Running to Win: Discipline and Perseverance

1 Corinthians 9:24–27                            Matthew 7:24-27

Running to Win: Discipline and Perseverance

Three weeks ago we examined, in 1 Corinthians 8, Paul’s approach to the question of theological precision that had manifested itself in the church of God in Corinth as an attitude of moral superiority that harmed other brothers and sisters in their community. Those who were not quite as assured in their new identity in Jesus were being spiritually wounded by those who considered themselves mature. 

If you remember, Paul’s solution to this dilemma was a self-sacrificial love that always seeks to build up others…a love that would even deny certain legitimate rights of believers if exercising that right would harm another believer…in their case eating meat that had been offered to idols.

Then the following week, in chapter 9:1-18, we saw that Paul speaks about things that at first seems like an interruption. Whereas in the former chapters, Paul is addressing issues in the church of God in Corinth, here he suddenly begins to speak about his own apostleship, financial support for ministers of the Gospel, and his own personal rights.

But in conclusion we saw that in these two passages, Paul is making a statement about two very different approaches to the Christian life. One which is self-centred and the other which is other-person-centred. We also noted that it is important to grasp that the self-centred person may be perfectly right…and consequently they justify their actions even though the upholding of their rights damages or destroys other believers.

But in stark contrast, Paul deliberately chooses to live an other-person-centred life by forfeiting his legitimate rights for the sake of others. 

And then last week, we saw Paul move on from a surrender of perceived rights for the sake of loving others to a spiritual flexibility for the sake of serving others. “Though I am free from all,” he said, “I have made myself a servant to all” an attitude he summarises later in his statement: “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.”

We saw that Paul refuses to allow his personal preferences, his freedoms, customs, or his rights to become barriers that prevent others from hearing the Gospel…or indeed that prevent others from holding non-essential views that may differ from his own. And I said that this requires immense humility. It requires the death of pride. It requires the surrender of entitlement. It requires patience with people who are weaker, slower, less informed, or culturally different. It requires an ability to hold inessential or peripheral theological positions loosely. 

And at the centre of it all stands love…a Christ-like love that is able to focus entirely upon the good of others.

Now, this week, Paul shifts his imagery once again, moving from slavery and servanthood to athletics and competition.

The Corinthians would have immediately understood the imagery. The famous Isthmian Games, second only to the Olympic Games in prestige throughout the Greek world, were held every two years near Corinth. Athletes trained rigorously between these two years, often denying themselves pleasures, comforts, and distractions in pursuit of victory.

And Paul now seizes upon this familiar cultural image to make a point.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run as that one who yearns to obtain it.” Now, I have paraphrased the statement in this way lest you may think that Paul is suggesting that only one Christian will be saved. Rather he is trying to emphasize the wholehearted commitment required for each one running the race of faith.

Athletes do not compete casually. They compete intentionally. They compete with discipline. They compete with singular focus.

The Christian life likewise requires endurance, perseverance, and determination.

Paul continues: “Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things.” Now, this word translated here as “self-control” implies rigorous discipline. Athletes submitted their whole lives… their schedules, their desires, and their habits to the demands of training because above all else they wanted to receive the victor’s wreath (or crown)…a wreath Paul says is perishable purposefully contrasting that image with the wreath believers receive which is imperishable.

The victor’s wreath in the ancient games was typically made from pine, celery, or laurel. It symbolized honour and public recognition, but it eventually withered. Paul compares this temporary reward with the eternal reward of faithful perseverance in Jesus demonstrating that while the world pursues a glory that fades, the Christian pursues what endures forever.

Paul therefore applies the image personally: “So I do not run aimlessly. I do not box as one beating the air.” In other words, his life and his ministry is not directionless…both his life and ministry possesses purpose. His words and actions are governed by eternal priorities.

At this point, Paul delivers the climactic statement: “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

This statement has often troubled readers. What does Paul mean by disqualified? Does he mean that salvation depends upon flawless perfection? Is he saying that it is possible that Jesus may abandon us if we fail to perform?

No, in my humble opinion, I believe Paul is warning the Corinthians and us against presumption. The Corinthians believed themselves spiritually secure because they possessed knowledge, gifts, experiences, and confidence. Yet Paul insists that genuine spirituality perseveres in disciplined faithfulness.

The word “disqualified” comes from the world of athletic contests and testing. It refers to one who fails the test or is rejected after examination…but that did not necessarily imply finality. Just a wake-up call, if you will. 

