Today’s Bible Reading:
Joshua 18-20; 1 Corinthians 9
Topic: Evangelism
SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 9:19-22
19 For though
I am free from all men, I have
made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; 20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win
Jews; to those who are under
the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; 21
to those who are without law,
as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ),
that I might win those who are
without law; 22 to the
weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to
all men, that I might by all
means save some. (1 Cor 9:19-22 NKJV)
OBSERVATION:
This is an interesting passage of scripture that describes
the Apostle Paul’s philosophy of ministry.
He says that when ministering among Jews he followed their Law and
customs. When ministering among those of
other cultures, he would follow their customs.
By complying with the customs of others—by making himself “a servant to all” (v. 19)—it was his
desire to win more people for Christ (v. 19).
“I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save
some” (v. 22).
An initial observation might be to think Paul lacked
conviction. How could he be all things
to all people? How could he live one way
in one culture and live differently in another culture? Where’s the conviction of belief in a way of
life and behavior? Aren’t some things
right and some things wrong? The
parenthetical note in verse 21 should put to rest any confusion as to Paul’s
convictions. He explains that he is not
dissing the law of God, rather embracing the law toward Christ who died to save
men and women of all tribes, tongues, nations and cultures.
APPLICATION:
Christ’s Church today often struggles with these
concepts. How do we balance the concept
of standing up for right behavior (morality) and shunning wrong behavior
(immorality), with the concept of extending Christlike love, acceptance and
forgiveness to all people regardless of their behavior?
Let me pose a scenario for any Christians reading this entry
to consider: Suppose God called you to
take the gospel of Jesus Christ to a far away culture of people. In this culture the normal courting process
involves boys and girls pairing off when they come of age and engaging in
sexual intercourse. When they find
someone with whom they feel compatible they make a home together. Finally, after living together for a
considerable period of time and discovering that they want to maintain an
exclusive relationship, their marriage is solemnized by a ceremony conducted by
one of the authorities of their people.
In order to bring the gospel to these people how important would it be
to convince them to change the ways of their culture in regard to premarital
sex? Could these people be saved and
become mature, convinced and convincing followers of Jesus Christ without
changing this aspect of their culture?
Now realize that this is not a description of a far away culture, but of
today’s post modern American culture.
How do we adapt to a changing culture that we “might win the more” (v. 19), without
compromising the Gospel of Christ?
I pose
the question but I'm not sure I have a precise answer; however, I do have an
opinion. I think it is important for us to separate what is truly the
biblical gospel of Christ from the traditional mindset of culture.
How a society accepts or determines the courting process is not as important as
the fact that they need to accept Christ. But we also need to
recognize the difference between what is culture and what is sinful
behavior. In regard the scenario I gave, God's Word does have
something to say about sexual relations outside of marriage, but other than
that, how people court from one culture to another may be quite
different. I say lead them to Christ and let the Holy Spirit deal with
conviction of sin.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for loving and saving an unworthy sinner
such as myself. It is my desire to help
lead many others to gain a personal relationship with You too. Help me to minister in the same way as
Christ, who sought fellowship with all people, yet without sin. Through Christ
and for God’s glory. Amen. -AP
1 comment:
Dear Andy,
Your last line is an entire sermon. Let the Holy Spirit do the convicting. As I said earlier, I look around me and shake my head.
I remember those messages on the end times in our Raytown Foursquare days. The predictions seemed far off and unbelievable to me. Now it's coming down around our ears, isn't it?
Thank you for being faithful to our Messiah.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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