Sharing in the Gospel’s Blessings

210207 Yonsei University Church

Scripture: Isaiah 40:27-31/ 1 Corinthians 9:19-23/ Micah 1:29-39

<Hymn> 505 Christ for the Whole Wide World

If you look at 1 Corinthians today, you can see how great Paul's passion for the Gospel was. Paul was a very passionate man. He eagerly explored what the truth was, and if he thought he had found it, he believed it thoroughly, and he did his utmost to put it into practice and deliver it. As Paul has been recently reevaluated in the humanities field, non-Christian scholars are also admiring him as a great figure. The main reason for this is that Paul lived a life of utter devotion to the truth. Once Paul accepted the truth, he absolutely believed it. He is a person who is purely, uncompromisingly, absolutely devoted and immersed in the truth, without worrying about whether he is practically practicable, what kind of damage or profit he will have, what others will think of himself, etc. Paul's passion is so important that non-Christian scholars say that because of Paul's absolute passion for truth, Christianity was able to grow even in difficult circumstances.

Paul always pledged to preach the Gospel in time or out of time, and despite knowing the situation where all kinds of persecution and threats of death await, he went in to preach the Gospel in it. He lived a life of moving forward with the goal of forgetting what was behind and bringing the Gospel to more people, constantly training himself as an athlete, soldier, or farmer. And furthermore, he looked at his heart carefully to ensure that no impure motives other than the gospel were mixed into his passion. He spontaneously has the respect for whether he can make such a thorough dedication to the gospel. What Paul reflects in today's scripture is a matter of no concern to ordinary people. However, in order to protect the purity of the gospel, Paul thoroughly examined his inner motives, as if he were a man of integrity, and censored himself for what other motives were besides the gospel itself. And he was worried that one danger he found would be his pride to preach the gospel.

In view of common sense, wouldn't Paul be respected while preaching the gospel? In verse 16 just before today's scripture, Paul summarizes the matter: “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.” In case, after preaching the gospel, people were transformed and saved, so that the credit would be given to Paul. And in verse 18 he asks: “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.” The “wage” in this case is “μισθός(mistos)” in Greek, translated as “sang” in the Korean Reformation Bible and “conservative” in the joint translation. The reward and wages are a little different, but Paul seems to think of both meanings for himself. He is saying that he is preaching the gospel and that he does not expect any remuneration (salary) or reward from man or from God. In particular, as a tent maker missionary, Paul made the principle of compassionate mission. It can be said that this was because there was no organized church at the time, and it could be an unavoidable choice in Paul's situation where he had to travel and evangelize, and it was also because of Paul's determination to do missions without quarrel. This, too, is a great decision, but what is even greater is that he did not expect any wages or rewards from God for his preaching the gospel. It means that he is committed to the gospel with the attitude that he will be cursed if he does not do it. Does this make sense? Is it possible?

Paul says that if there is a reward he will receive, "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." He did not expect God to give a great prize in heaven later. The fact that he delivered the gospel without expecting any wages or rewards, and without using his rights, is the reward he received. Was it a reward, a sense of pride, a sense of reward? I think I know, but I don't completely understand.

Paul's thoroughness is revealed in detail in today’s scripture. Paul gave up all rights to preach the gospel, in other words, to save many people, and became a servant of everyone, namely Jews, those under the law, those who live without the law, and those who have weak faith. 19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. Except for the gospel, he threw away all of his pride, honor, reputation, and just respect like trash. Why did he do that? According to Paul, " I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some." And in the last section of today's scripture, Paul is doing this. "I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."

The prize that Paul expects is the “participation award,” which is not the award received for participating, but the participation itself is regarded as a prize. This thorough dedication for the gospel is that "I want to share in the blessings of the gospel." I looked at the meaning by paying attention to the word “Blessed of the Gospel”, but strangely, the word “blessed” does not appear in the Bible. The Korean King's Bible says, “I do all things for the gospel because I want to participate in the gospel.” In some English translations, the word blessing may or may not be included. In Greek, the word “shinkoinos” was used, which means “joint participant”. From this perspective, it can be seen that the word “blessing” appeared while paraphrasing, and the original meaning is “participating in the gospel” itself as in the translation of the Bible, and there is no other blessing. In this way, Paul lived a life of thorough dedication to the pure gospel itself, not paying attention to the praise, boasting, and reward received from preaching the gospel other than the gospel itself. The biggest concern for us after reading the scripture is, is this life possible in reality? The question is, can we live such a life? The answer is not in us, but in the gospel. It is in the power of the gospel. If we properly know what the gospel is and believe thoroughly, we can live the same life as Paul.

