‘THAT I MIGHT BY ALL MEANS SAVE SOME’ – 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on March 10, 2019 under 2019 |

Bethany Bible Church Sunday Message; March 10, 2019 from 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Theme: We should use our liberties in Christ to remove all barriers to the gospel in someone else’s life.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

I wonder if you have heard of the great missionary Hudson Taylor. He founded China Inland Mission (now known as Oversees Missionary Fellowship) about 160 years ago. He was a pioneering missionary in a very difficult field. And a crisis moment came upon his life that not only changed his work dramatically, but also transformed modern missionary methodology from then on.

Hudson had been living in Shanghai, in a humble shanty, while working with other missionaries and providing medical care for the Chinese people. The people in that port city were rather accustomed to seeing European missionaries; and so, they didn’t think much about seeing an Englishman like Hudson. But the people of the inland regions were different. Few of them had ever seen a missionary; and the English dress and English manner of the missionaries were very strange to them. The missionaries found it difficult to reach them with the gospel. The inlanders were so taken aback by their strange European ways that they were unable to pay attention to the message of the gospel. Many of the Chinese people thought that the missionaries looked funny and undignified. And it wasn’t a very pleasant experience for the missionaries either. The hot Chinese sun in the summer made their conventional English garb very uncomfortable and exhausting to travel around and work in.

Reaching the unreached people of China was a hard task. And then, as if to make matters even harder, Hudson received word that he had to move from his humble Shanghai residence; and that it would be some time before the mission organization that he served under would be able to afford to build some replacement housing for the missionaries in the port city. He had to find a new place to live; and so, it occurred to him: ‘Why not live in a boat, like many of the Chinese people did?’ This, he decided, fit in very well with another idea that had been growing in his mind: ‘If the way that the missionaries are dressing was a distraction from the message, then why not dress like the people they were trying to reach—as well as live where they lived?’ After much thought and prayer, Hudson made the radical choice to break from his European ways and intentionally live and look like the people he was trying to reach for Christ.

It was no easy thing for a 19th century Yorkshire Englishman to do. To wear Chinese dress would also have to involve shaving off the front and sides of his head and letting the hair on the top of his head grow long for a braided queue—just as all the Chinese men did. He knew that it might even backfire. This radical new measure might result in his becoming ostracized—not only by the Chinese people, but also from his fellow missionaries. He struggled with the idea for a time; but he finally took the risk, went to the barber to have his hair cut, and put on the silk garments of a Chinese man. In a biography of his life that was written by his son and daughter-in-law, we’re told:

Everything opened up after that in a new way. On the return journey to Shanghai he was not even recognized as a foreigner, until he began to preach or distribute books and see patients. Then women and children came around much more freely, and the crowds were less noisy and excited. While missing some of the prestige attached to Europeans, he found it more than made up for by the freedom his changed appearance gave him in moving among the people. Their homes were open to him as never before, and it was possible to get opportunities for quiet intercourse with those who seemed interested. Filled with thankfulness for these and other advantages, he wrote home about the dress he had adopted, “It is evidently to be one’s chief help for the interior.”¹

It’s a fascinating missionary story. And I think of it almost every time I read this morning’s passage from 1 Corinthians. To my mind, Hudson Taylor’s story is a powerful illustration of its message. In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, when it came to his own work in spreading the gospel, the apostle Paul wrote;

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 Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; 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; 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. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

* * * * * * * * * * *

Now; when the apostle Paul wrote these words, he had a specific concern in mind. He had been writing to the Corinthians about a problem that they were having; and these words were a part of how Paul was helping them solve this problem.

You see; some of the more ‘spiritually mature’ and ‘theologically knowledgeable’ Christians in Corinth had been feeling the freedom to go down the road and into the local pagan temples, in order to buy and eat the meat that had been served there to the idols. They believed—and correctly so—that there was no substance to these false gods. An idol was, in truth, nothing at all; and so, the meat that had been offered to the idol was really offered to nothing. It was perfectly good meat; and a mature Christian—who knew the truth about idols—felt free to buy and eat it.

