Note 7 at 1 Cor. 9:20: Paul was a physical descendant of Abraham, which made him a natural Jew. Yet there was much more to being a Jew than a person's DNA (see note 10 at Jn. 8:33, p. 291). Paul made it clear that being a true Jew was a matter of the heart (see notes 1-2 at Rom. 1:28-29, pp. 752-753).

So when Paul says he became as a Jew to reach the Jews, he is saying he used his knowledge of Jewish laws and customs to relate to non-Christian Jews. He lived in a manner that his physical actions would not "turn-off" the Jews to his message. If people rejected the gospel, so be it. But Paul did not want to be the one who offended.

He took a vow and purified himself and others in the temple to show his good faith to the Jews (Acts 21:23-26). He gave place to his weaker brothers in non-essential physical things, but he never compromised the message.

The application of this in our modern world is this: If a person, such as a Mormon or a Jehovah's Witness comes to our door, we should know something about where he or she is coming from, so that we can relate to him or her and be a proper witness. Also, our standard of holiness should be such that he or she will not reject our gospel before hearing it, because of our actions.

We should not live a lifestyle that offends others. We should be moderate in our dress and actions so that others will be able to listen to our message.

Note 8 at 1 Cor. 9:20: This is a very revealing statement. Paul was not under the law! He said this on other occasions (Rom. 6:14-15; Gal. 3:23-25; 4:21; 5:18), but this was a very radical statement to the Jewish mind of his day just as it is to the religious mind of our day. He did say in the next verse that he was under the law to Christ (see note 10 at v. 21).