Doing it all for the sake of the Gospel

Q: What exactly is Paul saying in 1st Corinthians 9: 19-23?

A: Thank you for your question. To answer it, let us start at the end of the passage you referenced. In 1 Corinthians 9:23 Paul says, "I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings." Who is it that needs to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ? The answer is simple, everybody needs to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is God's will that "everyone come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9)." Therefore, it may be necessary to subject yourself to many different scenarios and situations in order that those people you come into contact with on a daily basis hear the message of salvation. That is why Paul starts out by saying, "Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible (1 Corinthians 9:19)." By making himself a slave to everyone, Paul is saying that he is free to make himself available to everyone in order that he may have an opportunity to tell them about Jesus Christ. How often do Christians seem to limit our opportunities to evangelize by thinking that the only time to tell someone about Jesus Christ is by inviting them to church or, maybe, give them a track to read? While those may work, being a witness of Jesus Christ can and should take place whenever the opportunity presents itself.

For example, Paul goes on to say, "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 (1 Corinthians 9:20)." Paul, being a Jew, had a heart to see his people accept their Messiah, Jesus Christ, as their Savior. Therefore, in order to increase the opportunities to tell them about the Lord he took every opportunity to be "like a Jew" or "like one under the law." Acts 14:1 tells us, "At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue." Later in Acts 17:2, it says, "As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures..." Notice the use of phrases like "as usual" and "his custom was" to describe the frequency in which Paul would go into the synagogues to talk about Jesus Christ. Do not think that Paul had somehow renounced his faith in Jesus Christ when it says he did these things. But, think of it like this; where is often the best place to talk about God if not a synagogue? This doesn't mean that we have to go into synagogues in order to talk to Jews about Jesus Christ. The point is that we are free to do so, if we feel led to, in order to tell others about the Lord.

The principle is the same when it comes to witnessing to Gentiles, which will most often be the case for the average Christian. 1 Corinthians 9:21 says, "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." Here Paul is describing his use of the same principle used with the Jews to reach Gentile unbelievers. When Paul was in Athens a "group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods (Acts 17:18)."" This encounter led to the "philosophers" inviting Paul to a meeting to further discuss the things of Jesus Christ and His resurrection that Paul was advocating. The bottom line is that he made himself available to these individuals in order to have a clear opportunity to talk about Jesus Christ with them. Again, this is not to say that we have to imitate the exact actions of Paul, but take from his actions the idea that we are free to take advantage of any opportunity presented to us in order to discuss Jesus Christ.

Again, Paul reiterates this same principle in 1 Corinthians 9:22. "To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." Whether it was consistently going into synagogues to speak with Jews or accepting an invitation to speak with Gentile philosophers, Paul eagerly took these opportunities in hopes that they would lead to some of the people accepting Jesus Christ as their savior. That is why in verse 23 he mentions doing all this to share in the blessings of preaching the Gospel. The blessing of preaching the Gospel is to see people get saved. To know that God used you in order to advance His Kingdom is a blessing. Jesus said, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10)." Paul encourages us to "become all things to all men" in order that some might be saved so, like the angels in heaven, we can rejoice over one sinner who repents of their unbelief in Jesus Christ. Paul, in Romans 12:1, says for Christians "to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship." By making ourselves available to God, we are in a position to be used by Him to spread the Gospel whenever and wherever that opportunity arises. Grace and Peace