picking up this chapter from verse 19 we've already dealt with 1 to 18 where Paul is looking at the accusations against him that he is an unworthy recipient of the aid of the of the members of the church. They are undermining his ministry because they want to become those who are preeminent in the church. And they don't like Paul's ministry and Paul's teaching. They want to probably bring in the Judaizing preacher, the teachings, into the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. So Paul is justifying himself there and justifying his ministry there. And then he goes on to talk about the gospel that he preaches and how and why he preaches the gospel. Is it for money's sake? Is it so that he will be preeminent in the church of Jesus Christ and all will look to him and follow him? What are the reasons for him preaching the gospel and how does he preach the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Now this is not a new subject, he's not starting something completely new here. It's all in the context of those who are self-promoting in the church, who look after their own interests rather than the interests of the church and the interests of Jesus Christ. They don't even care too much about the lost. The lost are something that is something to them which is irrelevant to them because they are the elect. And so they have no concern, real concern, about the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Their only concern, or their main concern, is for themselves. And this is the context that we must understand this portion of scripture. It's Paul exhorting the church to do all things, to be all things to all men so that the gospel may go out and the gospel may reach souls and they may be more effective in the reaching of souls. Now, before we can start looking at this, we must deal with a misconception and a misunderstanding of this portion of Scripture. Because all things to all men has come to mean, in many circles, that we must contextualise, that we must become like the world, that we must adjust our ministry and adjust our message to suit the world. And they say, well, look, Paul is saying, I became all things to all men. Therefore, we must become all things to all men. And when you take that to the logical conclusion, we have what we find in our churches today. We have men like Mark Driscoll, who became all things to all men, who would swear in the pulpit who derided the Lord Jesus Christ in the way that he spoke about the Lord Jesus Christ in the pulpit, who would sit down and watch X-rated films with his congregation, who would talk openly about the most intimate sexual things to the young people. who wanted to be down with the boys and wanted to be one of the lads so that he could reach them. That was his excuse. It was so that he could reach them. But it turned out, in fact, that he was no different from the world himself. And he has since lost his pastorate, I believe. and it should have been sooner that he lost his pastorate. He was unfit to be in the pastorate. So is that what the apostle is talking about? Is he talking about that we have got to be like the world to win the world? Well, no, friends, he isn't, because that was repugnant to the apostle, and to all the apostles, and to the Lord Jesus Christ. This idea was totally opposite to what the apostle actually taught and preached himself. If you look at Galatians in chapter 1, we're going to look at a few scriptures this evening, but once we get into the text then it will slow down, I promise you. Galatians chapter 1 and verse 6 and he says, to the Galatian church, I marvel that you are turning away soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is not another, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than that which you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ." You see that? Paul would never never change anything about the gospel or the preaching of the gospel to please men. He was not in the business of pleasing men. He was not in the business of appeasing men. He was not in the business of making himself like the world to win the world. He was in the business of being the bondservant of the Lord Jesus Christ and preaching the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ and preaching the pure gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The thought that Paul would tamper with the gospel and adjust the gospel so it didn't frighten people away or refrain from telling people the truth of the gospel is absolutely opposite to what Paul preaches and teaches. He says that he does preach the offense of the gospel and the gospel does bring an offense. And it must bring an offence, because to the natural man he does not receive the things of God. So if we are preaching the gospel as we should, we should see people offended by the gospel and by the things that we preach and that we teach. Not by our methodology, not by the way that we present the gospel, but by the gospel itself. That's important. We do not want to bring offense, but the gospel will bring offense. And we mustn't try and take away the offense of the gospel. We must not do that, because it's meant to touch the hearts. It's meant to be that sword that digs right down deep into the hearts and souls of men, to dividing the soul and the spirit of man so that God can deal with man's soul and man's spirit and bring them to repentance and salvation in him. And there is no gospel without repentance, is there, friends? So this is repugnant to Paul. It's repugnant to the other apostles. Look at James 4. James chapter 4 and verse 4. James 4 verse 4. Adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever, therefore, wants to be friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the scripture says in vain, the spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously, but he gives more grace. Therefore, he says, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Do you see that, friends? How can we make friends with the world? And how can we aim to be like the world when the scripture tells us that those who are friends of the world are enmity with God, are at war with God, are not the friends of God. Are we the friends of God, or are we the friends of the world and the worldling? What is it, friends? That's what we've got to decide. If we are friends of God, then we will stand for God. We will be that salt and we will be that light in this world. We will be distinctive. We will stand out from the crowd. We will be different from them. Our morals, our standing, the things that we laugh at, the things that we appreciate, the things that we hold dear, our aims and our purposes, all these things will be different from the world because they will be Christ-centered, won't they, friends? And our message to the world is repent or perish. That is our message to the world, isn't it? Come to Jesus Christ because you need repentance and you need salvation and in him and only him you will find that salvation from your sins and new life in him. Look at 1 John. 1 John and chapter 2 and verse 15. Just wait for our friends to come in. Well, 1 John chapter 2 and verse 15. Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it. But he who does the will of God abides forever. You see? So we're not to be those people who are confirming what the world believes and what the world lives for. We are not to be those people who are standing with the world and saying, yes, these things are good and these things are right. and acting like that and behaving like that. We are supposed to be those people who live for spiritual things. And those spiritual things are the most dear to us and the most important to us, not the world. Love not the world nor the things of the world. So how can you be like a worldling, friends? How can you say that God wants us to be like them to win them? No friends. We are so different. We're like East and West. We cannot come together on the things that they appreciate, they want, they love, they desire, and they just to be right. We cannot. Because the things that we want, and we desire, and we appreciate, and we know to be right, are diametrically different from the world. Love not the world, nor the things of the world. And the church has become so much like the world, hasn't it? We've got the prosperity gospel in our churches. Why? Well, it doesn't matter if we're like the world, living for the things of this world, living for money, wanting money, wanting to be rich, wanting to be famous, wanting this, wanting that. Does it? Because, well, we're just like the world. And when the world looks on, what does the world think when he sees the church like this? What do they think when they see these things going on in the church? What do they think? Well, we're no different. So what value is there in our gospel if we're trying to be like the world? We're not winning the world. We are putting the world off. Or worse, we're telling the world that they can know Jesus Christ and still be worldlings and still live for the things of this world. They can have their cake and they can eat it, can't they? They can have both, which is not what Christ tells us, is it? That we must be born again of the Spirit of God. and we must live in the realm of the spirit and live for him, abiding in him. So Paul is not saying that here. He does not tamper. Look, I mean, right at the beginning of this chapter, if anybody says to you that this is saying that Paul adjusts his gospel to suit anybody and to please men, you just turn to the beginning of the book. Right at the beginning of the book, he tells the Corinthians that this is not what he is about, doesn't he? Look at verse 18. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request the sign and Greeks seek after wisdom. So is he going to give it to them? Is he going to give the Jews a sign or Greeks wisdom? No, but we preach Christ crucified to the Jews, a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness. But to those who are being called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Do you see that, friends? Paul was not about pleasing men, was he? Paul was not about adjusting the gospel to suit men. Paul was not about being like the world to win the world. That's not what Paul was about. Paul was about honouring and glorifying Christ and representing him. He was a bondservant of the Lord Jesus Christ and he served Christ and he sought to be like Christ and in that way to honour the gospel and to preach that wonderful gospel, that pure gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, what does he mean here then? He doesn't mean that we've got to be like the world to win the world when he says, I became all things to all men. What does he mean? Well, let's have a look then. Verse 19. And here we have the key to exactly what Paul means here. Verse 19. He says this, for though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all that I might win them all. Now, this is what Paul is about. He's about winning souls. He's about doing everything that is legitimate and within his scope that is not bound by the scriptures and the teachings of the scriptures to win men. Let's see what he means by this. He says, for though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant of all, that I might win the more. So Paul is not talking about his willingness to sacrifice the gospel and the gospel truths, is he? He's talking about his willingness to sacrifice all that he has. for the gospel and for winning souls. So the sacrifice is not of the gospel or of the truth. It's of his own personal rights and liberties. He becomes a servant of all. So that's the key to it, you see. Paul is not talking about doing everything, giving up everything so that we can please men and so that we can adjust everything so that men want to what men want. I mean, some churches, they go out with questionnaires. This is how they do their evangelism. They go out with a questionnaire. What do you want to see in the church? How do you think Christians should be living? What do you think of this? What do you think of that? And they go back with their questionnaires, and they look at the answers to their questionnaires, and then they adjust what they do to what people want. This actually happens, friends. They're just how they do church, how they worship, how they appear to the world, so that they can win the world, and the well will come in, and the people will feel comfortable, and then they can church people, which means this place, frankly friends, it just means this, that you teach people how to be Christians. You don't win them for Christ. You only teach them how to be Christians. And then they come to a point where they say, yes, I'm a Christian. And that's it. There's no winning of souls there at all. Because all the offense of the gospel, all the truths of the gospel have been taken out. They've been jettisoned. All the distinctives of Christianity, gone. You sacrifice it, all of that. to win souls. But Paul says, no, I sacrifice myself and