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."