“All Things to All Men”: Paul Preaches to the World
Sabbath School Class—Life as Discovery and Hope
July 12, 2008
Larry R Evans
(From Suva, Fiji)
Quiz for Reflection
[To get the most from the quiz read the passages in brackets and look for a thread of thought which may give more depth and understanding to the question being asked.]
1. If a choice has to be made where to send missionaries, priority should not be given to locations where God’s grace is already manifest. [Acts 11:22-26] True or False?
2. “Truth” will be the same regardless of culture. [1 Cor 9:22; Acts 13:16-42; 14:8-18] True or False?
4. We must meet people where they are—not where we are—if we are to win them for Christ. [Acts 17:18-34] True or False?
5. Part and parcel of teaching discipleship is teaching how to share Jesus in a meaningful way with others. [Mt 28:19; Acts 9:19-20] True or False?
6. We cannot claim to have gone into all the world until everyone has either accepted or rejected Christ’s invitation. [Rom 15:18-23; Mt 28:18-20] True or False?
Reflective Review
The Gospel Commission is an enormous task but we must never forget that the One who has entrusted us with this challenge cares deeply for both those being sent as well as those to whom we are being sent. The Sending One is also the Empowering One, nevertheless, the task can seem overwhelming. Compounding the problem of the world’s population is the realization that there are thousands of languages and dialects. Furthermore, there are distinct cultures whose likes, dislikes and prejudices create formidable barriers to sharing the invitation “to come”. We are tempted to cower in the face of such an overwhelming task. Perhaps that is as it should be—at least initially! Such a challenge is a reminder that the One sending us is “the Lord of the harvest.” (Luke 10:2) We are not the harvester. We are the laborers and it becomes clear that the real problem with gathering the harvest is not with the receptivity but the fact that “the workers are few.” (See Lk 10:1-17; Jn 4:1-42) As we have reviewed the work of Paul this week, we are reminded that “how” we go is as important as the “going” itself. He adapted his approach to meet the needs and backgrounds of his audience. Paul did not compromise “truth” but he presented truth in ways that could be understood and accepted. “By cheerful, patient kindness and Christian courtesy, he won the hearts of the people, quieted their prejudices, and endeavored to teach them the truth without exciting their combativeness. All this he did because he loved the souls of men, and desired to bring them to Christ that they might be saved.” (Ellen G. White in Sketches From t he Life of Paul, p.162.) The apostle felt compelled to go and he did go and in so doing he planted work in strategic centers. With the establishment of these centers of hope he could proclaim that he had “fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.” (Rom 15:19). Those who stayed behind, those also called to some form of ministry (Eph 4:11-16) and who had new “attitudes” (Eph 4:23), would be beacons of hope. The living hope Paul found in Christ changed his life and his perspective of the world around him. So much so that he could exclaim, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” (2 Cor 9:22).
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