Just Because You Can Should You

Speaker A: Good morning and welcome to this brand new day. This is Scripture Links daily dose of Inspiration for Thursday, October 1, 2026. Can you believe October's here already? Here we are getting into the fourth quarter of the year, if you're a business person, and hopefully fall starts kicking in here. It's been a little cooler here in East Tennessee the past couple of days. Supposed to warm up again today and tomorrow, but then looking into the weekend, the next week, it's supposed to rain a lot and then cool back down. So I hope the fall weather's here. I know. Well, I've heard anyway up north in the New England area that the, the leaves are changing. And, you know, that's one of my favorite parts of fall is looking into the Smokies and the trees around the house and things and seeing the different colors. Just beautiful. That's fall for you. Today is National Homemade Cookie Day. I love homemade cookies. I like any kind of cookies. So celebrate homemade cookie today by making a batch of homemade cookies. What's it gonna be celebrating? Is it going to be a snickerdoodle, maybe a chocolate chip or a peanut butter? There's a lot of different choices out there. Make yourself some homemade cookies on this homemade cookie day. On this day back in 1955, the TV show the Honeymooners, starring Jackie Gleason, made its debut on cbs. And today we celebrate the birthday of former president Jimmy Carter, who was born this day in 1924. If you're reading along in the Old Testament, as we're studying through the history of ancient Israel, today we get into First Kings. We got to double it up today because I missed yesterday. Today we're going to look at First Kings chapters one through five. First Kings, chapters one through five. The other day we had talked about some confusion among people who are still living in the world while they think that they're living for Christ. And we looked at the statements of a Episcopalian priest in New York who had said that God was trans and that Jesus was misgendered at birth. And we talked to a great deal about that on Tuesday's episode. So I highly, highly recommend that you go back and take a listen to Tuesday's episode before you listen to this one. So it. Because they kind of connect a little bit. And today we're gonna, we're gonna look at. At. Today we're going to take a look at First Corinthians, chapter number six, and we're going to look at one verse today, but we're going to break it down and we're going to look at it in context and it's First Corinthians, chapter number six and verse number 12 while you're turning there. There are things in life that we have the freedom to do, but doesn't necessarily mean that we should do them. Paul said in First Corinthians, chapter number 6, verse number 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. In other words, the question isn't always, can I? Sometimes the better question is, should I? As Christians, there is even a deeper question to ask ourselves. Is this helping me follow Christ or is it beginning to control me? Let's break this down. Most people look at this verse and they stop at the first phrase of this verse as a way to justify their living in sin or their lifestyle. They look at this and say, all things are lawful unto me. And they stop right there. Just like the verse I shared last weird. The other day on Tuesday, where Jesus was talking about the unity. I'm sorry, Where Paul was talking about the unity that we should have as Christians and he said there was no male or female. So that makes people think, okay, we're non binary, where it could be neither one. And you know, we want to pick things apart and take certain phrases to justify our lifestyle or to justify what we want. But let's look at this verse in context and what Paul was talking about here. If you back up to verse number one of, of chapter number six and go down through verse number 11, he's. He's talking about judgment. He's talking about making sure we're living in such a way that we're reflecting Christ. And then in verses 13 through the end of the chapter, verse number 20, he's talking about God being glorified in our bodies. These are the, this is the chapter that we talk about how our body is a temple of the Holy Ghost. And he talks about. About sex outside of marriage in this chapter. And looking at those two things, when Paul says, all things are lawful unto me, but not all things are expedient, when he's saying these things, he's saying it in context of how we're living for Christ. And we need to make sure that, just like I said at the opening, we need to ask ourselves each and every day, each and every action we take, we have to think, is this helping me follow Christ? Is this helping others see Christ in me? And if it's not, if it's not helping you Follow Christ. If it's not helping others see Christ in you, then that might be something you probably should avoid. All things are lawful unto me. All things are lawful unto me. What? How can he say that? Let's back up here. And in verses 9 and 10 of First Corinthians, chapter 6, this is what he says. 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, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revelers, nor extortion, nor exter. Extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. Paul's given us a list here of things. And this isn't an exhaustive list, but this is rather a list that we can look at and say, these are things that characterize the world. These are things that. That we need to make sure that we are staying away from. But then he says, in verse number 11, he said, and such were some of you. But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of our God. Paul says, at some point, at one point before Christ, you were these things. You were the fornicators, the adulterers, the idolaters, you were the drunkard, you, you were the covetous, you were the extortioners. He said, you were those things. Then he says, but that. But, my friends signifies a change. It signifies a change of direction. It signifies a change of lifestyle. But ye are washed. We are washed clean of our sin. Ye are sanctified. Sanctified here means to be made holy, to be purified, to be set apart for a sacred purpose and use by God. We are sanctified, we're set apart. We're made holy, to be used by God. So because we are made holy, because we are set apart, because we are purified, then these things that Paul writes About in verses 9 and 10 are no longer present in our life. It characterizes our old life. We are set apart through the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. We are set apart. We are sanctified, we are justified, which means made right. So we are set apart, and we are made right because of the sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew, chapter 5 and verse 17 that he didn't come to abolish the law, he came to fulfill it. So because of the sacrifice of Jesus, that means that we have been forgiven of the righteous requirements of the law and we are made right. We are therefore free to do as we please. That sounds good. Right, well, let's keep looking here. All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient. Expedient means to be fitting, to be profitable, to be useful for achieving a good end. So in other words, what Paul is saying. All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. Not all things are fitting. Not all things are fitting for the Christian life. Not all things are useful for achieving a good end. Not everything profitable. Look again at verses 9 and 10. Look at what he says here, right in the beginning. