Firmly Bound, Forever Free
All things are lawful for me but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me but I will not be enslaved by anything. (I Corinthians 6:12)
I Cor. 6:12-20; Rom. 12:1-2, II Pet. 1:3-8
What Is God Saying?
Corinth of Paul's day was a synonym for, anything goes. It was one city that, perhaps, could compete with our civilization as we watch the incredibly rapid decay of moral standards. The dictionary defines license as ‘freedom that is used with responsibility.’ The Corinthians confused freedom with license. They, as do their counterparts today, maintained that we should throw off all restraints.
Paul states that he is also free but he is not going to allow that very freedom to make a slave of him. He is free, not to do as he likes, but as he should. Phillip's translation makes it all very clear, ‘As a Christian, I may do anything, but that does not mean that everything is good for me. I may do everything but I must not be the slave of anything.’ The body is important The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and must not be abused or given free rein. We cannot sin with the body and leave our souls untarnished. Contrary to the thinking of some Corinthians, Christian liberty cannot serve as an excuse for practicing immorality.
How Does This Apply To Us?
There is only one way to be truly free. Submit voluntarily and totally to the Lordship of Jesus. We belong to Him; He paid the price of our redemption. To be free, to enjoy the best of life, here and hereafter, to live above the clamoring hunger of the flesh, and to be independent of the kind of freedoms that lead to bondage, we must own Jesus as Lord.
The Lord is for the body. He made it. He wants us to use it without abusing it. He provided guidelines for its well-being. The body is for the Lord. It is His instrument. He owns it. He lives in it. His wise control and loving direction can make it function as it should. A functioning body is free. The way to freedom is obedience. The way to enslavement is self-indulgence. We are free to choose, but we are not free to choose the consequences of our choice.
Pray With Me
‘If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’ I will walk in this light, claim this at every turn, and let this make me bold in the decisions I make. Because I belong to You, I am free from the power of desire for wrong things; free from right things which, unwisely indulged, can lead me into bondage. Since this is my new birthright in Christ, O God, make me constantly aware of it. Let it rule my spirit. Let it inform my mind. Let it move my will. Lord, Your grace is always at hand and sufficient. Let me draw upon it now and through all the moments of every day. Then I will be set free from the tyranny of habits from the past; present trivialities; the pressures of social correctness; vain pretense; and empty customs that fill our days.
There are some things that the law allows that are not helpful, but let my life be filled with those things that grace provides that are always helpful: pray for the enemy, bless the persecutor, love the unlovely, peace when storms rage outside, light that glows in the gray dusk of an immoral world, humility which, bending low, is lifted by grace while pride in its stilted stiffness is stumbling. Firmly bound, forever free. These are only words, neatly phrased, yet they lead to the Lord, greatly praised! So be it, Lord, until in the face of all that is lawful but empty, I, too, can say, ‘I will not be enslaved by anything.’
In the name of Him who led captivity captive. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
Do we spend as much time in prayer as we do on our devices? Are we victimized by subtle invitations to indulge the flesh? Are we exposing ourselves to a constant flood of persuasive v0ices that tell us that, anything, anything, goes? In prayer, we turn from the passing parade and tune in to the will of the eternal God. Prayer is when we tune out the world and spend time on a frequency where God is speaking. The world is silent; we are listening to His beloved voice.
