Miles de Libros Cristianos Gratis. Accede a nuestra Biblioteca Virtual

Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Corinthians 10:31

Para un estudio avanzado de: “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Corinthians 10:31” utilice nuestra app.

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

31. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink ] The glory of God, that is to be the end of all your actions. In themselves, eating and drinking are things indifferent, but there are circumstances in which they may be matters of the highest importance. In our own day, for instance, the question of using or abstaining from intoxicating liquors is one which ought to be dealt with on the same principles as those which St Paul has laid down in this chapter. Such a question should be approached and decided on one ground alone, namely, whether by using them or abstaining from them we shall best promote the glory of God.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Whether therefore ye eat or drink – This direction should be strictly and properly applied to the case in hand; that is, to the question about eating and drinking the things that had been offered in sacrifice to idols. Still, however, it contains a general direction that is applicable to eating and drinking at all times; and the phrase whatsoever ye do is evidently designed by the apostle to make the direction universal.

Or whatsoever ye do – In all the actions and plans of life; whatever he your schemes, your desires, your doings, let all be done to the glory of God.

Do all to the glory of God – The phrase the glory of God is equivalent to the honor of God; and the direction is, that we should so act in all things as to honor him as our Lawgiver, our Creator, our Redeemer; and so as to lead others by our example to praise him and to embrace His gospel. A child acts so as to honor a father when he always cherishes reverential and proper thoughts of him; when he is thankful for his favors; when he keeps his laws; when he endeavors to advance his plans and his interests; and when he so acts as to lead all around him to cherish elevated opinions of the character of a father. He dishonorers him when he has no respect to his authority; when he breaks his laws; when he leads others to treat him with disrespect. In like manner, we live to the glory of God when we honor him in all the relations which he sustains to us; when we keep his laws; when we partake of his favors with thankfulness, and with a deep sense of our dependence; when we pray unto him; and when we so live as to lead those around us to cherish elevated conceptions of his goodness, and mercy, and holiness. Whatever plan or purpose will tend to advance His kingdom, and to make him better known and loved, will be to His glory. We may observe in regard to this:

(1) That the rule is universal. It extends to everything. If in so small matters as eating and drinking we should seek to honor God, assuredly we should in all other things.

(2) It is designed that this should be the constant rule of conduct, and that we should be often reminded of it. The acts of eating and drinking must be performed often; and the command is attached to that which must often occur, that we may be often reminded of it, and that we may be kept from forgetting it.

(3) It is intended that we should honor God in our families and among our friends. We eat with them; we share together the bounties of Providence; and God designs that we should honor Him when we partake of His mercies, and that thus our daily enjoyments should be sanctified by a constant effort to glorify Him.

(4) We should devote the strength which we derive from the bounties of His hand to His honor and in His service. He gives us food; He makes it nourishing; He invigorates our frame; and that strength should not be devoted to purposes of sin, and profligacy, and corruption. it is an act of high dishonor to God, when he gives us strength, that we should at once devote that strength to pollution and to sin.

(5) This rule is designed to be one of the chief directors of our lives. It is to guide all our conduct, and to constitute a test by which to try our actions. Whatever can be done to advance the honor of God is right; whatever cannot be done with that end is wrong. Whatever plan a man can form that will have this end is a good plan; whatever cannot be made to have this tendency, and that cannot be commended, continued, and ended with a distinct and definite desire to promote His honor, is wrong, and should be immediately abandoned.

(6) What a change would it make in the world if this rule were every where followed! How differently would even professing Christians live! How many of their plans would they be constrained at once to abandon! And what a mighty revolution would it at once make on earth should all the actions of people begin to be performed to promote the glory of God!

(7) It may be added that sentiments like that of the apostle were found among the Jews, and even among pagans. Thus, Maimonides, as cited by Grotius, says, Let everything be in the name of Heaven, that is, in the name of God. Capellus cites several of the rabbinical writers who say that all actions, even eating and drinking, should be done in the name of God. See the Critici Sacri. Even the pagan writers have something that resembles this. Thus, Arrian Eph 1:19 says, Looking unto God in all things small and great. Epictetus, too, on being asked how anyone may eat so as to please God, answered, By eating justly, temperately, and thankfully.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 31. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink] As no general rule can be laid down in reference to the above particulars, there is one maxim of which no Christian must lose sight-that whether he eats or drinks of this or the other kind of aliments, or whatever else he may do, he must do it so as to bring glory to God. This is a sufficient rule to regulate every man’s conscience and practice in all indifferent things, where there are no express commands or prohibitions.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

The apostle, in these three last verses, layeth down three rules, to direct Christians how to use their liberty as to things that are of an indifferent nature, neither in themselves commanded nor forbidden in the word of God. His first rule is in this verse, to do whatsoever we do to the glory of God. This is a general rule, not to be restrained to the eating of meat offered to idols, of which the former discourse had been. It is a general rule, not applicable alone to eating and drinking, but to all other human actions. The reasonableness of this rule appeareth from our consideration, that the glory of God was the end of our creation; The Lord hath made all things for himself, Pro 16:4; and indeed it is impossible it should be otherwise; for whereas every reasonable agent both propounds to himself some end of his actions, and the best end he can imagine, it is impossible but that God also, in creating man, should propound to himself some end, and there being no better end than his own glory, he could propound no other unto himself. The glory of God being the end which he propounded to himself in creating man, it must needs follow, that that must be the chief and greatest end which any man can propound to himself in his actions. God is then glorified by us, when by our means, or by occasion of us, he is well spoken of in the world, or by our obedience to his will: this our Saviour hath taught us, Joh 17:4,6. No man in any of his actions hath a liberty from this rule; so as though a man, as to many things, hath a liberty to marry or not to marry, to eat meats or not to eat them, to wear this apparel or not to wear it; yet he is not even in such things as these so at liberty, but he ought to look about, and to consider circumstances, which will be most for the honour of God, the credit of the gospel, and reputation of religion. And the judgment of this is to be made from circumstances, the difference of which may make that unlawful which otherwise would be lawful, and that lawful which under other circumstances would be unlawful.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

31. Contrast Zec7:6; the picture of worldly men. The godly may “eat anddrink,” and it shall be well with him (Jer 22:15;Jer 22:16).

to the glory of God(Col 3:17; 1Pe 4:11)which involves our having regard to the edification of ourneighbor.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Whether therefore ye eat or drink,…. Which may principally refer to eating things sacrificed to idols, and drinking the libations of wine offered to them, since this is the subject of the apostle’s discourse; in doing of which he directs them to have the glory of God in view, and so to conduct, that that end may be answered: and it may also be applied to common eating and drinking, or to ordinary meals upon food, about which there is no dispute; and which common actions of life are done to the glory of God, when every mercy is considered and owned as coming from him; and when we confess ourselves unworthy of any; and when we ascribe all we have to the free and unmerited goodness of God; and enjoy every mercy of this kind, as a fruit of our Father’s love to us, as a blessing of the covenant, and as coming to us through the blood of Christ; when we are contented and satisfied with what we have, and act faith continually on God for future fresh supplies, and give thanks for all we receive: and if this, then much more eating and drinking in an ordinance way should be directed to the glory of God and Christ, as eating the bread, and drinking the wine in the Lord’s supper; and which is so done, when it is done in a decent and reverend manner, in the exercise of faith, discerning the Lord’s body, eating his flesh, and drinking his blood in a spiritual manner, without dependence on the actions done, and in remembrance of the love of God and Christ.

Or whatsoever ye do; in a natural, civil, or religious respect, in preaching, hearing, praying, fasting, giving of alms, c. whatever in the closet, in the family, in the church, or in the world, in private, or in public:

do all to the glory of God God’s glory is the end of all his works and actions; in creation, providence, and grace; in election, in the covenant, in the blessings and promises of it, in redemption, in the effectual calling, and in bringing many sons to glory. The same is the end of all Christ’s actions, as man and Mediator, of his doctrines and miracles, of his obedience, sufferings, and death in this world, and of his interceding life in the other; who, as he lives to make intercession for us, lives unto God, to the glory of God; and therefore the glory of God should be the end of all our actions: besides, without this no action can be truly called a good one; if a man seeks himself, his own glory, and popular applause, or has any sinister and selfish end in view in what he does, it cannot be said, nor will it be accounted by God to be a good action. The Jews have a saying much like this, “let all thy works be done to the glory of God” p; which one of their commentators q explains thus:

“even when thou art employed in eating and drinking, and in the business of life, thou shalt not design thy bodily profit, but that thou mayest be strong to do the will of thy Creator.”

p Pirke Abot, c. 2, sect. 12. q Bartenora in ib.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

To the glory of God ( ). This is the ruling motive in the Christian’s life, not just having his own way about whims and preferences.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

1) Whether therefore ye eat or drink. (eite oun esthiete eite pinete) “Whether therefore you all eat or you all drink.” The supreme rule, moral and spiritual guide, for a Christian’s conduct is duty -the duty to glorify or honor God in everything that he does. Col 3:17, requires this “in word and in deed,” in all that one says and all that one does,

2) “Or whatsoever ye do.” (eite ti poiete) “Or whatever you all do.” he whatsoever of word, thought, or deed, of this passage is just as broad and inclusive to the believer as the “whosoever” of Joh 3:15 is to the unbeliever.

3) “Do all to the glory of God.” (panta eis doksan theou poiete) “Do it all to the glory of God.” If the eating, drinking, thought, word, or deed be with relation to religious services or social conduct, it is to be done with an unselfish discipline to the will of Christ, as according to the Word of truth, that each member of the church may glorify God, 2Ti 3:16-17; Eph 3:21; Mat 5:15-16.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

31. Whether, therefore, ye eat, or drink Lest they should think, that in so small a matter they should not be so careful to avoid blame, he teaches that there is no part of our life, and no action so minute, (605) that it ought not to be directed to the glory of God, and that we must take care that, even in eating and drinking, we may aim at the advancement of it. This statement is connected with what goes before; for if we are eagerly desirous of the glory of God, as it becomes us to be, we will never allow, so far as we can prevent it, his benefits to lie under reproach. It was well expressed anciently in a common proverb, that we must not live to eat; but eat to live (606) Provided the end of living be at the same time kept in view, the consequence will thus be, that our food will be in a manner sacred to God, inasmuch as it will be set apart for his service.

