The Properties of People of True Faith: Being Trustworthy, Straightforward, and Responsible

Building Trust and Financial Responsibility

Within Ourselves for the Betterment of All

(1st Corinthians chapter 9, verses 1–14)

In today’s installment of this continuing study of the writings of the apostle Paul, we are going to advance to chapter nine of 1st Corinthians, where we will have a look at verses 1 through 14. In last week’s lesson, we found the apostle Paul discussing the topic of exercising our freedom as Christians, provided we never do so in a way that could compromise the faith of other believers. This week Paul shifts his emphasis away from exercising our freedom as individual Christians, as he did in the last half of chapter eight, and instead expounds on applying it to Christians who are in positions of leadership. He then continues on in that vein beginning at verse one:

“Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are my seal of apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don’t we have the right to food and drink? Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as…