Is it Deceptive to Become All things to All people?

 Jesus warned us not to be shocked when the world hates us—it hated Him first (John 15:18). The Christian message is offensive to human pride and contradicts the sin nature, so our behavior and our attitudes should not give offense. When we strive to follow Paul’s example and become all things to all people, we must be willing to humble ourselves, let go of our “rights,” meet people where they are, and do whatever Jesus calls us to do. He died to save them. We must love them enough to tell them that in ways they can understand.

What does it mean to become all things 

to all people (1 Corinthians 9:22)?

To understand what the apostle Paul meant when he wrote, “I have become all things to all people,” we must keep the statement in context. Paul was explaining to the Corinthian church his motivation for submitting himself to a hard life. He had relinquished his rights to be married (verse 5) and to draw a salary from the church (verses 6–12). Paul had completely abandoned himself to the purposes of Christ and bore the marks of that decision in his own body (see Galatians 2:20; 6:17).

Part of Paul’s calling was to preach to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:8), and that required him to change elements of his approach when needed:

 “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” (1 Corinthians 9:19–23).

What this does NOT mean is that we are to compromise with the world in order to fit in. Some have used Paul’s statement “I have become all things to all people” as an excuse to live worldly lives, assuming that unrepentant sinners will be impressed and want to come to Christ. 

Rather, to comfort & strengthen the "weaker brother," legalistic measures can be taken to keep an atmosphere of unity & glorify Christ.  But Paul never compromised God’s moral standards set forth in Scripture; rather, he was willing to forgo traditions and familiar comforts in order to reach any audience, Jewish or non-Jewish.

I'm sure we each have our own legalistic ideas, and giving them up to conform or even functioning under someone else's level of legalism can be challenging. (circumcision)  Christ reminded us that it wouldn't be easy to follow Him, but it would be worth it.  (John chapters 14, 15, 16)

Stay true to Christ my friends; do not let the enemy get a foothold,

and Be Blessed ~ Wendy

PS as always, links are shown in green!! Have fun exploring ;)

another note: they type of legalism spoken of above is not about HOW to be saved, but rather nuances like do I have to tithe 10% or is it 30%, should I worship on Saturday or Sunday, etc. which is right? Here is a great article Are You the "Weaker" Brother or Sister? that may help in your discernment.  As another author puts it,"So the first, positive, instruction Paul gives about how the strong and weak should treat each other is: welcome each other, accept each other. And don’t let “divisive questionings” over non-essentials create barriers."

A Place for Truth: Knowing When to Speak

It’s doubtfully a surprise to anyone to say that we live in an age of increasing division and polarization. This fact seems to accentuate the need for each of us to use wisdom in how we speak and engage with one another. It’s likely that each of us can look back at times in our lives when, in hindsight, we realize we should have kept our mouth shut, or perhaps we should have spoken up instead of remaining silent. This will likely be a lifelong struggle for most of us, but God has not left us to our own devices, trying to figure it out on our own. As with all the important aspects of life, He’s given us instruction in His Word, and in this specific case, true and perfect wisdom which we can utilize to tread this thorny path.

When seeking practical instruction about various aspects of life, Proverbs is always a great place to begin. One of the more famous proverbs comes in chapter 26. In verse 4, Solomon says “do not answer a fool according to his folly.” In a beautiful twist, immediately afterward in verse 5 he says, “answer a fool according to his folly.” This is not Solomon contradicting himself, but rather he is showing the wonderful intricacies of life in a fallen world. There are times when wisdom dictates that we speak up, but there are also times when wisdom dictates that we remain silent. The role of godly wisdom is to know the difference between the two, to accurately evaluate the situation one finds themselves in and know which path is the right one. It’s not an easy task, to be sure. Solomon adds weight to the dilemma just two verses later when he says that even the right message delivered in the wrong way is like cutting off your own feet. It’s not only counterproductive, but harmful to oneself.

More could be gleaned from Proverbs, but perhaps the clearest instruction on our speech comes in James 3. It is in this famous chapter that the epistle writer and brother of Christ Himself tells us about the dangers of the tongue. James uses some vivid analogies to show not only the power of the tongue, but the danger of it as well. Perhaps the most striking statement he makes comes in 3:6 when he says that the tongue is set on fire by hell itself. 

"…5In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,…"

Berean Standard Bible 

Immediately our minds could go to all the times when Satan has used unwise words to bring havoc into the world. From his very first interaction with Adam and Eve in the garden, an evil use of words, one of Satan’s primary means of destruction is a lie, or even a word misspoken.  Our immediate instinct should always be to wrestle with this, that mere words have the power to start wars. At the very least it should give us pause to think before we speak. But in that moment of thought, what should we meditate on?  James continues and gives us very helpful things to consider.

In verses 11 and 12, James uses two analogies, that of a spring and a tree, to demonstrate that it is incongruous for one tongue to spew forth both good and evil. But what both analogies also bring out is that the tongue, or the words that come out of us, is actually governed by what’s inside of us. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” says our Lord in Matthew 12:34. The tongue is set on fire by hell because the heart is as well (Jer 17:9). So the first step to tempering our words and deciding on whether to speak is to examine our own hearts. In fact James alludes to this himself in 3:14: “If you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.” When deciding whether to speak up or not, we must be honest with ourselves. Is our desire to speak up somehow born out of a bitter or jealous heart, or a desire to elevate ourselves either in our own eyes or in the eyes of others? If so, it would seem wise to remain silent.

In 3:17 James gives a list which is useful for evaluating our motives and speech. He says, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” He concludes this chapter by then saying, “A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” For James it seems the default setting whenever we approach the dilemma of considering whether to say something should be one which leads to peace. Peace, gentleness, and kindness are 3 fruits of the Spirit, and it’s easy for us to show forth our own sinful passions whenever we speak in a contrary manner to these. In fact, James opens chapter 4 by asking, “What causes quarrels and fights among you? Is it not your own sinful passions waging war within you?” A Christian should be characterized by a putting to death of our sinful passions, mortifying the flesh if you will, and speech which leads to quarrels and disagreements is often contrary to that great work of the Holy Spirit within us. Always remaining silent isn’t a hard and fast rule however. Christ spoke with righteous anger to the Pharisees and to those making a mockery of the temple. There is a place for strong words and rebuke. The truth is important and shouldn’t be withheld, but the manner in which it is spoken can be the difference between war and peace. Next time we open our mouths to speak or move our fingers to tweet, an honest evaluation of our own heart and the possible outcomes should be our opening move.

 Keith Kauffman

Jan 27, 2022

Blessings on your day <3 ~ Wendy

Evil is a Lack of Goodness

 DEFINITION- Satan:

In Hebrew Satan is actually not a name, and that is why the bible references “the satan”.  

Satan is actually a word meaning adversary.  The definition of adversary is of being against or in opposition to.  

Also called the accuser Satan is opposed to kindness, gentleness, grace, forgiveness and on and on.  

Satan is for nothing, 

but is against everything.

I liken it to light or heat ~ there is no such thing as cold or darkness, only the absence of light and heat in varying degrees.  

Satan is the absence of anything good.