(605) “ Qu’il n’y a rien en toute nostre vie, tant petit soit-il;” — “That there is nothing in our whole life, be it ever so small.”

(606) The proverbial expression referred to occurs in Auctor. ad Herenn. 4. 28: — “ Esse oportet ut vivas, non vivere ut edas ;” — “You should eat to live — not live to eat. ” — Ed.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(31) Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do.These words embrace all life. The definite acts of eating and drinking are mentioned expressly as they are the subject immediately under consideration. They are, however, to be regulated by the same principle which guides all true life. The modern idea of some acts being religious and some secular is neither here nor elsewhere recognised by St. Paul. No act of life is in itself either religious or secular. The quality of each act depends on the spirit which guides it, and the motive from which it springs. The commonest thing may be done in a high Christian spirit. The greatest deed may spring from a low and selfish motive. A religious act done in a secular spirit is secular. A secular thing done in a religious spirit is religious. This is the great first principle of Christian life.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

31. Therefore As a concluding rule from the whole of 1Co 10:23-30.

Eat, or drink At feasts or elsewhere.

Glory of God As a servant of God, willing ever to bring honour to his law and name.

This does not require that in every motion or deed we make God’s glory a distinct object of thought. It requires that we should plan and order our whole life in accordance with God’s law, and with the gospel of his Son. This supreme purpose should control the whole scheme, and be so carried out that our life, in whole and in all its parts, should be a lesson to men, inspiring them to glorify our Father which is in heaven.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.’

Paul’s reply is specific and clear. He points to the positive aspect, the need to do all to the glory of God. His reply is that they must ensure that, whatever they do, even in the eating of meat, they do it to the glory of God. It is not their own liberty and rights that they should be concerned about, but God’s rights. Their thoughts should be on what pleases Him and what brings glory to Him. And what pleases Him involves consideration for the effect of the things they do on others. Surely they can see that no glory comes to God in doing something which actually causes harm to others of His people? That is the point, and the thing that has to be taken into account

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The conclusion:

v. 31. Whether, therefore, ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

v. 32. Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the Church of God;

v. 33. even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

In applying the principle of Christian love, the apostle states a general maxim of Christian duty. No matter in what particular situation of everyday life a believer may find himself, no matter how he may be engaged, whether it be in eating or in drinking or in any other work, the glory of God must be his object. “Let self be forgotten. Let your eye be fixed on God. Let the promotion of His glory be your object in all you do. strive in everything to act in such a way that men may praise that God whom you profess to serve. ” (Hodge.) And the second general rule is: Without offense be to the Jews as well as to the Gentiles as well as to the Church of God. Give no one occasion to be offended against the Christian religion; in all things comport yourself so as not to cause blasphemy against the holy name of God. To make a reckless use of Christian liberty may become the acme of foolishness and result in serious harm to the cause of the Lord. Whether the persons in question are Jews, with their legalistic standpoint, or Gentiles, with their idolatrous practices, or weaker brethren, with their peculiar scruples, act so that the welfare of your neighbor may not be endangered, and, above all, that the glory of the Lord does not suffer at your instigation. And herein Paul again cites his own example: Just as I also in all things please all, not seeking my own advantage, but that of the many, of as large a number as possible, in order that they might be saved. See chap. 9:22. From the standpoint of man, Paul gave up everything, honor, position, wealth, all advantages of this world, in order to give himself entirely to the service of his Lord and of his fellow-men, no matter under what conditions he met them. And he did not worry about the fact that many misjudged him in this attitude, but kept right on working in their interest. “Therefore; when St. Paul says, Let everyone please his neighbor for good, he does not want us to bring it about that it shall please our neighbor, for that is not our concern; but that we should do so much, according to love, that in justice it ought to please him, and it is not our fault if it does not please him. ” The fine, tactful decorum of Paul in every conceivable situation obliged people to respect him and in many cases opened the way for the work of the Gospel.

Summary. Paul warns the Corinthians against false security and participation in idolatrous feasts, showing that the glory of God and the welfare of his neighbor must be the motives actuating the believer at all times.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

1Co 10:31. Whether therefore ye eat “Therefore on the whole, to conclude this discourse, since no one particular rule can be laid down to suit all the diversities of temper and apprehension which may arise; instead of uncharitable contentions with each other, or any thingwhich looks like mutual contempt, let us take all the pains we can to meet as in the centre of real religion. See to it then, that whether ye eat or drink, or whatever else ye do, in the common as well as sacred actions of life, ye do all to the glory of God; pursuing the credit of the Gospel, and the edification of the church, that God may be honoured in the happiness of his creatures, and more universallyacknowledged as the author of all good.” See Doddridge, and more on this subject in the Inferences.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

1Co 10:31-33 . The section treating expressly of the participation in sacrifices has been brought to a close. There now follow, introduced by (which here marks the inference of the general from the particular), some additional admonitions, in which are expressed the leading moral rules for all right Christian conduct ; , , , Chrysostom.

and are to be understood in a perfectly general sense, although the subject which the apostle had been handling hitherto naturally suggested the words. Rckert is wrong in holding that it would be more correct if stood in place of . The is here also “particula plane logica, et quae simpliciter ad cogitationem refertur,” Hermann, a [1727] Viger. p. 834. , again, does not stand for the Attic (Rckert), but the emphasis is on : be it that ye eat , or drink , or do anything; so that the three cases are: eating, drinking, acting .

] without any limitation whate1Co 10:“Magnum axioma,” Bengel. A Christian’s collective action should be directed harmoniously towards the one end of redounding to the glory of God ; for all truly Christian conduct and work is a practical glorifying of God. Comp 1Co 6:20 ; Eph 1:12 ; Phi 1:11 ; 1Pe 4:11 ; Joh 15:8 . The opposite: Rom 2:23 .

[1727] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Ver. 31. Whether therefore ye eat, &c. ] Of a reverend Scotch divine it is said, that “he did even eat and drink and sleep eternal life.” These common actions also are steps in our Christian walking, despise them not, therefore, but refer them to that supreme scope. Socrates, even in his recreations, profited his companions no less than if he had been reading lectures to them. . (Xenoph.) Plato and Xenophon thought it fit and profitable that men’s speeches at meals should be written. Quicquid agas propter Deum agas, saith one. Propter te, Domine, propter te, saith another. (Drus. Apophth.) The glory of God ought to eat up all other ends, as Moses’ serpent did the sorcerers’ serpents; or as the sun puts out the light of the fire. Jovinian the emperor’s motto was, Scopus vitae Christus.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

31. ] This , passing from the special to the general, is not without reference to the last verse, in which the hypothesis is, that the Christian and thankful act of the believer is marred by the condemnatory judgment of his weak brother. All such hindrances to God’s glory they are to avoid; and in all things, eating or drinking , or any other particular of conduct ( , any thing , the stress being on , whether ye eat or drink, or do any thing ; not as E. V. whatever ye do , ), the glory of God is to be the aim , self-regard being set aside: and so,

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

31 11:1. ] General conclusion of this part of the Epistle, enforced by the example of himself .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

1Co 10:31-32 conclude the matter with two solemn, comprehensive rules, introduced by the collective ( cf. Rom 5:9 ; Rom 11:22 ), relating to God’s glory and to man’s salvation . The supreme maxim of duty, , applies to all that Christians “eat or drink” (including the idolothyta), indeed to whatever they “do”; cf. Rom 14:20 ff., Col 3:17 . A second general rule emerges from the discussion: “Offenceless prove yourselves, both to Jews and to Greeks and to the church of God”. here act [1585] , as in Sir. 35:21, not causing to stumble ; elsewhere pass [1586] in sense. For , see note on 1Co 7:23 . The three classes named make up Paul’s world of men: “Jews” and “Greeks” embrace all outside the Church ( 1Co 1:22 , 1Co 9:20 f.); Christian believers alone form “the Church of God” ( cf. 1Co 1:2 , and note; also Gal 6:16 ). This text and 1Co 12:28 afford the first ex [1587] in P. of the comprehensive use of , as transcending local ref [1588] “The church of God ” is bound up with His glory (1Co 10:31 ); its sacredness supplies a new deterrent from self-indulgence. It contains “the weak” who are liable to injury (1Co 8:9 , 1Co 9:22 ).

[1585] active voice.

[1586] passive voice.

[1587] example.

[1588] reference.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1Co 10:31 to 1Co 11:1

31Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; 33 just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved. 1Co 11:1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

1Co 10:31 “do all to the glory of God” This is the universal principle applicable in every area of the believer’s life (cf. Eph 6:7; Col 3:17; Col 3:23; 1Pe 4:11). See SPECIAL TOPIC: GLORY (DOXA) at 1Co 2:7.

1Co 10:32 “Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God” This seems to refer to three groups. The first two are related to evangelism; the last group to fellowship in the church.

The term “church” is obviously being used in a universal sense as in Mat 16:18. The term is used in the NT in

1. a local sense (most occurrences)

2. a regional sense (cf. Act 9:31; Gal 1:2)

3. a universal sense (cf. Php 3:6; Heb 12:23)

4. a cosmic sense of all the saints of all ages alive and dead (cf. Eph 1:22; Eph 5:23-25; Eph 5:27; Eph 5:29; Eph 5:32; Col 1:18; Col 1:24)

“church” See Special Topic: Church at 1Co 1:2.

1Co 10:33 “just as I also please all men in all things. . .so that they may be saved” Evangelism, not self-rights, is the priority of mature believers (cf. 1Co 9:19-22).