my rights and my privileges to win souls. I become a servant of all men. Now this is how it works out. He says, verse 20, And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews. To those who are under the law as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law. Now what is Paul saying here? Paul is saying this. He's saying that when he is amongst Jews, He, so that he does not offend the Jew, so that he can reach the Jew with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, he becomes like them. He will take on their traditions because he is a Jew. We shouldn't be doing this because we are not Jews. and we shouldn't be doing it now because the gospel reigns, but he took on those things of the Jew so that he could reach the Jews. So he would do things like observe certain days that they observed and were there in the scriptures for the Jews to observe. He would observe those days so that he did not offend the Jews. Not that he had to observe those particular days anymore because he is now under grace. He's under the gospel. He's under Christ, isn't he? But he willingly did that so that he could speak to them, not offend them, but speak to them and encourage them to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. He would never ever do anything that was against the gospel that Jews wanted him to do. And we know that, don't we? Because he took Peter to task. at the Council of Jerusalem over not eating with Gentiles and offending the Gentiles because the Jews didn't like them eating with the Gentiles. No, he would not do that. He would not bow and scrape to the laws of men and to the whims of men, but what he would do is anything legitimate from the scriptures so that not to offend the Jew. And then, when he was doing it, he was using it as an opportunity to teach the gospel from what those things in the scriptures required. So all the types and the ceremonies in the Old Testament, they're about Christ, and they're about the sacrifice of Christ. So he could bring the gospel to bear to them through those types and ceremonies. So he would use it to win the Jew, and that's what he's saying, isn't he? He says, and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews. To those who are under the law, as under the law, that is the ceremonial law. that I may win those who are under the law. You see? Anything legitimate from the scripture he would use to win his countrymen to the Lord Jesus Christ. How about the Gentiles? And to those who are without law, as without law, not being without law towards God, but under law towards Christ, that I might win those who are without the law. Now here he is not talking about being without the moral law. And we know that because Paul says this, those words that are in the brackets, he says, not being without law towards God. Do you see that? No, Paul is not. Paul is never going to offend God, nor is he going to do anything that is against the scriptures. And we know that the law of God, the moral law of God, is right. and it is good and it is wholesome, it is his moral law. Paul actually tells us that in Romans, doesn't he? That the law is good and we should be keeping the law. So he's not talking about the moral law, but he is talking about those rights and traditions of the Jews that he would keep when he was with the Jews. But when he was with the Gentiles, they have no relevance, do they? They have no relevance to Paul, because he is under Christ. He is under the law of Christ. And the law of Christ is grace through faith. He doesn't have to keep the law. to be saved by the law. He's under the law of Christ. And that law is that all the ceremonies and all the rites, those laws of ceremony and rites in the Old Testament have been fulfilled in Christ. And Christ is our sacrifice, that one sacrifice made for all on Calvary. So you see, friends, he's not jettisoning the law, the moral law, when he is talking to the Jews. But what he is jettisoning is all those rites and ceremonies that he would, so that he's not offending the Jews, that he would keep for their sake They have no relevance to the Gentile. So he ignores them. And he then will take on some of the traditions of the Gentiles, as long as they were not offending God. He wouldn't go and, as we've seen, he wouldn't go to their temples and indulge in their feasts. He would not do that. He would not be found in a pagan temple of his own choice doing those things, because that is standing in the place of demons, where demons are worshipped. He would not do that. But he would maybe sit down with them, and he would eat a vegan meal. as some of these people were, these pagans, they didn't eat meat, some of them. And so he would, so not to offend them, he would go and he would eat the meal with them and not talk about his right to eat meat in front of them. If he asked them to a meal, he would not give them meat, so as not to offend them. so that he was not being an obstacle in any way to the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He would do everything within the limits of the scriptures, not to offend, but it was within the limits of the truth of God's word. Anything that was in his power, He would give up everything, his rights, his privileges, everything, his freedom, his life for the gospel. But he would not give up the gospel and he would not give up the truth. You see, it was a sacrifice that he was willing to make with those things that were within his control, within his domain. But he was never willing to make that for those things that are God's and Christ's. So he goes on, how about to the weak? I became as weak that I might win the weak. I become all things to all men that I might by all means save some. So who are the weak? The weak are those who want to follow certain rules and certain practices and believe things are important that have no real relevance in this gospel and no relevance in the scriptures and are not really important. They follow these things and they do these things because to them it is important. It has some significance to them. And Paul is saying, well, as long as it's not against the gospel, and as long as it is not offending Christ, and as long as it's not against the truth of God's word, then if I am with them, with the weak, I will go along with what they are doing. I will not try and offend them. I will not stand against what they are doing. I will not argue with them over irrelevant things. I will talk to them about the truth, the things that are important, the things that are