“Whatever it Takes”
(1 Corinthians 9:19-23)
Series: Chaos & Correction
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
•Take your Bibles and join me in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 (page 772; YouVersion).
If you are visiting with us, we are preaching through Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians, the letter known as 1 Corinthians, and we are going through the letter verse-by-verse. We are merely exposing or expositing what is in the text before us as we study. We do not wish to “impose” our own views on the text, but rather “expose” what the text actually says, what God is saying to us.
In recent weeks we have noted that the overall context of Paul’s writing here in chapters 8 and 9 and on into 10 is the principle of limiting our Christian freedoms when the doing so draws others closer to Christ. There are certain behaviors we will avoid if it causes others to “stumble,” to push others away from the cross rather than drawing others closer to the cross. Our ultimate aim, then, is to see that others come to know Jesus Christ.
Paul continues this stream of thought in our text this morning, verses 19-23. He uses this phrase to describe his greater aim in Christian living. He says he wants “to win” others to Christ.
No less than six times does Paul say in these five verses that his aim is “to win” or “to save” as many people as possible. Paul was what every Christian should be. He was a “soul winner.” Solomon says in Proverbs 11:30, “He who wins souls is wise.”
Paul will later conclude this section of study by saying in chapter 11 and verse 1, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” So what Paul says here in our passage applies to every Christian. We are all to be “soul winners.” Doing so, of course, fulfills our Lord’s Great Commission to us to go out in all the world and make disciples.
So listen for this teaching about winning souls and how Paul went about doing so. Let’s see what we can learn from the Apostle Paul.
•Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
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.
23 Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.
•Pray.
Introduction:
I wonder how flexible you are—physically. Do you have good flexibility? I do not. My body is unbelievably inflexible. I can never recall, for example, ever being able to actually bend over and touch my toes without bending my knees.
A week ago I had finished a run and was lying on the floor in the living room. I was stretching my legs and Michele had taken one of my legs and was gently pushing it forward. My eyes were closed as I allowed the leg to stretch out and it felt good. It seemed to me that she had pushed my leg clear parallel to the floor like it was going to touch my head, you know. So when I opened my eyes, there it was way back there and she had moved it only like an inch. I’ve just never enjoyed good physical flexibility.
Fortunately for me, and for many of you who share my inflexible physical nature, Paul is writing here not about physical flexibility, but spiritual flexibility. Just as we often speak metaphorically of persons who “bend over backwards” to accommodate the needs of others, so Paul is writing here about the Christian’s willingness to bend over backwards, to accommodate, to adapt, to do “whatever it takes” to lead others to Christ.
Paul is not asking that Christians to lay aside their principles, but to lay aside their preferences when doing so advances the Gospel.
This is what he means when we writes of his desire in verse 22 to “become all things to all men,” he says, so “that I might by all means save some.”
The concept of becoming “all things to all men,” spiritual flexibility, does not mean one is to set aside all moral absolutes. Paul would never say, “To the adulterer I became an adulterer” or, “To the murderer I became as one who murdered.”
Remember that the larger context since chapter 8 is the context of how to behave with regard to things that are not written in the “black and white” of Scripture, how to behave in the so-called “gray areas” of Christian living, the morally neutral areas of Christian living—addressing whether Christians can listen to certain kinds of music, watch certain kinds of movies, play certain games, drink when drinking does not lead to intoxication, using tobacco, playing the lottery, and so forth.
Similarly, spiritual flexibility is not a call to set aside the moral virtues of love, self-control, faith or truth in the interest of bringing others to Christ. Rather, the idea is that where there are gray areas, Christians will limit their liberties, exercising restraint of their freedoms in order not to be an offense, in order not to “hinder” others from coming to Christ. We should never wish to be a “stumbling block” to anyone in any way.
Being culturally sensitive and interested in what others think is often referred to as the “contextualization” of the Gospel. We are interested in the people, the cultural identity and preferences of others more than we are interested in exercising our own freedoms. So we adapt and we are flexible.
