Chameleon Christians

"To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." (1 Corinthians 9:22 NIV)

Two young American men recently met in a bar far away from home. They were both ex-patriots – one was working as a diplomat, and the other had been involved with Christian mission work in a Central Asian country for over a year. As they discussed their common interests as Americans, the young diplomat noticed that the missionary was drinking a lot and felt the need to explain himself.

The young evangelist told with much disappointment, that during his mission he had failed miserably. He confessed that he had started drinking and attended many parties and committed adultery numerous times. Furthermore, he confessed that he could think of only five people who might have come to know Jesus because of his teaching. The diplomat wanted to cheer up his new acquaintance, and gave a diplomatic response: "well, even Jesus had only twelve disciples."

We can pray that this young man will find his way back to devoted service to Christ through prayer and repentance along with guidance from mature Christians. But, hearing this story causes us to raise the question: should we introduce ourselves to others as Mr. or Ms. Chameleon Christian? Is it ever necessary or prudent to compromise the teachings of the Gospel in order to win someone to Christ? Will our friends and family be more likely to attend church services with us if we first party with them? Is it necessary for Christians to show people that we are really one of the guys?

The apostle Paul made efforts to please men so that he could win them to Christ. He states in this chapter that he became all things to all men. We now that he entered the temple and synagogue on many occasions. Paul was himself a Jewish man who turned to Christ for salvation. Timothy was the son of a Greek man and a Jewish mother. He was recommended to Paul as a valuable worker for the Lord. Paul felt it important that he first be circumcised because of all the Jews in that area. (Acts 16:3) This in no way compromised the message of the Gospel, but made Timothy more acceptable as a person to the Jews so that they would listen to the message about Jesus the Messiah.

When Paul was preaching in the ancient Greek city of Athens, he needed to appeal to the unique Greek culture that was devoted to the worship of idols. The city was full of temples dedicated to various Greek gods. He "became a Greek" by quoting from their own poets. "'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'" (Acts 17:30 NIV)

Even though the apostle Paul used his Jewish background as a way to introduce himself, and he used his higher education of the Greek culture to appeal to the Greek mind, he never compromised the message of the Gospel. "For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God." (Acts 20:27 NIV)

We should never think that we can lead someone to Christ by sharing in their sinful life. This would be the same as becoming nothing to all men. The people we hope to convert to Christ would have disgust for us and possibly even turn away from accepting Christ because of us if we take up the habit of darkness. If we become involved with the sins of people in order to win them to Christ, we actually experience losing credibility as a reliable witness.

We are reliable witnesses for Christ whenever we refuse to succumb to worldly entertainment. It is not necessary for us to watch every episode of "Sex and the City" so that we can have something to talk about at work. Even if people laugh at us for sticking to our values, at least our value as a witness will be untarnished. "They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you." (1 Peter 4:4 NIV)

The way we add value to our reliability as a witness for Christ is by not indulging in worldly sins, even if it makes us appear as unsociable. The fact is that so called social drinking makes a person unsociable more times than not. "Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." (2 Corinthians 7:1 NIV) The use of alcohol as a medicine is approved in the Bible, (1 Timothy 5:23) but drunkenness is always condemned. (Ephesians 5:18)

People that have learned the hard way about the dangers of consuming too much alcohol, find the idea of drinking in moderation offensive. "It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall." (Romans 14:21 NIV) Christians should not be caught participating in the use of illegal substances. This could hardly be seen as living as children of light as Jesus commands. We must also be careful not to follow the worldly examples in our clothing. What may be deemed as appropriate for the beach is not appropriate for the classroom, workplace and definitely not in church.

It is possible for Christians to make some concessions to non-believers so that they will not think we are so weird that they cannot listen to our message. We should refrain from any arrogance about our unique lifestyle choices. We can be distinctive in our lifestyle and humble at the same time. Our Christian life is much more about the things we do than what we don't do.

You are invited to all services of the Cedar Key Church of Christ. Write me with any comments or questions at PO Box 186, Cedar Key, FL 32625 or binkley@bellsouth.net.