Lawful but NOT Profitable

Today I listened to an amazing sermon by John McArthur in which he discusses Christian liberty and exactly how it should be used. He uses the verse in which Paul tellls that Corinthians that

"All things are lawful for me(Paul), but not all things profitable. All things are lawful for me but I will not be mastered by anything." (1 Cor. 6:12)

This was a very convicting sermon for Dr. McArthur lays out what Christians should be doing with their lives and ultimately it comes down not to what can I do and get away with but rather what can I do that will please my Father and Savior. We should not try to get as close to sinning as possible and not sin but rather we should turn our backs and avoid anything that even comes close to sinning or wickedness. Rather, we should focus on making sure that what we do with our time is profitable and glorifying to our God in heaven.

We have way too little time on earth to focus on the things of the world and get lost in those pursuits. We should not be using our liberty out of selfishness and do things for ourself but rather think about others and have that affect what we do with our liberties. For example, when I am 21 it will be legal for me to drink but I will choose not to because I believe that it carries a negative image and could affect my witness. Also, it could hurt another Christian if that Christian has a problem with drinking for my drinking could cause me to be a stumbling block to them. This is why we need to make sure that we play it safe when it comes to using our liberties for why would we want to get as close to be burned as possible. Instead we should practice the cliche "better safe than sorry". This why we can make sure that we maintain reputations above reproach and not cause other brothers or sisters in Christ to stumble.

Also, Dr. McArthur mentioned that with as little time as we have on this earth why would we even consider wasting our time with those things of the world. Rather, we could be reading a Christian book, building God-centered relationships, praying, reading our Bibles or witnessing. When it comes down to it, all that will matter in eternity is what we do with our lives for God so we should be more concerened with using our liberties for God and for preparing our place in heaven so yet again it comes down to being 'Future Focused' :)