Alba 6-29-2025
WIN AS MANY AS POSSIBLE
I Corinthians 9:19-23
One Sunday morning an old cowboy entered a church just before services were to begin. Although the old man and his clothes were spotlessly clean, he wore jeans, a denim shirt and boots that were very worn and ragged. In his hand he carried a worn out old hat and an equally worn out Bible.
The church he entered was in a very upscale and exclusive part of the city. It was the largest and most beautiful church building the old cowboy had ever seen. The people of the congregation were all dressed with expensive clothes and accessories. As the cowboy took a seat, the others settled down in areas away from him. No one greeted, spoke to, or welcomed him. They were all dismayed at his appearance and did not attempt to hide it.
The preacher gave a long sermon about Hellfire and brimstone and a stern lecture on how people ought to be finding more people to win to Jesus because baptisms were down. As the old cowboy was leaving the church, the preacher approached him and asked the cowboy to do him a favor. “Before you return next time, maybe have a talk with God and ask him what He thinks would be appropriate attire for worship. You might find that would help you fit in a little better and feel more at home with us.”
The old cowboy assured the preacher he would. The next Sunday, he showed back up for the services wearing the same ragged jeans, shirt, boots, and hat. Once again he was completely shunned and ignored. The preacher approached the man and said, “I thought I asked you to speak to God about your attire and get his input on the matter of appropriate dress for worship in His church.”
“Oh, I did that… I truly did,” replied the old cowboy. “If you spoke to God, what did he tell you the proper dress should be for worshiping in here?” asked the preacher. “Well, sir, God told me that He didn’t have a clue what I should wear here these days – He says He’s not attended here in a long time.”
As the Lord said to Samuel in I Samuel 16:7, “man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” The apostle Paul understood that. And his concern was not how someone was dressed, but what their condition was before the Lord. He knew that we should...
See Everyone as Someone for Whom Christ Died (vs. 19)
In I Corinthians 9:19 he writes, “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.” Who does he make himself a slave to? Everyone. Paul was a Roman citizen and had rights that others without that would not have. He was an apostle, which would give him rights of authority. But he says he is a slave to everyone because he wants to win to Christ as many as possible.
In the first verses of this chapter, Paul made it clear that his love for the Lord put him under obligation to preach the Good News of Jesus. He was going to proclaim the gospel to people in any way, and as many ways, as he could. The gospel message is that Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, has come into this world and offered Himself as a sacrifice, taking the punishment for our sins so that we can be forgiven.
The scripture says in that familiar verse, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 KJV) That verse says “whosoever”! And as the hymn says, “Whosoever, surely meaneth me, surely meaneth me.” Yes, it includes me. It includes you. There is not a person on this earth that word does not touch. Every person with whom you come into contact is a “whosoever”. God's love is big enough for us all.
In Luke 15:1-2, just before Jesus told the parables about the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son, it says, “Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, 'This Man receives sinners and eats with them.'” Jesus intentionally rubbed shoulders with the lowest of the spiritual reprobates of His day, because they mattered to Him and He wants to lead them into the family of God. The sinners that Jesus spent time with may seem more safe and sanitized than the ones that we might encounter today. But such was not the case. For example, the tax collectors Jesus associated with really did extort large amounts of money from the downtrodden people around them. And the prostitutes He expressed compassion for actually engaged in illicit sexual activity as an occupation.
Often, if we are hanging with the wrong crowd, the problem is that our purpose is not the same as our Lord’s. Jesus hung out with sinners for one reason only – to bring salvation. His goal was and is to impact their lives with His life-changing message. He was a friend to sinners in that He was and is determined to see them saved. And if we look at the world as the Lord does, we will, like the apostle Paul, see every person as one for whom Christ died, a person whom the Lord loves and desires to be in His family.
That may mean associating with people in ways that require us to do things that normally wouldn't be that comfortable. Paul gives us the example of how to win as many as possible. Here in First Corinthians 9:20-22 he writes, “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. 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. 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.”
Paul is not saying he turned into a chameleon who changes the colors of his life every time the wall paper changes. He is not talking about changing who he is. But he changes how and what he communicates to make it relevant and life-changing to his audience at that moment. So what does this mean for us? It means that in order to win as many as possible...
Adapt the method, not the message (vs. 20-22)
There was a story in Our Daily Bread, the daily devotional, that told of a missionary in Africa who was once asked if he really liked what he was doing. His response was shocking. “Do I like this work?” he said. “No. My wife and I do not like dirt. We have reasonable refined sensibilities. We do not like crawling into vile huts through goat refuse...But is a man to do nothing for Christ he does not like? God pity him, if not. Liking or disliking has nothing to do with it. We have orders to ’Go,’ and we go. Love constrains us.”
The example we have with Paul is that he cared enough to stretch himself in order to make contact with people and influence them toward Christ. In other words, Paul tried to meet people where they were. When he spoke with the Jews in the synagogues, he knew the kinds of illustrations that would best impact them. He even showed a willingness to use his own life as an illustration of a converted Jew who gave up every valuable thing for the sake of Christ.
