1 Corinthian 6:12
“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.
There are exegetical questions about this verse, but the purpose of my blog is not exegesis but listening and application. As I reflect on this verse, I am drawn to a misunderstanding some Christians have about how important God’s laws are. After reading books like Romans and Galatians, one might think that Christians do not need to obey the law, that we are free in Christ. “We are free to do whatever we wish.” This is a yes but no type answer. Yes, we are free in Christ and not bound by the legalism that results of thinking we “have to” obey the law. No, we must still obey God, but we do it out of love and faith, not out of obligation. A misunderstanding of Christian freedom can feed into the syncretism and relativism of our time. If we do not need to obey all the laws of the Bible, then we can determine what laws or (a favorite word today) “teachings” of the Bible. If we can pick and choose which laws we like or which ones we feel are relevant to us, we fall into the trap of becoming the authority, and not God. Christian freedom should make us want to obey God even more because we are drawn by God’s love working in us and our response loving God and other people.
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