<p>9:20- see on 2 Cor. 11:24.</p><p><i>And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews. To them that are under the law, I became as one under the law- </i>Acts is full of examples of this. Indeed, Paul's arrest in Jerusalem which led to his journey to imprisonment in Rome was all due to trying to be as a Jew to the Jews, entering the temple and paying for sacrifices. To become something else to others must be done for the sake of connection with them, with their salvation in view- there is a fine line at times between this and the natural desire we have to be as others would like us to be, apparently adopting their positions for the sake of peace and acceptance. The Lord Jesus was by nature one of us, but Phil. 2:5-9 speak as if He 'became' as us- in that He wilfully entered fully into our human situations. And this came to ultimate term in the death of the cross.</p><p><i>Though I am not under the law- </i>One of the simplest and thereby most powerful statements that the Law of Moses is not now operative nor required for Christians.</p><p><i>That I might gain those that are under the law- </i>Paul is writing this in answer to the aspersion that he was in the preaching business for personal or financial &quot;gain&quot;. He is saying that the gain he sought was for the Lord and for his converts- that they should be gained for Christ and the life eternal. Yet again, He is alluding to the Lord's teaching, which uses the same Greek word for &quot;gain&quot;. The Lord taught against seeking personal gain, even gaining the whole world (Mt. 16:26)- instead we should seek to gain our brother (Mt. 18:15, cp. 1 Pet. 3:1). Paul could say that he had 'lost' all the secular things which he once counted &quot;gain&quot; (Phil. 3:7).</p>