1 Corinthians 9:22c-23 I have become all things to all men so that by
all possible means I might save some.  I do all this for the sake of the
gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

 There, there it is!  There is the passage that today's churches use to
justify how they are growing their churches.  They simply say, "We do all
things so that some might be saved."  But what is it that they do?
 So I went to the web-site of one of the Mega-churches that I know uses
this passage to defend what they do.  They aren't kidding when they say
they do all things.  As I searched their web-site I found these
activities: dances, bingo parties, traditional worship, praise worship,
rock band worship, Hawaiian/hula worship, singles worship, passion
worship, and Spanish worship.
 When it came down to the kinds of groups that they had here is the list.
 They had single's groups, divorce, prison, post-abortion, grief,
Aspergia, Parkinson's, HIV/Aids, Alzheimer's, Caregivers', Chronic pain,
infertility, MS, Cancer, ADD Adults, Autism, Depression, Retired,
Hepatitis C, Chemical Addiction, Anger, Eating Disorders, Financial Help
groups, Sex addiction, and Abuse groups.  And then I discovered that
there were yet multiple groups for those of specific ages: college age,
High School age, Jr. High and the regular kids groups.
 Now, there is nothing wrong with having groups at your church, but when
those groups become the reason for your going to church there is a
problem.  I say there is a problem because I didn't just look for what
they were doing, I also looked for what they were teaching.
 On all the web pages that I found I found only one page that had a clear
confession that Jesus was the Son of God and our Savior.  Jesus that page
says paid for our sins and grants us spiritual life.  I can't tell you
how thrilled I was to see that statement.  I don't know if they mean what
I understand those words to say but at least I was happy to find it.  But
I had to look for that statement.  Of the hundreds of web pages there
were that message was again found only on one.
 Other things I found.  Sin was defined as "an attitude of disobedience
in our relationship with God."  On another page it was made clear that
sin was considered nothing more than a glitch for us to get over.  The
Lord's Supper was billed as "an object lesson of spiritual truth" and an
"ordinance" of Jesus.  Baptism was billed as "a personal declaration of a
commitment to Christ" and again as an "ordinance" of Jesus.  Baptism and
communion are ordinances?  That means law.  These are laws?  What we must
do for God?  Yet the Bible tells us that these things are what God has
done for us!
 Page after page of that web-site was filled with how you can be better,
live better, serve better, grow better and the like.  They were working
to meet your every need in life.  And I can also tell you this.  You will
not belong to that church without pledging 10% of your income as an
offering.  But here was my biggest problem: Jesus and the Gospel I found
horridly absent.  It seems that in this section of God's Word that they
like to use they missed something rather important.  That something is
the Gospel.  Let's you and I make sure we have this source of power and
salvation clear in our lives.  Our theme will be: FOR THE SAKE OF THE
GOSPEL.  1st. Sharing the blessings.  2nd. Working for souls.  3rd.
Holding forth our Savior.
 As you read this section of God's Word there is one thing that should
clearly strike you.  It is the phrase that is found at the very end of
this section, the text that we highlighted for ourselves.  It says this,
"I do this for the sake of the Gospel, that I may share in its
blessings!"  Here is the verse that tells you what is behind everything
said here.  Here is the verse that tells you what motivates and moves the
Apostle Paul in his work.  His endeavor is that he might share together
with or participate with others in the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus.
 Of course, we should have realized that fact already when we read verse
16.  It says, "Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am
compelled to preach.  Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!  I love
those words and what they say.  And I can say that those words are true
of every preacher that I know well.  Those words are what the ministry of
Jesus is all about.  Those words tell you that when you have the truth of
the Gospel it becomes the driving force in your life so much so that you
can't stand not sharing the gospel with others.
 We are to share the gospel.  For Paul and the ministers of Jesus that
means they are to preach the gospel.  We are to declare to people the
marvels and wonders of Jesus.  It is a simple truth this gospel of Jesus.
 It is a truth that says that out of love for us God sent his Son to win
eternal life and salvation.  It is a truth that says that Jesus was
perfect, completely without sin and that this perfect Son of God
willingly and voluntarily went to the cross to be our atoning sacrifice.
That means that Jesus paid for our sins.  That means that Jesus was our
substitute in punishment and hell.  That means that God the Father took
his anger against sin upon His Son.  Yes, Jesus with his holy precious
blood and innocent suffering and death purchased and won me from sin,
death and the Devil.
