Do All To The Glory Of God
1 Corinthians 10:23 – 11:1 NLT
23 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. 24 Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.
25 So you may eat any meat that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”
27 If someone who isn’t a believer asks you home for dinner, accept the invitation if you want to. Eat whatever is offered to you without raising questions of conscience. 28 (But suppose someone tells you, “This meat was offered to an idol.” Don’t eat it, out of consideration for the conscience of the one who told you. 29 It might not be a matter of conscience for you, but it is for the other person.) For why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks? 30 If I can thank God for the food and enjoy it, why should I be condemned for eating it?
31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God.33 I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved. 11 1 And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.
Examine the scriptures:
John 8:36 (NLT)
So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
Be careful not to misinterpret John 8:36.
This is not saying “Now I can do anything I want to do.”
The Corinthian Christians had (and believed) a saying, “I am allowed to do anything.”
The Corinthians were misinterpreting their “freedom”.
1 Corinthians 10:23 – 11:1 NLT
23 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you.
You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial.
Romans 6:6 (NLT)
We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.
Romans 6:14 (NLT)
Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
1 Peter 2:16 (NLT)
For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.
- Activities that are not beneficial or not good for you should be avoided.
- Don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.
- Christians are not free to do anything their sinful nature wants to do.
24 Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.
Galatians 5:13 (NLT)
13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.
Philippians 2:4 (NLT)
Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
Romans 6:18 (NLT)
Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
- Use your freedom to serve one another in love.
- Our focus should be on others, not ourselves.
25 So you may eat any meat that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” (Psalm 24:1)
No longer under the law.
Galatians 2:19 (NLT)
For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God.
Romans 7:6 (NLT)
But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.
Acts 10:9-15
Peter Visits Cornelius
9 The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, 10 and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. 12 In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds.13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”
14 “No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.”
15 But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.”
- The Corinthian Christians were free to eat any meat that was sold in the marketplace.
27 If someone who isn’t a believer asks you home for dinner, accept the invitation if you want to. Eat whatever is offered to you without raising questions of conscience.
28 (But suppose someone tells you, “This meat was offered to an idol.” Don’t eat it, out of consideration for the conscience of the one who told you. 29 It might not be a matter of conscience for you, but it is for the other person.)
1 Corinthians 8:9 (NLT)
But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble.
- Don’t use your freedom in a way that could cause a weaker brother to sin.
For why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks?
Proverbs 29:25 (NLT)
Fearing people is a dangerous trap,
but trusting the Lord means safety.
30 If I can thank God for the food and enjoy it, why should I be condemned for eating it?
31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
- So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
32 Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God.
- Avoid behaviors that would cause others, Jews or Gentiles or the church of God, to stumble.
33 I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.
- Do what is best for others so that many may be saved.
11 1 And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.
