The apostle has been talking about the need for church members to agree to disagree on matters of food and customs. He warned them not to offend each other's sensibilities. Today he speaks about his own behavior in the church and how he tries not to offend the sensibilities of anyone so he may win them for Christ. He reminds us it's important to run this race to win it, so we mustn't do anything to sabotage the great commission we've been given.
"Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible." (1 Corinthians 9:19) Paul has the freedom in Christ to eat and drink what he pleases, for he understands that salvation is by grace and not by works. But although he is free to eat and drink what he pleases, he doesn't do it in the company of anyone it might offend.
"To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews.To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law." (1 Corinthians 9:20) Paul is a Jew by heritage, but now that he's in Christ he simply considers himself a Christian. He is living under grace instead of living under the law. But he doesn't use this liberty when eating with Jews. He observes the dietary laws when he is living and working among the Jews, so as not to offend anyone. He knows that if he offends them they may not want to hear anything he has to say about Christ. It would be hard for anyone to listen to what he's saying if he's forking food into his mouth that makes his audience queasy.
"To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law." (1 Corinthians 9:21) When ministering to the Gentiles he eats whatever is put on the table. If he were to push back from the table and say, 'This food is unclean! It was offered to idols before it was sold at the marketplace!", he would appear to consider himself superior to his hosts. He would drive a wedge between himself and the Gentiles. After hurting and offending them in this manner, they would feel resentful toward him and would not want to hear the gospel from him.
He points out that he is still under the Lord's law. He knows he has the freedom to eat and drink whatever his hosts put in front of him, but he won't join in with any sinful activities. In witnessing to sinners, he doesn't join in with their sin. He knows how to be a friend to everyone without getting pulled into anything immoral. We have to always be on guard whenever we are showing friendship to someone who lives immorally. In order to make them feel like we have something in common with them, there's a temptation to try and behave more like them, but this isn't going to get us anywhere in regard to telling them about Christ. We will lose all credibility. We will look just like them. It's important to take what Paul is saying in context. He has been warning the Corinthian believers not to offend each other in dietary practices and customs. These are things that are not immoral; it's just that there are differences of opinion about them in the church. So he's saying to treat one another with love and not eat or drink something in front of a person that will trouble them.
"To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings." (1 Corinthians 9:22-23) He wants to be able to enjoy the blessings of the Lord with as many people as possible. He is careful and self-disciplined so that he offends no one who wants to hear the gospel.
In order to stress his point about self-discipline, Paul uses running a marathon as a metaphor for victorious living. "Do you not know that in a race all the runners win, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." (1 Corinthians 9:24) He says, "Run to win! Don't live half-heartedly for Christ. Give it all you've got!"
We tend to think of the word "discipline" as punishment or correction. But Paul uses its other meaning. He uses the word "discipline" as training. No one can go from being a couch potato to being a marathon winner on the same day. It takes training to run a marathon. It takes willpower and self-discipline to run well enough to win a marathon. This is what the Christian life should be like. Our ability to control ourselves should be growing every day. Our faith in Christ and our strength in Him should be growing every day. I used to be the kind of person who wouldn't run unless something was chasing me, but about ten years ago I decided I wanted to train myself to run my daily two miles instead of walking my two miles. At first I had to alternate between walking a few minutes and running a few minutes. Gradually the segments of running grew longer and longer until I achieved my goal. It didn't happen overnight; it happened over a period of months. The Christian life should be a process of growing stronger every day, of running faster and farther every day, and of continual improvement. We aren't competing against other Christians but against ourselves, striving to be closer to Christ than we were yesterday and trying to honor Him more and more each day.
"Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." (1 Corinthians 9:25-27) Paul isn't preaching salvation by works; he never preaches this doctrine because it is not possible for us to earn salvation. He also isn't talking about the possibility of losing his salvation if he fails to do a good job. He's talking about losing his reward. When we enter the gates of heaven we want Christ to be able to say, "Well done! You have served me faithfully and have been a good example of Christian living. I have a reward for you to honor your service." Paul is saying, "If I don't practice self-control after preaching about it to others, I'm nothing but a hypocrite. Christ is no fan of hypocrites. I will not be rewarded for setting a good example if I don't set one. I want to run this race victoriously. I want to win a prize that will last forever. I want to hear Christ say, 'Well done!'"
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