“All Things to People of All Sorts” – 1 Cor.

9:22 – James Mantz

“He was at ease “with sophisticated intellectuals “and with humble tentmakers.

“He was persuasive to Roman dignitaries “and to Phrygian peasants.

“His writings were motivating to liberal Greeks and to conservative Jews.” That’s how the
December 1, 2005, issue of The Watchtower described the inspired writer of today’s text.

Certainly, the apostle Paul was a master of becoming “all things to people of all sorts.”
Please open your Bibles to Acts chapter 20. We’re going to read verse 21. With these words,
Paul describes his commission as an apostle.

As we read Acts 20:21, notice the broad scope of his territory and also the purpose of his
ministry.

He said: “But I thoroughly bore witness “both to Jews and to Greeks “about repentance
toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.” Like the apostle Paul, we too have a commission
to preach to people of all sorts.

But is it too much to ask us to imitate Paul’s example? Think about it.

Paul had the advantage of being well-educated.

He was part of the privileged class of Roman citizens.

He held a powerful position as a Pharisee.

None of us have those qualifications.

But are these the things that qualified Paul as a minister of the good news? It’s true, his
being a distinguished lawyer no doubt helped him to defend and legally establish the good
news.

But on the other hand, Paul’s background created obstacles that he had to overcome.

Only then could he preach to people of all sorts.

Paul was a Jewish Pharisee and that name Pharisee means “Separated Ones.” This may
refer to the fact that the Pharisees maintained a very strict separation from Gentiles.

Then Jehovah picked Paul to be an apostle.

And to whom? To the Gentiles.

No doubt, Paul had to do a lot of soul-searching to overcome his former prejudices in order
to carry out his commission to preach.

Paul’s need to make major changes reminds me of a man in North Carolina some years ago.

He served as the minister of a large Methodist church for over 25 years; then he came into
the truth.

This man had preached hundreds, if not thousands, of sermons.

With such a background, you would think that public speaking would be easy for him.

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 “All Things to People of All Sorts” – 1 Cor. 9:22 – James Mantz

And yet, he said one of the hardest things he ever had to do was to stand up in front of the
congregation in the Kingdom Hall and deliver a five-minute Bible reading.

No doubt, the apostle Paul’s example was a source of encouragement to this humble
brother.

Truly, the Kingdom good news is a message for all peoples.

But when it comes to preaching the good news, unlike many baseball caps, one size does
not fit all.

Like Paul, to be effective, we have to be adaptable in the way that we present the good
news.

So let’s consider three key qualities that helped to make Paul an effective minister.

Paul was attentive, he was flexible, and he was resourceful.

Consider how he was attentive.

Paul understood the background and the beliefs of his audience.

Consider what happened when he was asked to appear before King Agrippa II.

Please open your Bibles to Acts chapter 26. We’re going to read verses 2 and 3, and we
notice from these verses that Paul first commended Agrippa on his being well-versed in the
background of the people he was ruling.

Acts 26:2,3, it says: “Concerning all the things of which I am accused “by the Jews,
King Agrippa, “I consider myself happy that it is before you “I am to make my defense this
day, “especially because you are an expert on all the customs “as well as the controversies
among the Jews.

Therefore, I beg you to hear me patiently.” Paul was not trying to flatter the king.

He was simply using his knowledge of his audience to establish a common ground on which
he could begin to preach.

Paul was flexible.

Consider what happened when he and Barnabas entered the city of Lystra to preach.

The account is recorded in Acts chapter 14. The audience that they met there in Lystra was
totally different from that of King Agrippa and the one hundred dignitaries who may have
been in the group with him.

This crowd in Lystra was made up of a less educated and more superstitious part of the
population.

When they healed a man who had been lame from birth, the crowd cried out: “The gods
have become like humans and have come down to us!” They even wanted to offer up
sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas.

Obviously, Paul could not reason with those people on the basis of their superstitions.

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 “All Things to People of All Sorts” – 1 Cor. 9:22 – James Mantz

Rather, he told the crowd that he and Barnabas were imperfect humans just like them.

And then he turned their attention away from puny humans and directed it to the grand
creation and our living God, the one “who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and
all the things in them.” And that was enough to restrain the crowd from offering those
sacrifices.

A third quality of Paul was that he was resourceful.

If Paul had had the Ministry School book back there in the first century, we would probably
say that he did well on point number 46, “Illustrations From Familiar Situations.” Paul used
common, easily understood illustrations to clarify complex spiritual matters.

For example, the Romans were familiar with slavery.

In fact, many recipients of his letter to the Romans may have themselves been slaves.

So Paul used slavery to illustrate the great change in ownership that had taken place when
these individuals became Christians.

Romans 6:18 says: “Yes, since you were set free from sin, you became slaves to
righteousness.” Our brothers around the world are showing themselves to be attentive,
flexible, and resourceful as they preach to people of every background imaginable.

For example, many people in the Far East are concerned about things that affect them
personally, such as health, child training, and education.

So our brothers there effectively use those subjects to begin conversations.

However, that may not work as well in certain cities in the United States where people may
be more concerned with corruption, traffic congestion, and crime.

But no matter what topic we use to introduce the truth, to be effective Bible teachers, it is
important for us to remain positive and encouraging and to stress the practical value of
applying Bible principles.

With the help of God’s holy spirit, the apostle Paul was able to overcome personal obstacles
and prejudices to become an outstanding minister of the good news.

It’s true, we may not meet a Roman dignitary or a Phrygian peasant as we go about our
territory, but with Jehovah’s help, we can imitate Paul’s example of an effective minister by
being attentive, flexible, and resourceful.

Why do we make this effort? We do it because we want to “become all things to people of all
sorts, so that [we] might by all possible means save some.”

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