I have recently read a lot about Hyeon Bong-hak. Born in 1922, he graduated from the Severance Medical School and made a great contribution as a doctor, professor, and international leader. Yonsei University selected this person as “a person who shined the spirit of Yonsei” in 2018. Reading his biography, I thought that Hyun Young-hak, who I respected, was his brother, helped find Yoon Dong-ju's graveyard, and was deeply acquainted with Pastor Moon Jae-rin, his wife, and deaconess Kim Shin-mook.

The event that many people remember about this person is Operation Heungnam withdrawal in December 1950. Hyun Bong-hak, who worked as a Marine Corps interpreter at the time, made as many as 100,000 refugees aboard the warship when the U.S. troops withdrew from Heungnam, contributing greatly to saving their lives. This happened because Hyun Bong-hak did his best to save the lives of innocent refugees with the same determination as Paul. In his autobiography, he writes, "I stayed up all night worrying and decided to do anything if I could." In fact, he persuaded Major General Almond, who was in command at the time, to move his mind. The director's position was stubborn at first.

In the situation of preserving military power as much as possible and directing the withdrawal of all troops and military supplies, the refugees was only seen as a clear hindrance. Hyun Bong-hak's suggestion interfered with the military operation and above all, there were concerns that impure people could intervene in the refugee ranks. However, Hyun Bong-hak's desperate appeal helped rescue the refugees. After that, Hyun Bong-hak systematically led the evacuation operation, and he personally went to Hamheung downtown, church, friend's house, and even prison to tell them to go to Wonsan and take a boat. Of course, not all of them were able to board the ship, but nearly 100,000 people were saved by throwing away their weapons and luggage as much as possible. I think that Hyun Bong-hak's heart at that time might have been the same as Paul's heart in today’s scripture.

There is a message of salvation for countless people who could die if left alone. There is a desperate mission to bring this news to as many people as possible. There is no room to think of trying to take personal advantage in doing this, or giving the credit to youself. And, if he couldn't save even one more because of his own negligence or laziness, he would have thought that it was his responsibility. You do not have the right to prepare and burn warships. In a way, you can think of it as a great honor to be involved in the great project of salvation prepared by God by creating a situation.

As I pondered the experience of Hyeon, Bong-hak, I understood a little about Paul's thorough dedication to the gospel. I thought that if we immediately believe what the gospel is, we can achieve the same thoroughness, purity, and passion as Paul. Today, beyond Paul's time, thousands of people are living under the shadow of the darkness of death, trying to find the meaning of life and to perish from this earth. They are in the same position as the poor refugees who are destined to die if left behind. We know how they can be saved. We know the news. We know how urgent it is to give them the news of salvation. How can we really save humanity today? Can a vaccine save humanity? Can a good economic theory save mankind? God has already prepared the way for mankind to live and has commanded us to share the news. But will the world really listen to us? Would you trust our words? Will we see our lives and think, "Oh, that way is the way to live"? Can they see the gospel we believe in and feel, "That gospel is the way for all mankind to live."

There is certainly a way to live in front of many dying today, but if we are purely committed to the gospel and fail to lead them to the way of life and of salvation, we realize that as much as Paul was concerned, the responsibility to return to us is too heavy. We have already been privileged to understand the gospel, accept it, and preach the gospel. This in itself is a great reward and a great blessing for us. What we ought to do is to go out into the world through the power of this gospel and live a life of enlightening, showing, and practicing the nature of the gospel to love God and to love our neighbors. Looking at the Scripture that we read today, Jesus diligently went from village to village to save one more person and one village. Although our strength is weak and our abilities are limited, God will give us amazing power as we strive to preach the gospel of God through the strength that God gives us according to the Old Testament text we read today. Just as an eagle rises with its wings, God will give us the strength to be tireless. I sincerely hope that brothers and sisters will do their best to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

<The Prayer of Devotion>

God, thank you for renewing us with the word of life at this time. Now, we will live a life of entrusting all our worries and anxieties to the Lord, relying on Jesus Christ as the Healer and Savior, and trying to bring more people to your altar. Please be with us. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.