Becoming All Things To All Men

 

The Apostle Paul makes the above statement in 1 Corinthians 9:22. To understand the flow of thought, we must read and comprehend the context. Paul is talking about proclaiming the gospel. Starting from 1 Corinthians 9:19 to verse 23 we read:

For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win the Jews; to those who are under the law, under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without the law, as without the law (not being without the law toward God, but under toward Christ), that I might win those without the law; to the weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.

Paul is expressing his desire to save people from all walks of life. He is identifying with their status of being. There are many in the Church that sadly misinterpret verse twenty-two. Becoming all things to all men does not mean we compromise the truth of the gospel to get all types of people in our Churches. We cannot water down God’s testimony so that the unsaved will enter the Church with secular music and a club atmosphere – that is sin. Rather, the text is saying that we do our best to relate with people where they are; find common ground so that we can present to the truth the gospel.

I grew up with Crips, Bloods, and hustlers. Most were authentic or as we say on the streets OG’s, and others were wanna-be’s. That was my neighborhood as a small child and teenager. I went to school with them. I played football in the streets with them. I even went to Church with some of them. Several of them knew me and my mother. If I wanted to reach them, I would need to be sympathetic and hear their story. Now, Paul is not saying in order to win a Crip and a Blood to Christ, you have to join a gang and start set trippin to win them over. No! I believe what the Apostle is saying is in order to win them to Christ, we go where they are – bring the Church to them; meet them where they are. While at the same time, not compromising your integrity toward God and His truth. You’re making every effort to persuade the person to see things God’s way instead of their own. You want to win them over with the love of God through a robust effective gospel presentation so that they are pricked in their souls, broken in their spirits, and eager to repent of their sins and believe the gospel and become saved.

This should be the attitude of every Evangelist. Willing to inconvenience themselves for the sake of the gospel and love others as they love themselves.

If we want to the win the world to Christ, we cannot use worldly gimmicks to get them in the doors of the Church. If the Church atmosphere is the same as theirs, they will be deceived into thinking they are saved because they are in a Church building and walked down the aisle. This is the fault of the Pastor who has been derelict in his duty to share the true gospel because he is afraid to offend the un-churched. That is not what Paul meant when he said. “I have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some.” Paul was never interested in making the unsaved feel comfortable in their sin. But rather he confronted their sin lovingly with the gospel truth acquiescing as much as he could without compromise to their station in life. In that sense, Paul was most effective in winning souls for Christ because he was willing to become a servant to all although he was free from all men (1 Cor 9:19).