1 Corinthians 9:3-12

3 This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. 4 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.” 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.

-1 Corinthians 9:3-12

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Blamelessness.  This was the Apostle Paul’s focus.  Apparently, the Christians in Corinth were complaining about him, so Paul brought up the point that he didn’t even take money from them for serving them.  Just like churches pay their pastors for their services, the Apostle Paul should have been paid for serving the church.

But Paul refused payment.  He refused to get paid by the church in case any members thought that Paul was serving them for money.  He didn’t want that as a reason for people to doubt his sincerity in sharing Christ.  That’s next level.

Are you being blameless in the way that you live your life to help others see Christ in you?  What does being blameless look like for a high school kid in Tenafly?  It means practicing academic integrity so that people will see that your faith actually matters to you.  It means treating those in school who are outcasts with dignity and respect so that people will see that your faith actually matters to you.  It means using words of encouragement instead of words of discouragement so that people will see that you faith matters to you.

Are you living a blameless life for the sake of the Gospel?