For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! (17) For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. (18) What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel. (19) For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; (20) and to the Jews I became a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; (21)to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; (22) to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. (23) Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be a partaker of it with you.

The first letter to the Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul. In our verses today Paul addresses the trend of Christian Corinthians who were demanding their rights in that corrupt city and advises them to instead imitate his life and that of Christ. Paul lived in service of others so that they might be led to faith and here he instructs the baby Christians on their behavior among others; to live and behave as not to be personally offensive in neutral matters of custom and culture.
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Paul constantly acted on the principle of abstaining in things of indifference; that he, Paul, had a right in Christian liberty to be free from social customs of others in non moral areas and that he laid these indifferent things aside, becoming all things to all people. Basically he removed all cultural barriers that would needlessly distract or offend others he was trying to reach. He taught that he didn’t want appearance or worldly views to be the issue – he wanted the gospel to be the issue. We are instructed that we need to know where people are and to meet them there. This is a struggle to maintain a balance and Paul attaches a warning that we are never to compromise our holiness and to stay distinct in lifestyle and behavior to not compromise the message. Everything Paul did was for the promotion of the gospel and he observes that one must live for the gospel to be a partaker of the gospel.

It’s important to realize our verses today are NOT saying we should adapt the message of the gospel to the language and perspective of others. Paul’s goal was to save some by teaching and imitating Christ.