-
In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Paul explains how he tries to be all things to all people. Describe, in your own words, what you think Paul is saying in this passage. How can we apply his teaching in this passage to our Christian walk? What precautions should we take in applying this teaching?
-
14 Replies
-
Paul tried to be all things to all people meeting their needs in the context of holiness and as guided by the Holy Spirit. He was a pastor, counselor, teacher, friend, probably gave financial advice, relationship advice, gave to the poor and needy but for me I would find that to be spiritually, mentally and physically taxing. However God can empower us to do the things that are needed within the church.
-
Reaching out and loving people exactly where they’re at is what I believe Paul is saying and what we all should be doing. Our actions in loving God and loving people is what brings others to Christ.
-
This is about souls being won for the kingdom an in this way Paul avails himself to be as those He is drawing to Christ, understand that for the kingdom, for Christ and for the church to be as others see themselves this allows these to be reachable.
-
To the Jews, he acted like a Jew. Although he would not preach a gospel of good works, neither would he do anything offensive to a Jew like eating pork. In his sermons to them, he would appeal to the Hebrew Scriptures which they understood. To the Gentiles, he tried to reach them at their level. For example, he spoke about an unknown god to the Athenians.
In our Christian walk and witness too, we must try to speak in terms that our unbelieving friends can understand, and not use flatulent, religious terminology. Although we do not want to compromise in any sinful acts or habits that our unbelieving friends indulge in, neither need we act in awkward ways as if it would enhance our “holiness”. The precaution we take is that we do not try so hard to appease them as to approve of and engage in whatever clearly and explicitly violates Biblical moral standards. Where it isn’t such an outright violation, we just let the matter be, because we cannot expect a non-Christian to want to behave like a Christian and follow the Bible. This way, we maintain our friendships and the chance to speak into their lives.
#Corinthians
-
I think Paul is referring to the people’s need for guidance and counsel and the fact that perhaps there is no one else who can properly guide them. We need to understand that we can’t effectively do the whole work of the ministry. We have to guard against pride and exhaustion and offering false guidance.