In our journey though our series All IN we are going to finish on the idea of Winning the Lost. When I think through all the people in the bible that were all in for Christ, and were ALL IN for seeking and saving the lost there was know one better than the Apostle Paul. Paul and no problem going around and telling others about Christ without embarrassment or fear and calls all others bluffs because he knows with Christ he has the winning hand. Paul in his ministry had great passion for saving those who were lost and he did everything in his power to seek them and share the good news to them. When one goes all in at a poker game their goal is to win it all for themselves, to go home with all the chips and become the winner. When Christ took on the cross he went all in for two things, 1 to glorify his father and be all in for him, and 2 he went all in for all of us. As we consider going all in for Christ we should be doing the same, we should be all in for Christ and all in for each other.
Paul was so great at this and gives us an awesome example in 1 Corinthians 9 19-23, when he says, "Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 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. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings." I want us to consider a few things here as we discuss this section of scripture, the main point is in order to go all in we have to give all up. I could add a lot to this statement but using this section of scripture lets ponder over 3 things. the first being as we go all in for Christ we have to, "Give up our preferences." Before i explain what I explain what I mean here I want to be clear first and foremost that there is a big difference between preference and conviction. Preference is how you dress, what you like to eat, and other items like that, even cultural norms. Paul gives us the example of this in verse 20 of our text when he says, "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." Paul in no way (if you need reference read Galatians) is saying you need the law to be saved, however he knew that if he didn't follow these cultural norms the jews would dismiss him before he even had a chance to share the Good News with them. His preference would probably be to just have them to conform to where he is at and then speak to them, but that doesn't work and he knew that. So when he was around the Jews and wanted to ease into them listening about the message of Christ he wasn't going to work on the sabbath, or eat pork, or whatever would distract them from hearing the message. to nail this idea down we can look at acts 16, when timothy wanted to join Paul on a missionary trip to work with the Jews because timothy had a heart for them, Paul took him and had him circumcised. Paul didn't do this so Timothy would be saved, he did it because the jews knew his dad was greek and he wasn't jewish so they would listen to anything he said unless they knew he was circumcised. This was a preference thing. Its as if Paul is saying in order for us to save this group we are going to have to change our preferences to be relatable to this group of people so that we can break down the barriers and build bridges. We have had some issues in the church of doing this in opposite order we like to break down bridges and build barriers. we use the mind set of if you aren't like us we don't talk to you, its the idea that our preference is to have a spiritual country club where we are all alike and we place our preferences and give them equal or greater value than our convictions. Paul was going to make sure that all the people that he came in contact with could have a chance to hear the message in a way that was relatable to them, without changing the convictions of his message just the presentation of it.
The second thing we have to give up is our privileges. In verse 21 Paul says, "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." So this got me thinking is this saying that we should compromise our message to have it work out for other people? The answer for that is absolutely not, this isn't a story about compromise, it is a message of compassion. Paul's messages never show him waning on his convictions he doest water the Good News down, its the opposite, he wants all kinds of people to find Christ, the sexually impure, the idol worshipers, the tax collectors, the Jews, Gentiles, Slave or free, Paul had a heart for people and a passion to serve God through Christ. His compassion brought many to the name of Jesus, by leaving his preference and privilege at the door.
The third thing we have to give up is our prerogatives. In verse 19 Paul says, " Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible." During the Roman Empire it is estimated that the slave population was around 30-40%. Imagine that for a second and then think of what every slave wants to be, you guessed it free! but look what Paul is saying here, although i am free, i have decided to become a slave to all, to win as many as possible. I am willing to put myself into slavery to others in order to win souls. Paul was an incredible man, creating a legacy of humility, placing the work of the cross above his own desires, he truly took Jesus' words to heart in Luke 9:23, "For any of you who want to be my followers must turn from their own selfish ways and pick up their cross daily and follow me." Paul knew what it felt like to be forgiven and shown grace, and he wanted to share that with others with out the filter of preferences, privileges and prerogatives.
So how are we doing with this, how difficult is it for us to meet people where they are at to adjust to them without conforming to the world, how can we allow Christ to transform us so we in turn can help transform others to his message?
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