Quite often, we hear individuals espousing libertarian philosophies of unbridled personal freedom. The pro-abortionists cry out that a woman has a right to her own body and that no one should interfere with what she does to her body, with little regard to the rights of the unborn child and its body. The drug culture would try to expound the supposed harmlessness of marijuana claiming that to keep these drugs illegal is an infringement on personal freedom. We have seen in recent years the growth in what’s known as the Gay Culture - famous people "Coming Out." Their claim is that no one has the right to tell them that their sexual deviation is abnormal or wrong. It’s their life and they will do what they will. We hear of those who support or endorse sexual promiscuity as long as it’s between consenting individuals. The claim is it is my life and my body I can do whatever I want to do and nobody has the right to tell me what to do or what is right and wrong. What is disconcerting is that we often hear these views being touted by professing Christians. Ecclesiastes 1:9 states, "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun." In other words, whatever has happened before will happen again. Whatever has been done before will be done again. There is nothing new under the sun. The philosophy that we hear today is no different than what Paul observed in the church at Corinth. The motto of the church at Corinth was "All things are lawful to me!" They embraced and cited this in defense of their Epicurean lifestyles as well as acts of fornication. Because of this abuse, Paul had to address the issue of Christian liberty.
I. All Things are Lawful.
A. God has redeemed the believer and has forgiven all of his sins, whatever they may be.
B. Ephesians 1:7 " In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." Through the blood of Jesus Christ, we are set free from all our sins.
C. The believer has been forgiven all his/her sins and has been adopted into the family of God. Nothing, nothing that he/she does can alter or sever that relationship.
D. The believer has also been set free from the law of commandments.
E. Romans 8:2 "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."
F. Ephesians 2:14-15 "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;"
G. It is true you can do whatever you want to do. God never forces man; He never sets a limit to man’s freedom.
H. Ecclesiastes 11:9 "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment."
I. It’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. (NLT)
II. While all things are lawful, not everything is good for me or wise to do.
A. 1 Corinthians 6:12 "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any."
B. You can do anything you want to do but not everything is expedient - helpful, worthwhile, advisable, and profitable.
C. You reap what you sow.
D. A skydiver announces at 10,000 feet to the rest of the group, "I’m not using a parachute this time. I’m going to do my own thing. I want freedom!" You say that is absurd no one would do that, at least not in their right mind. Yet, that is exactly what we do when we choose to ignore God’s standards and choose to have it our way.
E. Galatians 6:7 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
F. "In 1982, ’ABC Evening News’ reported on an unusual work of modern art: a chair affixed to a shotgun. It was to be viewed by sitting in the chair and looking directly into the gun barrel. The gun was loaded and set on a timer to fire at a undetermined moment within the next hundred years. The amazing thing was that people waited in lines to sit and stare into the shell’s path! They all knew that the gun could go off at point-blank range at any moment, but they were gambling that the fatal blast wouldn’t happen during their minute in the chair. Yes, it was foolhardy, yet many people who wouldn’t dream of sitting in that chair live a lifetime gambling that they can get away with sin. Foolishly, they ignore the risk until the inevitable self-destruction." [Jeffrey D. King, Parma, Ohio. Leadership, Vol. 4, no. 4.]
III. While you can do what you want realize that as a believer it’s not your life or your body. You belong to God.
A. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s."
B. You were bought (egorasthete) bought in the marketplace of slavery. Jesus paid the ransom to buy us off the auction block of enslavement to sin, death, and hell.
C. 1 Peter 1:18-19 "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:"
D. God lays claim to the believer’s mind, body, and soul. The right of possession belongs to Christ.
E. Paul reminds the Corinthian believers that before they came to Christ they did what they wanted to do.
F. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."
G. But now they were called to be different because they were under new ownership and they were indwelled by God’s Holy Spirit.
H. You will give an accounting to God for what you have done with the stewardship of your life.
I. Romans 14:12 "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."
J. 2 Corinthians 5:10 "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
IV. As God’s possession, the Holy Spirit dwells within you and your body is His temple.
A. Consider the original tabernacle
1. The earthly Temple was a place wholly dedicated to God and His glory.
2. Nothing that defiled was allowed on the grounds.
3. Exodus 28:43 "And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him."
4. Exodus 30:20 "When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD:"
5. Leviticus 10:8-10 "And the LORD spoke unto Aaron, saying, [9] Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: [10] And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;"
6. When God set forth His design for the tabernacle, He made it clear in no uncertain terms that He demanded purity both in the construction materials as well as in the priests. He would never fill an unclean or impure temple with His glory; nor would He meet with a defiled priest.
7. The temple was a place of worship and service
8. Isaiah 56:7 "Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
B. You are God’s tabernacle.
1. 1 Corinthians 3:16 "Know ye not that ye are the temple (naos) of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? "
2. Temple - two Greek words - heiron - refers to the entire building with its precincts - naos - the sanctuary in the temple into which only the priests could lawfully enter.
3. Every act of fornication, adultery, drunkenness, gluttony, every evil thought, desire, deed, every sin committed by the believer is committed in the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies where God dwells.
4. Our bodies ought to be holy unto the Lord
a. Have we recognized that our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost? If so, we must be careful to keep it undefiled for Him. We have to remember that conscious life, though it is only a tiny bit of our personality, is to be regarded by us as a shrine of the Holy Ghost. He will look after the unconscious part that we know nothing of; but we must see that we guard the conscious part for which we are responsible. [Oswald Chambers, from My Utmost For His Highest, November 8th, "The Unrivalled Power of Prayer"]
b. 2 Corinthians 7:1 "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
5. Our bodies ought to be places of worship not the object of worship.
a. Romans 12:1-2 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (act of worship). 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
b. Our body is to be the temple of the Holy Ghost, the medium for manifesting the marvelous disposition of Jesus Christ. - Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
c. Sid G. Hodges - O God, may we so value our bodies and minds that we never mar them. May we not be tricked into bad habits by publicity and advertisements that deliberately mislead, or by the desire for easy applause, or by the fear of being thought narrow. But may we be sturdy and upright in our thinking and our behavior, and treat our bodies as the temple of thy Spirit. [Edythe Draper, Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992).]
CONCLUSION: You can do whatever you want to do. But realize that not everything you do is expedient, helpful, worthwhile, advisable, or profitable for you. While you may think that it’s your body and your life, if you are saved the fact is that, you are God’s property and His dwelling place. You are called therefore to glorify God in all that you do.
