Woe To You

1 Corinthians 9:16 "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel."

Dear Christians,

In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians he boldly declares the previously mentioned verse, with indignation. Immediately preceding this line Paul speaks of the burden of the gospel. In some translations he says "the necessity of the gospel has been laid upon me." What a powerful statement packed into one very short verse. Let it sink in. "For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity has been laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!" (! Corinthians 9:16 ESV)

Paul clearly begins by saying "if I preach." He does not say "I preach," but "if I preach." He is making it known that the sharing of the gospel is a choice. He has known the grace of God and the truth of Jesus Christ, yet Christ does not make Paul share. It is an if, a choice to be made as to whether or not we will speak the truth of the gospel. We can embrace that choice to share of the wonderful news of Jesus, or we can run from it. Unfortunately, most of our Christian world today seems to run from the choice to share the grace of God as He has shown Himself to us in Christ. We assume that it is someone elses task to tell the world about Jesus and we assimilate to luke-warmness. Yet, Paul says "if I preach." Again, he does not say "if my pastor preaches" or "if the missionary preaches." He boldly says "if I preach." That is to say that the sharing of the good news of Jesus is not your pastors responsibility, the missionaries responsiblity, or even your outgoing church friends responsibility. If you're a Christian, the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ is YOUR responsibility. Woe to you who know Jesus but make it someone elses responsbility to tell your friends and family about Him.

Paul continues by saying "if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting." Simply, we cannot brag about sharing the good news of Jesus with anyone. As Christians, it should be expected of us that if the God of all creation has been murdered on a cross to save us from ourselves so we could know, love and worship Him, then we better have some passion and burden to share that great news with others. Woe to you who have experienced the grace of God and bragged about sharing it one time without ever having shared it again.

Moving forward, Paul lands on the phrase "necessity has been laid upon me." This is a statement that reveals Paul's understanding of the truth, as well as His understanding of our world. Paul feels a heavy need, or as some translations say, a great burden, to tell the world about Jesus death, burial, and resurrection to forgive our sins and bring us to God enjoying and glorifying Him forever in repentance and faith. He says elsewhere, "I consider my life worth NOTHING to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me, the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace."

Paul clearly understood the weight of the gospel message. He understood that his sins had separated him from God's kindness and earned him God's just wrath. He understood that there was nothing he could do to earn God's forgiveness and love, but that by GRACE, God loving sought him out when he had nothing to offer God in return. What a powerful message. You offended God by your wrong choices and earned God's wrath. God then loving sought you out by dying on a cross in your place and for your sin when you had nothing to offer in return. He then saved you "by grace, through faith" so that you could enjoy and glorify Him forever. Woe to you who do not understand the gospel of God's grace.

Paul's "necessity" does not end with a simple understanding of the gospel, it goes much further. He understood that we live in a dark and fallen world that has violently opposed God and chosen wicked ways instead of good. He understood that this world has chosen to worship money, fame, possessions, and positions instead of the One True God. It burden Paul to know that the consequences of a lost and dying world meant eternity in hell surrendered to God's wrath and justice. It also burdened Paul to know that as long as this world was choosing to live for something other than God that it was opposing God's glory. Paul was burdened to know that God's glory was opposed by a people who were going to suffer eternal death for that opposition. Woe to you who are not burdened for the lost and unsaved.

In the final sentence of these verses Paul says, "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel." Having understood Paul's burden and his passion; Woe to you Christians if you do not share the gospel!!

Lastly, Woe to you who oppose God and refuse to repent and believe the good news of Jesus Christ. Woe to you who exchange the truth of God abusing His grace and denying His love. Woe to you who live a life of sinful disobedience to God and ask Him to come and bless it! For God has lovingly pursued you when you had nothing to offer Him in return.

Repent and believe the good news of Jesus Christ!!

Ephesians 2:8 "for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this is not from yourselves-- it is the gift of God"

Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return. How great is our God that He would seek us out in Christ for His good pleasure when we had nothing of value to offer in return? Let us rejoice and share the good news that God has sought us out through Jesus finished work of the cross to make us valuable in His sight according to His good pleasure. That is the gospel. That is the good news.