1 Corinthians 6:12-20 All things are lawful to me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me… Men in the Corinthian Church, having heard the apostle teach the law of liberty, pushed that doctrine so far as to make it mean a right to do whatsoever a man wills to do. By these self-gratification was maintained on the ground of — I. THE RIGHTS OF CHRISTIAN LIBERTY. Their watchword was, "All things are lawful." It is easy to understand how this exaggeration came about. Men suddenly finding themselves freed from the restrictions of Jewish law naturally went very far in their Dew principles. St. Paul met this by declaring that Christian liberty is limited — 1. By Christian expediency. There are two kinds of "best." It is absolutely best that war should cease. Relatively, it is best under present circumstances that a country should be ready to defend itself. A defensive fleet is expedient, and relatively best, but not the absolutely Christian best. Now that which limits this liberty is the profit of others. 2. By its own nature. "I will not be brought under the power of any." It is that free self-determination which rules all things, which can enjoy or abstain at will. This liberty can manifest itself under outward restrictions. A Christian, as Christ's freed man, had a right to be free; but if by circumstances he is obliged to remain a slave, he is not troubled. He can wear a chain or not with equal spiritual freedom. Now upon this the apostle makes this subtle and exquisitely fine remark: — To be forced to use liberty is actually a surrender of liberty. If I turn "I may" into "I must," I am in bondage again. For observe, there are two kinds of bondage. I am not free if I am under sentence of exile, and must leave my country. But also I am not free if I am under arrest, and must not leave it. So too, if I think I must not touch meat on Friday, or that I must not read any but a religious book on a Sunday, I am in bondage. But again, if I am tormented with a scrupulous feeling that I did wrong in fasting, or if I feel that I must read secular books on Sunday to prove my freedom, then my liberty has become slavery again. It is a blessed liberation to know that natural inclinations are not necessarily sinful. But if I say all natural and innocent inclinations must be obeyed at all times, then I enter into bondage once more. He alone is free who can use outward things with conscientious freedom as circumstances vary; who can either do without a form or ritual, or can use it. II. THE RIGHTS OF NATURE. There is some difficulty in the exposition of this chapter, because the apostle mixes together the pleas of his opponents with his own answers. 1. The first part of ver. 13 contains two of these pleas. (1) "Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats" — a natural correspondency. "Nature," said they, "herself says, 'Enjoy!'"(2) The transitoriness of this enjoyment. "God shall bring to an end both it and them." They do not belong to eternity, therefore indulgence is a matter of indifference. It is folly to think that these are sins, any more than the appetites of the brutes which perish. 2. To these two pleas St. Paul makes two answers. (1) "The body is not for self-indulgence, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body," He tells of a more exact mutual correspondency. He reveals a true and higher nature. There is much confusion and dispute about this word "nature." The nature of a watch is correspondence with the sun, perfect harmony of wheels and balance. But suppose that the regulator was removed, and the mainspring unchecked ran down, throwing all into confusion. Then two things might be said. One might say, It is the nature of that watch to err. But would it not be a higher truth to say, Its nature is to go rightly, and it is just because it has departed from its nature that it errs? So speaks the apostle. To be governed by the springs of impulse only — your appetites and passions — this is not your nature. For the nature is the whole man; the passions are but a part of the man. And therefore our redemption must consist in a reminder of what we are — what our true nature is. (2) To the other plea he replies, The body will not perish. It is the outward form of the body alone which is transitory. Itself shall be renewed — a nobler, more glorious form, fitted for a higher and spiritual existence. Now here is the importance of the doctrine of the resurrection of the body, and an awful argument against sin. Our bodies, which are "members of Christ," to be ruled by His Spirit, become by sensuality unfit for immortality with Christ. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. |
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