By All Means

The Apostle Paul had one great burden: to save people.

In this sermon from Fannin County Seventh-day Adventist Church, Pastor Rusu opened 1 Corinthians 9:18–23 and reflected on Paul’s statement, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”

This message is about gospel outreach, Christian witness, humility, sacrifice, and love. It reminds us that the work of saving souls belongs to Christ alone, but God invites His people to take part in that mission.

Paul’s Great Desire

Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 9 reveal the heart of a true missionary.

He says that he became a servant to all. To the Jews, he became as a Jew. To those under the law, he became as one under the law. To those without law, he became as one without law, while still remaining under law to Christ. To the weak, he became as weak.

Why?

So that he might save some.

Paul’s desire was not to win arguments, impress people, or defend personal preference. His desire was to reach souls for Christ.

Christ Alone Saves

One of the important truths in this sermon is that we do not save people.

Christ saves.

No sermon, Bible study, tract, conversation, or personal effort can save a soul apart from Jesus. Salvation belongs to Christ alone.

But God has chosen to involve us in His work. He could send angels to preach the gospel. He could speak directly from heaven. But instead, He places people in our path and gives us the privilege of witnessing to them.

That is both humbling and sobering.

The Sacrifice of Jesus

Pastor Rusu used the picture of a sailor willing to rescue a drowning man, saying in effect, “I will save him or die with him.”

That story points us to Jesus.

Christ came into this world to save us. He entered our condition, faced our temptations, bore our sins, and died in our place. His love was not distant. It was sacrificial.

Jesus did not merely send help from afar. He came Himself.

This is the pattern for Christian mission. If we want to reach others, we must be willing to love them with something more than words.

Paul Reflected the Heart of Christ

Paul’s willingness to sacrifice reflected the spirit of Jesus.

He was free, but he became a servant.

He had knowledge, but he used it with love.

He had strong convictions, but he did not use truth as a weapon to push people away.

Paul understood that people are not reached by pride, harshness, or cold argument. They are reached when truth is joined with Christlike love.

By All Means Does Not Mean Compromise

One of the most important clarifications in this sermon is that Paul was not teaching compromise.

“By all means” does not mean lowering the standard of the gospel. It does not mean reshaping Christianity to fit worldly habits. It does not mean using methods that blur the line between holiness and sin.

The sermon gave practical examples of modern “contextualization,” where people try to make Christian outreach fit the world by bringing in worldly settings or practices.

But biblical outreach is different.

We do not lower the gospel to reach people. We help people reach up to the gospel through the love and truth of Jesus Christ.

Removing Unnecessary Barriers

While Paul did not compromise truth, he did remove unnecessary barriers.

That is a vital distinction.

There are barriers created by truth itself. The Sabbath, the commandments of God, the biblical teaching about death, the call to repentance, and the message of Christ’s soon return may challenge people. We should not remove these truths.

But there are other barriers that come from our own pride, impatience, harshness, cultural assumptions, or failure to listen.

Those barriers should come down.

If people reject the truth, let it be because they are rejecting Christ’s Word, not because we presented it in a spirit that misrepresented Him.

Finding Something to Appreciate

Pastor Rusu emphasized that Paul often found something to appreciate in those he was trying to reach.

When Paul spoke to the Jews, he did not begin by attacking them. He acknowledged what God had entrusted to them: the covenants, the promises, the fathers, and the lineage through which Christ came.

When Paul spoke in Athens, he did not begin by condemning everything around him. He found the altar to the unknown god and used it as a bridge to present the Creator.

This is a practical lesson for us.

When speaking with someone who disagrees with us, we can often find something to appreciate:

• A sincere desire for justice
• A concern for family
• A respect for Scripture
• A longing for peace
• A burden for suffering people
• A desire to do what is right
• A willingness to talk honestly

That point of connection can become a bridge for truth.

Listen Before Correcting

The sermon gave a timely appeal for how Christians should respond in a polarized society.

