1 Corinthians 6:12 I have the right to do anything," you say —but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything" —but I will not be mastered by anything
The warning that Paul is giving
the Corinthians and all down through the ages is not to allow ourselves to get
caught up in the cares of this world. We must always be aware that the world is
under Satan's control, which Paul called "the ruler of the kingdom of the
air" (Ephesians
2:2).
Paul taught throughout his
ministry that the Mosaic Law no longer binds Christians. His letters to the
churches in Galatia were a prime example of this. However, this has been
misinterpreted down through the years, as Christians have no restraint on how they
live. Paul is speaking here of our liberty in Christ Jesus; we no longer must
follow the dietary or religious restrictions under the Mosaic Law. Paul said
that we have the right to do anything, but not all things are helpful. God
never intended this freedom in Christ Jesus to become a license to sin.
We can find a specific example of
this in 1 Corinthians 6:15, a reference to uniting oneself with a prostitute.
In the pagan world, of which Corinth was the center hub, the use of prostitutes
was culturally acceptable. Prostitution played a significant role in Pagan
religious ceremonies, so the worldly people of the Corinth of that day saw
nothing wrong with "religious" people using the services of a
prostitute.
We must be extremely cautious and
vigilant when it comes to our religious freedom. We must never allow ourselves
to fall for the trap of pleasures, desires, and material possessions of this
world. As followers and believers in
Christ Jesus, we are to follow the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit of
God in our daily lives. Satan will try to take our focus off God's will for our
lives and draw our attention to the things of this world that are all passing
away. Remember, anything Satan dangles in front of you is an allusion, not
real. He is and always will be what Jesus called him, the Father of lies (John 8:44).
Satan and his evil followers
control this lost, dark, and dying world. These evildoers' object is to create
distractions for us to take our eyes off Jesus, which will lead to destruction.
As followers and believers in Christ, God has called us to be good reflectors
for the light of Jesus. We are not to allow ourselves to become enticed by the
sins of this world and caught up in things that will distract us from that
calling.
When we allow this to happen to
us, people around us will not see Jesus in us. Instead of seeing Jesus
reflected in our attitudes and action, they will not see any difference in the
people of this fallen world and us, which one day will go up in flames (2 Peter 3:10). Always be mindful that Satan's evil desires are
to make every Christian ineffective in the Works of God. Which, in turn, will
make us useless in spreading the Gospel of Christ Jesus to the ends of the
Earth (Acts 1:8). For that reason, since we are Children of God,
co-heirs with Christ Jesus in the Kingdom of God, we should never allow
ourselves to fall under the powers and influences of the ways of this fallen
world.
If You would like the Verse of the Day sent to your daily E-Mail send a request in the "Comments" section. Please include your e-mail address
No comments:
Post a Comment