SERMON: “Doing Everything for the Sake of the Gospel” (1 Cor. 9:19–23)
“Doing Everything for the Sake of the Gospel” (1 Cor. 9:19–23)
Series: “1 Cor: Holiness from Messes” #32 Text: 1
Corinthians 9:19–23
By: Shaun Marksbury Date: Aug. 2, 2026
Venue: Living Water Baptist Church Occasion: AM Service
Introduction
There are a lot of unique ideas about evangelism out there,
some of which are good, while others perhaps aren’t. For instance, in recent decades, many American
churches have wrestled with how to reach a culture that seems increasingly
distant from the gospel. One common
answer has been to place heavy emphasis on becoming more like the people we
hope to reach — adjusting our language, style, atmosphere, and even the way we think
about truth so the message seems more accessible. The motive might be sincere, seeking to remove
unnecessary barriers so that people will listen.
This started in the latter half of the twentieth century,
where certain church leaders began tailoring churches for the “unreached,” scaling
up the entertainment value to reach modern American neighbors who might have otherwise
felt bored or uninterested in church. Then,
in the twenty-first century, those growing up in these churches adapted this
mindset to reaching the postmodern thinkers of the cities, reenvisioning every aspect
of worship and theology to throw off anything too modern or “colonized.” The thought was that, if Jesus came in flesh,
then ministry should be incarnational, removing barriers to show Jesus to
people who don’t know Him.
What begins as an effort to connect can end up reshaping the
very gospel we are trying to communicate, though. Paul’s words here have frequently been used
for all manner of pragmatic approaches. Just as he became “all things to all people,” so
we need to, as well. Yet, while Paul may
have adopted differing mannerisms in certain contexts and explained the message
in a way various audiences could understand, he didn’t compromise himself or
the message in doing so.
The questions we must ask this morning is how Paul actually
ministered and how we should follow his example. The same text that calls us to flexibility in
method also binds us to faithfulness in message. We’ll see that as we see the need to serve
others for the sake of the gospel (v. 19), be sensitive to others for the sake
of the gospel (vv. 20–22), and solidify with others for the sake of the gospel
(v. 23). Let’s consider that first
point.
First, We Serve Others for the Sake of the Gospel (v. 19)
For though I am
free from all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more.
This statement looks back to the opening of the chapter,
where Paul established his apostleship and rights that he laid aside for their
sake. Remember that he said he had the
authority to receive and even demand pay, but it was his privilege to preach
the gospel for free. He wants them to be
thinking in this same way, so he now reminds them that Christian freedom doesn’t
mean we get to do whatever we want.
Paul is free from all people. For instance, he was free-born, a Roman
citizen, which means no one could claim him as a slave. That means he didn’t depend on any for his
subsistence,[1]
and he was also free from the opinions and expectations of others (including
theirs). His freedom also included
freedom from the Mosaic Law as a system of salvation — true justification comes
by grace through faith in Christ alone, not through the works of the Law.
Paul is free, but notice his surprising turn: “I have made
myself a slave to all.” The Roman world
at that time only recognized categories of slave and free, and as one
commentator notes, “For a person to become a slave was to
give up their identity and experience what has been referred to as ‘social
death.’ ”[2] Thus, his words here would have been
offensive to the lost Corinthian mind, but the believer might see his intentional
strategy. Paul deliberately
enslaved himself to other people, setting aside his personal rights, to win
more people to Jesus Christ.
This is a good
example for ministers and all those who serve Christ. We cannot be enslaved to our own desires —
rather, we should be value others as more important than ourselves. Of course, Paul does this while
remaining “free from all,” meaning that he is not at the beck and call of the
Corinthians — he simply seeks to serve them to the best of his ability for the
sake of the gospel. This is the example
of Christ, who is Lord, but who also came to serve rather than to be served
(Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45). Christians
should seek to wisely serve others to remove gospel stumbling blocks, even
putting aside their own agendas if necessary.
