1 Corinthians 9:19-23
19 Though
I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win
as many as possible. 20 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.
21 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.
22 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. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I
may share in its blessings.
1. A Slave to the Lost
‘...I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.’
What free man or woman would give up their
freedom and rights to become a slave to someone? Not many, but that’s what Paul
declares here. We might be comfortable saying that we would be a servant of
others, but are we prepared to go as far as the Apostle Paul? The connotations
of what it meant and means to be a slave is not a glorified position but a one
of lost rights and other people dictating you life. Paul was more than prepared
to give up all his rights to win every possible person for Jesus. This is very
challenging thought. How far are we prepared to go for the sake of the gospel?
God grace us to become ‘slaves to the lost’.
2. Unlocking the Salvation Code to your own
People Group
‘To
the Jew I became like a Jew, to win the Jews’
Paul was a Jew and so had a burden to reach
his own people group. This is always a great place for all of us to start when
it comes to reaching out to people. Is our heart broken for our cultural group
and land? One of the graces that Paul was able to walk in as he reached out to
his fellow Jews was that he did not have to try to be a Jew, meaning that he
did not have to work very hard to understand and relate because it all came
very naturally. You have a natural grace
upon you to reach your own people because it is easier for you to understand them
and you can have incredible insights into how to go about reaching them. Ask
God for the best way to reach your own people and then go for it!
3. Unlocking the Salvation Code to other
Cultures
‘To those not having the law I became like one not having the law... so
as to win those not having the law.’
As well as having a great
burden to reach his own culture the Apostle Paul also had a heart and special
anointing to reach other cultures. The people who were not Jews were commonly
referred to as gentiles. Paul began his ministry reaching out to Jews but
quickly found that God had called him and graced him to reach people that we
very different from him. He was more effective with reaching gentiles than he
was with Jews and so as time went on he devoted more time, effort and energy
into reaching this group. The important thing to know is who is God calling you
to? If you know who that is, then you can focus and with God’s help discover
the specific ‘code’ to reach and unlock a culture, age group or nation.
4. Divine creativity in reaching lost people
’...I have become all things to all people so that by all possible
means I might save some.’
The way you would reach
youth will be very different to the way people would try to reach others in
inland China, and this in turn would be different to how people would try and
reach the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand. The point is that there is not
only one way to reach all people, but many. Unlocking the salvation code for
the many different people groups around us will require divine creativity. Pray
and seek God to discover how to best reach the people you are trusting Him for
and then share your ideas with your leaders. If it is possible and achievable
then make it happen! Be released to do whatever it takes to save some!
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