A strange title I know. But I do it for the reason you will see in this first paragraph.
We are still reading about the food sacrificed to idols. Can we eat it or not? Paul will be saying NO but before he gets there he is addressing the real issue. That is some were saying as a Christian we are free to do so because idols don’t exist. If they don’t exist then of course it doesn’t matter if they eat any type of food. They have the right to eat. It still is the major problem in Church communities. My rights. Grace. I can do what I want. I can be who I want to be. Everyone else falls into line with my rights, right? Paul had the right to eat whatever he wanted. He had the right to have a wife. He had the right not to have to work so that he could be a full-time gospel preacher. He had the same rights as a soldier, farmers and shepherds who got paid for what they do, so he also should receive money for what he did, it was his right. Moses said he should be paid and even Jesus said it too (Luke 10:7) and Paul could have insisted he was paid for the Law and the Lord said so, it was his right. He is not advocating that everyone else followed suit but rather they understand the reason why he wouldn’t take payment. He did have an unusual dramatic conversion quite different to everyone else. There was a uniqueness about his calling and ministry. However the most important reason was his love. He laid down his rights for his love. That was the teaching point he brings through regarding the argument about the food and freedom.
“Don’t we have the right to food and drink? 5 Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? 6 Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? 8 Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”[b] Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10 Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. 15 But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast. 16 For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 9 v 4-18)
Paul had rights and privileges as a Roman citizen. The right to vote and stand for public office. The right to make legal contracts. The right to hold property. The right to immunity from some taxes. The right to request Caesar hear his court cases as his journey in Acts describes. The right not to be tortured or whipped or receive the death penalty, unless he was guilty of treason. In the next letter that he writes to the Church Paul reminds them that “five times I received 39 lashes from Jews. Three times I was beaten with rods by the Romans. Once I was stoned by my enemies” (2 Corinthians 11 v 24-25. That’s outrageous for a Roman citizen to receive. But it shows his heart of love. This was who he was. He was prepared to lay down his rights even if it cost him everything.
- Your rights and privileges may become a stumbling block to some, so hide them.
- Your rights and privileges are there not for luxurious living per se, but to sustain you in the mission and others too.
- The ultimate price which is what Jesus paid is when you forgo completely your rights and privileges for the cause of love.
We have a citizenship in heaven. We have been born again, a new birth, new creations in Christ Jesus. We have been given power, rights and authority. There are times when we will choose to move in those elements and we will know the protection and the power of God against circumstances that are unbearable. But there are days when we need to surrender our rights. There are times when we know it is the right thing to do, when our immunity from suffering is waived, when we become dust again and we know the pain of living.
Missions Paul 