Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.
1 Corinthians 10:32,33
I read a statement in Ken Boa’s Conformed To His Image the other day that has stuck with me. He said, “Many believers are not willing to go across the street for their unsaved friends. Unless evangelism is a priority in our lives, it is unlikely that it will even be a part of our lives.” Is it? Are we dealing with others as eternal souls with a concern for their eternal state, or are we caught up in the rat race of life?
My pastor and brother, Gene Breed, said recently that “Christianity is a life of emptiness.” He didn’t mean that Christianity leaves you feeling unfulfilled. On the contrary, true fulfillment is only found in Christ! Rather, he meant that to live as Christ lived means you must empty yourself for the good of those around you. That’s exactly what our text above is talking about. Paul makes that clear as he discusses evangelism in the the previous chapter in 1 Cor 9:19:
“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more…”
Without the heart of a servant, we will not declare the Gospel of peace that the dying souls around us so desparately need. The word “servant” in this verse is a bit watered down in the English. In the Greek, it is literally “slave.” Doesn’t that take this thought to a whole new level? Doesn’t that sound like a bit more than casual attention to these things? It’s not an obligation because our brother makes clear that he is “free from all men,” but it is a 24/7, willing submission to all men. It means continually laying our lives aside for the good of others. Will it guarantee success? No, Paul says “that I might win,” but it does mean that it is how true evangelism works. It is the proper way to do it, and it is the pattern of Christ.
Mk 10:42-45
But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Jamie