Articles
All Things To All Men
Some people try to become “all things to all people” by being relative in their principles. They don’t feel strongly enough about anything to take a stand and say to someone, “You ought not to do that” or “Your belief is misguided.” This is not what Paul had in mind when he said, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (I Cor. 9:22).
Nobody, but nobody, had stronger convictions than Paul. He staunchly defended his apostleship and tolerated no infringement upon his authority. He had harsh words for the Judaizers who would treat the Gentiles as second-class Christians. He publicly rebuked Peter (and called out his close friend Barnabas by name) for their hypocrisy. Paul was not afraid to call a spade a spade.
But when it came to opinions and personal judgments, Paul would bend in order to accommodate others. So he says:
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 the Jews. ... 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 Cor. 9:19-22).
Paul would not impose his comfort zone on others, nor would he diminish them in any way because of their immature understanding.
Sometimes in our zeal we push others too hard. We know what is at stake; we want to see everyone obey the Lord. We may impose our convictions, which have taken years to develop, on those who haven’t yet put it all together.
Our society is increasingly “un-churched.” Attending worship service to many is an alien undertaking. Basic Bible knowledge is lacking. The questions that used to be pertinent no longer are relevant because people are dramatically ignorant of God and His word.
The order of the day is patience. We need to take the long-term view of converting the lost, for they are “more lost than ever.”
