All things are lawful but...

1Corinthians 6:12

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 


1 Corinthians 10:23

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.

What are these verses saying and why are they saying basically the exact same thing in different ways, and in two totally different locations four chapters apart? 

Like all passages, context -  historical and cultural setting - is key to accurately understand any given passage and its true meaning. 

The Corinthian believers were having a unique issue with being distracted and living lives somewhat out of control regarding self indulgence; even more than other churches Paul ministered to. In part because Corinth was a hub of commerce ripe with both material and sensual distractions as well as open idol worship. As a result, Paul felt it necessary to help them understand that even though they are under grace - "all things are lawful" - there are consequences to living contrary to God's design and righteous standard - i.e. the law.

What is interesting is what these verses have in common is also very instructive in determining what is meant by their differences.

The first (chapter 6) talks about not being dominated (ruled/controlled) by something and the latter (chapter 10) about how some things do not “build up” or strengthen our walk with God.

One emphasizes how some actions have a bad effect on us - dominate us externally and some hinder something good within us - i.e. hinder us from being built up spiritually. 

How does the first part of these two passages that "all things are lawful" relate to the last part of each?

Even though we are free in Christ and can never do anything to cause his love to stop or separate us from Him, living contrary to God's direction/law still has negative consequences. We may go to heaven if we die prematurely of a heart attack from overeating, but we still die. 

Violating God's design by overeating may not stop God's love but it doesn't stop the consequences either.  Being perfectly free (legally) to do anything we want (such as eating poorly) does not mean doing so is OK or without harmful consequences. It can result in us being dominated - controlled - by those things (1 Cor 6:12) and hindered from being strengthened in our relationship with God (1 Cor 10:23)  - i.e. doing things that go contrary to God's design (or law) won't legally separate us from God or be held against us, because Christ already fully satisfied the requirements of the law. Just because all things are lawful in this sense, does not mean it is good or helpful practically. 

Our good standing before God, as His beloved children, is legally and fully established in and by Christ, not us. We don't become a child of God by obeying the law but we flourish when we follow God's design and honor God more and are more productive and joyful when we do. 

Simply stated, because of Christ, we have been declared righteous by God himself. Nothing we do or don't do will affect this status or God's loving posture toward us. We are perfectly accepted and fully embraced as children of God no matter what we do or don't do or experience. 

Paul's point is in Christ nothing we do or don't do will be legally held against us. i.e. “All things are lawful,”  

The fact that this is in quotes also indicates it was a common saying among the Corinthians and apparently used to justify all kinds of harmful behavior. This saying is an indication the Corinthians misunderstood grace by abusing their freedom in Christ.

To say all things are lawful, though true, is shocking if read alone. At first glance, it sounds like obeying God's directions (moral law) doesn't matter. Yet Paul deliberately agrees with this apparently common saying to help drive home the importance of fully grasping the completeness of Christ's work. Being right with God has nothing to do with our obedience but only with Christ's obedience for our sake i.e. on our behalf and assigned or credited to us. Paul did not wish to dilute or diminish this foundational truth in any way, to the point he was willing to quote this saying and let it be misapplied and obedience misunderstood. 

But he also sought to drive home that living any way we wish is not in our best interests no more than a child in a candy or toy store doing as he wishes is in theirs. Even if a child ate candy until he got sick - and is no less the father's child - doesn't make eating the candy a good idea. As our loving Father, he gives us clear direction to avoid what is harmful i.e. things (idols) that could dominate us and hinder our pursuit of Christ.

Paul is simply addressing the tension between the interplay of grace vs law. Being under grace means the grounds for our being accepted as God's child is Christ's obedience, not ours. However, it does not mean the law no longer has value or should be ignored. What has changed is how we approach or relate to the law, not the law itself. As Paul said in Romans, the law is good. 

We are not under grace so we can do ¹whatever we want. When understood properly, being under grace actually empowers us to live righteously. A key reason we are under grace is so we might naturally - or rather supernaturally - and organically fulfill the law by our words and actions. We obey God's standards not to be justified but as evidence; that we are already in Christ.

When we understand the law is simply an expression of God's loving will and direction, not a "do it or else" list, this makes even more sense i.e.  It is not a requirement or demand to be met but loving instructions to guide, direct, and protect us. 

In short, we are wise not to ignore God's law. To say it positively, we are wise to give the law our utmost attention; not as a means of being made right with or more acceptable to God, but as a means of living our lives to the maximum of our potential, as we are designed to.  

The ultimate end - greatest commandment - of all God's directions/commands/will is that we love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbor as ourselves. This is a good thing, not bad. It is not just honoring God, but is good for us and our neighbor. Living according to God's law - wise directions - does not cause God to love us more, but it does result in us experiencing more of that love. 

The question isn't whether we are ²allowed - is it lawful - to do certain things or not? But does our conduct strengthen our walk and relationship with God or hinder it? Does it better enable us to honor him or hinder it? All things being lawful does not mean all things are good for us.

For a discussion on walking in the Spirit and not under the law click here. 

For a discussion on if obedience matters, click here. 

For a further discussion on law and grace click here. 

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¹The interesting part is when we truly understand grace we want to please God i.e. do what he wants us to do. It is counterintuitive. As Paul said, "the goodness of God is meant to lead to repentance..." not so we can justify living lawlessly.

We also see this in the book of Jeremiah (quoted in the book of Hebrews) that the time is coming (for Jeremiah's audience) when God will "write the law on our hearts" i.e. God will create in us the desire to faithfully pursue (obey) Him. How does he do that? By remembering our sins no more.

Christ also said obedience is the greatest evidence of our love for God.

²Allowed only in the sense that disobedience does not cause God to condemn and reject us if we are in Christ. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ because He did everything necessary to remove it from us forever. 

As Christ shouted out right before He gave up His spirit, "It is finished," everything required to restore us to a right standing with God was completed! There was and is nothing left to do by God much less by us.