We meet people with different political opinions, religious backgrounds, moral convictions, and cultural experiences. Some believe very differently than we do.

When that happens, we have choices.

We can avoid them.

We can immediately tell them they are wrong.

Or we can listen first.

Listening does not mean agreement. It does not mean surrendering truth. But it does show respect. It allows us to understand the person before we answer the issue.

A person who feels heard may become willing to hear.

Truth Must Be Motivated by Love

Knowing the truth creates responsibility.

But truth must be carried in the spirit of Christ.

The sermon made the point that when we know the truth, the question becomes: what will we do with it?

If truth makes us proud, harsh, or careless with souls, we have misunderstood its purpose.

Truth should make us more loving, more patient, more prayerful, and more willing to reach others.

The truth is not simply information to prove others wrong. It is light that points people to Jesus.

Reaching a Diverse Society

This message was especially practical because it was connected to outreach.

When we hand out literature, invite people to Bible studies, share prophecy materials, or speak with neighbors, we will meet people from many backgrounds.

Some will have different views about politics.

Some will have different religious beliefs.

Some will have different ideas about death, heaven, hell, Israel, prophecy, morality, and truth.

The question is not whether differences exist. They do.

The question is whether we can meet people with enough love, humility, and wisdom to build a bridge toward Christ.

The Love That Sees Others as Family

Pastor Rusu closed with another rescue story.

A young man went out in a lifeboat to save someone stranded after a shipwreck. His mother begged him not to go because she feared losing him. But he went anyway. When the rescue boat returned, the rescued man turned out to be his own brother.

That story presses a searching question upon us:

How would we labor for souls if we saw them as our own family?

What if the person we are trying to reach is someone’s son, daughter, brother, sister, father, or mother?

What if we loved them as Christ loves them?

That kind of love changes how we witness.

Why This Message Matters Today

This sermon matters because the church has a mission.

We are not called merely to preserve truth inside the church. We are called to share truth with the world.

But the way we share matters.

If we compromise truth, we are unfaithful.

If we speak truth without love, we misrepresent Christ.

If we refuse to reach people because they are different from us, we fail the mission.

Paul’s example calls us to something better: truth without compromise, love without pride, and outreach without unnecessary barriers.

Practical Application

Here are several ways to respond to this message:

• Ask God to give you a burden for souls.
• Pray for the people He places in your path.
• Look for ways to serve before trying to correct.
• Listen carefully to people who think differently than you.
• Find something sincere to appreciate.
• Build bridges without lowering biblical standards.
• Share truth with humility and patience.
• Remember that only Christ saves.
• Let love for Jesus motivate your witness.
• Treat every soul as someone precious to God.

A Call to Mission

Paul said, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”

That does not mean becoming worldly.

It means becoming humble.

It means being willing to serve.

It means being willing to understand.

It means being willing to sacrifice comfort, pride, preference, and convenience for the sake of souls.

The world does not need a church that hides truth. It also does not need a church that speaks truth without love.

It needs a people who reveal the spirit of Jesus.

Closing Appeal

Let us ask God for the love of Christ.

Let us ask Him to remove pride, harshness, fear, and indifference from our hearts.

Let us ask Him to make us faithful witnesses who can reach people by all biblical means, without compromise, and with deep compassion.

May the love that moved Jesus to save us also move us to reach others.

Short Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for coming into this world to save us. Give us the heart of Paul and the love of Christ for those around us. Help us to share truth without compromise and with genuine compassion. Teach us to listen, serve, build bridges, and point people to You. Use our lives to help others come to know Your saving grace. In Your name, amen.

Discussion Questions

• What does Paul mean when he says he became “all things to all men”?
• Why is it important to distinguish between biblical adaptation and compromise?
• How did Jesus model sacrificial love for souls?
• What unnecessary barriers can Christians sometimes place between themselves and others?
• Why is listening important before correcting someone?
• How can we find something to appreciate in people who think differently than us?
• What does it mean to share truth with love?
• Who has God placed in your path that you can reach for Christ?