“the many” In English this might be understood as a large part of the whole group. However, in Hebrew thought it is just a literary variation of “the all.” This parallelism can be seen in

1. Isa 53:11, “the many”

Isa 53:12, “of many”

Isa 53:6, “of us all”

2. Rom 5:18, “to all men. . .to all men”

Rom 5:19, “the many. . .the many”

3. In Corinthians 1Co 10:17, “we who are many” (here Paul uses the term “many” to refer to the whole group of believers)

“so that they may be saved” This is the goal of gospel preaching and Christian living (cf. 1Co 9:19-22). God’s promise of Gen 3:15; Gen 12:3 has now been fulfilled. The broken fellowship (i.e., the marred image of God in mankind) has been restored through Christ. “Whosoever will” may come (cf. Eze 18:23; Eze 18:32; Joh 1:12; Joh 3:16; 1Ti 2:4; 2Pe 3:9).

1Co 11:1 This verse seems to go with chapter 10, not 11. Paul’s evangelistic motives and actions parallel the life and teachings of Jesus. As Paul mimicked Him the believers at Corinth were to focus on (1) the good of the body (the church) and (2) the salvation of the unbelieving world.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

to. App-104.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

31.] This , passing from the special to the general, is not without reference to the last verse, in which the hypothesis is, that the Christian and thankful act of the believer is marred by the condemnatory judgment of his weak brother. All such hindrances to Gods glory they are to avoid; and in all things, eating or drinking, or any other particular of conduct (, any thing, the stress being on ,-whether ye eat or drink, or do any thing; not as E. V. whatever ye do,-), the glory of God is to be the aim, self-regard being set aside: and so,-

Fuente: The Greek Testament

1Co 10:31. , whether) A great first principle, comp. Jer 22:15-16.- ) or whatsoever ye do, which is either more or even less common than eating or drinking. [It is in the highest degree just to consider in all our words and actions, whether they tend to the glory of GOD, 2Co 9:12; 1Pe 4:11.-V. g.]- , to the glory of God) with thanksgiving and the edification of our neighbour.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

1Co 10:31

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.-All that Christians do should be done to the glory of God, and his glory is never enhanced by our destroying his weak children to gratify ourselves. Jesus pleased not himself, but gave up all to save men and so glorify God. He is our great exemplar. We must glorify God by sacrificing self for the good of others.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

The Jew, The Gentile, And The Church Of God

1Co 10:31-33

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. (vv. 31-33)

These words form a fitting conclusion to the portion which we considered in our last study. Paul has just emphasized the behavior that should characterize those who are linked with the table of the Lord. A table is the expression of fellowship, there is no place where we enjoy one anothers companionship so much as there. We sit down to partake of the good things provided, and there is a feast of reason and a flow of soul, and we find ourselves enjoying fellowship together.

In the spiritual sense there are three tables, representing three great fellowships in this world. First, there is the table of the Lord, and that represents Christian fellowship. As we have seen, the loaf and the cup upon that table speak of the body and the blood of our Lord Jesus, and we being many, all who have been redeemed to God by the precious blood of our Savior, are members of one body and so partake together of that one communion feast. Then there is that which the apostle solemnly designates the table of demons. He is referring to heathen festivals, the kind of feasts held in those days, and that are still being held in pagan lands where devotees of idolatry gather together for fellowship in their abominably mysterious and unspeakably evil rites and ceremonies. Behind all this is the power of Satan. The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to [demons], and not to God. In the third place there is what might be called the table of Israel. Are not they that eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? (v. 18). That was called the table of the Lord, but when the Lord Jesus was forsaken these forms and ceremonies became empty. Yet today we recognize that there is that fellowship in the world, a fellowship which is neither Christian on the one hand nor pagan on the other, the fellowship of the house of Israel. And now the apostle shows us that as Christians we are to live in this world having due regard to these different fellowships, seeking to bless all in each of these various circles.

First, we have our individual responsibility to order our lives to the glory of God. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. How far-reaching is this commandment. I wonder whether we always bear it in mind as we should. I am quite certain that many of us as Christians would live very different lives if we kept this admonition in mind, Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. That takes in my entire life. A great many people try to live their lives in sealed compartments; there is one compartment for the church, there is another for the family, another for business, and another for pleasure and recreation, and the same man may seem to be an altogether different person in each one of these. When he comes to church he is the essence of sanctimoniousness, he has a long face and reverent mien as he sits in his pew. You would not think an unholy thought ever passed through his mind. His eyes are either uplifted to heaven or closed as if in rapt meditation. But see that same man during the week when he goes out into the world in business. Now his eyes are never closed, they are never lifted heavenward, but he is looking about him furtively in a most anxious way, and he is always interested in how he may make a dollar honestly or dishonestly. In fact, he sometimes does not make the dollars at all, he simply gets them. There is a great deal of difference between making money and getting money. We make money when we give a legitimate return for it; we get money without giving a legitimate return for it, and even professing Christians often engage in various nefarious schemes that would not bear the test of the Word of God nor even a close application of the law of the land, in their efforts to get money. When they are questioned they say, Well, you know what the Bible says, Not slothful in business. That is a Scripture that has made a great impression upon many minds. And then again this same man goes to his home, and there he is an altogether different person. In business he is so affable, at church so reverent and so solemn, but in his home where he feels he is best known he is sometimes anything but affable and solemn, he shows a miserably bad temper and is a kind of boor and makes everybody around him uncomfortable. You have possibly heard the story of the wife who said of her husband who was a preacher, When I see him in the pulpit, I think he never ought to come out of it, and when I see his behavior at home, I think he never ought to go into it. There are many people like that, they live one way at home and altogether another outside. John Bunyan speaks of a man as a devil at home and an angel abroad.

These same people have another compartment in their lives, and that is the one that has to do with their leisure time, their pleasure. It is amazing to see the very person who looks so serious on a Sunday morning make his way into some ungodly movie, or some other unholy place of amusement, on a weeknight. I wonder how people can attempt to combine the two, how there can be any respect whatever for the things of God if they go on with the vile, wicked amusements that so many are running after today. We are not to live our lives in these air-tight compartments, but are to do everything to the glory of God. If we gather with the people of God in the church services, it is that He may be glorified; if we go out to take our place in the business world, it is that we may bring glory to His name. A straightforward, upright, godly-living Christian businessman may be a far greater testimony for God than a preacher. Men expect the preacher to unfold the Word of God, but it often comes to them as a wonderful surprise when they see a business man living out the Word of God, and it appeals to them, it gives them to know that what the preacher declares is the right thing.

The home is the place where perhaps above every other a man may show what a Christian really should be, as in the presence of his wife and his children he manifests the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and seeks to lead those who are young in the ways that be in Christ. And then we come to his recreation, for a Christian needs recreation, a Christian has a body and a mind to be thought of, and needs to get out in the open and give a certain amount of time to that which is not so serious. But in his recreation he will say to himself, I am still to have this in view, that I am to live to the glory of God, and whatever I do I must be careful that I do not allow in myself anything, under the plea that it is simply pleasure or recreation, that would not have the approbation of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can easily make the test by saying, If I do thus and so, would it disconcert me in the least if the Lord Jesus would suddenly appear, if He would look down upon me and say, What are you doing?

During my unconverted days I had never been in a theater, but some seven years after my conversion I got into a low backslidden state and I said, I am going to find out what the theater is like. I felt like Moses before he killed that man, when he looked this way and that way to see if anybody was watching. I looked to the right and to the left, but I forgot to look up, for there was One watching me, the blessed Lord Jesus Himself. I paid for my ticket and went in and the miserable thing began. I had not been sitting there long until I seemed to hear a voice say, What doest thou here, Elijah? and I thought, Where does that come from? Oh, yes, I remember, that is in the Bible. It stirred me so I got up and ran from the place. If you cannot enjoy things with the Lords approbation, then you had better avoid them.

If you want to be the kind of Christian who grows in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, you must order your life according to His Word. We have a similar verse to this in the epistle to the Colossians, Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks unto God and the Father by Him (3:17). If you call yourself a Christian, the next time you think of going to some ungodly place of worldly amusement, get down on your knees first and say, Blessed God, in the name of the Lord Jesus I am going down to the movie theater-or whatever it may be-to see some of those ungodly Hollywood divorcees cavorting on the stage, and I pray that it may be for my spiritual blessing and that I may be enabled to glorify God. If you can pray that way without biting your tongue for being a hypocrite, you may go, but if you find you cannot pray like that, you had better give the place a wide berth.

I have heard Pastor D. H. Dolman tell that he was giving some addresses, before the world war, in a palace in Russia. He had been invited over from Germany by a Russian princess who was an earnest evangelical Christian. She had gathered together many of the old Russian nobility and it was to them Pastor Dolman was speaking. At one of his meetings he was talking of the Christians attitude toward the world. A Grand Duchess was there and she was a professed Christian. At the close of the meeting, being a strong-minded lady, she spoke up and said, I do not at all agree with some things that Pastor Dolman has said today.

He turned to her and said, Your Imperial Highness, what have I said with which you disagree?

You said a Christian should not go to the theater, and I do not agree with you. I go to the theater, and I never go but what I get down on my knees first and say, I am going to the theater today, and I want Thee to go with me and protect me from all evil, and He always does.

Your Imperial Highness, may I ask you a question? Where did you get the authority to decide what you were going to do or where you were to go, and then ask the Lord to go with you in it? Why do you not wait until the Lord says to you, Grand Duchess, I am going to the theater tonight and I want you to come with Me, and then follow Him to the theater?

She threw up her hands and said, Pastor Dolman has spoiled the theater for me, for if I wait for the Lord to bid me go, that time will never come!

That is true of a great many other worldly places. Give the Lord the opportunity to guide you and He will lead your steps in the right way. You may say, Oh, well; whose business is it how I behave? That is something like the question Cain asked, Am I my brothers keeper? If you profess to be a Christian, there are a great many eyes fixed upon you, people are watching you to see what a Christian should be and they are judging your Master by your life, and if your life is worldly, mean, and ungodly, they decide that your Master is not the blessed, glorious, holy Christ that your lips tell them He is.