Here Paul recognizes something profoundly important: No Christian is above the need for vigilance. Not even the best among us are beyond temptation. No believer is immune to spiritual disaster if they become careless, arrogant, or self-indulgent.

This warning for vigilance prepares us for chapter 10 where Paul will point to Israel in the wilderness as an example of people who possessed extraordinary spiritual privileges and yet nevertheless fell into idolatry and judgment and failed to obtain the promise or the prize.

Paul’s Gospel concern throughout these chapters is therefore consistent: Do not presume upon theological precision…you may be right, you may be wrong, but, as Paul will tell us later in chapter 13, theology divorced from other-person-centred love is merely discordant noise. Do not use your perceived freedom carelessly as you do not want to wound a weaker believer for whom Jesus died. Do not mistake knowledge for maturity as maturity is able to humbly descend the lofty ladder should love for the less fortunate demand it.

And because of this Gospel concern, Paul says that the Christian life requires endurance and endurance requires discipline…not legalism…not self-elevation. But disciplined devotion flowing from the humble mind of Jesus.

Paul’s entire argument throughout chapters 8–9 therefore reaches its climax here. The Corinthians wanted spirituality detached from unity in community, but Paul teaches that authentic spirituality always involves self-denial for the sake of others…because that’s exactly what Jesus did.

The Corinthians wanted to exercise their freedom without restraint, but Paul teaches that Christian freedom is disciplined and tempered by love.

While the Corinthians pursue status and recognition, Paul pursues faithfulness regardless of personal consequence. While the Corinthians celebrate triumph, Paul celebrates surrender and servanthood.

So where does this leave us?

Paul is not calling us to admire spiritual discipline in theory, nor to respect spiritual athletes from a distance while remaining spiritually untrained ourselves. He is calling us to examine the shape of our own discipleship…our own walk with the Lord…the manner in which we run our own race.

Because the question these two chapters press upon us is not simply do you understand the Gospel or are you theologically precise, but rather are you ordering your life so that you will faithfully mirror the person of Jesus even ten, twenty, thirty years from now? These chapters do not so much address the correctness of your convictions, but rather whether you are becoming more like Jesus in how you hold them, use them, and apply them.

You see, it is possible to be doctrinally accurate like the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees, and yet be spiritually careless and arrogant and harmful. It is possible to win arguments and yet to lose people whom Jesus died for. It is possible to exercise freedom and still wound the very people Jesus seeks to gather to himself. Paul will not let us confuse knowledge with maturity.

So we must ask more searching questions.

What is forming and shaping you as a believer?

Where have you become undisciplined because you assume grace will cover what you refuse to surrender?

Where has comfort and self-confidence replaced training, and entitlement replaced obedient servanthood? 

And perhaps most piercing of all: what is currently shaping your pace in the race…the humble call of the Gospel, or your own puffed-up claim to be right? Are you running at all, or have you stepped out onto the sidelines?

Paul’s warning is not meant to produce fear, but vigilance. Not anxiety, but seriousness. The danger is not that Jesus is unwilling to keep us, but that we become careless about being kept.

So the call today is simple, but it is not easy.

Run as an athlete who is determined to win…not for applause, not for comparison, not for identity…but for faithfulness. Lay aside what slows you down or trips you up…or indeed what trips up others. Refuse what dulls your love. And refuse to assume that yesterday’s discipline is enough for today’s battle.

Because the Christian life is not merely a moment of decision; it is a lifelong race of devotion. And those who endure are those who have learned, quietly and repeatedly, to say no to themselves so that they may say a deeper yes to the love of God demonstrated through the cross.

And when love governs that discipline…love for God and love for others…and other-person-centred-love…then even the hardest restraints become joyful obedience, and the race itself becomes worship.

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2026

Becoming All Things to All People

Philippians 2:3-7                 1 Corinthians 9:19–23                    Luke 5:29-32

Becoming All Things to All People

Two weeks ago we examined, in 1 Corinthians 8, Paul’s approach to the question of theological precision that had manifested itself in the church of God in Corinth as an attitude of moral superiority that harmed other brothers and sisters in their community. Those who were not quite as assured in their new identity in Jesus were being spiritually wounded by those who considered themselves mature. 

Now, if you remember, Paul’s solution to this dilemma was a self-sacrificial love that always seeks to build up others…a love that would even deny certain legitimate rights of believers if exercising that right would harm another believer…in their case eating meat that had been offered to idols.

