All Things to All Men

1 Corinthians 9:15-23

Paul just finished telling the new Corinthian church that he is a leader sent from Christ to share the gospel with them. He says that he has given his life for this cause and deserves to be paid. The church has benefited greatly from his ministry and he has dedicated his life to his ministry, so he must be compensated somehow. However, because he doesn’t want to appear like the false teachers simply looking for money, he has not demanded money from them. He works all night to make money so he can preach and teach all day. He denied his right so that the weaker brothers may grow. Then he tells them that he continues to deny himself so he can get close enough to people to share the gospel with them.

In this discussion, please consider your own life; not what you think we as a group or as a church should do, but what liberties in your own life are God speaking to you about. What freedoms would he have you set aside so you can reach out to someone you normally wouldn’t?

There is a thin line presented in these verses that we have a very difficult time walking:
• Don’t become so separatistic and legalistic that you have no influence in the world.
• Don’t become so like the world that there is barely any difference to be seen.
Both of these are sinful; which do you need to repent of?

Paul explains this thin line in verses 20 and 21:
1. not under the law – Because of Christ Paul doesn’t have to earn salvation, he is free from wrath and guilt. He also is not required to keep the civil and ceremonial laws given by Moses (circumcision, not eating pork, etc.).
2. not without the law – However, he is not free to live an immoral life.
3. law of Christ – Paul lives as Christ commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

John Piper – “Make an effort to overcome every unnecessary alienating difference between you and those you are trying to reach.”

There are two ways this can apply to our lives:
1. Setting aside our rights, avoiding things that you are free to do (and may often enjoy doing) that others may be sensitive to, even though they are not sinful (if they are sinful you shouldn’t be doing them anyway).
2. Doing things you normally don’t do to accommodate those you are trying to preach the gospel to (as long as they are not sinful).

There are things the Bible says are right. There are things the Bible says are wrong. There are things the Bible neither says are right or wrong. This gray area we are at liberty to choose what we want to do, but it may not always be beneficial (see 1 Corinthians 6:12, 1 Corinthians 10:23). We are to love our neighbor as ourselves and if our liberty hinders that, our liberty must be limited.

Examples:
Denying your right to be paid so you don’t look greedy.
Denying your right to alcohol so you don’t tempt a weak brother overcoming alcoholism.
Not eating a ham sandwich around your Jewish friends.
Giving your life to learning a new language so you can translate the Bible.
Dressing like the people you are trying to share the gospel with (while keeping modesty in mind)
Eating the food set before you when visiting the neighbors for dinner.

Our goal is to get close enough to the world so they can see that we have been dramatically changed from the inside out.
We don’t want to be like the world simply to get them to join our church and be our buddy. We want them to see and hear (Romans 10:14) a difference in us so they will desire repentance and be changed by Christ.

Two questions to test your motives in adapting to the world:
1. Are you becoming more worldly minded than the people you are reaching out to are becoming spiritually minded? You are not called to lose your holiness but to gain theirs.
2. Is your passion for winning their souls growing or shrinking by the lifestyle adaptations you are making?

This is about self-denial, not self-gratification. I love baseball, so it may not be the easiest thing for me to become a baseball player to reach baseball players because I will be tempted to be consumed by my love for baseball (self-gratification) instead of staying committed to my concern for sharing the gospel. If I love Christ and want to obey His command to share the gospel, I may have to deny myself some liberties in order to accomplish that goal.