Lesson 4: Are My Standards High Enough? (1 Corinthians 5 & 6)
The Corinthian Christians that Paul wrote to were products of an immoral culture. Sinful behaviors of the past were still evident in the life of these new Christians and were tolerated in the life of the church. Their “Live and let live” approach to Christian liberty was offensive to Paul. It was absent any sense of personal and corporate appeal to a higher calling of holiness.
This week, we learn from Paul and the Corinthians to look at our own standards of life and conduct. Have we suppressed our own consciences to the point that we can embrace sinful practices without any sense of shame or wrong doing? We will challenge ourselves to live according to the high calling of Christ on our lives, examining what it looks like to be free from the law of the letter of rules and to live by the influence of grace.
John Piper answers this question with these words:
Two Guidelines for Living
Paul answers in verse 12 with two guidelines which I have called the law of love and the law of liberty.
1. The Law of Love
First, he says, "All right, all things are permitted in one sense, we should not live under external legal constraints; BUT NOT ALL THINGS ARE HELPFUL." In other words, don't ask, "What do I HAVE to do?" Instead ask, "What is HELPFUL to do?"
I call this the law of love because it's love that wants to be helpful to others. Paul makes the connection between helpfulness and love in a round about way. Notice in 1 Corinthians 10:23 that being helpful is explained as building others up: "All things are lawful, but not all things are HELPFUL. All things are lawful, but not all things BUILD UP." Helpful things are things that build others up in their faith.
But then notice in 1 Corinthians 8:1 how Paul relates the act of love to the act of building others up. "Knowledge puffs up, but LOVE BUILDS UP." So if love is what builds up and if building up is what Paul means by being helpful, then the point of 6:12 (when it says, "not all things are helpful") is that we should let our lives be guided by the law of love.
Surely this is the "law" Paul had in mind in Galatians 6:2 when he said, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." And in 1 Corinthians 9:21, when he said, "To those outside the law I became as one outside the law—not being without law toward God but under the law of Christ—that I might win those outside the law." We are not under the law as a mere external constraint. We are under grace which provides an internal constraint to love, that is, to be helpful and build others up in faith.
2. The Law of Liberty
Second, Paul says in 6:12, "All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything." In other words, not only let your actions be guided by the law of love, but also let them be guided by the law of liberty. Don't ask, "Am I permitted to do this as a Christian?" Instead ask, "Am I a slave to this act? Is this food or drink or sex or hobby or work becoming my master instead of my servant?"
What is the LAW OF LIBERTY? It is simply the control of the Holy Spirit from within. Paul says in Romans 8:2, "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death." In other words the working of the Spirit is a LAW OF LIBERTY. It frees from the power of sin and death. "For where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom!" (2 Corinthians 3:17; see James 1:25; 2:12).
So there are two laws that govern the behavior and habits of a Christian: the law of love ("Will this be helpful, will it upbuild?"), and the law of liberty ("Will this enslave me, will it addict me?").
How These Two Laws Relate to Each Other
If we ask how these two laws relate to each other, Galatians 5:13 gives an answer, "You were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another." Freedom is more foundational than love. Inner freedom is the spring; love is the water that flows out in "helpfulness" to others. The inner work of the Holy Spirit, freeing us from the enslavements of all but God, is the source of love.
So the most basic challenge 1 Corinthians 6:12–14 has to give is: preserve your freedom in Christ! Can you say with Paul, "I will not be enslaved by anything!"?
Memory Verse: 1 Corinthians 13:5
Does not behave rudely, is not provoked, thinks no evil.
Webster defines “rude” as lacking refinement or delicacy, offensive in manner or action, and suggestive of lack if training or skill.
Check yourself. What does your love look like?
- Are you insensitive to others, not delicate in your speech or behavior?
- Does your love need training to meet the Bible’s definition of love?