So in these five verses—verses 19-23—there is this overriding principle of flexibility. Paul is saying, “I will live in such a way that my behavior is most likely to bring people to Christ.” That’s it. Whatever it takes. I will be as flexible as is necessary, flexibility without sinning, adaptability without adopting sinful ways.
Whatever it takes to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ who said to us before ascending up to the right hand of the Father, “Make disciples of all the nations.” How many of you would say, “I am a Christian, I have received Christ as Lord and Savior?” And how many of you would say, “I will do whatever it takes to make disciples?”
**Committed to “Whatever it Takes” to Make Disciples we will:
I. Live to Serve Others (19)
Look at verse 19:
19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more;
Paul says, I will “Live to serve others.” The word “servant” there in verse 19 actually means to be a slave to others. The idea is that we will live such an others-focused life that we regard ourselves as mere slaves to others that we may win them to Christ.
It’s about like what Jesus said to His disciples in Luke 17. He said, “When you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants (same word). We have done what was our duty to do (Luke 17:10).’”
We have a duty to serve others, to put the needs of others before our own. In the greater context of these chapters in 1 Corinthians, that means that we will abstain from certain behaviors where we may cause another person to stumble, to fall further away from Christ. This is the duty of Christians, of servants. Whatever it takes.
Our chief concern is the salvation of others through the speaking of the Gospel message and the living of the Gospel message. Words and actions are both important.
Maybe you heard about the overzealous Christian who didn’t realize his actions were speaking louder than his words. William Sangster tells about this fellow. Sangster was a British pastor and when he was pastoring the Methodist church in Scarborough, he had a rather eccentric member of the congregation who worked as a barber. And this man was lathering up a customer for a shave. That was back when all good barbershops offered to shave men with a good old fashioned straight razor.
So this barber is lathering up a man for a shave and, wanting to be an evangelistic Christian, he’s thinking about how to share the Gospel, and so he is concentrating you know and has a sort of focused look on his face and he approaches the customer in the chair, and he’s got that straight razor extended and he moves to the man’s throat and says, “Are you prepared to meet your God?” The story is that the man was so frightened that he jumped out of the chair with all that lather still on his face and ran out of the barber shop!
But at least this was a man who was committed to win souls. I wonder whether we look at people at work and at school and in our community and think of them as souls. Do we only see the outside of that person? That person has a soul and when that person dies his soul lives on in one of two locations. If he is saved, he will go to heaven. If he remains lost, he will go to hell. There are souls all around us. We must live to serve others. Secondly:
**Committed to “Whatever it Takes” to Make Disciples we will:
II. Live to Suit Others (20-22a)
That is, we will adapt, we will bend, we will accommodate those we are trying to win to Christ. Here again is this overriding concern to be as flexible as is necessary so as to win as many as possible. We live to suit others. So Paul writes in verse 20:
20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews;
Paul is saying, “When I am around Jewish folks I defer to their Jewishness. It’s a temporary thing. I don’t just blow into town and say, ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek…you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).’ I want to gain a hearing. I want to earth their respect. So I live to suit them. To the Jews I too lived among them appreciating their Jewish ways. Continuing in verse 20:
to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law;
Those “under the law” likely refers to ethnic Jews as well as converts to Judaism and also non-Jews or Gentiles who feared the One True God, sometimes called “God-fearers.”
But again, these were folks who believed that the Old Testament Law was still in force. They read the Old Testament Law and they were like, “Okay, we’ve got to do this and don’t do that,” and so on.
Now, much of the Old Testament age is rendered obsolete by the New Testament age. For example, Jesus had rendered null and void certain elements of the Jewish law. He spoke of the end of certain dietary restrictions, for example, in Matthew 15:11, “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” In saying this, Jesus commended all food as clean. Where some foods were once considered “unclean” by Old Testament standards, Jesus has now “set aside” that regulation for those living in the New Testament age.
So Paul is saying, “Look, I know that I’m free to eat whatever I wish, but I am willing to adopt the Jewish way of living if it means I can win the trust of Jews and other ‘God-fearers.’ I will live in such a way that they might be interested in what I have to say.”
