At the age of eighteen a person can buy alcohol, purchase cigarettes and drive a car without a licensed person beside them.

1 Corinthians 10:1-33

Reference:  v.23 "Everything is permissible" - but not everything is beneficial.  "Everything is permissible" - but not everything is constructive. (NIV Bible)

Explore:  The 18th birthday is a very special celebration for an Australian.  While it is different in other countries this is our 'legal age'.  At the age of eighteen a person can buy alcohol, purchase cigarettes and drive a car without a licensed person beside them.  All of these things are permissible, by law, but not always beneficial.  In Australia we find that people in their late teens and early twenties take these permissible actions to the extreme leading to poor behaviour and disastrous accidents.

Application:  In many churches there are particular 'rules' that the leadership suggest should be followed.  These rules are often around alcohol, intimate relationships, the people you associate with and the clothes that you wear.  If you look deep in the Bible you may not find these things specifically mentioned.  But while they are not listed within scripture, past Christians have found that while certain actions may be permissible they may not be beneficial.  We live with a great freedom of having Christ as our Saviour.  He offers us a love and grace that we will not find anywhere else.  But that does not mean we just throw all rules to the wind and do whatever we want.  Whatever our actions may be, the greatest yardstick for us is to think about whether we are doing it may bring glory to God.  'So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.' (verse 31 )

Prayer:  Lord, May our words, actions and thoughts bring glory to You.  Amen.

Are you participating in things that may be permissible but may not be beneficial?