All Things to All People

Several years ago, I gave the opening prayer at an event for the Christian Academy that was part of the church we were members of at the time. A few weeks later, I was told by a pastor who happened to attend that event that I talked too much about Jesus in the prayer. “Afterall”, this pastor said, “not everyone at the event were Christians. Like Paul said, ‘we should be all things to all people’”, paraphrasing 1 Corinthians 9:22.

This pastor effectively believed that modelling Paul’s example of becoming all things to all people meant limiting how much we talk about Jesus to non-believers. Put it another way, to be all things to all people means being silent about Jesus and making the religious beliefs of others equally valid – even at the expense of the truth of the Bible.
Is this what Paul meant? No, it is not. We can see this clearly by looking at the verse in context and by looking at Paul’s ministry to unbelievers as recorded in Acts.

In Context

To understand Paul’s thought, let us look at the verse in context:

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

What should stand out most when reading this passage is the phrase “in order to win (or save)” used six times in five verses. Paul uses it with respect to each group of people, saying that he became like one of these groups in order that they may be saved by the message of Jesus. This is clear from the concluding verse, “I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.” For Paul, becoming all things to all people does not mean speaking less about Jesus or believing non-Christian worldviews are equally as valid as the Christian worldview.

What does it mean, then? It means Paul tried to understand each group of people he interacted with – their background, beliefs, ways of life, culture, and so on. Paul’s goal was to present Christ to each group of believers in a way they could understand so that they would come to saving faith in Him. Paul put himself in the shoes of others to understand them; he knew he could not approach everyone the same way, but it never meant speaking less about Jesus.

Paul’s Ministry in Acts

We see this illustrated in the book of Acts where Paul spoke to non-believers all over the Mediterranean region. From chapters nine through twenty-eight, we never see Paul being disrespectful or use hateful speech to non-believers; instead, we see him meeting others where they were so that he can present Christ to them.

When speaking to Jews he could appeal to scripture as he did in Acts 13:13-4. He showed how Jesus fulfilled the promises of the Psalms and of Moses because he knew for faithful Jews, the Messiah must fulfill the promises of God’s word.

When speaking to pagans in Athens in Acts 17:22-34, he knew that referring to fulfillment of Scripture would not have any meaning to them because they were “in every way very religious”, but their faith was misplaced in man-made “gods”. To reach them, Paul combined cultural references they knew with the truth of the exclusivity of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead.

In both cases, some were angry, some mocked, but some believed (Acts 13:43, 19:34). This is how to become all things to all people for the sake of the gospel. May God strengthen us to do the same.