THE KING’S BUSINESS
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being done this way; if you won’t do it this way I won’t fellowship with you, but go off and start a work of my own.” Paul became “all things to all men.” Why? He had just one ambition in view, “That I may by all means save some.” That was the main point with Paul, getting men saved. Neither ordinances or the absence of ordinances was anything in itself, saving men was the important point. With many of us having our way of worshipping God is the main point. If men can be saved in that way we are glad of it, but if they can’t be saved in that way—well, we have got to do it in this way anyhow. O, that we might make our methods subordinate to our end; that we might make it our motto as individuals and churches “that I may by all means save some!” That seems to be an entirely secondary thought with many churches today. Notice particularly just what Paul said, not “that’ I may by some means save all” but “that I may by all means save some." We can’t save all, many will not come to Christ, that they might have life, no matter what we do (John 5 :40); but we can save some and. even some are worth saving, and we should be willing to use any and all means that we may save these “some.” What matters the means! No matter how humiliating and contrary to our own notions (if they are only right means) if by thoSe means we can “save some.” What difference does it make, whether people do things our way or not providing they “save some.” And why did Paul do all these things? For the Gospel’s sake. Not his own interests, but the interests of the Gospel were the main things with Paul. In the matter of the Gospel, Paul desired to “be a joint par taker thereof.” R. V. That is to say, Paul was not willing to be a partaker of the Gospel by himself alone. He wished to be a partaker thereof with others,, “a joint partaker.” This is one of the marks of a true child of God, that he long to share with others the good things he has found (Phil. 4:10; 1 John 3.T4). Have you that mark of a child of God? Namely, that
you are not satisfied to be partaker of the Gospel by yourself alone, but have an over whelming desire to bring others into the participation in the Gospel privileges; an overwhelming desire, not merely to be a partaker of the Gospel, but a “joint par taker of the Gospel.” Sunday, Nov. 4 - i Cor. 9 : 24 , 25 . The Christian life is a race. We get life at the very beginning of the race by simple faith in Christ (1 John 5:11, 12; John 3:36; 5:24). If we do not get life as a free gift (Rom. 6:23) we have no strength to race at all. But while we get life at the beginning of the race, we get a crown at' the end of it on the condition that we run well. Some so run that they will obtain a crown, others so run that they will not. They will not be lost, if they are really in the race, but they will miss the crown, if they do not run well. We are given very plain instructions in the Word of God how to run so that we shall without doubt obtain the crown. Every one will do well to ponder these instruc tions earnestly until they understand them. They are found in Heb. 12:12; Phil. 3:13, 14. “Every man that striveth for the mas tery is temperate in all things” : here we have Christian temperance in another form from that given before in verses 19-22. There we had abstinence for the sake of others. Here we have abstinence for the sake of our own highest attainment. The racer controls his natural appetites and abstains from . everything that would detract in the least from his swiftness and endurance, and thus lessen his chances of running the race successfully. Just so the Christian runner controls his desires and abstains from everything, no matter how innocent and desirable in itself, that would interfere in the least *ith his making the very best progress in the Christian life. For example, it is not merely a question whether wine is good or bad in itself, but would the use of wine hinder me or help me in running the Christian race. If it hinders ever so little, I will not touch i t
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