His goal is
clear: to “win more.” As Proverbs 11:30
says, “And he who is wise wins souls.” Paul,
though not the Savior, sees himself in a position to be used of God through the
gospel for winning souls, and so he wants to adapt and remove any obstacles he
can so as many as possible will accept the message.[3] He doesn’t proceed with the arrogant, nonchalant
attitude that it doesn’t matter how he talks or acts, that God will save people
regardless. Rather, he sees himself as pipeline
of the salvation process, and he wants to be as open and clear as possible.
This should be our attitude, as well. Sometimes, that does require work, like giving
up time, going out, and witnessing to others.
We should seek to serve for the sake of the gospel. And that might require us thinking about the
needs and views of the people, bringing us to the next point.
Second, We are Sensitive to Others for the Sake of the Gospel (vv. 20–22)
And to the Jews I
became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews. To those who are under the Law, as under the
Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are
under the Law. To those who are without
law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law
of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win
the weak. I have become all things to
all men, so that I may by all means save some.
This is where Paul illustrates his point. He gives three major categories in which he
is concerned. He begins with the two
major biblical divisions — Jew and Gentile — and then he moves on to the “weak,”
a category he’s been discussing in this letter.
He then sums it up by talking about everyone. Let’s take this step-by-step.
Being Sensitive to the Jews (v. 20)
These are primarily unbelieving Jews. It is striking that Paul, an ethnic Jew, can
speak of the Jews almost as a people group other than his own! Christ has so redefined him that he is a “new
creation” with the old passed away (2 Cor. 5:17), being now neither Jew nor
Gentile spiritually in Christ (Gal. 3:28). Yet, he loves his kinsmen according to the
flesh and longs for their salvation (cf. Rom. 9:1–5) — and it’s sad that more
Christians don’t share his desire to see the Jewish people come to Christ. The Apostle Paul, though, wants to reach them.
How does he do it? Well,
within the limits of God’s Word and his Christian conscience, he would be as
culturally and socially Jewish as necessary when witnessing to Jews.[4] He was not bound to the ceremonies and
traditions of Judaism — all legal restraints had been removed. Still, he accommodated them to an extent for
the sake of the gospel.
This is about
removing stumbling blocks. An example of
this is when Paul took Timothy (who had a Jewish mother) to be circumcised
because of the Jews (Acts 16:3). He didn’t
want any squabbles about Law-keeping to shut him from gaining a hearing with Jewish
people.
He calls them
people under Law; but interestingly, he doesn’t classify himself that way! As Paul said in Galatians 2:19, “For through
the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.” Being spiritual crucified in Christ (v. 20)
means execution, releasing one from the claim of the Law. Because Christ was raised, we have new life
in Him free from the guilt of the Law. No
one is justified through keeping the Law, but only by faith (Gal. 3:11). Believers in Christ, even those of Jewish
ancestry, are therefore no longer under the Law as a kind of covenant of works.
His becoming
“under the Law” was an act of freedom and love, then, not obligation. Yet, that doesn’t mean he just kept living
like a Jewish person. Note that he was
also:
Being Sensitive to the Gentiles (v. 21)
Again, he says here, “To those who are without law, as
without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of
Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.” Of course, these are the Gentiles (cf. Rom. 2:12, 14). Note that Paul doesn’t consider them under the
Mosaic Covenant. They
are not compelled to obey the law for salvation, for faith alone is enough (Gal.
2:3; 3:2). How does he reach them?
Paul did not treat them as common or unclean, like some of
his unbelieving Jewish kinsmen likely would have done. He lived with them and met in their homes
(cf. Acts 16:15; 18:7). He ate food that Christ declared clean but
that his Jewish counterparts still avoided.
He quoted a Gentile poet in Athens as a springboard for the gospel (Acts
17:22–31).
One might image that Paul felt a complete freedom to let his
Jewish hair down, as it were. Yet, Paul
was careful — “though not being without the law of God but under the law of
Christ.” While there were some things
that Paul obviously did abandon with them, he never was wiling to violate God’s
moral law.[5] He isn’t
arguing for lawlessness or a complete ignoring of what God has said.
Theologians have divided the law into
three portions to help make this clear.
