1 Corinthians 9:23

Plain English Version

I do all these things so that I can help more people hear the good news about Jesus Christ, so that I can be happy, together with all the people that believe in Jesus.

Cross References

Mark 8:35

If you only want to look after your own life here on earth, you will lose it. You will not live for ever with me. But if you are ready to give up your life here, and live my way, and tell other people the good news about me, then you will find real life, and you will live with me for ever.

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 9:22

Or if I’m with weak people, I become weak too, so they will listen to me. I go to all sorts of people and live like they live. I do everything I can to get them to listen to me, so some of them will believe in Jesus, and God will save them.

1 Corinthians 9:24

Now think about the people that run in a race. They all run, but only one of them wins that race and gets the prize. Well, we have to be like those people that run in a race. We have to try hard to win. That is, we have to try hard to do whatever God wants, so that in the end God will give us new life. That will be like our prize.

Galatians 2:5

But we didn’t listen to them, not even a little bit. We knew they were wrong. So we didn’t tell Titus to have that young man operation. You see, we only want to teach the true message about Jesus, and we want you mob to keep on believing that true message.

2 Timothy 2:10

So I reckon it’s all right for me to stay here in jail so that other people will hear that message and believe in Jesus. They are the people that God picked out. He will save them and make them great, and they will live happy with him for ever.

2 Timothy 2:6

And I will use another picture story, about a gardener. He works hard, and then he is the first person to eat the food he grows in the garden. Well, like that gardener, if you work hard for God, he will quickly pay you.

1 Peter 5:1

Now I’m talking to you Christian leaders. I am a leader too, and I was with Jesus Christ, and I saw him get trouble. I saw people blame him by telling lies, and I saw them kill him. But, later, he will show everyone that he is great, and I will be there too, and I will be happy there with him.