And so the apostle reminds us that there are three great classes of people who are looking on and he says, Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God. Give none offence. He does not mean that we are not to offend any one, for it is impossible to keep from offending somebody. For instance, if I preach the Lord Jesus Christ, I offend my unbelieving neighbor. If I try to live for God, I offend people who do not want to live for God. If I stand against the liquor traffic, I offend all those engaged in that abominable business and who are interested in it from the standpoint of revenue. It is impossible for a Christian to live as he should without offending somebody, but the old English word offend has an altogether different meaning. The admonition may be translated, Give no occasion to stumble, do not allow yourself in anything that would give another occasion to stumble because of your inconsistency.

Neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God. Here are the three classes into which the world is divided. The Jews of old, Gods covenant people, the people to whom He gave the revelation of His Word and who preserved that revelation for us down through the centuries, the people to whom the Savior came-in fact, He was one of them, Of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came (Rom 9:5). But that people reading their own Scriptures fulfilled the predictions of the prophets in condemning and rejecting that Savior, and because they condemned and rejected Him God has set them to one side. He went out to die, sadly saying to Israel, Your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord (Mat 23:38-39). And so because of their awful sin in rejecting their promised Messiah they are scattered everywhere among the Gentiles today. It may be that I am addressing sons or daughters of Israel. Let me assure such that every honest Christian heart goes out in tender sympathy toward Israel, with yearning and longing for their salvation. We realize that Israel having been set to one side, great blessing has come to the Gentiles, the nations outside to whom we belong, but we desire that Gods ancient people may share these blessings with us.

A Jewish lady once said to me, If Jesus was the Messiah, the One predicted by our prophets, why is it that it is you Gentiles who seem to enjoy the blessings that Jesus brings while we are bereft of them? I said, My dear friend, the blessed Lord came and spread a table laden with all good things and said, I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and He invited the people of Israel to come and partake of these good things, but they turned away and did not come; they rejected the Savior and the blessings He brought. It was then He threw open wide the door to the Gentiles and said, Come in, and take of the good things that Israel refused, and that is why we have come in; but we still recognize Israel as Gods ancient covenant people and know from the Word of God that the day is coming when their eyes will be opened and They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn (Zec 12:10). Meantime blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.

We as Christians are to live our lives consistently, carefully, before the Jew, we are to have consideration, we are to remember that judicial blindness has come upon him and are to commend our Christ to Israel by the godly lives that we live. I am afraid that some Jews might well be excused for rejecting Christ Jesus because of the behavior of those who profess to belong to Christ. Shame that it ever should be so.

Perhaps there never was a day when it was more important that real Christians should confirm their love toward Israel than the present one. There seems to be a rising tide of anti-Semitism sweeping all over the civilized world. To follow the writings of some, one might think that the Jew is responsible for all our national and political ills. But we know who is responsible. Professing Christian people have turned away from the living God, have spurned His Word, have rejected His Son, have dishonored His Holy Spirit, and so God is giving the Christian nations of the world to feel that it is an evil and a bitter thing to forsake the Lord their God. But Israel we know is blinded, and many of them have turned away from the God of their fathers, and instead of being a blessing to the world they are a curse. However, the great majority of them today are simple, kind, earnest people. How dare we try to blame on them the ills of the nations? We as Christians should show them that our hearts are toward them, and that we desire to have them share with us the blessings which we have found through the One who came from them, Jesus of Nazareth, the rightful King of the Jews.

But the apostle says, Give no occasion to stumble, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, the Christless nations all about us. Most of us are Gentiles by birth and at one time we were outside the covenants of promise, we were aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, and today the great part of the Gentile world still remains in its ignorance and darkness and sin although nineteen hundred years have elapsed since the Lord Jesus said, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mar 16:15). There are over a billion persons in this world today who are still without God and without hope. What a tremendous responsibility rests upon us as Christians to give the gospel to the Gentile world! You do not need to go across the sea to do that, you work with them day by day, these Gentiles are all about you. How careful we should be to give no occasion to stumble.

I have said to some, Are you a Christian? They have answered, No. Wouldnt you like to be? I have asked. Well, I have sometimes thought so, but I have seen so many hypocrites among people professing to be Christians that I have not much interest. That is, of course, a very foolish excuse to make. It is as if I were to offer a man a ten-dollar bill and he said, Thank you, but I have seen so many counterfeit bills I dont like to touch it. It would be a very foolish way of reasoning. I do not excuse any one for reasoning like that, for no one will talk that way in the day of judgment. When the Lord says, Why didnt you trust Me? no one will dare to look up and say, I would have, but I saw so many hypocrites among those professing to be Christians. But on the other hand you and I are to be careful that there be no possibility of people getting a wrong conception of Christianity because our lives are not what they should be.

Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God. What is the church of God? This is a third company. There was a time when the church of God had no existence. You remember when our Lord Jesus was on earth after Peter made his confession, He said, Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Mat 16:18). There was no church of God existing on the earth in the four Gospels, but when you come to the book of the Acts after the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, you find a new company. The apostle Paul, when speaking of what he was in his unconverted days, says, I persecuted the church of God and wasted it. And speaking to the Ephesian elders he says, [Feed the flock of God], over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, and he calls it, The church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood (Act 20:28). Writing to Timothy long years afterward, he tells him how he ought to behave himself in the house of God and adds, Which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth (1Ti 3:15). What is the church of God? In the first place, it is not a building in which we meet. When we speak of a church in that sense, we use the word colloquially. The church is the company of people who have been redeemed to God by the precious blood of His Son. At one time some of these people were Jews, in the beginning the great majority of them were Jews, and then God began to work in power among the Gentiles and the two together constituted the church of God, as it is written in Eph 3:6, That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel. It was the Jew first and then the Gentile, and now all who believe form this wonderful company called the church of God. Let me ever remember as I walk down the street that I am a member of the church of God; as I meet with fellow Christians I am a member of the church of God; in my home life, in my business life, I am a member of the church of God. I cannot get out of the church, so I always have to behave as in church. Some people have one manner of behavior in what they call a church building and another outside. Parents will say to their children, You must be good in church. Let me say to every Christian, You and I must always be good, for we are always in church! We are members of the church of God, and we are to behave ourselves accordingly. Giving none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God.

Now see how the apostle says, as it were, I am not asking you to do something that I do not ask myself to do. He was not one to say, You do as I say and not as I do. Even as I please all men in all things. Of course he uses the word please in the sense of seeking to profit all men. You cannot please them in the sense of doing that which every man wants you to do. If you did, you would not please God, but we are to behave ourselves properly toward others. Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. Why is it so important that I should behave myself aright as a Christian? Because others who are not saved are watching me, and if I am not careful my behavior will perhaps be such that they will never be saved. They will say, No, I have no use for God, for Christianity. I have no use for the Bible, for I have been watching that man who professes to love God, to love Christ, and to honor the Bible, and I do not see anything in his life to commend either God or Christ or the Bible. We want to behave ourselves so that people looking at us will see Christ.

That they may be saved. Well, then, there are some people not saved. If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them (2Co 4:3-4). Scripture divides all mankind into two classes, the lost and the saved. Who are lost? Those who reject the gospel, those who live on in their sins and never come to Christ. Who are saved? Those who put their trust in Jesus, those who believe the gospel, those who come to Christ. My friend, are you lost or are you saved? Notice, it is are lost, not merely in danger of being lost, but you are lost now if you have not trusted Christ. If you are lost, you may be saved, and you may be saved now.

Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets

Mans Chief End

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.1Co 10:31.

This verse, with the passage immediately preceding, illustrates St. Pauls constant habit of solving questions as to conduct by the largest principles. He did not keep his theology and his ethics in separate watertight compartments, having no communication with each other. The greatest truths were used to regulate the smallest duties. Like the star that guided the Magi, they burned high in the heavens, but yet directed to the house in Bethlehem.

The Corinthians were in a practical difficulty. Social life had been upheaved by the action of Christianity. Like the shuddering of the sunny, peaceful plains of Campania from the fierce shock of the insurgent fires of Vesuvius, the whole social fabric, wherever Christs hand had touched it, was in a state of convulsive trembling; and the convulsion was felt in the agonies of its rebound alike in the deepest and in the most trivial things of life. The ordinary gentleman of the day, in Corinth, was no longer able to associate himself with his everyday acquaintances in the pleasures or the business of social life, without the rebuking face of the new religion gazing at him in serious warning. He could not, as we should say, dine out with his friend without being at once confronted by a practical difficulty. The old idol-worship had interpenetrated the social life of Corinth; and when Christians came to accept the invitation of their friends to an ordinary social entertainment, they were placed in a serious dilemma, as they would either appear to sanction by their presence a service of idols and an insult to God, or else would be forced to cut themselves off from the commonest demands of the society of the time. Now, certainly St. Paul in his usual manner touches specific dangers with specific remedies; but at the same time he never limits himself to such a method. Invariably, whatever be the difficulty he has to deal with, he goes beyond the exact line of the particular question and its corresponding remedy, and sketches out a serviceable and yet a comprehensive canon of conduct. Thus, feeling that what is a desirable principle for all converts, when they have seceded from heathenism to the Christian Church, is some guidance for those at Corinth how to comport themselves properly in their social entertainments, instead of going into all the wearisome intricacies of the difficultyalthough he does touch them also when necessaryhe lays down the comprehensive rule of the text.

The principle of this text isDo all to the glory of God. Following out (i) this great principle of conduct, we get (ii) a test of action; (iii) a Christian ideal in everyday life; (iv) a transfiguration of drudgery and common toil.

The Principle

Do all to the glory of God.

1. St. Pauls words are an expression of a fundamental truth of religion, the truth, namely, that while the living God is the source and efficient cause of all things, so also He is their final end. It follows that God (though He gives lavishly to man gifts of help, and comfort, and blessing) is Himself, and not anything He gives, mans final and only satisfaction; and therefore, that the end He had in view in His creation, and has in view in His government, of the world, is not at all that He Himself may receive from any external being or thing a support which is never needed by that majestic self-sufficing life, but that He may have about Him numberless sons, like Himself in goodness and beauty, and finally fitted to be partakers of His own glory. Now if this truth, as to the final object of life, and therefore the final cause of Gods action in Christ Jesus, and government of the world, underlay the Apostles thought, what must be the result? Surely nothing else but the statement of the text.