Paul was no longer under the covenant of Law. He now was under the Covenant of grace. And, though he realized that the Old Testament law, as good as it was, could not save him from his sins, he didn’t flaunt his freedom in Christ by serving bacon to them for breakfast, or a pork chop from a pagan sacrifice. Instead, he would meet his fellow Jews at the synagogue or temple and introduce them to the real and true Righteous One. It was because he knew that he was “not free from God’s law but (was) under Christ’s law” The law of love, God's love, for all people.
When Paul went to the pagan city of Athens, he successfully communicated to the people there because he admired, complimented, and used a monument to “An Unknown God’’ to begin to tell the good news of Jesus to them. And it was not just a statue that Paul used to connect with the people. He began by acknowledging their religious beliefs and practices, and then used their own philosophers' writings to point them to the truth of God. You find that account in Acts chapter 17. It was just before he came to Corinth.
And when Paul spoke to King Agrippa in Acts 26, he altered his communication based upon his knowledge of the social structures of the day. The postmodern culture in which we live consists of groups of people with varied ethnic, political, socio-economic and religious backgrounds. So our message must be relevant to a lost, confused, darkened world that is desperately hungry for the love, the truth, the hope and the touch of Jesus Christ.
But don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. Sometimes talking about making the gospel more relevant sounds like going in a direction that isn’t necessarily in line with the character and nature of God and His design for the church. We can't water down the truth or biblical teachings trying somehow to make Christianity more attractive to unbelievers. We need to share content that is straight, not watered down. We don’t have to pull our punches, as it were. We have no need to apologize for calling sin, sin when we are telling people what God has said.
The problem for too many churches and Christians is – they DO let go of Christ and end up subscribing to the mindset of the lost. They become deceived into thinking that they need to become like the lost in order to save them. They forget WHO they are and WHY God has saved them. But it does little to bring into reality the power, the hope, the love that God has to offer. People aren’t afraid of the truth. In fact they’re looking for something with some meat, some teeth, some depth. That’s part of why Jesus was, and still is, such an amazing teacher. His truth rang in people’s heart as truth.
A preacher named Jerry Shirley said: “There are churches that engage in a social gospel (trying to make the world a better place to go to hell from) substituting culture for Calvary – never talking about getting saved, or the blood of Jesus.” The good news of our Savior and His kingdom, must be delivered in a manner that is relevant. But the purpose must always be to bring to those who don’t know Jesus a message that can have a life-changing, personal effect on those who hear it. So that, like Paul says, we can “win as many as possible.” And when that happens, we can...
Look forward to the blessings (vs. 23)
When Paul said that he had become all things to all people so that by all possible means he might save some, He had two reasons for doing so. In verse 23 Paul says, “I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” First, He became all things to all people, not for his own sake, or his own temporal advantage, nor for honor and applause to himself, but for the spread of the Gospel. His desire was that as many people as possible would hear the good news.
Don't you like to hear good news? When something good happens to you, don't you like to share it? And isn't it a blessing when during our prayer time we are told of answers to prayer? Good News! And what better news is there than that we who are burdened with sin and regret are told that there is relief and forgiveness! What better news is there than that Jesus has come to carry our burdens. What better news is there than that He can wash us clean from sin and guilt. That is nothing but good news! That is the gospel. And that is the message we are given to share with the world.
The second reason Paul becomes, and recommends becoming, all things to all people is so that together we can share in the blessings of the good news of Jesus. So not only is the gospel shared with many, the blessings are also shared. The fruit of the Gospel is the conversion and salvation of sinners. That brings joy and blessing both to the one who shares the gospel and to the one who receives and acts upon it. Its power can change empty lives into meaningful lives. It makes work, love, and play worthwhile. It gives a deep sense of hope, purpose and joy to anyone from the poorest to the richest. People can have things in their lives transformed, even those things they thought they could never change. And they can become something they never dreamed possible. This is the message that Paul took to his world and the message that we still take to our world today.
But there is more.. Because of the gospel we can share in the blessings of the promise of eternal life. Heaven doesn't have to be a question when one has become obedient to the faith proclaimed by Jesus. It can be an assured reality.
So as the apostle Paul teaches us, our message needs to be relevant. Yet the church is not supposed to just ‘blend-in’ with the rest of the world. We are an outpost of Heaven. We should look different. We should stand out. We are salt, bringing healing. We are light, bringing truth. We are the aroma of Christ, bringing the sweet smell of tender love in order to call people to Jesus and win as many as possible.
CLOSE:
David Owens, minister with the Wetzel Road Church of Christ in Liverpool, New York, told how for many years, he played pickup basketball with a group of guys for exercise, fun. But his purpose was to build relationships with people outside his church.
He said he had to admit that sometimes he felt like a fish out of water and wondered why he was there. Many of the guys were…let’s say, “rough around the edges.” Sometimes tempers got heated and the language turned foul. And sometimes, he was teased about his faith.
His nickname was “Preach.” He said some of the other players would say, “Glad Preach is on our team, that means the Big Man Upstairs will be on our side.”
Then he told how one day they were playing, and right in the middle of the game one of the guys said “Look at Preach’s shirt.” And everyone stopped and looked. His sweat pattern made a perfect looking cross. And the guy said, “He even sweats religion.”
David said the reason he chose to be on that team, to be around men who were different from himself, was so that in some way he could bring the influence of Jesus to them. In Luke 5:31-32 Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
