Let’s not use 1Co. 9:22 to deceive ourselves
1 Corinthians 9:22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
Paul’s testimony and policy in this verse is a strong rebuke to our reluctance to surrender our personal preferences, even for a short while, in order to remove barriers to the Gospel among people different to ourselves. Whatever Paul’s preferences in life-style choices not prescribed by the Law of God, he voluntarily denied himself those choices in order to conform to the preferences of the perishing souls before him. If such people refused to hear the Gospel, it would not be because he offended them by the practice of his liberty.
This policy ought to instruct us in our efforts to evangelize our increasingly God-less generation. The proper application of Paul’s example has proven to be a hot topic for entire congregations in the noble attempt to remove unnecessary hindrances in making disciples of all nations.
My purpose is not to discuss how I think this text ought to be used or should not be used in the out-working of corporate evangelism, except for one dangerous abuse (as I see it). This abuse has to do with using Paul’s challenge (to become all things to all men) as the basis for conforming ourselves to one segment of American culture in our approach to worship. “All things to all men” is not the same as becoming “all things” to one particular group of people. Unless our congregation finds itself utterly surrounded by one distinct class of people (such as 3rd Street in Mebane swiftly becomes a predominately Polish community), we must aim at all the many subsets of people comprising the melting pot that is America. We are deceiving ourselves if we change in order to reach one particular group yet in undergoing that change we actually alienate other groups. That is what Paul purposed not to do. If a congregation made a concerted effort to appeal primarily to the wealthy, most of us would easily recognize the imbalance and inappropriateness of such an effort. But, what if a congregation deliberately tailors its services to reach white upper-middle class folk—is that in keeping with Paul’s policy, or are we simply pleasing ourselves? Or, what if a congregation tailors its services to reach 20-30 year olds and thereby ignores the preferences of “baby boomers” which comprise the largest demographic of the American populace? Is that becoming all things to ALL MEN, or is it becoming all things to just one portion of all those who are perishing?
The danger here is that we use 1Co. 9:22 to be what we really want to be while professing to be making an attempt to reach the unreached. The target group is the world…at least that portion of the world that is within our reach.
It seems to me that in our cultural mix churches must develop their own unique culture. That is a culture that is somewhat beyond being labeled, lest we become a stumbling-block to some. This is a challenge that few of us are willing to tackle. All things to all men would mean that we do not conform to any specific group; rather, that our styles (dress, music, ethos) are comfortable to all without being preferential toward any. People who insist that their peculiar preferences be followed are tempting us not to be all things to all men.
Paul’s policy is much more difficult for churches to apply to themselves than we suspect. We must be honest about our own prejudices, including which group of sinners we would prefer to reach as opposed to all the groups that we ought to reach.
Of course, the temptation is to resolve the issue by arguing that our services are only concerned with God’s worship and that 1Co. 9:22 does not apply. The problem is that God has not prescribed the particulars of our outward church culture. We must choose. Do we choose to please ourselves? Do we choose to please one specific group of people (the one we most prefer to reach)? Or, do we seriously attempt to be bland enough to be non-offensive to all men?
