“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but...

1 Corinthians 6 (NIV) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Lawsuits Among Believers

If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? ² Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? ³ Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! ⁴ Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? ⁵ I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? ⁶ But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers!

⁷ The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? ⁸ Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. ⁹ Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men ¹⁰ nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Sexual Immorality

¹² “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. ¹³ You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴ By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. ¹⁵ Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! ¹⁶ Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”  ¹⁷ But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. ¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. ¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.  In Christ it no longer matters what we were or what we did.  Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.(2 Corinthians 5:17)

In our culture we hear a lot about individual rights and choices. It is absolutely true that each person has the right to live their life as they choose. In verse 12 Paul says:  “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. The fact that we have the right to do something doesn’t make it right. Many times the things we desire the most are the things that are the most unhealthy for us. We are all tempted by various things and what may be one person’s greatest temptation might have no impact on another person. That is why we need to apply the truth of Matthew 7:4-5 to our lives and in our relationship to others.

"Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5"You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

We each need to concern ourselves with the things that we struggle with and our own temptations. We should not blame God though or use the excuse that this is how we were created. James 1:13-15 says:       Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. ¹³ When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Just as we have a right and a choice to do what we want and to live the way we want, we also have a choice to live the way God wants us to and to do the things He wants us to.      No temptation  has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted  beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Although I have not yet mastered all the temptation in my own life, I do know the way out that Paul is writing about in that verse. The psalmist provides the answer, the way of escape from temptation. He says:    Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. ⁴ Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.
⁵ Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.     If we will trust in the Lord, if we will delight in the Lord our own desires, the evil desires and temptations will fade away. If we will focus on and delight ourselves in God, He will give us the desires of our heart. It’s not that He will give us whatever we want, but rather in His presence, as we delight in Him, we are changed and our will becomes in tune with His will. Our desires become the very things that God wants us to have.

The scripture in James 1, continues saying:  Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.(James 1:16-17)   James says that the heavenly Father does not change. Just because our society, our culture or even our legal system changes something it doesn’t mean that God has changed. In Isaiah 5 there is a list of things which bring woe to men, among them are: 

  Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! ²¹ Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight! (Isaiah 5:20-21)

Those who think they are wise and can change or manipulate the word of God to justify what they choose to do, those who call evil good and good evil, Will experience woe.  Not my woe, not the woe of Christians or the woe of the church, but the woe of God.

God gives us all a choice. We are created with a free will to choose for ourselves what we will do here in this life. Paul ends today’s text saying:

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

That obviously speaks to and applies to those who are in Christ. Those who choose to reject Christ and what He did, paying the price for sin on the cross, are free to make that choice. It is the Holy Spirit who is responsible for causing awareness of sin.   And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹ of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. (John 16:8-11)  

Jesus Himself says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20)

That’s His choice, His desire. Each one has the right to choose how they will respond. For myself, I will agree with Joshua, who says:  If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

I will choose to delight myself in the Lord, that He might give me the desires of my heart and so receive:   Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.    Amen