Do all to the glory of God, that is, in a higher manner, in a nobler spirit. Instead of the busy, ever-recurring image of self, which is always like a forward child chattering within us, let the thought of God be present with us, like the sea, silent and unfathomable, like the light and air, living and infinite, yet also communicated by Him to us. Let us do all to the glory of Godnot with eye-service as men-pleasers, but, as the servants of God, from the heart. When we bring ourselves into that Presence, the temptations of sense flee away; when we lay our doubts and difficulties before Him, in the brightness of that light they are dispersed. It is by communion with Him, who is the essence of Righteousness and Truth and Love, that we are enabled to rise above ourselves. This is what the Scripture calls living to His glory. The vision of God in His glory (not merely as in a picture, surrounded by angels, but in the higher form of mind or thought) is sometimes seen at a distance from the heights of philosophy, and sometimes has a dwelling-place in the humble soul. If we attempted to describe it, we should fall into unreality, for we see through a glass only. Let us think sometimes of the best moments of our lives, when we have been most resigned to the will of God, when we have risen most above the opinions of men, when we have been most free from the temptations of sense, when we have desired to look into the truth, and seen it so far as our earthly state allowed. In this way we may form an idea of what the Apostle meant by living to Gods glory, of what Christ meant when He said, The kingdom of God is within you.1 [Note: B. Jowett.]

2. Now Christianity is not a sum of isolated observances. It is the hallowing of all human interests and occupations alike. Worship is a very small fragment of devotion. The Christian does not offer to God part of his life or of his endowments in order that he may be at liberty to use the rest according to his own caprice. All life, all endowments, are equally owed to our Lord, and equally claimed by Him. Every human office in every part is holy. Our conductour whole conductis a continuous revelation of what we are. At each moment we are springs of influence. Virtue goes out of us alsoor weakness. Our silence speaks. We who profess to be Christians must from day to day either confirm or disparage our Creed. Our faithour want of faithmust show itself. It is finally the soul that acts. The body is but its instrument.

The sense of being Gods minister gives to any life that noble pride which is our birthright, and which we ought carefully to cherish. Do we not see on a lower level how fond people are of linking their name and calling with royalty? Purveyor to His Majesty. We sometimes wonder how these petty hucksters came to possess this sounding title. No doubt the distinction often rests on a slender charter; a mere gossamer thread binds the obscure counter to the throne; yet the privilege is sedulously guarded, and throws a coveted lustre upon the village shop. But how truly grand to relate all life to God, even in its lowliest phases! Nothing is then common or unclean. Everything is on the altar; all is sacramental. Every service is as royal as the golden crowns cast on the jasper pavement. This gives to the ordinary life infinite honour and content.1 [Note: W. L. Watkinson.]

Teach me, my God and King,

In all things Thee to see;

And what I do in any thing,

To do it as for Thee.

Not rudely, as a beast,

To runne into an action;

But still to make Thee prepossest,

And give it his perfection.

A man that looks on glasse,

On it may stay his eye;

Or if he pleaseth, through it passe,

And then the heavn espie.

All may of Thee partake;

Nothing can be so mean,

Which with his tincture for Thy sake

Will not grow bright and clean.

A servant with this clause

Makes drudgery divine:

Who sweeps the room as for Thy laws

Makes that and th action fine.

This is the famous stone

That turneth all to gold,

For that which God doth touch and own

Cannot for lesse be told.2 [Note: George Herbert.]

A Test of Action

It is surprising how difficult the duties of men sometimes become, when opposite rules are set against one another, or when they have to be reconciled with differences of character. It is surprising how simple they grow when they are considered by the light of great principles; when, dismissing tradition and custom and the opinions of men, we are able simply to ask: What is the will of God? If you can say that there is no will of God about this trifling ceremony, about this small dispute (for God does not interfere in such matters, but only in the greater things of righteousness and temperance and truth), the question is already answered: An highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; the wayfaring man shall not err therein.

People are perpetually squabbling about what will be best to do, or easiest to do, or advisablest to do, or profitablest to do; but they never, so far as I hear them talk, ever ask what it is just to do. And it is the law of heaven that you shall not be able to judge what is wise or easy, unless you are first resolved to judge what is just, and to do it. That is the one thing constantly reiterated by our Masterthe order of all others that is given oftenestDo justice and judgment. Thats your Bible order; thats the Service of God,not praying nor psalm-singing. You are told, indeed, to sing psalms when you are merry, and to pray when you need anything; and, by the perverseness of the evil Spirit in us, we get to think that praying and psalm-singing are service. If a child finds itself in want of anything, it runs in and asks its father for itdoes it call that doing its father a service? If it begs for a toy or a piece of cakedoes it call that serving its father? That, with God, is prayer, and He likes to hear it; He likes you to ask Him for cake when you want it; but He doesnt call that serving Him. Begging is not serving: God likes mere beggars as little as you doHe likes honest servants,not beggars. So when a child loves its father very much, and is very happy, it may sing little songs about him; but it doesnt call that serving its father; neither is singing songs about God, serving God. It is enjoying ourselves, if its anything, most probably it is nothing; but if its anything it is serving ourselves, not God. And yet we are impudent enough to call our beggings and chauntings Divine service: we say, Divine service will be performed (thats our wordthe form of it gone through) at so-and-so oclock. Alas! unless we perform Divine service in every willing act of life, we never perform it at all. The one Divine workthe one ordered sacrificeis to do justice; and it is the last we are ever inclined to do. Anything rather than that! As much charity as you choose, but no justice. Nay, you will say, charity is greater than justice. Yes, it is greater; it is the summit of justiceit is the temple of which justice is the foundation. But you cant have the top without the bottom; you cannot build upon charity. You must build upon justice, for this main reason, that you have not, at first, charity to build with. It is the last reward of good work. Do justice to your brother (you can do that whether you love him or not), and you will come to love him. But do injustice to him, because you dont love him; and you will come to hate him.1 [Note: Ruskin, The Crown of Wild Olive (Works, xviii. 419).]

There is a little organism called volvox, which, in its construction, habits of life, and mode of reproduction, stands on the border-line between the animal and vegetable kingdoms. I suppose ever since it has been known, this little creatureso small that it can scarcely be seen with the unaided eyehas been bandied about between the two kingdoms. Why? Because scientists have applied different tests. One has noted its possession of green colouring matter, and has therefore claimed it for the vegetable kingdom, while another, noting its mode of reproduction to be similar to that of some lower forms of animal life, has therefore claimed it for the animal kingdom. Like the volvox, many actions have been bandied about. Some claim that they belong to the kingdom of darkness, others that they belong to the Kingdom of God. Ought I to smoke, ought I to go to the theatre, ought I to drink intoxicating liquors, ought I to read my newspaper on Sunday? Ought I to cycle, tram or train on Sunday? Ought I to make my man or maid servant work on Sunday? Ought I to enter the public ballroom, or ought I to dance at all? Ought I to accept bribes in business? Bring the action to this test. Let this bright light shine upon it. Can I do this to the glory of God? In other words, I am a follower of Christ, who summed up His lifework in the sentence, I have glorified thee on the earth.2 [Note: G. Hay Morgan.]

Charles Marriotts unfailing good naturebut in fact it was his inveterate Christian considerationreally knew no bounds. Overwhelmed (as he always was) with all manner of work, he never denied himself to any one who saw fit to call on him, or wanted anything of him. I see you are too busy. I will not disturb you, once exclaimed Edward King,(afterwards Bishop of Lincoln, who was at that time an undergraduate of Oriela royal fellow, as C. M. used to call him)and was proceeding to leave the room. That depends (quietly rejoined Marriott) on the relative importance of what I am doing and what you have come to me about. The reply aptly expresses what the speaker seems always to have feltnamely, that the twelve hours of every day had to be spent in Gods service, and that he was not a competent judge beforehand of how God might be most acceptably served. He therefore always held himself in readiness to meet any demand which might by any one be made upon him for a measure of his time, or for a share of his attention.1 [Note: J. W. Burgon, Lives of Twelve Good Men, i. 339.]

III

A Christian Ideal in Everyday Life

Religion recognizes no bisecting into sacred and secular. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. It is just as much a part of Christian duty to do ones weekday work well as it is to pray well. I must be about my Fathers business, said Jesus in the dawn of youth; and what do we find Him doing after this recognition of His duty? Not preaching or teaching, but taking up the common duties of common life and putting all His soul into them. He found the Fathers business in His earthly home, in being a dutiful child, subject to His parents, in being a diligent pupil in the village school, and later in being a conscientious carpenter. He did not find religion too spiritual, too transcendental, for weekdays. His devotion to God did not take Him out of His natural human relationships into any realm of mere sentiment: it only made Him all the more loyal to the duties of His place in life. We ought to learn the lesson. Religion is intensely practical. Only so far as it dominates ones life is it real. We must get the commandments down from the Sinaitic glory amid which they were first graven on stone by the finger of God and give them a place in the hard, dusty paths of earthly toil and struggle. We must get them off the tables of stone and have them written on the walls of our own hearts. We must bring the Golden Rule down from its bright setting in the teaching of our Lord and get it wrought into our daily, actual life.

The Law of God concerning man is, that if he acts as Gods servant he shall be rewarded with such pleasure as no heart can conceive nor tongue tell.1 [Note: Ruskin, in Cooks Life of Ruskin, ii. 329.]

Jenny Lind once said to John Addington Symonds, I sing to God. Coming as it did from the heart, it was a fine expression. The famous cantatrice was deeply devout, and these words expressed the secret of her soul. She had a vivid sense of God, a boundless joy in Him, and her music was the spontaneous acknowledgment of His presence and beauty. Why should we not do all the work of life in the same spirit?I sing for God; I plough for God; I write for God; I build for God; I weave for God; I buy and sell for God. All that Jenny Lind sang was not strictly sacred, it was often, no doubt, secular and trivial; but she had ever a commanding sense of the heavenly presence, and sang to the God whose gladness filled her heart. So whatever our task may be we may serve Him day and night in His presence.2 [Note: W. L. Watkinson.]

