Priority of Love (Part 2)

Thanks for tuning in to No Compromise Radio with pastor and author, Dr. Mike Avendrop. Today on No Compromise Radio, we'll be hearing Pastor Mike open the Word of God in a recent message he preached at Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

Now let's join Pastor Mike in progress as he preaches through the scriptures, verse by verse, with no compromise.

Substitutionary Atonement and Christ's Resurrection

This is substitutionary atonement. Paul loves to talk about it, Romans 5, Romans 8, Galatians 1, which I read this morning, Ephesians 5, Titus 2, on behalf of, huper, substitute, on behalf of, on account of, in our place, in our stead, meaning we were sinful and Christ was sinless and Jesus as our representative substitute met the demands of the divine law and appeased God's wrath completely.

Pretty amazing to think God didn't have to save anybody. That's part of the good news, that even though he didn't have to save anyone, he did and he did only through him. Why the burial here? Why the burial connected to death and resurrection?

The finality of Christ's death. Dark for three hours, Jesus, the darkness for three hours at Calvary, God punishing Jesus in our place. By the way, if you look at the tense there, for he was raised, in verse 4, there's different tenses in the Greek language.

The death and burial use a past tense, dead, buried, seems right, seems good. But the word for raised, he could say, was raised, past tense, dead, yes, in time, past tense, buried, yes, in time, past tense, raised, yes, he was raised on the third day, past tense, but he doesn't use the past tense.

He uses a tense that means he's raised from the dead and he stands now as raised. It's a perfect tense. He's always the raised one, so much so you can go to Revelation chapter 5 and you see a lamb that's slaughtered, but he's doing what?

Standing. Raised from the dead. By the way, if Jesus wasn't raised from the dead, your marriage and your best life now and all that other stuff is irrelevant. And you know one of the neat things about this theology?

It's passed down, there's continuity. Why does he say, appeared in verse 5 to Cephas, then to the 12, then more to the 500, then to the 500 at one time? Most of whom remain until now. Twenty some years earlier, there's the resurrection and Paul establishes a continuity, meaning that there are some people who are alive now when Jesus was raised from the dead and maybe some saw the resurrected Jesus.

As we're going through this, where are we in the middle of it? We're only the people that receive the gospel, we aren't the gospel. By the way, you should already start yourself thinking. If you're going down to the common and you're telling everybody to repent and believe and to trust and to follow and to stop it and to start it, that's good.

If you're preaching the gospel first, the gospel isn't stop, start, do, begin, quit it, how could you repent, believe? I think I can make some money off a track like that. The gospel is what Jesus did.

At Calvary, it's a theological issue, it's a historical issue, it's all about God. And this news demands a response. But the response isn't the gospel, the good news is what Jesus has done. No wonder Spurgeon said, the gospel's done, done, done, not do, do, do.

Of course we respond. I'm just going to give you one more and we'll get back into 1 Corinthians chapter 9. And you know, here's the good news, by the way, it'll probably be five years before we get to chapter 15 anyway, you'll have already forgotten today's sermon on 1 Corinthians 15.

When we get there, you'll think it's all fresh and new. Wow, I've never heard that truth before. There is one person here that has their eyes closed and I think they're sleeping, but I won't tell you who.

The gospel number five is scriptural, it's biblical. What I mean here is it's nothing new. Look at how many times does it say in this section, according to the scriptures, according to the scriptures.

At the end of verse three, in accordance with the scriptures, Old Testament is what he was talking about. And then in verse four of chapter 15, in accordance with the scriptures. In accordance with the scripture is just theological shorthand for the death of Christ, his life, death, burial, resurrection.

It's theological shorthand for God's determined purpose for Christ. Acts two, acts four. When Paul uses scriptures, do you see that in accordance with the scriptures? He's talking generally, the scriptures in general talk about that.

If he would say according to the scripture, Isaiah 53, four, it's something specific. So when Paul uses a singular, he's honing in, it is written this verse. But when he says according to the scriptures, when he talks about Moses, the law, the writings, prophets, the Psalms, however you want to parse up the Old Testament, from Genesis to second Chronicles in the Jewish canon.

Our canon, from Genesis to Malachi. It all talks about the death, burial, and resurrection. It leads up to it. No wonder Jesus in Luke 24 can say what? This Old Testament speaks of me. Now tradition said that Psalm 16 and Psalm 110 were combined to talk about messianic resurrection.

But I think it's easier than that. I think it's easier than that. The general tenor of the Old Testament scriptures taught the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah. It taught categories like sacrifice, atonement, suffering, victory over death.