important to their souls. That's what I will do. And I will not offend them so that I get that opportunity to talk to them about their souls and about the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So in that way, Paul has become all things to all men, hasn't he? willing to sacrifice all things so that he can get the gospel over to these people and show these people the way to life. You see, for Paul, all his rights and all his privileges were something to be used for Christ and for the furtherance of the gospel. He did not stand on his rights and his privileges. He only saw them as an opportunity to glorify Christ and further that wonderful gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what a challenge that is to us. Are we willing to become all things to all men? Are we willing to sacrifice all things so that people can hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ? Do we see everything as an opportunity to glorify Christ? That's how Paul would saw it, didn't he? When he was in chains, he wrote to the church and said, don't worry about me, this is a chance for the gospel so that the gospel will go out even into the courts of Caesar himself, didn't he? He was glorying in his chains so that he may glorify Christ and in his sufferings when he was shipwrecked. And all the people were saved because of what he told them to do. And they were all there on the island. Did he glory in it or did he then, you know, did he huddle up into a corner by the fire because he was so cold? No, he used it as an opportunity. In everything, everything he saw opportunity. You know, there's a saying, isn't there, in business, I don't see problems, I only see opportunities. In business, that's a nonsense. Because there are problems. And you have to solve problems. Not everything is an opportunity. And some problems lead to disaster. And some problems lead to more problems. But in the gospel, For Paul, it was true. He didn't see problems, did he? When he was in that Philippian jail, in the deepest, darkest recesses of the jail, the most stinky, the most foul hole that they could put him in, him and Silas, what was he doing? He was singing to the glory of Christ. Wasn't he? And when there was an earthquake, And the doors flew open. Did he run out? No, he didn't. He saw it as an opportunity to bring the Philippian jailer to Christ. Everything was an opportunity to him, wasn't it? Even the loss of his liberty. Even the loss of his life was an opportunity to glorify Christ. And that's how we should see these things, friends. And then we would complain less, wouldn't we, about our proper problems and difficulties, and see more the opportunities that Christ is giving to us through them. He goes on to say this. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore run thus, not with uncertainty, Thus I fight, not as one who beats the air, but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I preach to others, I myself should be found disqualified. So what is Paul saying here? He's saying, look, he's saying exactly what we have been saying. This is how he approaches his ministry for the Lord Jesus Christ. He is in a race and there is a crown to be won, a crown given to all his people who have been faithful and true to him in this race that is set before them. He's in that race. What is he going to do? Is he just going to flounder around and is he just going to beat the air like a boxer who has no one to fight? No, no friends. No. He is going to discipline himself. He is going to give up all necessary so that he can win that race. If you're an athlete and you want to win a race, you don't go and indulge yourself at McDonald's every day and eat junk food every day, do you? No, of course you don't. You look after your body. You study what's the right food. What do you need in your particular discipline to be successful in your discipline? What amount of carbohydrates? What amount of proteins? What minerals? What fluid intake? You give up alcohol. You give up smoking if you smoke. You discipline yourself. That's what Paul is saying, isn't he? Everyone who competes for a prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Do you see what Paul is saying there? If we want to win this race, if we want to win souls for the Lord Jesus Christ, if we want to be effective in this, then we must discipline ourselves. We must be those who are willing to give up. those things that are unnecessary in our lives, those things that are worldly, those things that would encumber us, those things that would get in the way, even to the point of giving up our rights and our privileges so that we can win souls, so that we can be effective for the Lord Jesus Christ. so that we can do what is necessary to be those who can bring others to the Lord Jesus Christ and win that crown and not be disqualified in this great work that the Lord Jesus Christ has given us to do. So again, friends, it comes down to this, doesn't it? What are we willing to do for souls? and for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not willing to sacrifice one iota of the gospel truth, are we? We are not willing to sacrifice one iota of the truth of God's Word. Not one. We will stand by it. And we know that it will be an offence to the unbeliever. It will be an offence and we must not take that offence away. But we ourselves must not be that offence and give offence when at all possible we must be those people who seek to be all things to all men in the legitimate way, in the right way. so that we can reach them and so that we can show them the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must be very careful in this though. We mustn't use this as an excuse to indulge ourselves. We mustn't use this as an excuse to give in to what people want us to do when we know these things are wrong. It's not an excuse, it's an opportunity. to be effective for the Lord Jesus Christ, pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ, glorifying to the Lord Jesus Christ. And we cannot do that if we are offending him, can we? Let's pray. Our gracious God and our loving heavenly Father, we come into your presence and we do praise and thank you, Lord, for your truth, for your gospel, for it is the power of God to salvation to all who will believe. We know this, Lord. We believe this. Help us to stand by it. Help us to be true to it. Help us in our lives to do everything that we can to promote it and to glorify your name. Be with us, Lord, we ask, we pray in your precious name. Amen.