Then in chapter 9:1-18, we saw that Paul speaks about things that at first seems like an interruption. Whereas in the former chapters, Paul is addressing issues in the church of God in Corinth, here he suddenly begins to speak about his own apostleship, financial support for ministers of the Gospel, and his own personal rights.

But in conclusion we saw that in these two passages, Paul is making a statement about two very different approaches to the Christian life. One which is self-centred and the other which is other-person-centred. We also noted that it is important to grasp that the self-centred person may be perfectly right…and consequently they justify their actions even though the upholding of their rights damages or destroys other believers.

But in stark contrast, Paul deliberately chooses to live an other-person-centred life by forfeiting his legitimate rights for the sake of others. 

Now, Paul moves on from a surrender of perceived rights for the sake of loving others to a spiritual flexibility for the sake of serving others. “Though I am free from all,” he says, “I have made myself a servant to all.”

And this statement captures the entire logic of Christian mission.

Paul is free. Yet he voluntarily embraces servanthood. The language here is deeply significant. Paul does not say he was forced into servitude. He deliberately chooses it. His slavery is voluntary, shaped by love for God and others and governed by the gospel of Jesus.

This stands in stark contrast to the Corinthian culture and dare I say modern evangelical culture.

Corinth prized individuality…they prized social advancement, public honour, rhetorical brilliance, and visible status. Those who were free sought recognition. Patrons sought influence. Philosophers sought to make pupils in their own image. Public life revolved around prestige and social positioning and therefore the urge to exercise freedom regardless of its effect on others was viewed as normal.

Yet Paul, though truly free, deliberately descends the social ladder.

Why? Well, his answer is simple. “To win as many as possible.” This language of “winning” is important. Paul does not speak as a leader gathering admirers or clients. He speaks as a servant seeking the salvation and restoration of others.

Thus he adapts himself to different socio-economic groups and different ethnic and cultural groups. “To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews.” Now of course, Paul does not mean that he abandoned his identity whenever convenient. Nor is he pretending to be something he is not. Rather, he willingly accommodates himself to the customs and sensitivities of those among whom he ministers.

This explains why Paul could participate in Jewish customs when among Jews. For example, he circumcised Timothy for pastoral reasons. Remember Timothy’s mother was Jewish and therefore if he was circumcised so as not to be a stumbling block to the Jews to whom he ministered. Paul shaved his head after fulfilling a vow and he participated in purification rites in Jerusalem. He attended synagogue gatherings and reasoned from the Jewish Scriptures…the Old Testament.

Why would Paul do this if he believed justification came through Jesus rather than the Law? Because Paul distinguished between observing the Law as cultural obligation and participating in Jewish customs for the sake of mission and fellowship.

Paul was no longer “under the Law” as the defining basis of covenant membership before God. His relationship with God was mediated through Jesus. Yet this freedom allowed him voluntarily to participate in Jewish life when love and mission required it.

This is why he continues: “To those under the law I became as one under the law, though not being myself under the law.”

Notice the careful balance in what he says. Paul neither rejects Jewish practice entirely nor allows it to define righteousness before God.

And then Paul turns to Gentiles: “To those outside the law I became as one outside the law.” Again, Paul immediately adds an important qualification: “Not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ.”

It is important to note at this point, that Paul is not morally lawless. He is not antinomian. His point is that his identity is no longer governed by the Mosaic covenant as an ethnic boundary marker. Instead, he lives under the lordship of Jesus…a lordship that embraces both Jew and Gentile alike.

Now, this gave Paul remarkable missionary flexibility. Among Gentiles he could eat foods not prepared according to Jewish custom. He could participate in table fellowship across ethnic boundaries. He could adapt his communication to Greek audiences, quoting Greek poets and using forms of Greek rhetoric familiar to them. But in every context the gospel itself remained unchanged.

This is an important lesson for the Church. Faithfulness to Jesus does not require rigid cultural uniformity. The gospel may be communicated through different cultural forms provided…and this is important…provided the truth itself is not compromised.

Then Paul says something especially important in the context of chapters 8–9: “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak.”

The weak here are more than likely the vulnerable believers Paul discussed earlier in chapter 8…those with fragile consciences, fragile self-awareness, or unstable spiritual confidence.