They have seen that there are civil laws for the governance of Israel,
ceremonial laws for the offerings which were fulfilled in Christ, and moral
laws that governed behavior. Today, God’s
moral law is still in effect, and we should consider the eternal principles of
any commandment we find in Scripture.
We have freedom from trying to obey so
God will save our souls, but the King still expects us to conduct ourselves as
citizens of the kingdom. Indeed, as
MacArthur notes, “The Ten Commandments and all of God’s other moral laws have, if
anything, been strengthened under the New Covenant. For example, not only is it sin to commit
murder but also to be inordinately angry with your brother or to call him a
fool. Not only is adultery sinful, but
so is lust (Matt. 5:21–30). Love does
not abrogate God’s moral law but fulfills it (Rom. 13:8, 10; cf. Matt. 5:17).”[6] We must see ourselves as still under the Law,
specifically the “Law of Christ.”
What is
that? The Law of Christ is the royal law
of love — to love
God and neighbor. It’s the obligation to
obey Christ, to follow His example, and to keep His commandments out of
appreciation for what He’s done and who He is. The contrast is between the Law of Moses and
the Law of Christ, which are both considered the Law of God. At one time, God expected His people to obey
Moses, and in these last days, He calls us to follow His Son.
This is fascinating to see in places
like Acts. Paul did decide to have Timothy
circumcised, but Timothy was Jewish on his mother’s side and the act would
remove a barrier among the Jews. Yet, he
refused to circumcise Titus, a Gentile, because forcing him to Judaize would
have compromised the gospel of free grace. Both decisions were consistent with freedom
from the Law and cultural accommodation for the sake of the gospel. We walked the line of cultural sensitivity
without compromising the message.
Some Corinthians didn’t get this, just like some Christians don’t
today. That brings Paul to his next category:
Being Sensitive to the Weak (v. 22a)
Again, he says, “To the weak I became weak, that I might win
the weak.” There’s some debate here, but
this likely refers primarily to the weak believers discussed in chapter 8. There are those with a weak consciences
regarding food offered to idols.
Paul had already said he would never eat meat again if food
caused his brother to stumble! He
demonstrated sensitivity to such believers while also desiring their maturity. If they happened to be unbelieving Jews and Gentiles,
he might “win” them in the sense of conversion, and if they were believers with
weak consciences, he will “win” them in the sense that they will gain a more
mature, sanctified understanding of Christian freedom.[7] The point, then, wasn’t so much giving up the
meat, but setting it aside for a time until everyone was on the same spiritual page.
Being Sensitive to Everyone (v. 22b)
Finally, he says, “I have become all things to all men, so
that I may by all means save some.” Paul
has demonstrated adaptation, being willing to adjust personal freedoms, cultural
posture, and even daily practices so that nothing secondary would hinder the
hearing of the gospel. He has a clear goal
in mind.
Yet, remember what never changed. He remained under the law of Christ, so he
never was willing to sin or to change how he defined sin when he dealt with
others. Becoming “all things to all men”
does not mean that to the sexually immoral he becomes sexually immoral! Moreover, he didn’t sacrifice the gospel message
on the altar of “relevance.”
There’s an important distinction here for present-day believers. In the postmodern version of contextualizing
the gospel message, the culture sets the terms. Certain doctrines are softened, redefined, or simply
set aside because they sound harsh or outdated. For instance, the exclusivity of Christ is often
blurred, with Christians saying there can be multiple ways to God or that Jesus
Christ was an imperfect person. Sin is also
seen as less offensive or even non-existent, and the message of the cross becomes
something about correcting power inequities rather than a penal substitutionary
atonement for sin.
Paul demonstrated the opposite. In Acts 17, he stood with Gentiles in Athens. He quotes there their poets and points them
to their altar to an unknown god.
However, he doesn’t leave them there; he presses on to the Creator of
Scripture, the one who now commands all people everywhere to repent because He
has fixed a day of judgment and raised Jesus from the dead. He finds a bridge, then walks across it with an
uncompressed gospel message. Paul
becomes all things, but he never becomes less than an apostle of the unchanging
Christ.