Dismiss me not Thy service, Lord,

But train me for Thy will;

For even I in fields so broad

Some duties may fulfil;

And I will ask for no reward,

Except to serve Thee still.

How many serve, how many more

May to the service come;

To tend the vines, the grapes to store,

Thou dost appoint for some:

Thou hast Thy young men at the war,

Thy little ones at home.

All works are good, and each is best

As most it pleases Thee;

Each worker pleases when the rest

He serves in charity:

And neither man nor work unblest

Wilt Thou permit to be.

O ye who serve, remember One

The workers way who trod;

He served as man, but now His throne,

It is the throne of God;

The sceptre He hath to us shown

Is like a blossoming rod.

Firm fibres of the tree of life

Hath each command of His,

And each with clustering blossoms rife

At every season is;

Bare only, like a sword of strife,

Against loves enemies.

Our Master all the work hath done

He asks of us to-day;

Sharing His service, every one

Share too His sonship may.

Lord, I would serve and be a son;

Dismiss me not, I pray.1 [Note: T. T. Lynch, The Rivulet.]

A Transfiguration of Drudgery and Common Toil

1. The life of nearly every man has great spaces that are flat and uninteresting. The predominant colour is grey. Incident is rare, monotony is continuous. The same things have been done day by day, and a childs entry in a diary would report the life of many of our days, Nothing special to-day. But, really, life is not monotonous. It is we who are monotonous. Life is full of a hidden beauty, a hidden gloryindeed, of a hidden God. We may look through its tiniest part, if it is well done and done in sincerity, and see the vision of the golden heavens, and catch suggestions of the face of Jesus. Even the most limited sphere will give us room for the discipline of our character into the beauty of heaven. And the least conspicuous life may perform ministries which are near relatives to the service of the very angels. It is the dropping of God out of life that makes life uninteresting; it is the neglect of His presence that shadows our days. Let Him be there, let His face shine upon us, and the most trivial act is invested with an awful glory, and every bit of life is enhanced and transfigured with its power. The way to find blessedness is to find God; and He is to be found in every ordinary thing in our daily round. We always find Him when we try to do everything for His glory. For Thy sake! This is lifes deepest inspiration, and this its highest power. This touches us when all other motives are weak. This changes drudgery into Divinity. But to be fruitful it must be always held before the mind, and always kept in the heart. Day by day our lowliest duty must be lifted to this great height; so will the great God stoop to our lowliness, and our dustiest and most commonplace way be radiant with His infinite glory.

It may be argued again that dissatisfaction with our lifes endeavour springs in some degree from dulness. We require higher tasks because we do not recognise the height of those we have. Trying to be kind and honest seems an affair too simple and too inconsequential for gentlemen of our heroic mould; we had rather set ourselves something bold, arduous, and conclusive; we had rather found a schism or suppress a heresy, cut off a hand or mortify an appetite. But the task before us, which is to co-endure with our existence, is rather one of microscopic fineness, and the heroism required is that of patience. There is no cutting of the Gordian knots of life; each must be smilingly unravelled.1 [Note: R. L. Stevenson, A Christmas Sermon.]

Brownlow North has told us that it was about eleven months after his awakening at Dallas, when he strongly felt it to be his duty to do some service for the Lord. For two months before this he had shut himself up in his own room, reading the Bible and praying. He then said to himself that he must do something for God, but felt that he could not. The thought suggested itself to his mind that he might at least distribute tracts, but he felt that to do so would make himself ridiculous, and that people would laugh at him and call him mad. At last he resolved to try, and putting a number of tracts into his pocket, he went into the most secluded part of Elgin, in which he was living. The first person he met with was an old woman, who amazed him by accepting his tract without laughing at him. To another old woman whom he saw coming down the road he presented another tract, and she received it with thanks. The third he gave to a policeman, who said, Thank you, Mr. North. He recorded it as his experience after fourteen years trial, that only on one occasion was a tract refused, and that was by a professed infidel, and yet he had systematically given away tracts to persons of all ranks, in all sorts of places. Very few Christians can be preachers like Brownlow North, but there are none who cannot be tract distributors.1 [Note: K. Moody-Stuart, Brownlow North, 50.]

This is what Brother Lawrence once told me, writes his friend and biographer: For me, the time of action does not differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are together calling for as many different things, I possess God in as great tranquillity as when upon my knees at the Blessed Sacrament.

Nor is it needful, says Brother Lawrence himself in his Conversations, that we should have great things to do. I am giving you the picture of a lay-brother serving in a kitchen; let me then use his own words: We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of Him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before Him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God.

We search for stated ways and methods of learning how to love God, and, to come at that love, we disquiet our minds by I know not how many devices; we give ourselves a world of trouble and pursue a multitude of practices to attain to a sense of the Presence of God. And yet it is so simple. How very much shorter it is, and easier to do our common business purely for the love of God, to set His consecrating mark on all we lay our hands to, and thereby to foster the sense of His abiding Presence by communion of our heart with His! There is no need either of art or science; just as we are, we can go to Him, simply and with single heart.

Only a little shrivelled seed,

It might be flower, or grass, or weed;

Only a box of earth on the edge

Of a narrow, dusty, window-ledge;

Only a few scant summer showers;

Only a few clear shining hours;

That was all. Yet God could make

Out of these, for a sick childs sake,

A blossom-wonder, as fair and sweet

As ever broke at an angels feet.

Only a life of barren pain,

Wet with sorrowful tears for rain,

Warmed sometimes by a wandering gleam

Of joy, that seemed but a happy dream;

A life as common and brown and bare

As the box of earth in the window there;

Yet it bore, at last, the precious bloom

Of a perfect soul in that narrow room;

Pure as the snowy leaves that fold

Over the flowers heart of gold.1 [Note: Henry van Dyke.]

2. All that God wants of any one is faithfulness. Not brilliance, not success, not notoriety which attracts newspaper notice, but the quiet, regular, and careful performance of trivial and common duties, as beneath the great Taskmasters eye. To be faithful in that which is least will win as rich a reward as faithfulness in the greatest. Indeed, it is harder to be faithful over a very little than over much. The opportunity, therefore, of winning the highest reward in the future world is given not only to those who are called to occupy the high places of the field, where every brilliant act is chronicled by admiring pens, but to those who dig out the foundations, who do duty in the trenches, and who are buried in common graves, without magnificent obsequies or glowing epitaphs. Of many it will be said at last: They had their reward in the blowing of the trumpet of earthly fame and the murmured applause of many voices; the turn of those to whom no one said Thank you will then have arrived.

Have you not seen the way in which men construct arches? A number of beams, wooden uprights, and cross-pieces are constructed into the form of the arch which is to be. The structure looks very confused and flimsy, it is difficult to trace the design, and one spark of flame would consume the whole; but upon its span the bricks and stones are deposited which will last for generations. So upon the mean structure of daily drudgery, which excites no enthusiasm, which strains the muscles and wearies the nerves, is being built up a character which will be a thing of beauty and a joy for ever when the heavens have passed away as a scroll.2 [Note: F. B. Meyer.]

We cannot kindle when we will

The fire which in the heart resides;

The spirit bloweth and is still

In mystery our soul abides.

But tasks in hours of insight willd

Can be through hours of gloom fulfilld.

With aching hands and bleeding feet

We dig and heap, lay stone on stone;

We bear the burden and the heat

Of the long day, and wish twere done.

Not till the hours of light return,

All we have built do we discern.1 [Note: Matthew Arnold.]

Do not ask for great opportunities of service, or be disappointed if you feel no glow of devotion to other people or even to God. We are all too anxious to be conscious of beautiful feelings; they comfort us and lead us to think that we are in the right way; but the real test is obediencedoing the right things as far as we know them. Feelings are very misleading: let them come when they come; do not be disheartened if they do not come, or if when they come they soon vanish. This I think is the path to higher perfection; at any rate no other path is certain. Hold fast to the assurance that God wants you to have the mind of Christ; pray for it; but meanwhile, whether your heart goes with it or not, try in humble, unostentatious ways to serve Christ by serving others.2 [Note: The Life of R. W. Dale of Birmingham, 664.]

Only one letter received by this momentous mail brought the least encouragement to Coillardit was one addressed by the Rev. W. G. Lawes, of the L.M.S., New Guinea, to Mme. Coillard, who had gone out with him and his wife in the John Williams (1860).

Port Moresby, September 18, 1877.

I remember you perfectly as you were then, and have sometimes been helped and strengthened by the remembrance of your strong faith Our work on Savage Island was very delightful. All work for Christ is that, you will say, and so indeed it is, but it had in it that which human nature rejoices ina large measure of success and prosperity. It was my happiness to baptize upwards of one thousand converts, to train a band of young men who are now at work as pastors on their own island, and as pioneers on this and other heathen [islands], and, above all, to translate into their language the whole of the New Testament and part of the Old. I felt sorry to leave the work on Savage Island, but the call to harder work, more self-denying work, is an honour from the Masters hands. Does He not in this way deal with His servants? Is not the reward of service in His Kingdom more service, harder service, and (measured by human standards) less successful service? We deal just so with our children, and we ought not to repine when our Father calls us from some loved, congenial work to something more arduous and difficult.

These words at such a time came to themto M. Coillard especiallyas a message straight from God. It was not the only time that a letter, apparently quite accidental, opportunely shed light upon his path, and showed him, as he himself would say, how real is the Communion of Saints, and what a myth is the supposed rivalry of sects and societies, when each others experiences, successes, and even apparent failures teach such lessons of faith and obedience in Gods service.1 [Note: C. W. Mackintosh, Coillard of the Zambesi, 288.]

Love and pity are pleading with me this hour.

What is this voice that stays me forbidding to yield,

Offering beauty, love, and immortal power,

ons away in some far-off heavenly field?

Though I obey thee, Immortal, my heart is sore.

Though love be withdrawn for love it bitterly grieves:

Pity withheld in the breast makes sorrow more.

Oh, that the heart could feel what the mind believes!

Cease, O love, thy fiery and gentle pleading.

Soft is thy grief, but in tempest through me it rolls.