The problem came about, however, by the fact that these more ‘mature’ Christians were doing this in front of their less mature, less knowledgeable, conscientiously ‘weaker’ Christian brothers and sisters—Christians who still believed that the meat had been offered to a false god and was now truly defiled by false worship. They couldn’t understand how a Christian could do such a thing. The more mature Christians were exercising their rights and liberties without regard to the sensitivities and scruples of their weaker brothers and sisters. This was hurting their fellow Christians; and was even, in some cases, tempting younger and less mature Christians to do something that their consciences bothered them about greatly. It was causing division and harm to the cause of Christ and to the health of the church family.

Paul dealt with this problem by setting himself up to them as a pattern to follow. He told them in 8:13 that “if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.” Paul was very willing to give up his liberties and rights, if it would mean that the cause of Jesus Christ could be advanced in the lives of others. In fact, for much of Chapter 9, Paul talked about how he had a right to be supported financially by the Corinthians in his ministry of the gospel to them. But because of the unique circumstances of the time, he willingly gave up even this right so as not to—in any way—hinder the progress of the gospel in them.

And that’s when we come to our passage this morning. Paul was making it clear that the most important thing to him was that the people he ministered to would hear about the Lord Jesus Christ, and put their full trust in Him as their Savior. He had such a passion for the cause of the gospel—a passion that was more important to him than any of his own rights or liberties—that he was willing to adopt the ways of the people around him, and ‘dress’ himself in their customs and preferences, if it would help make it easier for them to hear the message of God’s love and trust the Lord Jesus.

Now; I believe that this passage has sometimes been taken in the wrong way. Some professing Christians have used it as a justification, for example, for heavy drinking or smoking, or for using foul language, or for engaging in questionable behavior; and all under the idea that it shows unbelieving people that we can be just like them. But that’s not what Paul was doing. He never engaged in sinful behavior in order to connect with people. He never took his liberty in Christ to mean that he had license to join into sinful behavior with others.

I believe we could look at it this way. Paul had placed his faith in Jesus Christ; and he was now washed clean of all sin. He had been declared righteous in God’s sight through Christ; and there was nothing of the external things of this world that could now make him either more righteous or less righteous in God’s sight. But he didn’t use his liberty in Christ to do whatever it may have been that he wanted to do. Rather, he used his liberty in Christ as a tool by which to serve others—and to help them to place their faith in Jesus. So; he was free now to fit in with this cultural custom, or fit in with that cultural tradition; he could eat this or not eat that; he could go here or not go there—whatever the need of the situation might be—and all in order to remove every possible hindrance to the gospel, and show people, by his gracious closeness to them, that Jesus loved them.

And by the way; in a very real sense, Paul was behaving just like Jesus behaved toward you and me. Jesus—the eternal Son of God—set all of His rights and privileges aside out of love for us, took human nature to Himself, was born into the human family, and came to us as one of us. He took all the guilt of our sins upon Himself and died on the cross on our behalf; and all so that we might have a relationship with Him and be made righteous before His Father in heaven.

And this morning’s passage teaches us to imitate the apostle Paul—who was himself imitating the Lord Jesus. It teaches us that, in the genuine love of Jesus Himself for other people, we should use our liberties in Christ to remove all barriers to the gospel in someone else’s life.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Now; let’s look a bit closer at this passage. First, look at verse 19; where Paul states his general principle. He writes, “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more …”

First, notice that Paul makes the affirmation that he is free from all men. He was assertive. Jesus had made Him free; and he was now free ‘indeed’. He stood in the liberty by which Jesus Christ had made him free; and spiritually speaking, he never again would allow himself to be under bondage to any other human being’s religious expectations and demands. Do you remember the time in Galatians 2:5 when some Jewish legalists came and tried to bring him and other Christians under bondage to the rules and regulations of the old covenant law? He said to the Galatians that he resisted these legalists; “to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.” The gospel of Jesus Christ had truly set him free. Jesus was now His only Lord and Master. And whenever another human being tried to bring him under bondage to religious rituals, he would have nothing of it.

But even though he was free from all men, he was also submissive to the needs of all men. He said, “I have made myself a servant to all …” And the way that Paul says this in the original language is very strong. He basically said that he “enslaved” himself to them; and rendered himself subservient to them. He considered that, when it came to the gospel, the opening of the door for other people was so great a thing that he would willingly suppress his rights as a free man, and make himself the ‘slave’ of someone else’s need.

