Paul Says “I will
become all things to all people.”
Sounds kind of like a
politician doesn’t it? Talking to one
group corporate taxes and jobs are the most important issues facing the country. At the next stop the deficit. At the next
stop the blue crested polliwog. He’s
trying to be all things to all people.
Can you imagine how
foolish I would look if in trying to be all things to all people, and in order
to fit in with the edgy 20’s crowd I got my lip pierced and wore my hair in dreadlocks? On the other hand, can you imagine how much I
would feel like a fish out of water if I were in a church where I had to wear a
suit all the time just to fit in?
I’ve seen teenagers
struggle with this over and over. They
try to be jocks to fit in with the athletes,
and actors to fit in with the artsy crowd, and they take up bad habits
to be accepted with this group, all while trying to keep up with who they are
at home. Trying to be all things to all
people is enough to make a person crazy.
Yet Paul says, "I
try to be all things to all people."
That is quite a goal, especially in Corinth. Remember I told you last week how diverse the
population of Corinth was. It has many
sailors and merchants and businessmen from all over the world. Every one of them had their own set of
ideals, world-view, customs, religious values, and more.
That’s exactly why the
church was having so many divisions and troubles. Remember last week I talked about the
conflict between idol meat eaters and those who abstained. But that was only the tip of the ice
berg. In I Corinthians we get a glimpse
into a church in which people seemed to have more differences than
similarities.
What, then is Paul
saying when he says he wants to be “all things to all people?”
First, let’s get
something out of the way. Paul never
advocated compromising our morals. He
would never say that only a thief can understand a thief, or only an addict can
understand an addict. He never would advocate worshipping an idol to reach on
idol worshipper.
Second, Paul is not
being all things to all people in order to gain power, or prestige. He is not seeking political office or looking
for favors. Paul is not advocating that
we do this to be a self-serving or chameleon-like.
Paul has only one goal.
“I do this so that by all possible means
I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I
may share in its blessings.”
John Beardsley, a
pastor in the 1800’s wrote,
Being all things is to:
Be glad with those who are glad,
Sad with those who are sad,
Uplifting to those who are down,
Fulfilling to those who are empty,
Being Wise to those who are ignorant,
Discerning to those with no
understanding,
Giving direction to those who are lost,
Being a blessing to those chosen to
lead,
Being Bold with the truth when others
are timid,
Demonstrating patience to the impatient,
Being there for those who are lonely,
Just listening to the ones with burdens,
Working together with them needing a
helping hand,
Providing protection for those who are
afraid.
That doesn’t sound so self-serving
or chameleon-like.
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In fact, it
reminds me a lot of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet.
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It reminds me a
lot of Jesus healing the lepers,
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or listening to the woman with the flow,
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Or approaching
the demon legion.
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It reminds me a
lot of the way Jesus was able to talk like a Pharisee with the Pharisees,
·
like a scribe
with the scribes,
·
tell parables
about crops and weeds when he was with farmers,
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vineyards when he
was with a vineyard keeper,
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and laborers when
he was with workers. That is a kind of
being all things to all people, and I have never heard anyone accuse Jesus of
being a flip flopper.
Paul’s point is that
God’s grace is so wide that everyone needs to have a chance to be
included. And the only way they have
that chance is if we give it to them.
The only way they will hear is if someone tells them. The only way they can come to God’s love, is
if someone loves them the way they are.
Last week I talked
about sharing Christ by doing love. This
week I want to say the next step is developing a loving relationship. The first step is just cracking the door by
showing them one sided love. The next
step is entering into a relationship, a friendship with them. Not in order to trick them or trap them, but
in order to love them so that they will want what you have in Jesus.
Paul is saying, for the
sake of the gospel, for the sake of Jesus I can love just about anyone whom
Jesus would love.
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If they are a
Jew, I’ll skip the bacon cheeseburger because that would build a barrier.
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If they are a Greek, I don’t have to talk
about the covenant of circumcision.
·
If they are a
Roman I can talk the political talk of the day as well as they can.