Dreamst thou not whither the path is leading

Where the Dark Immortal would shepherd our weeping souls?2 [Note: A. E., The Divine Vision, 78.]

Mans Chief End

Literature

Austin (G. B.), The Beauty of Goodness, 38.

Barry (A.), Westminster Abbey Sermons, 91.

Brooks (P.), The More Abundant Life, 68.

Byles (J.), The Boy and the Angel, 123.

Clayton (C.), Stanhope Sermons, 382.

Dale (R. W.), Weekday Sermons, 218, 260.

Ewing (J. F.), The Unsearchable Riches of Christ, 359.

Girdlestone (A. G.), The Way, the Truth, the Life, No. 10.

Goulburn (E. M.), Personal Religion, 116, 254.

Greenhough (J. G.), in Eden and Gethsemane, 115.

Hall (C. C.), The Gospel of Divine Sacrifice, 293.

Hocking (W. J.), in Religion in Common Life, 150.

Jowett (B.), College Sermons, 225.

Kingsley (C.), Village, Town and Country Sermons, 155.

Little (W. J. Knox), Characteristics and Motives, 197.

Maclaren (A.), Expositions: 1 and 2 Corinthians, 164.

Macmillan (H.), The Gate Beautiful, 246.

Meyer (F. B.), The Souls Pure Intention, 155.

Miller (J. R.), A Help for the Common Days, 50.

Morgan (G. H.), Modern Knights-Errant, 114.

Murray (W. H. H.), in American Pulpit of the Day, ii. 613.

Newman (J. H.), Parochial and Plain Sermons, viii. 154.

Reid (H. M. B.), Books that Help the Religious Life, 41.

Sandford (C. W.), Counsel to English Churchmen Abroad, 260.

Souper (W.), Concerning Character and Conduct, 9.

Vaughan (C. J.), Family Prayer and Sermon Book, ii. 277.

Watkinson (W. L.), Studies in Christian Character, i. 99.

Webb-Peploe (H. W.), Calls to Holiness, 115.

Westcott (B. F.), Christian Aspects of Life, 224.

Westcott (B. F.), The Incarnation and Common Life, 125.

Whittuck (C.), Learning and Working, 88.

Wilson (J. M.), Truths New and Old, 306, 316, 325.

Cambridge Review, viii. Supplement No. 196 (Worlledge).

Christian World Pulpit, ii. 218 (Abercrombie); xii. 161 (Jones); xx. 11 (Beecher), 257 (Barry); xli. 185 (Pearson); xliv. 124 (Morgan); 1. 353 (Horton); lxxiii. 171 (Burton); lxxix. 236 (Farr).

Fuente: The Great Texts of the Bible

Whether: The apostle concludes the subject by giving them a general rule, sufficient to regulate every man’s conscience and practice – that whether they eat, or drink, or whatsoever they do, to do it all with an habitual aim to the glory of God; by considering his precepts, and the propriety, expediency, appearance, and tendency of their actions.

ye eat: 1Co 7:34, Deu 12:7, Deu 12:12, Deu 12:18, Neh 8:16-18, Zec 7:5, Zec 7:6, Luk 11:41, Col 3:17, Col 3:23, 1Pe 4:11

Reciprocal: Gen 9:3 – even Gen 48:15 – did walk Exo 18:12 – Aaron Lev 8:29 – General Lev 14:16 – General Num 6:15 – drink Num 29:39 – beside your vows Deu 8:10 – thou hast Deu 26:10 – and worship Rth 3:7 – his heart 2Sa 6:21 – before 1Ki 18:32 – in the name Psa 22:23 – glorify Psa 86:12 – glorify Psa 141:4 – and let me Pro 3:6 – In Isa 43:21 – General Jer 22:15 – eat Dan 4:30 – and for Zec 14:21 – every Mat 14:19 – he blessed Mat 15:36 – and gave thanks Mar 6:41 – blessed Mar 8:6 – gave thanks Luk 20:25 – unto God Joh 2:2 – both Joh 5:23 – all men Joh 6:11 – when Joh 7:18 – that speaketh Joh 15:8 – is Act 2:46 – did Act 27:35 – and gave Rom 14:6 – for Rom 14:20 – For 1Co 6:20 – God 1Co 7:24 – abide Gal 2:19 – that Eph 6:7 – as Phi 1:11 – are Phi 4:9 – which 1Th 5:22 – General 1Ti 4:3 – with Tit 1:15 – the pure

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

CHRISTIAN LIFE

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

1Co 10:31

From the day of a mans birth, when he became a creature of God, the whole of his service was due to his Creator. From the hour of his baptism, wherein he was adopted into the family of Christ, the whole of his service was consecrated to his Redeemer. From the moment that the Spirit of God first began to work upon his consciousness, and the fact was presented clearly to his mind, You are not your own, you are bought with a price, it became his duty actually to glorify God in his body, and his spirit, which are Gods.

I. What is it to glorify God?You give glory to a teacher by receiving and adopting his instruction; to a monarch by obeying his laws and upholding his authority; to a father by loving his person and living so that men praise him in you: and just as in human relations a teacher is praised or blamed according to the success or failure of his pupils; a monarch applauded or condemned according to the loyalty of his subjects; a father honoured or brought to shame according to the conduct of his children; so the actions of men bring praise or blame, honour or dishonour, glory or shame, to the God they profess to worship.

II. Since it is thus in our power to give glory to God, it is declared in the text to be our duty to do so in all things.

(a) This one principle is to direct our most important, as well as our most trivial works; all are to be done with a view to the glory of God; and you will observe that those actions are specially named which every one must do every day. The simplest, most ordinary everyday actions are mentioned, that we may gather the mind of God to be this: that whether we eat or drink, read or walk, buy or sell, whatever from morning to night, from night to morning, we are engaged in, the leading object of our whole life, and of every action in that life, should be to promote the glory of the Lord our God.

(b) This principle thus stated in the text is confirmed by all the teaching of Scripture. In almost the same words St. Paul says, And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, and the Father by Him; where you will observe that acting in the name of the Lord Jesus is acting for the glory of God. St. Peter likewise writes: If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ. The whole life of our Saviour was but a carrying out of this principle. His first words express it, I must be about My Fathers business. His last prayer declares it accomplished, I have glorified Thee on earth. I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. From the carpenters shop to the Cross, He was in all things and at all times seeking His Fathers glory.

(c) This principle of Christianity will be made more clear by being contrasted with that of other religions. It is the nature of false religions to consist in certain definite acts, in certain services, in certain forms, in certain pilgrimages, in certain tortures. Hence in them religious acts and secular acts are separated. So much of mans time is religious, so much is secular. Religion in such systems comes in contact with business, as oil with water; the two do not, and cannot, unite; whereas the Christian religion mixes itself with the business of a mans life, as wine with water; it unites itself with all and with every part, gives life and vigour and strength to all, and makes the whole spiritual.

Rev. Canon F. Morse.

Illustration

A young infidel was one night in bed contemplating the character of his mother. I see (said he within himself) two unquestionable facts. First, my mother is greatly afflicted in circumstances, body, and mind, and I see that she cheerfully bears up under all by the support she derives from constantly retiring to her closet and her Bible. Secondly, that she has a secret spring of comfort of which I know nothing, while I who give an unbounded loose to my appetites, and seek pleasure by every means, seldom or never find it. If, however, there is any such secret in religion, why may not I attain to it as well as my mother? I will immediately seek it of God. Thus the influence of Christianity, exhibited in its beauty by a living example before him, led Richard Cecil to know Christ Himself, and to glorify Him by a life of most successful devotion to His service.

(SECOND OUTLINE)

THE PARAMOUNT CLAIM OF RELIGION

There is need, in the name of God and of Gods truth, that we assert the claim of religion to be in all things paramount and supreme. To rend asunder what God has joined together can only end in ruin and degradation. To separate this our daily life into religious and secular is to take out of it on the one hand, all that was meant to dignify and beautify it, the source of all its strength and gladness; and, on the other hand, to deprive religion of its proper sphere, and so to dwarf and paralyse its powers.

I. It is true that God intends us to reach heaven hereafter, but He also means to make this life, with all its daily toil, better, nobler, and happier by religion, by His presence here.Will our life-work be less efficient because we submit it day by day to the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God? It is here and now that we are to fight the battle, and to face the discipline, and to bear the burdens which shall fit us hereafter for a place in a heavenly and better kingdom. What is the meaning of the Incarnation if it is not thisGod with man, not hereafter, but now?

II. As the guiding principle of our life, religion will have something to say to the work of life.It will say that idleness is contrary to the Divine law, that in honest work lies the fulfilment of the Divine purpose. Every life has its proper sphere in which it is best fitted to work out its truest and highest development. Every man has his work, his opportunity; yet are there not those who tell us that time hangs heavily on their hands, that as years go on life becomes more and more a burden? To such comes St. Paul with his great principleWhatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. God has laid down lines for your life; God has ordered it. If you search out and try to find these lines, and follow them, your life will be a good one, a useful one, a life with a purpose, not a mere dragging out of years, not the miserable failure that so many lives seem. Aim, then, at acting your part well in life, for therein is the path of honour.

III. But life cannot be all work, and therefore our religion must have something to say to our play, to our amusements; and this we are apt sometimes to forget. Duty is the end of life; pleasure, recreation, amusement are only means to that enda perfectly lawful means, to most of us a necessary means, but one, nevertheless, which needs to be carefully guided and guarded. We are therefore warned that it does not follow that because amusement is lawful and good, therefore everything that amuses is necessarily so. The influence of our amusements on ourselves, on our brethren, on the world at largeall this must be taken into account. All things are lawful, but all things are not expedient. Whatever amusement recreates, soothes, invigorates, tends to fit you better to do your duty, and (mind that saving clause) leaves no sting behind it, this may be looked upon by Christians as safe.