The Gospel as Good News, Not Human Response

So let's turn our Bibles back to first Corinthians chapter nine. Now we know what the gospel is. It's going to help us as we try to be motivated like Paul to have the priority of the gospel. The gospel has nothing to do with us.

It is the gospel of good news, what Jesus did and what he did alone, planned by the triune God, effectuated by the triune God, and it demands a response. But the response isn't the gospel. The gospel is, I could say it this way, how about this?

When I was in theological seminary, I feel so old when I say that, when I was in theological seminary, I started theological training in 1991. I am old. By the way, there's a myth that goes around the church and that's that I'm middle-aged.

Middle-aged according to the Bible, 70 is how long you're to live unless you have strength. And 70 divided by two, I don't have a little HP calculator, but it's 35 years old. I am not middle-aged. I am way past it.

Middle-aged. Don't we do things like that just to make ourselves not feel as old? I'm just middle-aged, 50s, 60s. But when I was in theological seminary, there was a fight going on and we wanted to tell people, repent and believe, because some people were non-Lordship and they were saying, you know what?

Repentance isn't part of the gospel. And I would say, yes, it is. You've got to tell people to repent. Peter said, repent. Paul said, repent. Jesus said, repent. John the Baptist said, repent. You got to tell people to repent.

But I was wrong in saying repentance is part of the gospel because the gospel is good news about what God alone has done. And I would have been right if I would have said, and it demands a response, and the response demanded by God is recognition of sin, admission of sin, confession of sin, repentance of sin, forsaking sin, belief, assent, volitional thinking about God that confirms what He's done.

So when people say, well, you know what the gospel is in 1 Corinthians chapter 15? That is the gospel. It's true. But the response of the gospel is repent and believe. So now back here in chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians, Paul was motivated by this gospel that was outside of him, that was good news by God, happened historically, was a theological verity.

Could there be anything less important for Paul? No. And this is what got him up in the morning. And this is why he served the way he did. So let me give you some charges from 1 Corinthians chapter 9.

I'll give you three and then we'll finish. Three charges from the scripture seeing Paul's motivation was the gospel. Charge number one, since Paul's motivation was the gospel, never let money, things, or possessions get in the way of your gospel ministry.

If it's all about God's gospel, then don't get caught up in recognition, fame, applause for you pastors out there, money, success. If you're in Oana Ministries, you're at VBS, you teach Sunday school to the five-year-old kids, you have one priority and the priority is not, well, I'd like to get recognized and I want applause.

I want people to say, attaboy, hopefully we'll try to encourage you. But Paul's motivation was the gospel and specifically Paul's motivation was not money. Let's take a look at the passage in verse 15.

With great humility and service like his master in Philippians 2, Paul said, but I have made no use of any of these rights, which was the right to be paid for his work, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision.

By the way, I'm not trying to secretly, securitously try to get that now. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. So the Greek language is this, I, emphatic I, he could say I, but in the Greek, it's like I myself, compared to all these other charlatans who are in it for the money, I'm not in it for the money.

Look back at verse 12. If others share this rightful claim on you, do we not even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.

Big picture, liberty to do all kinds of things in Christ, but limited by love and limited by the gospel. And Paul says, I could charge you, but I don't. Paul would occasionally receive gifts from churches.

Philippi would later send him things. But while he was there at Corinth, the culture with the fake apostles wanting money, money, money, you know what? If they had a TV station back in those days, it would be set to TBN.

Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme. Send Jesus your money, and here's my address. You want to know what a false teacher does? I'll tell you what a false teacher is motivated by, power, sex, and money. Every single time, it's one of those three things, are all of them.

Paul says, I don't want you to reimburse me. That's not why I'm writing now. I'd rather die. And the way he says it, he starts saying something in Greek, but he doesn't finish the sentence and then he kind of just changes it.

It would be better for me to die then. No one will make my boast of mine an empty. He doesn't even finish his sentence because he's convicted. It's emotional for Paul. It's a grammatical break. Better to die.

He's reading 2 Peter, don't turn there, but false prophets, he's talking about, it says in verse 3 of chapter 2, and in their greed, they will exploit you with false words. They're in it for the money.

Paul says, I've got the gospel for free. I proclaim it for free. Because I want to boast. This is good boasting. This is Christian boasting. I've received great grace from God and I want to tell people about it.

Tell people about him. So this is good for us to ask the question, what's our motivation? Fame, fortune, success, prestige, people noticing. Well what about this? If I were you, here's what I'd be thinking.

