All Things To All Men

1^st Corinthians 9:22 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.

Paul isn’t saying here to sacrifice what we know to be true in the scriptures and to compromise. He isn’t saying to now go do what the world is doing. Instead we should change to the customs and of the people we are trying to save. If we are causing people to stumble or be in unbelief because we don’t have convictions about certain things, but they do. We should stop so that they may be saved or so that we won’t cause a brother to stumble. Verses 9-13 of chapter 8 say,

1^st Corinthians 8:9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

1^st Corinthians 8:10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols?

1^st Corinthians 8:11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died.

1^st Corinthians 8:12 Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.

1^st Corinthians 8:13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

This could be talking about the ungodly and the “weak” believers. We shouldn’t cause our brothers to stumble so we should become as them so that they may be saved for the work that God has for them. If they have convictions about something and we are causing them to stumble, they aren’t going to be able to be fully used by God. We should be there to encourage them and die to ourselves and become as they are.

Romans 15:1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

Application

If I see a brother or sister in the Lord who has a conviction about something and I don’t I will die to myself and become like them. For example, if listening to Christian rap makes someone here stumble, I will stop listening to it.