IV. One more ruling principle our religion will lay down for the guidance of our lifeit will call attention to the two sides of our nature.One relates to the world around us; the other, to the unseen, but no less real, spiritual world. The body, it is true, has its claims; but the body is not all. This life is only part of the great whole; it is the threshold of eternity. Why, then, give it all our care? Why not use it as a means of preparation for the inheritance of the saints in light? Religion and daily life! Should they, can they, be separate and apart? Then each becomes valueless; bind them together by the sacred tie of Gods Presence and they become a living power to witness in the world and to ennoble all with the dignity of God Himself.

Bishop E. R. Wilberforce.

Illustration

Sir Joshua Reynolds was one of the most distinguished painters of his day; and, in answer to the inquiry, how he attained such excellence, he replied: By observing one simple rule, viz. to make each painting the best. Depend upon it that the same thing is true in the service of God.

(THIRD OUTLINE)

RELIGION AND RECREATION*

We claim that the religion of Jesus Christ touches every part of our lives, and will sanctify and elevate our recreations, no less than our politics, our business, and our private life. In speaking on recreation

I. We cannot fail to recognise its importance.The crowds which flock to watch the matches; the large space allotted in the newspapers to athletic news; the crowd who betake themselves to race centres at certain seasons; the popularity of the theatres; the large number of novels taken from the shelves of our libraries, these facts, and many others, testify to the importance which is practically attached to recreation. It is the duty of religious teachers to point out the true ideas and principles on which our practice should be based. Recreationthe very word gives us a clue; it means to create afresh, and implies that the daily round of work is apt to waste and exhaust our nervous energy. Recreation, then, is that change of, or slackening from, work, which has the effect of supplying afresh the store of power which has been dissipated. God has given us our daily work to do, but He has also given us bodies, minds, and hearts to be trained for Him, and I do not see how we are to develop every side of our nature unless we allow a fair time for recreation. Let us make health and manly recreation a moral and Christian duty. Not only so with regard to cricket, football, etc., but with regard to more emotional or intellectual recreations: music, reading, etc. All that enriches the mind and refines the heart has its place among the innocent and useful relaxations of life.

II. We must consider the dangers connected with recreation.

(a) I would speak of those forms of physical recreation which are most popular amongst usfootball, cricket, etc. Are they not too often degraded by being made occasions for betting? There can be no real healthy enjoyment when this is the case. Gambling is one of the greatest dangers of the day. I would appeal to you, my brothers, as you watch with interest the well-contested match, to let your enthusiasm be pure and healthy; let it be a manly love of the game which impels you to look on, and not a desire to make money by dishonest means.

(b) Is there not in some cases a danger lest our interest, and natural desire that our side may win, should lead us to be unfair towards our opponents? Let us always be considerate and chivalrous: scrupulously careful to deal fairly by an opponent.

(c) Again, are not the athletic sports sometimes productive of hard swearing? I know it is so. But as Christians we are forbidden to take Gods Name in vain. Swear not at all is our rule, and as sensible men we ought to despise a habit which proves that we have so little self-control. If we could divest our sports of those three dangersbetting, bitterness, and swearingwe should make our physical recreations far more useful and enjoyable.

See that your amusements are recreations and not dissipation, i.e. that they send you back to your work strengthened and not weakened.

III. Note the methods of recreation.

(a) We ought to regard future needs in our recreation. Sport is good when it strengthens the body or disciplines the mind.

(b) Do not confine your recreations to bodily exercise only. Give some of your spare time to those amusements which tend to elevate and refine the emotional and intellectual part of you. Think of the pleasures to be gained by beautiful scenery, music, painting, reading, pursuit of zoology or botany, or geology. Have a hobby: take up one or other of these forms of amusements; it will fill up many a spare hour, and enrich your life by pouring into it something of the beauty and richness of those worlds of thought and art which lie around us.

Rev. Canon C. L. Ivens.

Illustration

An early writer tells a story concerning St. John the Evangelist. He was amusing himself one day with a tame partridge on his hand, and was asked by a huntsman how such a man as he could spend his time in so unprofitable a manner, to whom St. John replied, Why dost thou not carry thy bow always bent? Because, answered the huntsman, if it were always bent I fear it would lose its spring, and become useless. Be not surprised, then, replied the Apostle, that I should sometimes remit a little of my close attention of spirit and to enjoy a little recreation. We have in the story a beautiful illustration of the principle expressed in the homely proverb, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

1Co 10:31. In regulating one’s liberty on these matters of eating and drinking so as not to offend a weak brother, it will redound to the glory of God.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

1Co 10:31. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. To give specific directions for every supposable case is neither needful nor possible, for what is proper in one case may in another be the reverse; but, if only guided by the great principle of what is and what is not for the glory of God, you will be at no loss how to act.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Our apostle concludes his whole discourse with three excellent rules, to direct all Christians how they should govern themselves in the use of their lawful liberty, as to things that are of indifferent nature; that is, neither commanded nor forbidden in the word of God.

The first is this, to refer all our actions in general, both natural, civil, and religious, to the glory of God; to make that our supreme aim, our ultimate end, in all we do, in all we design, in all we desire.

A Christian is to perform his natural actions to spiritual purposes; and whilst he is feeling and refreshing his body at his own table, must have an eye at his serving God both with soul and body.

Farther, not only in our natural actions, but in our civil employments, in our lawful recreations; but especially, and above all, in our religious duties, must we propound the glory of God as our principal aim, our chief scope, our supreme end.

This injunction, Do all to the glory of God, is applicable to all the actions of human life.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

1Co 10:31-33. Whether, therefore, &c. To close the present point with a general rule, applicable not only in this, but in all cases, see to it that whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do In all things whatsoever, whether of a religious or civil nature, in all the common as well as sacred actions of life, keep the glory of God in view, and steadily pursue, in all, this one end of your being, the planting or advancing the vital knowledge and love of God, first in your own souls, then in the souls of as many others as you can have access to, or by any means influence. Give none offence If, and as far as, it is possible, neither to the unbelieving Jews By lessening their abhorrence of idols; nor to the unbelieving Greeks By confirming them in their idolatry; nor to the church of God By making the ignorant think you idolaters. Even as I As much as lieth in me; please all men in all things Innocent; not seeking mine own profit Mine own temporal interest or gratification; but the profit The everlasting advantage; of many, that they may be saved By being brought to and confirmed in that religion, on which their eternal happiness depends.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Vv. 31, 32. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 32. Give none offence neither to the Jews, nor to the Greeks, nor to the Church of God;

Here again we have both the and the (the promotion of good in general, and our neighbour’s edification in particular), which Paul had recommended, 1Co 10:23; only he here expresses himself in a more concrete way; first positively, 1Co 10:31, then negatively, 1Co 10:32. In questions which are not in themselves questions of good or evil, and which may remain undecided for the Christian conscience, the believer ought to ask himself, not: What will be most agreeable to me, or what will best suit my interest? but: What will contribute most to promote God’s glory and the salvation of my brethren?

God’s glory is the splendour of His perfections, particularly of His holiness and love, manifested in the midst of His creatures. The question for the Christian is therefore translated into this: What will best make my brethren understand the love and holiness of my heavenly Father?

Vv. 32. To this positive criterion another of a negative character is added. Will not my brother’s conscience be shocked by the use I make of my liberty, if I act in this or that way? The apostle mentions the three circles of persons of which the Christians of Corinth ought to think in a case of uncertainty: first, the Greeks, who are here put for the heathen in general; next, the Jews, who are intentionally placed between the heathen and the Church; and, finally, Christians, whom he calls the Church of God, to emphasize the preciousness of the least of the members of such a body, in virtue of his being God’s property. The believer should avoid both what may prevent those without from entering and what may alienate and drive out those who are already saved.

Paul concludes by reminding them how this principle guides all his conduct.

Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to, the glory of God. [All eating should be with thanksgiving to God and should not dishonor God by injuring the consciences of weak men–comp. Col 3:17; 1Pe 4:11]

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

1Co 10:31-32. General principles of conduct, exemplified in the reasons given in 1Co 10:29 b, 30 for the specific advice of 1Co 10:28, in a form, eat or drink, suggested by the matter of 19.

Glory of God: see Rom 1:21; Rom 3:7. Since your conduct and the worth of your religion will be estimated by others according to its effect upon themselves, so act in all the details of life that your action may show forth the splendor of God, the Author of all human excellence, and thus exalt Him in the eyes of men. This conveys a solemn lesson. The practical impression made upon men by the revealed character of God is determined very much by the conduct of His people, even in little things, and especially by the degree to which they take into account the effect of their conduct upon the well-being of others. 1Co 10:32 gives a second and negative principle of conduct, suggested by 1Co 10:28 ff, and a special point to be avoided by all who wish that their entire conduct bring glory to God.

To Jews or to Greeks: cp. Rom 15:8 ff following Romans 14. Whether the weak brethren were Jews or Gentiles, the matter of sacrificial food brought into great prominence distinctions of nationality.

Men-without-cause-of-stumbling: having nothing likely to overthrow themselves or others. Latter reference here (cp. Rom 14:13) and in Sirach 35:21; the former, in the same word in Php 1:10; Act 24:16. But practically the two senses coincide. Whatever in us tends to overthrow others tends to overthrow ourselves. Be careful so to act as not to trip up men, Jews or Gentiles, who are groping their way to heaven.

Church of God: title of dignity. Even those who belong to God and are His representatives to the world may (1Co 8:11) be thrown down or hindered by our conduct.

Fuente: Beet’s Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament

10:31 {9} Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

(9) The conclusion: we must order ourselves in such a way that we seek not ourselves, but God’s glory, and so the salvation of as many as we may. In which the apostle does not thrust himself to the Corinthians (even his own flock) as an example, except so that he calls them back to Christ, to whom he himself has regard.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

What glorifies God? Consideration for the consciences of other people and promotion of their wellbeing does. This contrasts with the observance of distinctions between foods, the satisfaction of one’s personal preferences, and insistence on one’s own rights. What glorifies God is what puts His preferences, plans, and program first (cf. Col 3:17).

". . . God’s own glory is the ultimate foundation of Pauline ethics (1Co 10:31)." [Note: Idem, "Toward a . . .," p. 40.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Disfruta de miles de canciones cristianas en exclusiva sólo en Bibles