This file can be printed for personal use and study. © Reachout Trust - www.reachouttrust.org
Reading - How Are You Growing, What Are You Building? (1 Corinthians 10:23)
1 Corinthians 10:23 "Everything is permissible" - but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible" - but not everything is constructive.
This verse is in the context of the mature believer having consideration for the weaker brother. However, we all have areas where we are weaker, and I would like to apply this to ourselves. Since we re free in Christ there are many things we can do, many areas of doctrine and spirituality which we can study, but not all of them are beneficial or constructive for our Christian growth and maturity.
It can be good to read Christian books - but if you read books that present new and often conflicting ideas, they can be a stumbling block rather than a stepping-stone. Is this an area where you are strong and mature and welcome the challenge to consider these things on a deeper level? Or do you end up confused and not knowing what to believe?
The same applies to Christian teaching. Your church leaders should have a consistent approach in their teaching, so that the members are taught and discipled to grow in their faith. At the same time, attending other meetings or listening to tapes of sermons can be a real blessing where it reinforces what you are being taught at church. Maybe there is an area in which you have a particular interest, which is not being covered in church at the moment, or not being covered in sufficient depth. Then you can be blessed by looking elsewhere, talking to others with the same interest. But you must ask yourself whether the time spent pursuing this interest is really beneficial to you, or whether it is distracting you from something more important.
For example, understanding the arguments against evolution and for creation is valuable, but should you spend time on it when your prayer life is almost non-existent? Do you really need to know how the Bible was put together and the decisions made over what to include, when you are living in legalism because you don't have full assurance of salvation?
Warren W Wiersby, in his commentary on 1st Corinthians (Be Wise), listed the following tests we should apply to our decisions and actions, from this passage:
"All things are lawful," BUT -
1. Will they lead to freedom or slavery? (6:12)
2. Will they make me a stumbling block or a stepping-stone? (8:13)
3. Will they build me up or tear me down? (10:23)
4. Will they only please me, or will they glorify Christ? (10:31)
5. Will they help to win the list
to Christ or turn them away? (10:33)
(p.104)
If we considered these questions, both in relation to helping others and in relation to benefiting ourselves, I would venture to suggest that there are some meetings we would not go to, some books we would not read, and some tapes we would not listen to. Not because they are in error, but because it would not be the best use of our time and would not be what we need right now to bring us on to maturity.