1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (NIV)
Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
The most important thing in Paul’s life was not his status or his reputation . His goals were not focused on finance or relationships, or where or when he could retire. He wasn’t working on upward mobility, or where he could find whatever the next great thing was going to be. He wasn’t even focused on how he could write this letter to the Church in Corinth well enough that it would be included in the Bible!
There was only one thing on Paul’s mind from the time he is his eyes popped open in the morning until they finally closed at night: who he could share the gospel with next. And that issue guided his every step, his every action, and his every word.
Some people read Paul’s description of his ministry here and grow uneasy. It almost seems like Paul isn’t being real. He’s just pretending to be whatever and whoever he needs to be in order to be successful at evangelizing. It smacks of dishonesty.
But that is not what Paul is saying here. Instead, he is merely pointing out his goal of bringing more people into the Kingdom is so pressing that he works diligently to relate to people where they are at. If he is talking to a Jew, Paul can easily relate to that person as a Jew, working from the things that they have in common. If someone is bogged down in legalism, Paul can relate to them, since he used to be a legalist himself, so he starts there. If he is talking to a gentile or a pagan, he doesn’t talk to them like a Jew or a legalist, but he meets them where they are without pretending to be something that he is not. He might even salt his conversation with quotes from popular secular poets and philosophers, as he did at the Areopagus in Athens (Acts 17:28).
Working to find common ground with the people Paul was sharing the gospel with was labor intensive, and not always comfortable. It was much more difficult than merely standing in the marketplace and haranguing the crowds there with a canned “gospel presentation”. But sharing the gospel was not a pastime with Paul; it was his life’s work, his calling. So, he worked hard to first find out where his target was culturally and spiritiually, and then begin there to show them their own lostness and the hope that could only be found in Jesus.
Paul knew that each person who did not ultimately receive the gospel message would end up in hell for all eternity. And that understanding lit a fire under him, pushing him to be crystal clear, and to relate his message to his audience, so that “by all possible means, I might save some.”
Father, a lot of Christians may admire Paul, but don’t really understand his passion. For far too many, evangelism is a nice thing to do if you have the time, and if the opportunity presents itself. For others it is an obligation that must be engaged in from time to time so that they can check off a box on the list of Christian duties. But Paul’s life was a constant search and rescue mission. Every moment he intentionally looked for those who were lost with the goal of sharing Jesus with them, of reaching out to them and saving them from the fires of hell. Somehow, that seems to be much more in line with Your will for each of us who have received grace and salvation ourselves, so much more in line with Jesus’ own mission (Luke 19:10) and with Your clear commandment to us (Matthew 28:18-20). Lord, set a fire under each of us today, a fire that helps us to understand that this game we’re playing is for keeps, that all who die without Jesus will spend eternity suffering without You. Help us to sacrifice and spend ourselves in the quest so that, by all possible means, we might save some. Amen.