Paul sets up one of the most evangelistically prolific sentences in Scripture with a conversation concerning freedom and slavery. You see, freedom requires that work earns one pay, or compensation. If I serve in the army, the government promises to pay me for my time. I desire to fight and, if necessary, lay down my life for my people, but I don't do it for free. I sacrifice my time, my skills, and my comforts and am equally compensated. If I plant a vineyard, the end result is fruit. The work I put into the vineyard results in food, drink, and money in return for the excess that I sell. The work of a free man results in a paycheck.
Beyond logic, the Law can be consulted on this matter. Paul quotes Deuteronomy 25:4 which commands, "You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing." As the ox works, he should not be muzzled in order to allow him to eat of the grain at his convenience. The ox works, the ox receives compensation. Personally, I'm very thankful that God is looking out for my oxen, but you know as well as I do that God's point here has little to do with oxen. If the ox earns his share of the fruit, how much more do the men that work the land earn theirs?
This idea even applies to the spiritual realm. Labor is labor whether it is done by the farmer, soldier, or priest. Priests are assigned specific duties just the same as the farmer and the soldier. Their compensation is also written in the law. Levitical law gives a number of types of sacrifices of which a portion typically goes to the priests for their share of the labor. So there you have it, free men who work, whether physical or spiritual work, logically and lawfully deserve compensation for the fulfillment of their duties.
Paul makes a compelling case. The work he does amongst the churches is important work. It is difficult work. It is a sacrificial work and earns him the compensation that all other free workers receive. But he doesn't take his pay. Never has, never will. Paul is a volunteer of the Corinth branch of the renowned Trinity & Associates, Incorporated.
With this said, he has two points to make: 1. He must make the gospel known. 2. He has freely chosen slavery.
Paul writes, "For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel." Paul is compelled to preach this gospel. He is not encouraged to preach the gospel. He is not enticed, forced, or commanded to do it. He is compelled. A man who has not eaten for many days is compelled to find food to nourish his body no matter the cost. Few distractions enter his mind; food is his main concern, his primary need. The thought of it drives him. He wakes thinking of food. He falls into an uneasy sleep craving food. He searches all the day long for the smallest crumb that may ease his hunger. Finding a scrap of food takes full priority.
Paul must preach this gospel, nothing else matters. He is compelled to preach the gospel "in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger..." (II Cor 6:4-5). Because there is nothing else for him but the preaching of the gospel, he has no boast. He cannot take credit for the desire, the words, or the opportunities. He cannot boast of his pay or his luxurious commodities. He cannot boast of this world and the paycheck it has to offer him as the greatest evangelist to walk the earth after Christ.
Woe to the starving man who does not seek food to nourish his body. Woe to Paul if he does not preach the gospel. Woe to me if I do not fulfill my mission on this earth. Until I am compelled to fulfill the work God has called me to in the same way I am compelled to eat for survival, I am not walking by the Spirit. When my desire for church planting, evangelism, and discipleship overseas becomes the very nourishment that my soul craves, then I have finally begun to understand what worship truly is. Paul's mission was a work of apostleship and establishing the church; mine is overseas service. What is your mission? Does it consume you and compel you to sacrifice everything to see it accomplished?
Secondly, Paul was a free man who deserved compensation for his work. Paul enslaved himself to those he loved. He worked for free, giving of himself to all. Putting aside all his rights in this work, he gave away the gospel at no charge. He made himself a slave to the gospel work among the Jews by becoming like a Jew. He became like one under the Law in order to enslave himself to the gospel work of those under the Law. He became weak for the weak. He became all things to all men. He sacrificed all. He gave all. Paul left nothing for himself so that he could have the opportunity to see just a few saved. His whole life and ministry for a handful of new believers.
Freedom is not an option. Paul argues in Romans 6 that we are either slaves to God or slaves to sin. He gave everything to become a slave and mostly fail. Paul, the second greatest evangelist of all time sacrificed all he had to see just a remnant saved. This is the believer's duty: sacrifice everything, save a few. It's worth it.
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