What does "woe to me" reveal about Paul's commitment to evangelism?

A Non-Negotiable Commission

• 1 Corinthians 9:16 begins with, “I am compelled to preach.” Paul’s apostolic call on the Damascus road (Acts 9:15-16) placed him under divine assignment.

• “Compelled” (Greek ἀνάγκη) speaks of an internal necessity laid on him by God (cf. Acts 18:9-11; Galatians 1:15-16). Preaching is not optional but commanded stewardship (1 Corinthians 9:17).

---

A Holy Compulsion

• “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” carries prophetic force, echoing Jeremiah 20:9—“His word is in my heart like a burning fire… I cannot hold it in.”

• The phrase “woe” (οὐαί) signals calamity under God’s displeasure (Isaiah 6:5; Matthew 23:13). Paul senses that silence would equal disobedience worthy of divine chastening.

• Romans 1:14-16 mirrors the same urgency: “I am obligated … I am not ashamed of the gospel.”

---

A Serious Warning

• Ezekiel 3:17-18 shows a watchman accountable for unspoken warnings. Paul applies this principle: failure to proclaim brings guilt.

• 1 Thessalonians 2:4 affirms this accountability: “We speak as those approved by God… trusted with the gospel.”

---

A Heart Captured by Christ’s Love

• 2 Corinthians 5:14-15—“For Christ’s love compels us”—reveals the motive beneath the “woe.” Christ’s sacrificial love drives Paul outward.

• Colossians 1:28-29 depicts his labor “striving with all His energy,” matching the urgency of 1 Corinthians 9:16.

---

Implications for Today

• Evangelism is a divine mandate, not a personal hobby.

• Gospel silence invites spiritual loss—both for hearers unreached and messengers unfaithful.

• Christ’s love and lordship create an inner fire that overrules comfort, fear, or convenience.

• Like Paul, believers embrace gospel proclamation as solemn duty and joyous privilege, confident that obedience brings God’s commendation (1 Corinthians 9:18).