Then Mike, why do you take a paycheck? Well here's my answer. Let's pray. Jesus has already said, a labor is worthy of his wages. Paul says in 1 Timothy chapter 5, elders who teach the word are worthy of what?

Double financial honor. He's not contradicting himself, but for Paul the apostle at Corinth, he had the freedom to say, you should pay my bills so I can be about the word of God. But he says in this particular case, I can say no to my freedom because of the gospel.

Because the way you'll hear me is wrong because of what these false teachers has done. Paul received material support from, in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 it talks about it, Philippians chapter 2, Philippians chapter 4.

But he usually received it from a different geographical location. So if he was over at Philippi, he usually didn't get money from the Philippians at the time. It's when he went on his journey, then they sent him money.

It wasn't wrong to take money. And by the way, if you want to be in gospel ministry because you can't work now, and you can't keep a job now, and every end now is dead in terms of your vocation, you think I'm going to get into gospel ministry for the money, I have news for you.

A, that's the wrong motivation. And most congregations aren't like this one, paying their pastors well. When I first got saved, I was so glad to be saved. I didn't care. I didn't do it for the money. I'm telling you, the first time you get done preaching at a church and some guy comes up to you and he goes like this.

Now I train the guys. You go to church and you preach, some guy hands you the money, you just say, oh, thank you very much. You walk away. People gave me money to preach the gospel. I tell you this with all honesty because it's the glory to God.

If I get fired from here, or I move on, or whatever happens to me, we go belly up and bankrupt, I'm not going to stop preaching. I didn't start it for the money. I'm glad you pay my bill so I don't have to work like I did back at school, 60 hours a week, and still figure out how to get a good sermon to the people.

But I'm not in it for the money. If the pastor is in it for the money, they need to be fired pronto. I never looked for it. I never sought for it. You should know how much Kim and I decreased our salary by coming here.

That was an interesting day. But God provides. It's not wrong for pastors to take money. It was wrong for Paul. Let me give you the second charge, learning from Paul's example, of top priority is the gospel.

Since the gospel's top priority, nothing else should get in the way, including money. Secondly, like Paul, all Christians are responsible to proclaim the gospel of grace. I think we can learn that from Paul.

Paul said, look at me, imitate me. Of course, as he imitates Christ, but we can look at Paul too. Paul says it's all about the gospel. I think that's fair for us because I could easily go to Matthew chapter 28.

But look what Paul said, verse 16. If I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. It's a good screensaver verse for up and coming preachers.

By divine conscription, I have to preach. Remember Christ's words to Paul on the Damascus road, but rise and stand upon your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to these things which you have seen me, have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you.

He says, I've got a necessity. I've got a constraint. And if I don't do it, I'm going to get chastened. Whoa. This reminds me of the language in Jeremiah. You read the prophecy Old Testament and read what they say and then also try to read what they feel.

Conscription, heavy hand. I've got to do this or else. Listen, Jeremiah 20. If I say I will not mention him or speak anymore in his name, there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones and I am weary with holding it in and I cannot.

You tell me not to talk about Jesus. I can't stop it. He's free, but he's not free not to preach. Not just boasting. It's woe if I don't. And every person who's called into gospel ministry must proclaim the gospel.

Every Christian must proclaim the gospel. You aren't the gospel. You proclaim the gospel. And the good news is when people like it or they don't like it, duty discharged. Paul said, I don't have a choice in the matter whether I preach the gospel or not.

Because he's going to lead up to the only choice I had was do I get paid or don't I get paid? My choice isn't do I preach or not. My choice is do I get paid or don't I? Paul was called to the ministry.

He didn't choose it himself. It was chosen for him. Jonah forced to preach to the Ninevites. Moses forced to preach to Pharaoh. A debt. And you, Christian, have the privilege to preach the gospel. By the way, just pastorally, when's the last time you preached the gospel to someone?

Evangelistically. Maybe at home. Maybe someplace else. Do you see people walking around like I do? I've seen zombie movies before when I was a kid. Not any lately. I never watch TV now. But I see people walking around.

And they are aimless. They are purposeless. They are just stuck in the world. And I begin to think, you know what, Lord? Give me opportunities to preach the gospel to people today. And when the Lord gives me opportunity and I get done preaching, do you know how I feel?

I'll tell you how I feel for you young people so you can identify. I'm jacked up is how I feel. I've got to preach the gospel. I don't care. Well, I do care if they repent and believe. But that's not my main focus.

