"For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.” (Romans 14:8)
The bottom line in this verse is that we belong to the Lord. From the very beginning God has taken possession of man. He took Abraham and all his descendants to be His. “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine.” (Isaiah 43:1) He then separated all the firstborn as His. “Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.” (Exodus 13:2) In establishing the priesthood God put claim on the Levites as His, instead of the firstborn. “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD.” (Numbers 3:45) And later on in Numbers 8:14, again the Lord declares that the Levites are His. “Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.” (Numbers 8:14) When Jesus came, we find that the Father gave Jesus of His people to Jesus. “I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world: Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy word.” (John 17:6) Here Jesus is talking about the apostles.
The apostles preached the Good News of salvation through Jesus for all men. We have heard and have believed the Gospel of Jesus. And the moment we surrendered ourselves to Him, we became His purchase through the price He paid. “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14) So believers are the Lord’s purchased possession. “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” (1Corinthians 6:20)
We belong to the Lord. We gave ourselves to Him of our own free will. And the Father welcomed us as the prodigal son, with open arms and with a feast of rejoicing in heaven. And He clothed us with the righteousness of Jesus and sealed us with the Holy Spirit. And like Paul, whether we live or die we belong to the Lord. If we live, we are to glorify God in our bodies and in our spirits. (1Corinthians 6:20)
Paul also said, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” (1Corinthians 10:23) Paul was talking specifically about eating and drinking certain things. In those days there was much idolatry. One could be eating foods that had been sacrificed or offered to idols. Doing so, knowing with certainty that it was from idol worship would be a hinderance to any new or weak believer. Paul advises against eating. Not that we would consider this as partaking of idol worship because to us idol worship is nothing, but for the sake of new believers or weak believers who would be scandalized, we abstain. But it’s lawful. We just pray over our food and thank God for His provision because all good things come from Him. (1Corinthians 10:27-33)
This principal can be applied to other things. When my husband and I were in Mexico, we were surprised at how legalistic the Mexicans are about drinking. We know that the Lord doesn’t prohibit drinking. Afterall, Jesus turned the water into wine at a wedding for the guests. But we do have the commandment not be a drunkard. (Luke 21:34; Ephesians 5:18) Our Mexican Christian brethren look at drinking as a sin. While my husband and I are not drunkards, nothing will hold us back from having a cold beer on a hot day at the beach or at a BBQ. We have beer in the refrigerator. In a year I would say we’ve had a couple of beers. That’s it. But we would never scandalize our Christian brethren by drinking a beer. The same goes for any activity that would hurt our witness for Christ. Why? Because we belong to Him, not to ourselves. For the Corinthians it was food offered to idols. To the Mexicans it’s drinking. What is it in our society? A biggie today are tattoos. Yes, the Old Testament prohibited them because they were a mark of idolatry. But today it’s not. A tattoo is merely a memorial or just some pretty markings. I know that some people are scandalized by tattooed Christians.
The commandment then is that it’s all lawful, but not everything edifies. As Christians we have to be careful not to be a stumbling block or a hinderance to our brethren and to those who are seeking the Lord. After all, we don’t belong to ourselves. We belong to the Lord. And everything we do must glorify Him.
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