And please notice that Paul does not despise them, ridicule them, nor reproach them. Whereas the Corinthians viewed the weak as obstacles to enlightened freedom, Paul sees them as precious people to be won, protected, strengthened, and preserved as they were people for whom Jesus died. This reveals the pastoral heart of Christian maturity.

The strong should not bully the weak. The mature should not mock the vulnerable. The knowledgeable should not humiliate the insecure. Rather, true maturity willingly and humbly limits itself for the good of others.

Paul therefore summarizes: “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.”

This statement has sometimes been misunderstood. Paul is not saying that truth is relative. He is not advocating compromise. He is not adjusting the gospel to please audiences. Rather, he is removing unnecessary obstacles to the gospel.

Paul refuses to allow his personal preferences, his freedoms, customs, or his rights to become barriers that prevent others from hearing the Gospel…or indeed that prevent others from holding non-essential views that may differ from his own. This requires immense humility. It requires the death of pride. It requires the surrender of entitlement. It requires patience with people who are weaker, slower, less informed, or culturally different. It requires an ability to hold inessential or peripheral theological positions loosely. 

And at the centre of it all stands love.

Modern Christianity often asks: What are my rights? What freedoms may I exercise? What preferences should others accommodate to suit me?

But Paul asks an entirely different question: “How may I patiently and tenderly help others come to Jesus so that they might grow to stand firm in him?”

This is missionary spirituality. This is cruciform spirituality. This is Christlike spirituality.

And then, finally, Paul concludes this section with a remarkable statement: “I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

The gospel is not merely Paul’s message. It is the atmosphere in which he lives. It is the very air that he breathes. The gospel governs his decisions, his freedoms, his relationships, his ministry, and even his identity. Like Jesus, Paul knew that he was not called to minister to people who believed they were morally perfect and therefore had no need for God's help or forgiveness. Like Jesus, he knew he was called to minister to people who were broken, weak, and spiritually bankrupt. 

And so, like Jesus, he too took on the form of a servant, becoming all things to all people, so that he might win the more for the Kingdom.

And this presents us with a challenge. 

Alongside the biblical lists of behaviours and lifestyles that disqualify people from entrance to the kingdom of God, in the Creeds, the Early Church gave us a list of theological essentials…truths on which we can never compromise. 

So, the question we must ask ourselves is are we willing and are we able…are we humble enough and are we spiritually mature enough to fellowship with another brother or sister in Jesus who is living according to clear biblical principles and who firmly believes every statement of faith outlined in the Creeds and yet who holds to a different theological point of view regarding nonessentials to our faith? 

Are we spiritually mature enough to become all things to all people so that by all means we might save some?

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2026

Certainty

Though passioned prayers may storm the gates of heaven

for those who linger long in sinking shade

though shattered lives may yearn for resurrection

yet see all hope for mercy fail and fade

though those who sit and wait at vacant tables 

with empty arms that ache through passing years

through many anxious nights remain unable

to dream while grief returns to harvest tears

I know because of him who grants me value

that even if there is no convalescence  

faith moves away from certainty of rescue 

to certainty of his persistent presence

for all that in this life seems so ambiguous

his lasting love will always be continuous

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2026

The Hardest Part – A Sonnet

The hardest part is not that you are gone 

but how to breathe when half my shadow stays

where you abide – my grief is more than songs

of absence – it is all the vanished ways

of how I found myself within your light

and how we grew together through the days

where words unspoken in our darkest nights

became what braided two uncertain ways

into one – yes what’s gone cannot return

nor can the self that bloomed beneath your gaze –

yet what is lost remains to be discerned

in what is left of you in me that stays

and moves and grows beyond the searing pain

to bloom anew until we meet again

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2026

The Right Use of Rights

Psalm 15                       1 Corinthians 9:1–18                Matthew 5:43-48

The Right Use of Rights

Last week we examined Paul’s approach to the question of theological precision that had manifested itself in the church of God in Corinth as an attitude of moral superiority that harmed other brothers and sisters in their community. Those who were not quite as assured in their new identity in Jesus were being spiritually wounded by those who considered themselves mature. Paul’s solution to this dilemma was a self-sacrificial love that always seeks to build up others…a love that would even deny certain legitimate rights of believers if exercising that right would harm another believer…in their case eating meat that had been offered to idols.