My focus is God is glorified when you tell people about the gospel. God is glorified. Never go out and say, well, you know, we went down to downtown Worcester today. We preached the gospel. And then don't be the one who says, how many people got down on their knee in the cement and asked Jesus into their heart?

How many did it? No. Did you get to preach the gospel today? Yes. So begin to pray this prayer. Lord, would you give me a weak and needy sinner who's not very articulate and not very gifted. I don't have seminary training.

But would you help me figure out a way? Give me opportunities to preach the gospel today. And then once you give me the opportunity, would you help me to do it and not just flounder? That would be a good prayer.

I think God would bless that. And number three, and finally, lessons from Paul's example of self-sacrifice for the priority of the gospel. One, never let anything else get in the way, including money.

Two, proclaim the gospel. Three, like Paul, ministry to the Lord should not be done grudgingly or against your will. In other words, whatever you eat, whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Don't do things grudgingly. What does Paul say in verse 17? For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward. But if not of my own will, I'm still entrusted with a stewardship. What then is my reward?

That in my preaching, I may present the gospel free of charge so as to make full use of my rights in the gospel. Now, Paul switches to the language of slavery. Paul says, you know what? If I could determine whether I preach or not, then I could get a reward for that.

But I can't determine that. That's already been determined for me. I'm a steward. I'm a slave. It's God's call, God's sovereign choice, not my own. I have a commission as Christ's slave. It's not my own choice.

My only choice is, happily and ungrudgingly, I preach for free. I'm just an unprofitable servant, using the language of Luke 17. Slaves have a task imposed on them. Slaves don't get rewards for what they're supposed to do.

Paul says this is not voluntary. I'm not entitled to a reward for preaching the gospel. I just want to preach it. If you owned a slave back in the Bible day, you would not see that slave trying to fish for a compliment or expecting to be thanked.

Paul says it's obligatory. I'm commanded to preach the gospel with my whole heart. But I don't have a command that says, I have to take your money. So I have to preach, but I don't have to take your money.

That's where I'll get the reward. And for us, when it comes to gospel ministry, listen to what John Calvin said. Whenever God has demanded something from us, we are deceiving ourselves if we imagine that we are fulfilling it properly when we do so grudgingly.

For the Lord expects his servants to be eager so as to take pleasure in obeying him and demonstrate their cheerfulness by acting without hesitation. In short, Paul means that the only way in which he would do justice to his calling would be by doing his duty with willingness and unbounded eagerness.

For those of you that serve in the nursery, set up chairs, working on the new property, behind the scenes administratively, or whatever else you do, do you do it with unbounded eagerness? And if you don't, A, we have a great substitute who always did his father's will with unbounded eagerness.

And B, it's not too late to start. Today's the day. God, in light of who you are and what you've done, and I've had the gospel preached to me, and you've granted me faith and repentance, and now I want to be an eager server.

Think about kids. Delayed obedience is what? Disobedience. Ungrudging disobedience, well, ungrudging disobedience is doubly bad, but ungrudging obedience, I still can make my kids obey because I'm bigger.

But I like it when they say, Daddy, I want to obey. I don't even like what they're, they don't even like what I've asked them to do, but they want to do it. And if a kid could do that for parents, we're called to preach the gospel.

We're called to serve. Friends, if you're a Christian, you need to be a member of this church and have a ministry. You need to say to yourself, in light of that, I have to love other people. That's not the gospel, love your neighbor.

But if you've been affected by and infected by the gospel, you'll love other people. I constantly am amazed by the 20 of the people in the church who do all the work, and I'm thankful for you, very, very encouraged.

I came here late last night, and there were guys setting up the chairs, picking stuff up. They weren't even being mean. They were being happy, playing games around the Iwana circle while they're doing stuff.

Well, not quite. But then I also wonder, there's the 20 that does the work, but the 80 that don't do the work. I'm surprised they're not knocking on my door saying, I need to serve. I need to do something.

I can't control myself. I've lived for myself my entire life, and now God has had the gospel preached to me. I've been granted eternal life, forgiveness of sins, union with Christ, justification by faith alone.

I'm adopted into God's kingdom, and I can't stand it. I'm going to serve the Lord. But that hardly ever happens until this week. For those of you that are serving, thank you for having the gospel shine in your life.

Am I allowed to say that, if the gospel is only good news? Paul knew he was going to get a reward eventually, but here his focus is on preaching like a servant, like a slave.

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life-transforming power of God's Word through verse-by-verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 8 .30 and 11 a .m., and Sunday evenings at 6 p .m. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston, Massachusetts. You can check us out online at bbcchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

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