Again, Paul knows that since Jesus Christ had come, since He had died on the cross and rose again on the third day, that the primary purpose of the Old Testament Law had come to an end. As he wrote in Galatians 3:24-25:
24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Paul knows this truth, but he realizes that many Jews do not know this truth. So rather than immediately boasting of his freedom, he lovingly lives among the folks “under the law” as though he himself is “under the law,” out of deference to these Jews. It shows respect for them.
It would be like your having lunch with a friend who is a devout follower of the Hindu religion. The two of you are going out to eat and he, because of his religious beliefs, refuses to eat meat, believing of course that bulls and cows are sacred, they may in fact be a reincarnation of a relative. That’s what they believe, but it’s not what you believe, but it’s what they believe.
So you sit down to eat and he orders the vegetarian health plate. What will you order? Well, if you don’t know this person and he’s someone with whom you’re going to share the Gospel, it would be entirely unhelpful to your cause if you ordered the Bronco Burger plate, right?! Worse still if you ate it in front of him and were like, “Oh, this is good meat!” You get the idea. If you really love this soul who is sitting across from you, then you will—out of deference—order something that does not offend his sensibilities. And you’ll order the vegetarian something or other.—Later, when you are alone you can go to the drive-through at McDonald’s, but not now! That’s just common respect and love.
You’ll live to suit others. Verse 21:
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;
Verse 21 is kind of confusing when you read it the first time. The parenthesis helps. Paul is saying here, “I live among those who are without the law—that is, Gentiles, those who have no Jewish influence, at all—I live among those who are without law as also without law, that I might win those folks.”
Again, those “without law” likely refers to Gentiles who had no Jewish influence whatsoever. This was like the basic, run of the mill pagan. No biblical foundation. No awareness of the Old Testament. Someone “without law,” without the Old Testament Law.
In the parenthesis, Paul clarifies that he is not talking about “being without law toward God,” that is, “I do not ignore the law of God,” moral law in general. He adds, “I am ‘under the law toward Christ.’”
The New Living Translation of verse 21 is helpful here. Listen to it: “When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.”
In the parenthesis of verse 21, what Paul calls the “law toward God” or the “law toward Christ” is a reference to ethical law or moral law that is still binding today. Laws like the 10 Commandments are still binding today. It is wrong in any age to steal and it is right in any age to honor your father and mother. These are examples of what Paul calls, “law toward God” or, “law toward Christ.” He says, “I am under that law.” And this is a law to be distinguished from the Old Testament Law that required Israel to obey specific regulations and concerns that applied only to them, only to the Jewish nation of Israel, and only for a specific period of time.
This is an important principle to remember when it comes to interpreting the Bible. There are some aspects of the Old Testament law that are no longer binding today, regulations that applied only to national Israel, laws such as the dietary restrictions or prohibitions concerning the use of certain fabrics. These are laws that applied only to the people of Israel in the Old Testament age. They were laws that marked the people of God as a unique and separate people, but they are laws that are no longer binding today.
Other aspects of Old Testament law, however, are still binding. The 10 Commandments, for example, with exception to the Sabbath, are moral laws that are still applicable today. It is still wrong to commit adultery and it is still right to honor your father and mother. Generally speaking, where laws from the Old Testament are repeated in the New Testament, these are laws that are still in force.
So when we lovingly teach that homosexuality is a sin, just as adultery is a sin, we should be ready for the popular response that goes something like, “Well, if the Old Testament says that God regards homosexuality as an abomination, then it’s also wrong to play football because football players handle a football made of pigskin and the Old Testament says the pig is a forbidden animal and that one is not even to touch it, so be consistent!”
And lest you think I am overstating the possibility of such an argument just read the popular newspapers and news websites or sit in on the typical freshman class of philosophy and religion at secular university and you’ll read or hear this argument used many times over.
We should be ready to respond lovingly to that unsound argument by explaining the difference between Old Testament cultic law—law that applied only to the nation of Israel and only for a limited time—and that of Old Testament moral law, or Old Testament ethical law, law that applies universally to all people for all time. This is a huge difference.