 Now after the service I was asked a very important question and that is, in the light of Paul’s teaching regarding the giving up of certain rights for the sake of others, how does one maintain theological accuracy when, in our own opinion, those around us are not as correct as we think they ought to be. Well, my answer to this is that we ought to look to Jesus…the one we are meant to imitate…the one we are meant to be like when it comes to how we interact with others.

Now, I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that Jesus is altogether right…he is altogether holy…he is altogether perfect. And yet, when we read the Gospels, we see that somehow, he manages to be quite comfortable in the presence of people the religious community of his day shunned. As we all know, Jesus obeyed every biblical law and yet he was vehemently opposed to the Scribes, Sadducees, and Pharisees…and it is not because Jesus was opposed to upholding theological accuracy! In Matthew 23, Jesus said, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.”

Now, what did he mean by that? Well, basically he was saying that to their credit, the Pharisees were encouraging people to keep the Law, which was a very good thing, because as Paul said, the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. In other words, Jesus commended the teaching and keeping of the law as contained in the Scriptures. 

But what Jesus spoke against was the way they applied the Law. They used the Law (or we could say “theology”) as a weapon and as a barrier. Jesus said that they shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. Whereas Jesus’ gentle approach loved people into the kingdom, the Pharisees’ harsh approach drove them away. 

The approach of the Scribes, Sadducees, and Pharisees, and even some of the disciples like James and John, was to judge, call down fire from heaven, confront, interrogate, excommunicate, or stone offenders. Jesus’ response to this type of religiosity was to point out their hypocrisy…let him who is without sin, cast the first stone, he said to the accusers of the woman caught in adultery…and to James and John Jesus said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.”

How many people have not been driven away from the Church because of something said or done by someone who considered themselves morally superior? I’m right, you’re wrong, so either you conform to my theological position or leave. That is exactly what Paul was addressing in 1 Corinthians 8. The destruction of others caused by self-inflated theological egotists.

And I repeat…there is nothing wrong with theological accuracy…don’t misunderstand what I am saying…as I said, Jesus was altogether right, altogether holy, and altogether perfect in every way and we should seek to be perfect as he was perfect and as our heavenly Father is perfect. And yet Jesus never used theology as a weapon to destroy but as a tool to lovingly and patiently draw people into change. And we ought to be like him.

A good exercise for all of us would be to diligently search the Gospels to see how Jesus behaved towards those dismissed by others. We need to ask ourselves who were the people in the Gospel accounts that Jesus most often confronted and took to task and why? And then we need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us whom we most clearly resemble. 

The Gospel of love is essentially simple…but it is the self-sacrificial, other-person-centred application of that love that we tend to complicate, because it is difficult and it is costly.

Now, back to chapter 9. At first glance, this chapter feels like an interruption. Whereas in the former chapters, Paul is addressing issues in the church of God in Corinth, here he suddenly begins speaking about his own apostleship, financial support for ministers of the Gospel, and his own personal rights.

But chapter 9 is not a digression. It is Paul’s living illustration of the principle he has just established in chapter 8.

The Corinthians claimed the right to eat food offered to idols. Paul responds by describing rights he himself possesses but willingly refuses to exercise. And he begins with a series of rhetorical questions:

“Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?”

The answers are all obvious. Yes, Paul is free. Yes, he did see Jesus on the road to Damascus. Yes, Paul is an apostle. In fact, the Corinthian church itself proves his apostolic ministry.

So what is his point in asking these questions? Well, the bottom line is simply this.  Paul truly possesses certain rights and therefore he is not surrendering imaginary privileges. His application is not theoretical nor is it abstract. This is crucial because Christian surrender is meaningful only when genuine rights are voluntarily laid aside.

So, in this light, having established his position as a authentic apostle, Paul then develops the argument that ministers of the gospel have a legitimate right to material support. He first appeals to ordinary life: Soldiers, he says, do not finance their own campaigns. Pretty obvious, right? Next, he points out that farmers eat grapes from their vineyards just as shepherds drink milk from their flocks.

These examples from day-to-day life, reflect a broader pattern of moral reasoning common throughout both Jewish and Greco-Roman thought. Labour rightly deserves a living wage.

But Paul then strengthens the point from Scripture itself by quoting from Deuteronomy 25: “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.”

Now, at first this might seem like an odd prooftext, but Paul is not taking Scripture out of context. The surrounding laws in Deuteronomy 25 consistently emphasize humane and just treatment of labourers, vulnerable persons, and dependents. The principle is one of fair and just treatment for all – consequently one who labours should share in the fruit of that labour.

