“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. Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. So you may eat any meat that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.””
1 Corinthians 10:23-26 NLT
Paul was still writing about the grace of God and how the Corinthians had interpreted it in relation to their lives. As a recap, meat was available for consumption in the marketplaces, having previously been offered to an idol. Some in the Corinthian church believed it was acceptable to eat it, while others disagreed. But now Paul used the argument of the believers there—“I am allowed to do anything”—to make a point. And for good measure, he made his point twice. There was a misunderstanding about God’s grace among the believers in Corinth that went something like this: “If all my sins are forgiven, and I am not under the law of Moses, I must be free to do anything I please”. Paul’s response was clear. Although he didn’t endorse their reasoning, he countered it by saying, “not everything is beneficial”. And this is true even today. Take smoking cigarettes, for example. There is nothing in the Bible that explicitly says you mustn’t smoke, but it is obviously not a good idea because of the impact of the cost on a person’s life (and that of their family) and their long-term health.
This opens up the whole situation of salvation. If, after making a decision and coming to faith in Christ, a person subsequently continues to commit sins, even if they repent of them afterwards, and ultimately reaches the end of their life, what happens to their soul then? Some people believe that they will be accepted into Heaven anyway, but others are not so sure.
But this is looking at salvation from the wrong angle. Going back to Jesus Himself, we start with John 3:16, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life”. In Ephesians 2:8, Paul wrote, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God”. To King Agrippa, Paul said, “I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God—and prove they have changed by the good things they do” (Acts 26:20).
And then we turn back to what Jesus said to a Jewish lawyer, replying to his question about the greatest commandment. “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39).
So, although Christians, in theory, have the freedom to do as they like, this freedom must be viewed through the lens of God and His Word. So, back to the example of our smoker. He or she has the freedom to smoke, but what would be the impact on their bodies (temples of the Holy Spirit) and their friends and family? And, more importantly, what would God think about such a habit?
And so we turn back to the Bible, and read what Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” (Ephesians 2:4-5). We love God, and we strive to do our best to please Him and show Him our love. And that means we set aside our freedom to do as we please, preferring God’s way to our own in all things. Hebrews 12:1, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us”. The most important freedom that we have is the one to choose to follow God, all the way into Heaven, to be at His side.
Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your patience and kindness, helping us on our journey to Glory. You care for us so much, and so we turn to You in love, with thankful hearts, to worship You today. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 