City Life Starter

I. The Word: 1 Corinthians 10:23-30

23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God,33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

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But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. –Galatians 5:22-23 (MSG)

II. Reflection Questions

1. Who is in the driver’s seat of your life? What is the main thing you rely on to direct your choices?

2. Where do you draw the line between compassion and compromise?

3. What does your prayer life look like practically? How often do you consciously spend time with God?

By Aisha Darwesh

Throughout the book of first Corinthians, we see a constant pairing of what is permissible and what is beneficial. According to Paul, all things are permissible, but not everything is beneficial to our spiritual lives/God’s Kingdom.

Although we as believers are permitted to fellowship with unbelievers (i.e. sit down to a meal together, v. 27), there should be certain boundaries we put into place to keep our conscience clear. The modern day equivalent of eating meat offered to an idol could be something like laughing at perverse jokes, engaging in gossip, or doing anything else to slip back into your old way of life.

The start of 1 Corinthians 10 refers back to the children of Israel and how their passage through the Red Sea was like a baptism symbolizing they were cleansed from their old lives in Egypt and set apart for God and for the promised land that lay ahead of them.

The problem with the children of Israel, however, is that they kept craving the remnants of their old lives. Instead of being thankful for the manna from heaven that kept them alive in the wilderness, they despised the manna and craved the foods from their old lives in Egypt. They complained and grumbled. They didn’t trust God despite everything God did to show them He’s a trustworthy and faithful God.

Are you a born again Christian who has been transformed by God’s love, but still have an appetite for sin? As we see from the scriptures above, we can do anything because of God’s Grace. All things are permissible, but not everything is beneficial. If you sin as a believer you can receive God’s forgiveness and be totally cleansed, but you will still have to deal with the consequences of sin. As we learned earlier in this book, an unrepentant believer who continues in sin should be cut off from the community and given over to that sin.

It’s probably a natural tendency for believers to want the things they can’t have, but when we look back and long for the things God has called us out of, we often miss what He’s placing right before us and subsequently will miss what lies ahead.

What’s important to realize, however, is in the same way God freed the Israelites from the bondage of slavery in Egypt, God has freed us as believers out of the slavery of sin. We have no more ties to our old sinful lives.

I could try to expound on this truth, but Romans 6 does it so much better! Please see below and be encouraged by your new identity in Christ!

So what do we do, then? Do we persist in sin so that God’s kindness and grace will increase? 2 What a terrible thought! We have died to sin once and for all, as a dead man passes away from this life. So how could we live under sin’s rule a moment longer? 3 Or have you forgotten that all of us who were immersed into union with Jesus, the Anointed One, were immersed into union with his death?

4 Sharing in his death by our baptism means that we were co-buried and entombed with him, so that when the Father’s glory raised Christ from the dead, we were also raised with him. We have been co-resurrected with him so that we could be empowered to walk in the freshness of new life. 5 For since we are permanently grafted into him to experience a death like his, then we are permanently grafted into him to experience a resurrection like his and the new life that it imparts.

6 Could it be any clearer that our former identity is now and forever deprived of its power? For we were co-crucified with him to dismantle the stronghold of sin within us, so that we would not continue to live one moment longer submitted to sin’s power. (Romans 6:1-6 TPT)

Prayer

Father God, I can’t thank You enough for delivering me from my former life of sin. I am a new person in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah! Lord, empower me to live it out! In Jesus Name, Amen.