, I love Paul s admonition to his young protégé, Timothy in II Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. There is nothing more important in our training as winsome witnesses than an accurate, working knowledge of Scripture. 7 As Luther reflected on his life and ministry, he felt that his most significant contribution to the Reformation was his translation of the Bible into

8 the common language of the German people. Learning to correctly handle the word of truth is priority # 1 in developing a winsome witness. In v 26 of our text, Paul also says in regard to his training, I am not just shadowboxing. Anyone who has seen one or more of the Rocky movies knows that shadowboxing is in essence, fighting your own shadow. That s all well and good until you get into the ring with someone who is going to hit back. In terms of our witness, Paul is saying there will come a day when a Christian s witness moves from the theoretical to the practical and you actually get into the ring with a thinking, speaking person, with whom you have probably developed common ground. Also, Paul talks about keeping ourselves trained so we don t become disqualified. Disqualification here doesn t mean losing your salvation if you don t actively witness, but it certainly does imply that you ll put yourself on the shelf when it comes to being useful in Kingdom work. I dare say that on the shelf, a person loses much of their sense of expectancy and joy in living the Christian life. CONCLUSION To conclude, I ve come to see that a winsome witness that wins some is not just learning a set of truths and principles and how-to steps. It s coming to grips with the depth of one s own sin, and the awesome power of the gospel to save that ultimately spills out in words and actions. As pastor and author Tim Keller says, The essence of salvation is knowing a Person. As with any person, there is repenting and weeping and rejoicing and encountering. The gospel calls us to a wildly passionate, intimate love relationship with Jesus Christ, and calls that `the core of true salvation. Living in the overflow of this personal relationship is at the heart of our witness to others. A-men. 8