Thanks Nicole, we are preaching through 1 Corinthians at the moment, and although we’ve passed this chapter, it’s such a big issue.

Let me see if I have got your thoughts by using the example of smoking; say eating with friends or neighbours who smoke like chimneys. I think you’d be saying:

(i) you don’t have to start smoking so you can become a ‘smoker to the smokers’;
(ii) but you do have to get over your “preferences and prejudices” that might stop you sitting down with them at all.

This is a big one, because although smoking is not sinful; certainly it’s become totally ‘on the nose’ for health and other reasons, and it is seen as socially unacceptable in many of our circles.

In fact it’s my right to breathe clean air. But 1 Corinthians 9 is all about giving up my rights for the sake of the gospel.

There is a real tension, isn’t there? I was interested to listen to the recent Gospel Coalition conference which was bookended by Tim Keller’s talk on identifying and destroying idols in secular culture, and Don Carson’s talk on this very passage (ie 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

I think the main point is that however you “become all things to all people”, the goal of that exercise needs to be to preach the gospel (woe to me if I do not! v16) and “that I might save some” (v22), that is to say that contextualisation without the gospel has no value.

Thanks for your honesty, Nicole.  And well done on your parenting. 

I haven’t been pondering 1 Cor specifically, but I have been thinking about contextualisation a lot recently.  I think Sandy’s got the gist of 1 Cor 9.  More broadly about contextualisation: I wonder if the point of contextualisation is not to “fit in” with the target culture, but to employ the communication techniques of the target culture in a sufficiently deep and thorough way, so that the challenge of the gospel is clearly communicated?  So we need to be “like them” enough so they know what we’re talking about; but “unlike them” enough so they know we operate by different priorities – a different culture.  In the world but not of the world. 

What do you think?

Thanks Nicole!

I think you hit the nail on the head.  Frankly, I feel more like a Chameleon with the hope of not sticking out like a sore thumb.  Then, if my neighbors like me, I can someday in someway “talk around/about/tangentially about Jesus”.  I think if I had been at the dinner and your neighbor had asked me, I would’ve squirmed in my seat, too!!  I think your daughter exemplified what Jesus meant by “faith like a child”.  They have no pretense of reputation to uphold because they just love Jesus.  How wonderful!!  Thank you for sharing with us.

BTW, Michael Horton (in America) in last month’s issue of Modern Reformation speaks about this very issue.

Sincerely,

James