1 Corinthians 9:19-23 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
John Piper’s conclusion to the sermon, “Becoming All Things to All Men to Save Some”
In freedom, for love’s sake, you try to overcome unnecessary, alienating differences that cut you off from unbelievers. In freedom, for love’s sake, you learn the Maninka language and translate the Bible. In freedom, for love’s sake, you eat dinner together the way they eat dinner. In freedom, for love’s sake, you dress pretty much like the middle class American natives. In freedom, for love’s sake, you get into their politics and their sports and their businesses.
And all the while you keep a vigilant watch over your heart to see if you are in the law of Christ. Here are two tests of how you are doing in this delicate balancing act. I close with these:
- Are you becoming more worldly minded than they are becoming spiritually minded? If so, you have probably crossed the line of the law of Christ. Christ does not call you to lose your holiness, but to gain theirs.
- Is your passion for winning your friends and family growing, or is it shrinking as you become all things to them? If it is shrinking, then you are not in the law of Christ at that point.
Here is the sum of the matter: Christ died to set us free. Free from the wrath of God, and free from the loveless limits of the law. Free for love and eternal life. Are we using our freedom to make this good news plain? Or are we so separatistic that we have no connection with unbelievers; or are we so worldly they don’t know we have anything radically different to offer?
O may the Lord grant us to use our freedom to become the servants of all, that we might by all means save some!
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 