"Becoming all things to all people" has been used as a justification for all sorts of ungodly behavior in the name of winning others to Christ. But is that really what the Apostle Paul meant when he said, "I have become all things to all people" (1 Cor. 9:22)? When we look at this statement in its context, we find something radically different: that becoming all things to all people actually means that a Christian must be willing to become a slave to all in order to win people to the Lord. You may indeed be free in Christ, but what freedoms are you willing to give up in order to gain more for the kingdom?
The power of example, coupled with the faithful teaching of God's Word, is key to spiritual growth because character is more caught than taught. What does it look like to love others in our choices about gray matters? The Apostle Paul answers that question by sharing a personal example of giving up his rights in order to win others to Christ.
When it comes to issues of conscience, or "gray matters," many Christians are eager to exercise their "freedom" to indulge in those things that are not clearly spelled out in Scripture as matters of sin and righteousness. Although we may well be right about the issue at hand, when we act out of this sort of selfishness and disregard our weaker brothers and sisters in Christ we damage those who are precious to our Lord.
The category of "Christian liberty" has always been the source of much debate and division in the church. When it comes to issues that are neither directly or indirectly forbidden or encouraged by Scripture, what are Christians to do? God desires for us to glorify Him even in the things that seem to be rather inconsequential (1 Cor. 10:31). Find out what is the guiding principle that must govern all our decisions concerning gray matters.
Our natural bent is to be content, and so often our pride causes us to compare ourselves with others and even convince ourselves that, if only we could change our circumstances, we would be more spiritual and in a better position to serve the Lord. But the fact is that God is sovereign over every circumstance we face, and His will is not necessarily that we change those circumstances, but that we grow in Christ in and through them.
God's ways are often seen as foolishness to men. When things don't seem to make sense, appearing either too extraordinary for our human sensibilities to accept, or just too ordinary to be God's handiwork, we dismiss them in disbelief. But what if God does what He does in the ways He does for that very reason, in order that we might be forced to bow the knee in humble submission and admit that "the foolishness of God is wiser than men" (1 Cor. 1:25)? Take a look at Christmas with fresh eyes and see the wisdom of God.
God's ways are often seen as foolishness to men. When things don't seem to make sense, appearing either too extraordinary for our human sensibilities to accept, or just too ordinary to be God's handiwork, we dismiss them in disbelief. But what if God does what He does in the ways He does for that very reason, in order that we might be forced to bow the knee in humble submission and admit that "the foolishness of God is wiser than men" (1 Cor. 1:25)? Take a look at Christmas with fresh eyes and see the wisdom of God.
Pride is the underlying disease that affects each and every one of us and colors everything we think, do, and say. How do we address it? As a skilled physician of the soul, the Apostle Paul shows us by example what it looks like to deny ourselves and to take up our cross and follow Jesus.
Our natural tendency is to think too highly of ourselves and too lowly of others. We somehow deceive ourselves into thinking that our own wisdom, talents, and accomplishments are to our own credit, and set ourselves up as judges of others. But the word of the cross calls us to recognize that we have nothing we did not receive, and when we die to ourselves and embrace the reality of being in Christ, we find that all things belong to us by virtue of belonging to Him. This changes everything, beginning with how we think about ourselves and others.