·
If they are a
worshipper of the god Flora, I can talk about Jesus Resurrection.
·
If they are
consulters of oracles, I can talk about the wisdom of God.
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If they are a
doctor, I can talk about Christ the healer.
·
If they are a merchant,
I can talk about Jesus the traveling preacher.
Paul is saying that
there is no human label, no social grouping, no political leaning, no religious
history that puts anyone outside of God’s love and he will do everything he can
keep them from feeling excluded, and in fact do everything he can to include
them in the gospel.
Can’t we do that
too? Shouldn’t we do that? Effective faith sharing does not include
beating someone up with our big old Bible.
Sharing God’s love does not include badgering and threatening anyone. Sharing the blessings of the gospel does not
necessitate scaring the heaven into someone.
Sharing the gospel
means getting our foot in the door with love,
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and then becoming
a friend. It is
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finding out what
is important to them and sharing what is important to us,
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finding out what
they need and helping each other like good friends do.
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It is finding out
what they struggle with and being honest with our own struggles and the
resources we have found to help us.
Doesn’t that sound like friendship? It is!
We can all do that! It is also
the most effective way to share Christ.
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The best way to
share our relationship with God is to share a Godly relationship with the
people around us.
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The best way to
share God’s graceful acceptance is to gracefully accept others as our
friends.
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The best way to
illustrate God’s desire to be in relationship with us is to seek to make
friends with those who need to learn that lesson.
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The best way to teach forgiveness and
acceptance is to accept and forgive.
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The best way to teach the power of prayer is
to pray with someone.
But we can’t do any of those things if we are holding
them at arm’s length.
Jesus made friends with
tax collectors, fishermen, leaders from the Jewish synagogue, leaders of roman
soldiers, women and Samaritans and lepers.
I don’t think it is too much to expect that we make friends with people
who frankly aren’t all that different from ourselves- for the sake of
continuing the love that Christ showed
So how do you apply
this in real life? I want to leave you
with two things to do.
First, be friends with
each other. That may sound silly, but I’m not talking about the people sitting
next to you. I’m talking about those
people who sit on the other side of the sanctuary, you now, “those
people.” I am talking about the people
who happen to come to a different service. They aren’t “LIGHT” people, they are
us.
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There is no
better way to teach God’s love than to experience it right here.
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There is no
better way to teach about forgiveness than to forgive the person who seemed to
ignore you at fellowship hour last week.
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There is no better way to teach about the
unity of the body than to reach out get to know someone who goes to an entirely
different service and find out what they like about the church you share.
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There is no
better way to teach grace in this politically charged time than to see someone
with whom you have vehement political disagreements and greet them warmly when
they walk into the church.
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So I expect you first to be friends with each
other. You do a pretty good job of that, but if we didn’t there would be no
point at all in bringing anyone new to the church.
Second, I want you to
draw a tic tac toe board in your mind.
Now put your house in the center of the board. Now look at each of the other squares and
place in that square the name of the neighbor who lives in that position
relative to your house. Even if they
are 3 miles away you have someone to put there, you just have a bigger board.
First, could you do
it? Could you actually put names in those
8 squares? - Not just “the family with
the noisy dog,” or “the family with the messy front yard?” But a real name. If not, you have some homework to do.
Once you can name all
of them, your job is to love them as Jesus loves them. Develop a real relationship with them. As you do that you and your faith will rub
off on them. If you find they are
faithful church attenders you have made a new Christian brother or sister. If
not, you are developing a relationship in which God’s grace may work.
Then you can do the
same thing with the tic tac toe board at work or at the next school event. Expanding your relationship web expands the
influence of Jesus in our community. It
will make a difference.
Being all things to all
people sounds impossible. It is if we take it literally. Only superman could do
that. But if we understand Paul to be
saying I can love anyone Jesus would love, I can accept anyone Jesus would
accept, and I can overlook anything Jesus would overlook; then we don’t sound
so much like supermen. We just sound
like a follower of Christ. Go and love
as Christ would love.
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