1 Corinthians 9:16

Plain English Version

You see, God told me to tell the good news to everyone, so I’ve got to do it. If I don’t tell people that good news, God will give me big trouble. So I can’t say, “I’m really good. I tell people that good news.” No. I can’t do that.

Cross References

Luke 9:62

Jesus said, “Don’t think about going back. I’ll use the picture of a man that is driving something. He has to look at what is ahead of him, not look back at what is behind him. Well, it is the same for you. You have to look at me, and think about me. If you think about the people and the things that you left behind, it is like you are looking back, and you are not the right person to join God’s family.”

Acts 4:20

and we can’t stop now. We have to talk about the things that we have seen and heard.”

Acts 9:15

But Jesus said to Ananias, “Don’t worry. Go to him anyway. You see, I picked that man to do my work. He will tell a lot of people about me. He will tell Jewish people about me. And he will tell people that are not Jews about me, even their biggest bosses too.

Acts 9:6

But get up and go into the city. Somebody there will tell you what to do.”

Romans 1:14

I’ve got to tell God’s word to all sorts of people. I have to tell it to people that have my culture, and to people that have other cultures. I have to tell it to people that can think good and to people that can’t think good. I have to tell everybody God’s word.

Romans 15:17

So I like to tell everybody about the things that Jesus Christ has helped me do in my work for God.

1 Corinthians 4:15

I’m like a father to you. I was the first person to tell you the good news about Jesus Christ, and he gave your spirits new life, so I’m your spiritual father on this earth. And even if you have lots of other people teaching you about God, I was the first person to tell you about him, so I’m the only one that is like your father in Christian things.

1 Corinthians 9:12

Other people ask you to give them things, and that’s all right for them, so it has to be all right for us too. But we never ask you to give us anything. You see, if we ask for things when we tell people the good news about Jesus Christ, some of them will not listen to that good news. But we want everybody to listen to our message about Jesus, so we never ask anybody for anything. We reckon it’s better to go short of things.

1 Corinthians 9:14

And just like that, our leader Jesus said that his workers have to get something too. He said that the people that hear the good news and get new life, they have to give something to the people that told them that good news, so that Jesus’s workers get the food and other things that they need.

Colossians 4:17

Now here is a special message from me to Arkipus. Tell him, “Our leader, Jesus, gave you a job, so keep on doing it, until you finish it properly.”