And finally, notice that in doing this, he was behaving wisely and strategically. He said that it was “that I might win the more …” He was a winner of souls; and he sought to do whatever it was that he could do—give up whatever rights he might have to give up—adapt himself to whatever cultural custom or practice that it would be legitimate for him to embrace—in order to gain a hearing from people for the gospel and win them to Jesus Christ.

What an exhortation this is to us! We are often concerned about our freedoms and liberties and rights. And of course, just as Paul did, we should affirm them. They are a great gift to us from God through faith in Jesus Christ. We are not obligated to any religious rituals and ceremonies or cultural practices in order to be made righteous in God’s sight. But often, we are too concerned about exercising our liberties and freedoms and rights; and we fail to see how God has given us those liberties as a tool by which we can reach others. We are free in Christ—but not simply in order to have our own way. Rather, we are made free so that we can now adapt ourselves to others, and open up the way for them to come to Jesus. We are free, as it were, to put on the cultural ‘garments’ of the people we’re trying to reach, and draw closer to them, and invite them to get to know our Savior.

May God help us to grow—like Paul—to love the spread of the gospel much more than we love our own liberties in it.

* * * * * * * * * * *

So then; that’s Paul’s general principle. But how does this look in practice? I believe that Paul then goes on to give us some specific examples.

In verse 20, he wrote, “and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews …” Now, of course, he didn’t have to try very hard to ‘become a Jew’. He was, after all, “a Hebrew of Hebrews”. He was Jewish—born and raised—through and through. He was very proud of his Jewish pedigree. He was also, however, free in Christ from the bondage of the old covenant rules and regulations. He could walk with, talk with, and live with the Gentiles freely and comfortably.

But when it came to reaching his Jewish kinsmen for the gospel, he didn’t insist on his rights as a free man. Instead, he made himself a servant to the Jewish people; and was careful to embrace Jewish ways—and all so as to open up their hearts to the message of the gospel.

Think of how we’re told in the Book of Acts that he did this. Back in Acts 16, we’re told that he and his ministry partner Silas were going on a missionary trip; and they wanted to take a new ‘apprentice’ along. The young man’s name was Timothy. And in Acts 16:3, we’re told;

And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek (Acts 16:3).

Or consider the time when Paul went to Jerusalem in Acts 21. People had been spreading rumors about him that he had been teaching that Jewish people should not circumcise their children and that they should not walk according to Jewish customs anymore. He didn’t want such rumors to hinder his ability to share the gospel with his Jewish kinsmen. So, under the advisement of others, he took some believing Jewish men who had just completed a vow according to the law of Moses, paid their way, and

having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them (Acts 21:26).

So you see; even though Paul was free, he made himself a servant of the Jewish people in order to take away every possible barrier to the gospel. To the Jews, he became a Jew that he might win Jews to Jesus Christ.

Paul goes on to give another example: “to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law …” And here, I believe he is speaking—not of Jewish people—but of Gentile people who were proselytes, who had come under the rules and regulations of Judaism. He was certainly free himself from those rules. But when it came to trying to reach those under the law with the gospel, he became as one under the law himself—and all so that he could remove any offense and take away any barrier to the gospel.

How did he do this? We see an example of it in Acts 15. As the message of the gospel spread throughout the Greek world, many of the Jewish people were demanding that the Gentiles who were coming to Christ be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. The leaders of the church in Jerusalem got together, and prayed about the matter, and concluded that the Gentiles who were coming to Christ didn’t have to keep those old covenant rules. Pastor James, the leader of the church, said;

“Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath” (Acts 15:19-21).

The leadership of the church made this official; and Paul—in his missionary journeys—traveled along and taught these principles to the Gentiles so that they would not offend anyone who was ‘under law’. That was Paul’s policy. He himself—as it says in some translations—was not under any law. But when it came to reaching those who were still living ‘under law’, he lived as if he was ‘under law’—carefully respecting the sensitivities of those who were ‘under law’—so as not to offend them and to thus open their hearts to the gospel.

He goes on in verse 21 to say the same sort of thing with respect to those who were not under law. He wrote, “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 …” He was not without law; because he was bound to serve the Lord Jesus and walk in love as Jesus commanded. He was under the rule of Christ. But he was free from the rules and regulations of the old covenant law, so that he could act according to the principle of love in Christ.

