Tag Archives: i become all things to all people

October 3, 2022 · 5:59 AM

Becoming God’s Partner

When my wife and I go somewhere with a group, I become a social butterfly and she looks for a place to hide. If we need to keep a low profile, she’ll jokingly say, “Don’t get any Social Security numbers.” I like to know about people. I like hearing their story, and do my best to look for avenues for us to connect. Hen you connect with people, they begin to pull down their invisible wall one brick at a time. Once their wall is down, you can really get to know the person and find out what’s really going on inside them or what they’re going through. It’s then that I can give them solutions that they’ll listen to and implement. If I never connect, I never get that opportunity.

The apostle Paul, who wrote the most books in the New Testament was a learned, well traveled person. He too looked for ways to connect with people. Everywhere he went, people gravitated to him and he had the opportunity to share the message of Christ. He attracted large crowds and was not afraid to get up and speak. He understood the importance of relational equity. People won’t listen to the hard things you have to say unless you’ve built some equity into the relationship. He was able to build it with the early churches. Because of that, he could correct in love and point them to a better way of living. He was also able to use that to share the Gospel with many different nationalities and people groups.

In 1 Corinthians 9:22-23, Paul wrote, “I became “weak” to the weak to win the weak. I have adapted to the culture of every place I’ve gone so that I could more easily win people to Christ. I’ve done all this so that I would become God’s partner for the sake of the gospel” (TPT). Paul became all things to all people so that He could partner with God. I know the thought of meeting and talking to large groups of people terrifies many of you. However, God can partner with you using your personality and skill set if you’ll be open to it. You don’t have to be a social butterfly for God to do great things through you. Wherever you go, whomever you meet, look for opportunities to connect so that God can do something in someone’s life. God does some of His greatest work in people’s lives in one on one situations. In nearly every case, He looks to partner with someone like you.

Photo by Cytonn Photography:

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August 6, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Love The Sinner.

One of the questions I’m often asked is, “How can I love the sinner and hate the sin?” I’m not sure where this saying originated or how it became the theme among so many Christians. When sin is a part of how a person defines themselves, how can you separate the two? I don’t think you can. The easiest and best thing you can do is to drop the “hate the sin” part and focus on loving the sinner. Before you get all crazy, I didn’t say we don’t call sin “sin”. I said we need to quit focusing on the hate of it so much when it’s attached to a person’s identity.

We have examples of Jesus and Paul who spent their lives ministering to the people who were unworthy of God’s love in the eyes of the religious leaders. People said to Jesus, “If you knew what manner of person she was, you wouldn’t let her touch you.” They also said, “If you were really a prophet, you would know how bad of a sinner that is that you’re talking to.” Jesus didn’t spend nearly as much time hating the sin as He did on loving the sinner. He got up close and personal with those who needed Him most. His response was, “It’s not the healthy who need a doctor. It’s the sick.” If the sick wouldn’t come to the hospital, He went to them.

In I Corinthians 9:19-22 Paul spoke of how he loved the sinner in order to bring them to salvation. He wrote, “Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. (MSG)” In his love for them, he entered their world. He didn’t force them to come to his. I think that’s key for us. Harvesters don’t sit in the farm house waiting for the harvest to bring itself to them. They have to go into the field if they want to reap. 

The most important thing he said was, “I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings on Christ.” If we are going to go into their world, it’s not to camp out and stay. Jesus always went back to the disciples and also to the mountains to pray. When you give yourself away, as love requires, you’ll need to get refilled from other believers and the Father. You’ll need to keep your bearings on Christ so that He remains your moral compass instead of political correctness. If we lose our way, how will they ever find theirs? We must remain grounded in prayer and God’s Word while we serve those involved in sins that are attached to their identities.

In my conversations with people involved in sins like this, they’re turned off by the “Love the sinner, hate the sin” moniker. They just want to be loved and accepted as a person instead of labeled and separated. The only way you can love someone is to get to know them. You can’t know someone if you’re constantly put off by their sin. You can’t know someone if you don’t spend time getting to know them as a human or a person. If you’re going to truly love the sinner, go to them, befriend them, live like Christ in front of them and don’t compromise the truth of God’s Word. When we do that, our churches will start growing and will become the hospital for the spiritually wounded.

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