The Apostle Paul refused to exercise his rights to be supported for his fulltime work in the gospel because he did not want it to be misconstrued as having to pay to hear the gospel, especially amongst the new believers and unbelievers. He wanted to be free to preach the gospel to everyone!
I. To be free from all men
1 Corinthians 9:19, For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.
As far as his rights were concerned, Paul was a free man, not someone bound by anything or anyone. Remember, Paul was as an Apostle, but he did not behave as one wearing neat and tidy robes, living in a comfortable environment, with junior ministers, pastors and preachers working under him, and only once in a while, he came out to visit the people who tried hard to reach out to him because to hear and learn from him was such a privilege. He did none of those things, instead he was willing to make himself a servant. For what purpose? That he might gain the more, which means to win more people for Christ.
The phrase yet have I made myself servant is very interesting. In the Old Testament, every Hebrew who was enslaved by another Hebrew would be offered his freedom after six years. But if he loved his master and preferred to remain in that household, he could become a permanent slave, and his ear would be pierced as a sign of his willing enslavement. That is the idea here. Paul willingly made himself to be a slave, not just to some people, but to all people. He was willing to give up his comfort, change his habits, preferences and lifestyle (as previously he was a highly regarded rabbi) if any of those things would cause anyone to be stumbled, offended or hindered from the gospel of Christ.
Having said that, we must stress that no matter how well we live our lives, people cannot be saved by watching us. No one can watch your transformed life and say, “Oh, now I know that Jesus died and shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary to save me from my sins, and He rose again on the third day.” Our transformed lives do not spell out the gospel message. But by our lives, we can enable the people to be more willing to listen to the gospel we preach. There must be the preaching of the gospel, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17), and by the grace of God, our unbelieving loved ones would then be able to receive Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour. However, our lives can either draw someone to Christ or stumble him away from Christ!
II. Unto the Jews
1 Corinthians 9:20, And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
Paul was a Jew, and he came from a Jewish background. Here, he was talking about a practising Jew. When he was with the Jewish people, he was willing to be a servant to them in the sense of being willing to do everything he could to win them to Christ.
The phrase to them that are under the law was not referring to the moral law. The moral law or the Ten Commandments will always be applicable to us. Paul was speaking about the ceremonial law of which he was no longer bound to the rituals and traditions like the Jews. But he was willing to live as one of them; to abide by their ceremonial regulations, observe their special days, or refrain from eating certain foods, if doing those things would help to win them to Christ.
Perhaps in our modern context, you may one day visit a restaurant with your Jewish friends, but none of them order pork. You love barbeque pork, and you have every right to order it, but you will not do so because you want to reach out to your Jewish friends. You are willing to give up your rights!
In Acts 16, on one occasion, when Paul took Timothy with him in his ministry, he had Timothy circumcised. By the way, Timothy was half-Jew, his mother was Jewish, therefore it was not wrong for him to be circumcised. Nonetheless, the circumcision was of no benefit at all to Timothy, and most certainly it meant nothing to Paul, but they did it for the Jews so that Timothy would be accepted by the Jews and he could preach to them.
III. Unto the Gentiles, a Gentile
1 Corinthians 9:21, To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.
Next, Paul moved on to the Gentiles. To the Gentiles, Paul was willing to give up his rights, and identify himself with them. The Gentiles were not under the ceremonial laws, and they lived their lives not observing those regulations. Paul was willing to live like the Gentiles, but that did not mean that he did all those sinful things that the Gentiles did. Obviously, he was not free from the moral law of God, and he would not participate in anything that was sinful. He knew he was under the law of Christ, and he was under the complete obligation of Christ’s law which was love. It was because of love that he did what he did, to win the Gentiles to Christ.
IV. Unto the weak
1 Corinthians 9:22, To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak:
Paul was willing to identify with those, whether Jews or Gentiles, who were weak, who did not have the ability to understand the gospel. He was able to stoop to their level, and help them with their lack of comprehension. Some of them might need the gospel message to be repeated again and again, others might be doubtful and confused, and he was patient with them. He identified himself with them so that he could win the weak for Christ.
I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
Today, there are some people who misinterpret this phrase, and say that “I am made all things to all men” means it is alright for us to behave like the way the unbelievers behave, even if it is sinful so that by all means we want to win them for Christ. If the people like rock music, then we use rock music to win them over. If the people like body piercing, then we indulge in body piercing to win them over. If they love to use vulgarities, then we use vulgarities in our preaching to make them feel at home and the gospel message more palatable to them.” That is absolutely nonsense! In becoming all things to all men, we must never compromise God’s truth. Here, the point Paul was emphasising was not about doing something to save some, but rather about giving up something to save some. It is about giving up one’s rights!
Dear friend, if people are offended by God, His Gospel, His truth, or our behaviours, practices and God’s Word, we cannot change that. Our lives should be all about winning people for Christ, but never to compromise God’s truth.
We are willing to give up our rights, as Paul said, And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you (v.23)
Like Paul who said, “I want to see the Corinthians, the Jews, the Gentiles, and the weak, come to Christ. If I have to become a servant, so be it, I will do it, for the sake of the gospel.” We ought to say, “I want to see my unbelieving loved ones, relatives, friends and colleagues, come to Christ. If I have to give up my rights, I am willing to do so, for the sake of the gospel and their salvation.”
Many years ago, in England, there was a group of young men who were very zealous for the gospel. They were praying for mission work to places where the gospel had not been preached. They found one place where the gospel had not reached. That island was ruled or controlled by someone and people were not welcomed to visit that island without permission. So, how in the world could they get the gospel into that island? They knew that if anyone tried to evangelize on this island, they would immediately be captured and be enslaved. They prayed that the gospel would go forth and Christ be glorified in this small island. Then it became evident that there is only one way that people on that island would come to hear the gospel and come to know Christ. And that is if they were willing to go, knowing full well that when they landed on that island, they would be made slaves for the rest of their lives. And they went. For the sake of the gospel, they became slaves.
What kind of freedom is that? It is the kind of freedom Paul hoped the Corinthians would have, to be free to give up their rights, for the sake of the gospel.
Take a moment and consider someone whom you know who is still outside the kingdom of God; your grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, son, daughter, neighbour and friend, and then ask yourself, “How far am I willing to go, to win him or her for Christ?’ The only right answer is, “I am willing to be all things to all men!”
With love in Christ,
Pastor Paul Cheng
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