Sermonette: April 17, 2023

“‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.”

1st Corinthians 10:23-24

I know this is a bold statement but I believe this to be one of most important verses for Christians. I’m not trying to puff it up to get you to read this, I truly believe this is a verse Christians ought to have memorized and actually apply it to their lives almost daily.

Paul writes this famous verse to the Corinthian church. See, as far as we can tell, the Christians in Corinth struggled with their freedom in Christ. They had come to salvation, been told that they were free from sin and free from the overbearing religious requirements of Judaism or other religions … and they had run with that. They were doing all sorts of things that were not technically wrong, but weren’t good. In the middle of Paul’s long correction of many of these actions, he includes this snippet of wisdom.

Presumably, the Christians in Corinth had a saying: “all things are lawful.” In other words, Christianity doesn’t have a long list of laws to obey. So, in a conversation concerning what a Christian should or shouldn’t do, they would simply say, “Is it lawful? Well of course. All things are lawful (in Christ).” Technically, they’re correct. Many of the actions they were doing won’t send them to hell.

However, Paul suggests that perhaps there’s another aspect to consider. Maybe, it’s not about you. Maybe, there are things you should and shouldn’t do simply out of love for your neighbor. Yes, in Christ, you have freedom; yet Jesus also said to love your neighbor as yourself. Sometimes, to love our neighbor means we have to restrict ourselves.

I find this very important today, because our worlds have become so complicated with the internet and technology. Most of the time, these advances are perfectly neutral in a spiritual sense. They won’t make you more or less holy. However, Paul suggests we add another filter: is it helpful and does it build up?

Is social media evil? No. Is it helpful and does it build up? Well, that’s a different question. How about TikTok? Is it evil? No. Is it helpful and does it build up? I can’t see how it can. We can apply this filter to specific conversations too. When we talk about people, are we being helpful and building up, or negative and tearing down? When we play video games, or do sports or even what we watch; is it helpful and does it build up? What’s interesting is, the answer is often not “yes or no” but “well, it depends on how I use it.” We can use social media to build up. We can use conversations to build up. We can be encouraged by what we choose to watch. Sports can be an opportunity to encourage and build up, if done correctly and with the correct goal. For the life of me, I can’t figure out how to make TikTok helpful or constructive. Maybe I’m just old.

As Christians, quite a bit is “lawful” for us; but to focus on what is and isn’t allowed often misses the point. As followers of the ultimate servant, we must look not only to our own lives, but to the impact we have on those around us.