In 1 Corinthians 6:12, and again at 10:23, Sha'ul (the Apostle Paul) quoted what was probably a popular adage of the time:

"All things are Lawful for me" then added, but not all things edify.

All things are Lawful. You can't get any clearer than that! 'In Christ' anything goes (though perhaps some choices are better than others).

But is that really what this verse means?

One of the roles of God's love-letter to us, the Bible, is to teach us what sin is, and that sin has consequences. It affects us, and our relationships with God and one another. The Torah teaches that restoration requires an atonement (the placing of my sin onto the sacrifice, and receiving its purity and innocence in exchange, followed by the death of the sacrifice bearing my sin). The process is: confession, atonement, and restoration.

Yeshua (Jesus) is the perfect lamb, my atoning sacrifice. All things are done Lawfully when I turn and face God to confess my sin (repent), place my sin on Yeshua instead (atone), and receive His perfection and clean conscience in return. Yeshua has already carried that sin into death, once for all.

So "All things are Lawful" does not mean, "Everything is good," or even, "Everything is okay." It means, "All things are done Lawfully." Each time Yeshua carries yet another sin into death, instead of me, He does so as the perfect lamb, foreshadowed by Torah.

(And please Father, help me remember: To obey is better than sacrifice. 1 Sam 15:22.)

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