_Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust?_ ON GOING TO LAW The Greeks were not only quarrelsome, but derived an excitement pleasant to their frivolous nature in going to law. The Christians seemed not to have discarded this taste. St. Paul has been telling the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Know ye not Shall the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?_ PERSISTENT SELF-DECEPTION Sometimes we persistently deceive ourselves. We insist upon pursuing a policy for our benefit which all but ourselves clearly see to be absurd and useless. We cling to a pet project and nurse a worth... [ Continue Reading ]
_And such were some of you, but ye are washed … sanctified … Justified._ THE GREAT CONTRAST Note-- I. The past state of the redeemed. “And such were some of you.” 1. They were void of moral rectitude. Their conscience was burdened with guilt. 2. They were subject to impure influences. Their aff... [ Continue Reading ]
_All things are lawful to me, but all things are not expedient._ THE LAWFUL AND THE EXPEDIENT I. What is lawful for us in life? All things indifferent, _i.e._, not evil in themselves. The Christian has the widest liberty. He is not under the restriction of the older economy. To him every creature... [ Continue Reading ]
_Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats._ CHRISTIANITY IN RELATION TO THE BODY The apostle here states, perhaps in answer to a question on the subject, that there is a limitation to Christian liberty. As the liberty which the Corinthians seemed to covet was to gratify the bodily appetites, h... [ Continue Reading ]
_He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit._ --The apostle was wont to associate the commonest duties with the highest motives. In dissuading from the sin of impurity, he might have adduced considerations drawn from physical laws and social conditions; instead of this he appeals to the loftiest... [ Continue Reading ]
_What?_ Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost? THE DIGNITY AND SERVICE OF THE BODY I. The dignity of the body. The apostle speaks in the accents of surprise, as if to imply that they ought to know. 1. Many considerations may commend the sanctification of the flesh to God, _e... [ Continue Reading ]