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? You see, we have to be careful to understand that just because we have the freedom in Christ, we need to make sure that what we're doing is going to help us and be beneficial to our walk. It's got to be helpful in our following of Christ. It's got to be helpful in. In others being able to see Christ in me. Let's look over here at. Let's see. Let's look over here at Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. I want to mark this spot real quick so I don't lose it. Romans chapter 8. This is going to explain what I'm trying to. To say here a little bit better, I think. Romans chapter 8. We're going to look here at verses 4 through 10. Scripture says that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit. The things of the Spirit. To be Granola minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the Granola mind is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the law of God. Neither indeed can be so. Then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If so be, let the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. What is Paul teaching us here? Paul is teaching us here that we have a choice we have to make. Are we going to live after the Spirit and are we going to do things that's going to feed the Spirit? Are we going to do things that's going to be helping us to walk according to God and to walk according to his plan and to follow his leading? Or are we going to continue to be Granola minded and to walk after the things of the flesh, mind the things of the flesh, and do the things of the flesh? James In James, chapter 4, verse 4, says, Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that friendship with the world is enmity with God, and whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. We see the word enmity birth both in, in this, these passages here in Romans and in James, chapter 4, verse 4. And empty enmity means a hatred, hostility in opposition. It's the opposite of friendship. So to be Granola minded, to be a friend of the world, means hostility, opposition and hatred to God. What these verses are telling us is we can't have it both ways. We can't live for the flesh and live for God at the same time. John in first John, chapter 2, verse 15 says, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. For if any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. There's that separation. He can't love the things of the world and love God at the same time. It's a separation. There's got to be a change. There's got to be a difference. That's why we are sanctified, as Paul said in verse nine of First Corinthians, chapter six. That's why he said that we are set apart. We are sanctified. We are set apart. We're no longer minding the things of the world. We're no longer loving the things of the world. We're no longer chasing after the things of the world. And if you still have that mindset that you are chasing after the things of the world, then you don't have the spirit of Christ. I hate to be the one to break that to you, but that's what the Bible says. And we need to to change and we need to. To be set apart. We need to start living for Christ. We need to start doing things that's going to feed the Spirit, that's going to help us follow Christ. It's going to help us be the example the world needs. But all too often we want to. We want to just be like the world. And we get ourselves people that will teach us the ways of the world, that'll tell us what we want to hear and not what we need going to deny the truth. Let's take a look at the rest of this verse here. First Corinthians, chapter 6. He says again, all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. This a big one right here. This goes right along with the things that, that are not beneficial. We're not going to be brought under the power of any. The sin in our lives like to control us. When he's talking about being brought under the power, think of it as, as somebody that, that drinks too much at the bar and what happens? They get drunk. Remember Otis and the Andy Griffith show? That's what happens. The alcohol controls you and likewise sin controls. Let's look here at Romans chapter 6. Let's go back Romans chapter 6. So specifically at verses 12 and 13, Paul says, let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lust thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. And let's throw verse 14 in there too. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under the grace. We're under that time of grace. Remember I had said before Matthew chapter 5, verse 17, Jesus said that he came to fulfill the law, not to abolish it. So if you put your faith in Jesus, you're not under the law. Jesus paid for the law, but you are under grace. And now sin shall not have dominion over us. Sin shall not control us. Notice what he says in verse number 12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lust thereof. Don't let sin reign in your body, that you obey that sin, that you allow that sin to control you, to control your thoughts, to control your actions, to control your tongue. Then verse 13 shows us we have a choice each and every day. He says, neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Each and every day, each and every minute, each and every second, we have a choice as to what we're going to submit ourselves to. Are we going to submit ourselves to the sin that's trying to control us, or are we going to yield ourselves to God and start living for Him? Friends, this verse is showing us the importance that we need to make sure that we're doing the things and living in a way that's going to be beneficial to our life as a Christian. The world sees too many examples of bad Christians. We need to start doing the things that's going to be beneficial to our life. To be beneficial to following Christ, We need to start doing the things that are beneficial. Think about that as you go through this day. And remember, get into God's word and allow God's Word to get into you. Then share that word with someone today. Have a blessed day.