1Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Haven’t I seen Jesus Christ, our Lord? Aren’t you my work for the Lord?
2If others don’t consider me an apostle, at least you do; because your faith is proof that I am an apostle for the Lord.
3My defense to those who question me is this:
4Don't we have the right to eat and drink?
5Don't we have the right to marry a believing wife, just like the other apostles, the Lord's brothers, and Peter?
6Or are Barnabas and I the only ones who don't have the right to stop working for our living?
7Does any soldier pay his own way? Who plants a vineyard and doesn't eat its fruit? Or who tends a flock and doesn't drink its milk?
8Am I saying these things based only on human reasoning? Doesn't the Law also say the same thing?
9For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You must not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is God only concerned about oxen,
10or is he definitely speaking for our sake? Yes, it was written for our sake, because the one who plows should plow with hope, and the one who threshes should do it with the hope of sharing in the harvest.
11If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap some material things from you?
12If others have this right over you, don't we have it even more? Nevertheless, we have not used this right. Instead, we endure everything so that we don't put any obstacle in the way of the Good News of Christ.
13Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple eat food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar get a portion of what is offered there?
14In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who preach the Good News should earn their living from the Good News.
15But I haven't used any of these rights, and I'm not writing this so that you will support me. I would rather die than have anyone take away my reason for boasting.
16If I preach the Good News, I have nothing to brag about, because I have to do it. And I will be miserable if I don’t preach the Good News!
17If I preach because I choose to, I get a reward. But if I don't choose to, I'm still doing a job that has been entrusted to me.
18So what is my reward? It's that when I preach the Good News, I can offer it without cost and not take advantage of my right to be supported by the Good News.
19Even though I am free from everyone, I have made myself a servant to everyone, so I can win over more people.
20To the Jews, I became like a Jew to win Jews. To those under the law, I became like someone under the law (though I myself am not under the law) to win those under the law.
21To those not</b> under the law, I became like someone not under the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) to win those not under the law.
22To the weak, I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.
23I do all this for the sake of the Good News, so that I may share in its blessings.
24Don’t you know that in a race, all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to win the prize.
25Everyone who competes in the games trains hard. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
26So I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer punching the air.
27Instead, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.