All Things to All Men

Paul’s statement “All things to all men” comes from Paul’s first epistle to the Church in Corinth.

“….. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you” (1 Cor. 9:22, 23, NKJV, emphasis added).

It is unfortunate that the misinterpretation of Paul’s statement “All things to all men” has given rise to the notion that the Church must become like the world to win the world. Someone said that virtually every modern worldly attraction has a “Christian” counterpart. There are Christian heavy-metal rock bands, Christian casinos, Christian amusement parks, Christian dance clubs and even Christian nudist camps. Same sex marriages are also being solemnized in gay and lesbians Churches with gay pastors and ministers. The Church seems to give a seriously wrong message to the world that, what the world can offer unbelievers, the Church of Jesus Christ can offer them exactly what they want. No one needs to sacrifice anything. No one needs to deny himself, carry the cross to follow Jesus!

Where did Christians ever get the idea that we could win the world by imitating it? Is there a shred of Biblical justification for that kind of thinking?

Ironically, many Christian leaders usually cite the apostle Paul as someone who advocated adapting the Gospel to the tastes of his listeners. In other words, Paul compromised the truth of the Gospel to please his audience. He has also been accused by many Bible teachers of using his communication skill to “market” the Gospel according to the desire of the people he preached to in order to receive the response he sought.

Paul’s Uncompromising Ministry

First, let us study how Paul carried out his ministry as an apostle to the Jews and the Gentile.

Paul was not a man-pleaser

He wrote, “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10, NKJV).

Paul was not a compromiser

Paul did not water-down or compromise his message to please people. He was utterly unwilling to try to remove the “offense” from the Gospel.

“And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased” (Gal. 5:11).

What made Paul’s ministry effective was not “marketing” technique, but a stubborn devotion to the truth. Truth to him was something to be declared, not negotiated.

Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation ….” (Romans 1:16).

Paul suffered for Christ

Paul was willing to suffer for Christ like all true ministers of Christ (2 Cor. 11:23 – 28). He did not back down in the face of opposition, persecution or rejection. He did not compromise with unbelievers or make friends with the enemies of God.

Paul’s Message was Non-negotiable

Paul’s ministry was in response to a divine mandate. God had called him and commissioned him. He was not a man-pleaser to accommodate his listeners for their response to the Gospel.

He wrote, “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16)!

The fact that he was stoned, beaten with rods, received 39 stripes and imprisoned many times ought to demonstrate that he did not adapt God’s message to make it pleasing to his hearers!

Preaching the truth of God’s Word and the Gospel was so important to Paul that he gave two charges to Timothy, “a true son in faith” (1 Tim. 1:2) in his farewell message to him. Please read my previous two postings.

The first charge was that he should emulate him to “Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2).

The second charge was, “Be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim.4:5).

Paul’s reason to become “All things to all men”

Please read 1 Cor. 9:19 – 23). This passage of Scripture is too long to be quoted here.

The reason that Paul became “all things to all men” is to advance the Gospel that all under his ministry might become partakers of the gift of salvation:

"Now this I do for the gospel's sake, that I may be partaker of it with you" (1 Cor. 9:23).

By becoming "all things to all men", Paul did the following for the purpose of wining souls:

1. Became a servant of all to win more souls.

Paul was a freeman (1 Cor. 9:1) and was under obligation to none. But, he chose to enslave himself to be servant of all so as to win more to Christ; that he might be the means of saving more souls.

Paul’s noble instance of self-denial and true greatness is in line with what Jesus said:

“If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35, emphasis added).

Paul was describing not his willingness to sacrifice the gospel message, but his willingness to sacrifice himself to preach the message. Winning people to Christ was his only objective. In order to do that, Paul was willing give up all his rights and privileges, his position, his rank, his livelihood, his freedom and ultimately, even his life.

Paul would not modify the message to suit the world, but would behave so that he personally would never be an obstacle to anyone’s hearing and understanding the message of Christ. He was describing an attitude of personal sacrifice, not compromise. He would never alter the clear and confrontive call to repentance and faith.

2. To the Jew, Paul became like a Jew to win the Jews. To those who were under the Law (Moses Law), Paul became like a person under the Law to win those under the Law.

Paul was describing a selfless sacrifice of personal liberty. He willingly subjected himself to the law’s ritual requirements in order to win those who were under the Law. In other words, he adopted their customs. Notice Paul did not come under the Law to reach the unsaved but became “like one” under the Law. Whatever their ceremonial law dictated, he was willing to do. If it was important to abstain from eating pork, he abstained. If their sensibilities demanded that a certain feast be observed, he observed it. Why? Not to appease their pride or affirm their religion, but in order to open a door of opportunity for him to preach the uncompromised truth, so that he might win them to Christ.

3. To those who were not under the Law (Gentile), Paul became like a Gentile to win the Gentiles.

When Paul ministered to the Gentiles, he dropped all his Jewish (non-moral) traditions. When He was with the Gentiles he followed Gentile customs and culture insofar as it did not conflict with the law of Christ. He avoided needless offending the Gentiles.

When Paul was in Jerusalem, for example, he followed Jewish religious customs. He observed the feasts and Sabbaths, and he followed Jewish dietary laws. When he went to Antioch, however, he ate with the Gentiles, even though that violated his own tradition and upbringing.

Peter came to Antioch and also ate with the Gentiles, until some Judaizers showed up. Then Peter “withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision” (Gal. 2:12). Some other Jews also followed Peter. That was when Paul rebuked Peter to his face in front of others. Paul said Peter and those with him acted like hypocrites and were “not straightforward about the truth of the Gospel” (Gal. 2:14). In other words, Peter failed to be “all things to all men” like Paul.

4. To the weak (weak in faith), Paul became weak to win the weak.

“The weak” refers to immature believers who do not understand their liberty in Christ.

Paul said to the believers in Rome:

“Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things” (Romans 4:1).

“We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Romans 15:1).

“One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observed it” (Romans 4:5, 6, emphasis added).

An appropriate example is the celebration of Christmas. A Christian who is strong in his faith knows that the Scripture does not say anything about Christmas celebration. In fact, you cannot find the word “Christmas” in the Bible. In other words, there is no Biblical basis for any Christian to celebrate Christmas. But, in the light of Paul’s statement, it is not wise to judge anyone who esteems Christmas day as a special day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It does not matter whether Jesus was actually born on Christmas day or not - provided it is true that the weak believer who observes Christmas day as a day of celebration, observes it to the Lord!

Paul was a freeman and was not governed by any law except the law and commands of Christ. Although he felt free to do things that other people’s conscience would not allow them to do, when he was with weaker brethrens he was careful not to violate their sensibilities. He adapted his behavior so as not to offend them. He yielded in love rather than risk offending a weaker brother.

Conclusion

Paul set himself in contrast with the compromising and men-pleasing preachers of God’s Word when he said:

“For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ” (2 Cor. 2:17, NKJV).

The compromiser sells a cheap gospel and tries to make it appealing by stripping away the offense of Christ. Paul simply wanted to keep himself from being an obstacle or a stumbling block to people’s conscience so that the unadulterated message could penetrate hearts and do its work. If people were offended by the message, Paul did not try to remove the offense of the Gospel or abolish the stumbling block of the cross, and he would not tolerate those who tried. God will not tolerate either!