The last time that I went to Israel—not long after the plane landed and we were taken by bus to Tiberius along the Sea of Galilee—I remember how we went immediately to a restaurant for dinner. I was tired and I went out of the restaurant dining area and across a hallway to a coffee shop. I was very happy to see that they had coffee; and so I got a cup, put some sugar and cream in, and made my way back to the restaurant to rejoin my friends and finish dinner. But a woman stopped me at the door. “You can’t come in that,” she said—pointing at my coffee. “Why not?” I asked. “Because it has cream in it”, she told me. I didn’t understand the problem; until she explained that, in Jewish custom, dairy products should never be in the same place where meat is being served. I asked if I may drink my coffee outside and then come in; and she said that would be fine. I guess that it was okay for me to bring my cream if it was inside me—but not if it was outside me.

Now; my first impulse was to grumble about this rule. But I remembered that I am a guest in this country—and as a guest, their customs should be more important than my rights. But I would never expect that the same rule would apply in Portland, Oregon; would you? It would be harmful and offensive to people to insist upon it here. This is a place without such a law.

There was a time when Paul wrote to the Galatian Christians. They were Gentiles who were trying to place themselves under Jewish laws and rituals—thinking that this would make them more holy and righteous in God’s sight. And among the many things Paul said to them, he wrote Galatians 4:12 and said,

Brethren, I urge you to become like me, for I became like you. You have not injured me at all (Galatians 4:12).

Paul had become like they once were—that is, not under the law of Moses. He suffered no harm from them in doing so. And now, he urged them to become again like him—not under the law.

And then, finally, notice that Paul says in verse 22, “to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak.” And this is very much in keeping with his purpose for writing these words in the first place. He had written and said; “if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble” (1 Corinthians 8:13). That was his policy. And he wanted his readers to adopt the same policy.

So; there are four examples. To the Jew, he—as it were—put on the religious garments of a Jew. To those under the law, he wore the careful garments of those under the law. To those without the law, he wore the casual wear of those without the law. And to the weak and sensitive of conscience, he wore the gentle and thoughtful garments of the weak. He loved people; and behaved in ways that respected them. And notice how he summarizes these four examples in one sentence. In verse 22, he wrote, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”

Dear brothers and sisters; that’s what Jesus did for us. That’s what Paul did in order to reach others for the gospel. May God help us to do the same.

* * * * * * * * * * *

And finally, notice verse 23. That’s where we find Paul’s guiding motive for all of this. He wrote to the Corinthians and said, “Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.”

He wasn’t guided by his own personal likes and preferences. He didn’t do what he did in order to demand his own rights and liberties. He did it for the sake of the gospel. He did it so that he might take away every possible barrier, and show respect to people in the customary places of life that they were used to, and to fit in with them, and draw up close to them in love, and gain a hearing for the gospel, and thus win them to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is hard to do, isn’t it? One Bible commentator that I read pointed out that it must have been an especially hard thing for a man like Paul to do. He had a very strong personality, and he had a very profound and pronounced individuality. It would have been against his natural tendencies to make himself the servant of other people’s preferences in this way. But in closing, take special notice of what it says at the end of verse 23. He did this so that he may be a partaker of the gospel along with those Corinthian Christians. He didn’t want, himself, to loose out because he had foolishly insisted on his own rights and asserted his own liberties. I think that’s why he said what he went on to say in verses 24-27;

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

Dear old Hudson Taylor would have lost out if he had insisted in doing what was comfortable to him—that is, to stay in good, old-fashioned European dress; and to practice good, proper English customs; and to keep his beautiful sandy head of hair; and not change for anyone. But if he had, he never would have reached the people who needed to hear the gospel—and he might not have gotten to hear the Lord Jesus say, “Well done!” when he got to heavenly glory.

Dear brothers and sisters; let’s make it our constant, ‘missionary-minded’ policy to use our liberties to freely remove all barriers to the gospel in the lives of the people around us. Let’s be willing—under the Holy Spirit’s guidance and power—to become ‘all things’ to ‘all men’, so that we might ‘by all means’ save some.

And let’s do it to the glory of our Savior—who lovingly did that very thing for us.

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Dr. And Mrs. Howard Taylor, Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret (London: China Inland Mission, 1935), pp. 47-48.

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