So when Paul talks in verse 21 about the “law toward God” or the “law toward Christ” he’s talking about the moral law, ethical law, law that is still binding today. This is distinguished from the Old Testament cultic law or ceremonial law, laws of separation like the food laws, observing certain holy days, obeying dietary restrictions, and so forth, laws that applied only to the nation of Israel and only in the time before Christ.
Continuing now in verse 22:
22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak.
The “weak” here probably refers to those Christians with hyper-sensitive consciences, those we’ve been talking about the last few weeks. If this is the case, then “winning the weak” in this sense refers to the idea of winning these folks to a more mature walk in the Lord. Generally speaking, again, it is to live such that we are drawing people closer to Christ rather than pushing people further away from Him.
We will do “whatever it takes” to win people to Christ. We will set aside our preferences concerning food or drink or use of tobacco or participating in certain social events activities where doing so means a greater likelihood of others hearing the Gospel and not stumbling in their faith because of my behavior.
Whatever it takes to make disciples.
In a few weeks I plan to lead those who are interested to a simple study of how to share the Gospel. We’ll meet on Monday evenings and I’ll talk about and teach the way I generally share the Gospel. We’ll meet each Monday and then we’ll visit folks and share the Gospel. Very simple. Stay tuned.
**Committed to “Whatever it Takes” to Make Disciples we will:
live to serve others, live to suit others, in a word we will, thirdly:
III. Live to Save Others (22b-23)
The saving of others is our greatest concern. Paul writes in the second part of verse 22:
I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
Note the word “save” there. Salvation is not just a Baptist term, it is first a Bible term. The doctrine of salvation and the idea of “getting saved” is a biblical truth.
It raises the question, perhaps, “saved from what?” Listen to Paul in Romans 5:8-10:
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
John 3:36, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
So mankind’s greatest need is not a better marriage, a better body, a better job, rescue from the doldrums, happiness, wealth, a sense of purpose, and so forth. These are all good things but they do not address mankind’s greatest need. The greatest need of mankind is to be saved from the wrath of God.
God’s wrath is directed toward us because of our sin. Our sin needs to be reckoned with. Our sin needs to be dealt with. In the Gospel, God substitutes Himself in the Person of His Son Jesus in order to deal with our sins.
Jesus Christ took our place, bore our sin, became our curse, endured our penalty, died our death.
When we believe this, turning from our sins in repentance, and turning to Christ alone as our Lord and Savior, surrendering our lives to Him, then we may be saved. Paul says, “This is what I’m living for. I’m living to save others.” He says, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”
How flexible are you, Paul? “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” Verse 23:
23 Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.
Paul says, “I live this way for the sake of the Gospel,”—and I love the last part of verse 23— “that I may be partaker of it with you.” Paul says, “That I may share (with those who are being saved) that I may share in its blessings,” as the NIV has it, “that I may share in its blessings.”
There is a blessing that comes to us when we lead others to Christ. There is a great sense of purpose and meaning and fulfillment that comes to us when we do what we are called to do. When we have experienced salvation and we then share the Gospel that others experience salvation, we share with them in the blessings of the Gospel.
We are all called to do this. Whatever it takes!
We will live to serve others,
live to suit others,
live to save others.
We were not called merely to a life of individual enjoyment of the Gospel. We are called to share it, and thus to share in its blessings. But we must share it. We must share.
Conclusion:
A man once came up to the great evangelist DL Moody and this man spoke only of his individual enjoyment of the Gospel. He said to him, “I have lived on the ‘Mount of Transfiguration’ for five years.” And this was the man’s way of speaking about his personal enjoyment of the Gospel, relishing his salvation.
Moody replied by asking, “How man should souls did you lead to Christ last year?” I might ask you that question. I might ask myself that question. “How many souls did you lead to Christ last year?”
The man hesitated. He said, “Well, I don’t know.” Moody persisted, “Have you saved any?” The man said, “I don’t know that I have.” Moody replied, “Well, we don’t want that kind of mountaintop experience. When a man gets up so high that he cannot reach down to save poor sinners, there is something wrong.”
•Stand for prayer.