 And then, just to make sure we know this is true, God raised Jesus from
the dead.  Jesus lives so that we can know he is our redeemer.  Jesus
lives so that we can grasp that he is the promised one, the Son of God,
our Savior.  Here is the gospel that Paul speaks of.  Here is the thing
that compels him to preach.  Here is the thing whose absence Paul calls a
"woe," something that is a pain or displeasure in our life.  The gospel
is the truth of Jesus and his being our redeemer.  The gospel is the
heart of all true ministry.
 So can we do anything in order to reach people with the gospel?  The
answer is "perhaps."  Let's look at what our God tells us.  Verses 19 and
following: "Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave
to everyone, to win as many as possible.  To the Jews I become like a
Jew, to win the Jews.  To those under the law I became like one under the
law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the
law.  To those not having the law I became like one not having the law
(though I am not fee from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to
win those not having the law.  To the weak I became weak, to win the
weak."
 What is being said here is clear.  Because of the freedom of the gospel
we can use that freedom to win souls for Christ.  Then comes the direct
application of what this means.  When dealing with Jews be like a Jew.
Use their background, their culture and mindset to approach and work with
them.  To those under the law...and here the Law means the ceremonial
laws of God...you can be circumcised, offer the sacrifices, abstain from
pork and the like in order to have the opportunity to present the gospel.
 To those not under the law (again the law here means the ceremonial laws
of God) you can be like them.  You can eat pork with them or have a
cheeseburger.  You can present yourself in such a way so as not to offend
the person or culture.  Note that this does not give us the right to do
anything...we are still under the love for God's Word and way that Jesus
taught.  We don't drug with the druggies or do anything that would be
contrary to the Word of God.  In other words, we can do those things that
will help us reach people and win souls as long as it maintains the
sharing the gospel.
 There's the key.  To be able to share the gospel!  If a church wants to
have 100 different groups in order to help those people get to the cross
and empty tomb of Jesus that's fine.  Just make sure that's what you are
doing.  The problem though is that often the groups and what they want
become more important than the Gospel.  All too often Jesus is left
behind.
 That of course gets right to the heart of it.  God's Word tells us that
it is the message of the gospel through which the Holy Spirit works true
faith in our hearts.  2 Thessalonians declares, "From the beginning God
chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and
through belief in the truth.  He called you to this through our gospel,
that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."  It is this
gospel truth of Jesus that makes a church or an individual a part of the
Holy Christian Church.  If the message of Jesus as the Savior from sin is
not at the heart and core of the message given to the people then you
don't have a church you've got a social club.  We need to be sure, to be
adamant about preaching Jesus Christ and his complete gift of salvation.
 By the way, did you pay attention to the verbs in the section found in
verse 19 and following?  Did you notice that those verbs are in the past
tense?  Paul says, "I became," not I will become or I am.  The importance
of this is found in the fact that by the reading of God's Word,
specifically the Book of Acts you can read just what Paul did.  When
among the Jews he followed their rituals and culture.  When among the
Gentiles he followed their rituals and culture.  Never did Paul
compromise or show shame for the truth of Jesus and the gospel.  For that
matter, in one instance Paul actually reprimands Peter because Peter
acted offensively among the gentiles and did compromise the truth of
Jesus.  "For the sake of the Gospel" never means to be ashamed of Jesus.
 "For the sake of the gospel" is an important concept to grasp.  I
believe that the Christian church is in danger of losing the gospel in
today's world simply because of the hostility of the world to Jesus.
Jesus and his truth is not the popular thing.  Jesus clearly told us that
the path of salvation is narrow and few will enter it.  That doesn't mean
we stop working to preach Jesus it just means that the work is going to
be harder and harder.  As our culture changes we may have to make changes
in how we do things and that's fine as long as we don't compromise the
preaching and teaching of the Gospel!  We have to remember that it is the
gospel that is the power of God for the salvation of souls.  Our job is
to make Christians not just to have members in our church.  Our job is to
teach Christ crucified for sins not just to preach moral correctness and
the right way to live.  Our job is to preach Jesus as the Savior, as the
one raised from the dead as the firstfruit of those who eternally live
not a Jesus who is only an example of right living.
 The battle is on.  It has always been on.  It is the battle to bring
souls to the wonder and marvel of Jesus.  It is a hard battle.  Sometimes
it is a battle where you are not sure what serves and what doesn't serve
Jesus especially when you are trying to adjust to cultural tones and
societal needs.  But what will make this battle always effective and
always to the glory of God is the message of Jesus and his sacrificial
love for us.  Let us keep our confidence in Jesus and his Gospel of
power.  Let's continue to make sure that we are all things to all men for
the sake of the gospel that we might also share in its blessings.  Amen.