And Paul therefore applies the principle to gospel ministry. Those who provide spiritual things may rightly receive material support.

He further appeals to the Old Testament priesthood. Now remember, the Priests and Levites lived from the offerings of Israel (principally the tithe, but also other offerings and sacrifices) because they had no tribal inheritance of land. So, their dependence upon the worshipping community was built into Israel’s covenant structure. 

That is why, when Israel ceased to tithe, the spiritual system collapsed because the teachers and upholders of the law were distracted from serving as they had to sustain themselves. Now, I know Paul is often cited as an example of bi-vocational ministry, working as a tentmaker while also serving as an evangelist and pastor, but we also know that when Silas and Timothy brought to Corinth sufficient support from the church in Philippi, Paul was able to devote himself exclusively to preaching because he no longer had to support himself. (Acts 18:5) We must always endeavour to interpret Scripture with Scripture.

So, the foundational principal is established: Just as in the Old Testament, those who provide spiritual things may rightly receive material support.

And then finally Paul appeals to Jesus Himself: “The Lord commanded,” he says, “that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” Now, this is not a direct quote from the Gospels but it almost certainly echoes Jesus’ instructions to the apostles and the seventy-two during their missionary journeys: “The labourer deserves his wages.” (cf. Matthew 10:10; Luke 10:7).

So, in these few verses, Paul establishes beyond doubt that gospel workers possess a genuine right to support. Yet after establishing this right with overwhelming force, Paul delivers the shocking conclusion: “Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right.” And this is the heart of Paul’s argument.

He is not denying the legitimacy of support for ministers. He is demonstrating the supremacy of the gospel over personal entitlement.

You see, Paul feared that financial dependence upon the Corinthians might compromise the integrity of his ministry or reinforce the Corinthian systems of patronage and status. Remember, in Corinth, wealthy patrons often exercised influence through financial support and benefactors expected loyalty, honour, and public recognition in return for their gifts. But Paul refuses to allow the gospel to become entangled in these systems of social obligation.

He would rather labour with his own hands than permit anyone to think the gospel could be purchased, manipulated, or controlled.

And this reveals something essential about Christian leadership. Paul does not lead through self-assertion. He leads through self-sacrifice.

The false spirituality of Corinth says: “I have rights and therefore I will use them.” Whereas Paul’s spirituality says: “I have rights and therefore I am free to surrender them.” And here we encounter a profound paradox.

Only truly free people can willingly relinquish power and control.

People enslaved to status, recognition, comfort, or entitlement cannot surrender these things because they derive their identity from them. On the other hand, Paul’s freedom in Christ liberates him from the need to promote himself.

And this becomes even clearer when Paul describes his ministry as a stewardship. He says: “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” You see, Paul does not view apostleship as a platform for self-expression. He views it as a divine commission.

The language of compulsion here reflects the world of stewardship and servanthood. Paul sees himself as one entrusted with a task committed to him by God and therefore, he has no choice but to fulfil his duty and his obligation. 

But lest we miss the point Paul is trying to make here by focussing on individual issues mentioned in these chapters…meat, and rights, and wages…we must see each one of these issues in the light of the whole thought. 

In these chapters, Paul is making a statement about two very different approaches to the Christian life. One which is self-centred and the other which is other-person-centred. And the important thing to grasp here is that the self-centred person may be perfectly right…allow me to repeat that: the self-centred person may be perfectly right, and consequently they justify their actions even though the upholding of their rights damages or destroys other believers.

But Paul deliberately chooses to live an other-person-centred life by forfeiting his legitimate rights for the sake of others. 

The question that quite naturally flows from this teaching of Paul is simply this: whom are we like?

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2026

Faith and Works

Moments

Moments

Before the dawn had gathered all her gold

the symphony of birdsong had begun

to usher in the rising of the sun

while morning mist lay doubled in the folds

of sleeping fields…and all the world seemed spun

from silver strands of music. Soon enough

the sun would sparkle brightly through the blush

of cotton clouds, dissolving dew till none

lay twinkling on the blades of grass and leaves 

of weeds…revealing shades of grey and green

upon the pastures painted with what seemed

to gently sigh a promise of reprieve

from night that takes all colours to the moon…

for well we know that all in life is lent

for moments that will all too soon be spent

as dusk descends upon our afternoon.

Based on Psalm 90:12

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2026