1 Corinthians 9:22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Two points present themselves for our consideration here - (1) The end the apostle had in view; (2) the method by which he sought to secure it. I. THE END. "To save some." What does he mean by this? What to him was the salvation of men? 1. It certainly means deliverance from a dread future calamity. "The wrath to come," "the perdition of ungodly men," was to St. Paul no dream, but an awful reality. It was worth all possible effort and self sacrifice to save men from it. If he had no other impulse than that of mere human sympathy to move him, we have here a sufficient explanation of the enthusiasm of his zeal. It is often said that if Christian people really believed the future that is before multitudes of their fellow creatures to be so dark and dreadful as they say it is, they could never rest as they do m their own natural or spiritual satisfactions. They would rather be beside themselves with a frantic agony of sympathetic sorrow and desire to save. There is truth in this. The easy indifference with which too many of us regard the condition and prospects of the godless world around us, belies the reality of our faith. Our conceptions of what the solemn issues of the future shall be may differ. Some, after anxious and earnest thought, may have arrived at the conclusion that to forecast the nature or the duration of the penalty that will then fall on the transgressor is beyond our province, and that we can only take the language of Scripture as it stands, without attempting to penetrate the haze of dreadful mystery that hangs around it. But the broad and certain facts of the case are such as may well affect us far more deeply than they do, and bring forth in us far richer and more abundant fruits of practical beneficence. It is to be feared that doctrinal controversy about the future tends to weaken rather than deepen and strengthen our impressions. We lose in speculation and debate the practical earnestness the subject itself might be expected to awaken. St. Paul lived in the clear light of the future. His soul was thrilled by the sense of its tremendous reality. And though its issues probably were no more distinct and definite to his apprehension than they are to ours, yet his faith in their certainty was such as to stir up all the noble energies of his being in the endeavour to save his fellow men. 2. But the foresight of the future was far from being the only thing that moved him; it was a present deliverance from a present calamity that he had in view. To save men now from the evil that enthralled and cursed them, ruining their Godlike nature, darkening all the glory of their life, - this was the end he sought. He was no visionary. It was no object of remote and uncertain utility, but one of most practical and immediate urgency at which he aimed. Whatever its bearing on the future may be, the influence of the gospel on the present passing life of men is so benign and blessed that our utmost zeal in diffusing it is fully justified. If we think of nothing more than the superficial social changes that Christianity has introduced, how it is at this very hour the prolific root of all social progress in every land, we see here an ample reward for all the sacrifices that have ever been made for its extension. But beneath all this there lies the fact that, as sin is the ruining, destroying power in man's nature and life, it must needs be a Godlike purpose that seeks to deliver him from it (Matthew 1:21; Acts 3:26). "That I may by all means save some." He could not hope for all, but if "some" only yielded to his persuasive word, it would be a blessed recompense. This is the inspiring hope of every true preacher and worker for Christ. The net is cast, the arrow is shot at a venture; the issue is not now made manifest. But a seemingly profitless work may be linked indirectly with results that are very great and glorious. Waves of spiritual influence, from a narrow circle, travel out where none can follow them. While there are those who shall find at last that the "great and wonderful things" they supposed they had done in the name of Christ are little recognized, there are others who will be amazed to discover that their lowly endeavours have yielded fruits of which they never dreamed. And to "save some," to be able to lay some trophies at the Master's feet, will be a blessed reward. II. THE METHOD. "I am become all things to all men." It is remarkable that words which express the highest nobleness of an apostolic spirit should have come to be used by us in familiar discourse as descriptive of a type of character and mode of conduct that is mean and despicable. It is suggestive of the behaviour of one who has no steadfast principle, no honest outspokenness; the mere obsequious time server, full of smiles and gilded insincerities; who, to serve his own ends, can pat on any face that suits the occasion; "A man Versed in the world as pilot in his compass, The needle pointing ever to that interest Which is his lode star, and who spreads his sails With vantage to the gale of others' passion." There was nothing of this sort in Paul. Nothing could be more abhorrent to his spirit than a time serving policy or a habit of smiling, plausible deceit. These words from his lips simply indicate that his strong desire to save men and win them to Christ led him to enter as much as possible into their circumstances, to place himself on their level. Thus would he disarm their prejudices and bring his heart into sympathetic contact with theirs. Thus would he commend to them the love of him who "was made under the Law that he might redeem them that were under the Law;" "who for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich." (Examples: Acts 16:3; Acts 17:22-31; Acts 21:26.) The lesson for all Christian preachers and workers is this: Cultivate a broad and generous human sympathy. In dealing with men in various conditions - doubt, error, poverty, sorrow, temptation, subjection to the power of evil - put yourself as much as possible in their place, if you would hope to guide, or comfort, or save them. - W. Parallel Verses KJV: To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. |
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