As one commentary notes, “Paul
is not advocating syncretism or compromise of the gospel message. Rather, he is promoting a considerate
evangelistic approach — one that accounts for different social circumstances,
ethnicities, and religious convictions.”[8]
Every move was calculated to further the pursuit of the
prize of seeing people come to faith in the exclusive Savior. He altered his means, not the subject matter. His aim was to see them brought into the holy
communion of the saints, bringing us to the final point:
Third, We Solidify with Others for the Sake of the Gospel (v. 23)
So I do all things
for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.
The governing principle is the gospel itself. Through his actions, Paul has demonstrated
what he clearly states here — the spread if the gospel determines our conduct.[9] He does “all things” for the sake of the message
of good news.
To be clear, the gospel has effects beyond the mission
field. Sometimes, Christians see the
gospel as a kind of kindergarten education, one they don’t need to think about once
they move on to other subjects. However,
the more we learn, the bigger an impact the gospel should make in our lives. As we continue the process of daily
confession and repentance of sin, we should be appreciating the good news that
Jesus has died for all of our sins and that we are righteous only because of
His goodness toward us. It should
continue to fill our hearts with ever-widening and deepening understandings of
God’s grace, a grace that we begin to show toward others more and more.
There’s sometimes a simple reason why church feels like it’s
full of cliques and tight-knit social circles: People have their own
agendas. If we all made the gospel our
agenda, we might start to feel more connected with fellow gospel people. We begin to be more forgiving of the sins and
imperfections we see in others and more appreciative that the Lord redeems
sinners such as ourselves. We might begin
to experience solidarity with one another as we feel increasingly connective
through the love of the Holy Spirit.
This is some of what Paul means here. The purpose is that he may become a fellow
partaker of it, or as the ESV has, to “share
with them in its blessings.” He’s
placing himself in company with those to whom he preaches and hopes to share
with them in the final salvation the gospel brings. To be clear, he’s saying this about the
imperfect congregation of Corinthian believers and soon-to-be believers, the very
ones for whom he said that he thanks God. He’s not detached — he’s a fellow participant in
the gospel with the same eternal blessings he offers to others (and so are we).
Conclusion
Church, we are all free in Christ, and I hope you believe
that. We’re free from the Law as a means
of justification and free from the opinions of men. I genuinely hope you are placing your full
confidence this morning in the finished work of Christ for your salvation and standing
before our Father in heaven. And, I hope
you hold to that freedom even if culture finds our message offensive.
Yet, that freedom we have in Christ is not freedom for
self-indulgence — it’s freedom to serve, to become sensitive, and to do all
things for the sake of the gospel so that we may share in its blessings with
others. We should want to remove
unnecessary barriers to the gospel. We
speak the language of those we seek to reach, starting where they are, but we
never them to influence the message. If
we want to reach them for Christ with the gospel, then we can’t change the
Bible.
So, examine your own heart this morning. Consider whether you trust the gospel yourself,
or if you would rather alter it. Then,
consider whether there preferences you refuse to set aside for the sake of a
weaker brother or an unbelieving neighbor. Are you willing to become all things — within
the bounds of Scripture — so that by all means some might be saved?
May the Lord give us the heart of the apostle so that we may
become fellow partakers of it with those the Lord is pleased to save.
[1] Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and
Unabridged in One Volume, (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 2260.
[2] Roy E. Ciampa and Brian S. Rosner, The First Letter
to the Corinthians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary, (Grand
Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010),
421.
[3] John D. Barry, Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Michael
S. Heiser, Miles Custis, Elliot Ritzema, Matthew M. Whitehead, Michael R.
Grigoni, and David Bomar, Faithlife Study Bible, (Bellingham, WA:
Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), 1 Co 9:19.
[4] John MacArthur Jr., Ed., The MacArthur Study Bible,
electronic ed., (Nashville, TN: Word Pub., 1997), 1742.
[5] Ibid.
[6] John F. MacArthur Jr., 1 Corinthians, MacArthur New
Testament Commentary, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984), 213.
[7] David K. Lowery, The
Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, 1985, 2, 525.
[8] Barry, et. al., 1 Co 9:22.
[9] F. Alan Tomlinson, CSB
Study Bible: Notes, 2017, 1825.