1 Corinthians 9:20

And to the Jews. became as. Jew, that. might gain Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, not being myself under the law, that. might gain them that are under the law;

'I became as. Jew' -'I lived like. Jew' (Knox) 'To put it in more contemporary terms, when he was among Jews he was kosher.' (Fee p. 427)

Points to Note:

1. Paul was of Jewish ancestry. And yet in another sense he wasn't Jewish. He had become. Christian and as such realized that Christ had set him free from the ceremonies, rituals and laws of the Jewish religion. (Colossians 2:16)

2. This isn't giving in because one is intimidated or ashamed of the gospel. (Galatians 2:11 ff) Neither is it following the path of less resistance (who could ever make such an accusation against Paul?) Rather, Paul without compromising the truth, accommodated himself to the customs and practices of the people to whom he preached to.

3. He tried to avoid needless offences. (Acts 16:3) When among Jews he would respect their food laws, feasts (Acts 20:16) and accommodate himself to practices which did not force him to violate Scripture. (Acts 21:26; Acts 18:18)

4. And yet Paul always drew the line when people were trying to make such practices "binding" upon Christians. (Galatians 2:1; Acts 15:1 ff; Galatians 5:1)

'to them that are under the law' -which included Jews, but Paul also might be including those "religiously" under the law, i.e. Gentile converts to Judaism or those who held to. strict adherence of the law, i.e. the Pharisees.

'not being myself under the law' -i.e. under the law of Moses. Hence anytime that we find Paul observing "Jewish things", i.e. preaching in. synagogue, taking. vow, in the temple, circumcising someone..etc.. is it because he is accommodating himself to Jewish ways and in no way is any of this to be taken as meaning that Paul still thought that the Law of Moses was binding upon Christians. When people tried to teach that, Paul resisted them. (Galatians 2:1)