I. REALIZE AND REMEMBER THE FACT OF GOD'S UNIVERSAL PROPRIETORSHIP. It is easy to say that all things are God's, but difficult to adequately grasp and to retain this in our minds. We yield a ready acquiescence, are but little impressed because the truth is cloudy to us, and then go our way thinking, speaking, and acting, as though God did not own a square foot of ground in the universe! Yet all things are his - the earth and its fulness, small things and great, "our possessions" and the possessions of others, things consecrated to him and things unconsecrated, creatures who obey and creatures who disobey, - all are his.

II. GOD'S PROPRIETORSHIP MAKES THE WORLD MORE BEAUTIFUL.

1. His possessions become associated with himself. We prize certain things because they belong or belonged to our dear ones. All around us has been and is God's. Interesting in themselves, their interest is increased without limit as the whisper comes to us, "They are all God's and of God."

2. As his proprietorship springs from his creation of all things, we may be able to trace his mind in objects around us, to see the marks of his fingers, to behold his skill and power. He will be reflected to some extent in his works.

3. He has purposes in connection with his possessions. Everything was made for some end. We may discern some of these ends. We may know that the principle is universal, and may thus be stimulated to seek for further knowledge.

4. Brings good cheer into a world where there is much to sadden. Not the earth was the Lord's, but the earth is the Lord's. It is still in his hands. Here is light amid dense darkness. The world has not slipped from the grasp of the Eternal - he holds it now.

III. GOD'S PROPRIETORSHIP SHOULD INFLUENCE OUR USE OF THE WORLD AND THE THINGS THEREOF. If all things are God's, they should not be used

(1) thoughtlessly,

(2) irreverently,

(3) selfishly,

(4) injuriously,

(5) contrary to his revealed will,

(6) to the dishonour of his Name.

IV. GOD'S PROPRIETORSHIP EXTENDS TO OURSELVES. If "the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof," we are his.

1. We are not our own.

2. Let us not think, feel, speak, or act as though we were.

V. IF WE ARE REDEEMED, WE SHARE IN GOD'S PROPRIETORSHIP. As children do in the possessions of their father. If we are in Christ, God is our Father. We have received the adoption of children. We are "heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." How rich is the condition of the poorest believer! how exalted the status of the humblest! The way to power, dignity, and wealth is the way of the cross; for thus we become the inheritors of all things. "All things are yours." - H.

I. CHRISTIANITY DOES NOT FORBID IT — does not forbid the acceptance of the invitation. To forbid such intercourse —

1. Would involve a command with which it would be impossible to comply, and which would be inconsistent with the position of the Christian as a citizen of this world. The distinction between believers and unbelievers is doubtless the most important which it is possible to make, but is not the classification made by men generally. It is not recognised by trade. Hence to forbid intercourse would be to prescribe an impossible rule. Christians are to be "diligent in business," etc. Moreover, how many families are there, some of the members of which believe, and others believe not!

2. Would necessitate our making distractions which it is impossible for us to make. Which of us could draw the line between those that believe and those that believe not?

3. Would encourage in those who believe the most un-Christlike feelings. How would it encourage the spirit of Pharisaism! "Lord, I thank thee that I am not as other men are." "Give place, for I am holier than thou." Further, all those who believe were once amongst those who believe not; and how has this transition been made? "By grace." And this being the case, how unbecoming abstinence from all social intercourse with those who believe not.

4. Would be to take away the best means for the cultivation of personal piety. The piety of the Bible is not the piety of the cloister, but one which is consummated in love. And where do we find the best school for this? A manly piety is best cultivated in the midst of the busy hum of the market and the shop. It is in the world that we meet with that discipline which is necessary for the strengthening of our faith, patience, and meekness.

5. Would interpose a barrier to the spread of Christian truth. The influence of example is one of the most valuable means of spreading the gospel (chaps. 7, 8)

6. Would be inconsistent with the example of Christ. He was "invited to a feast," on more occasions than one by those who believed not, and went. "This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them." Such reasons show the propriety of the truth involved in our text. With many, however, the great danger is of erring on the other side. No surer proof is there that our heart is not right with God than when we choose for our intimate companions those who are utter strangers to the power of godliness.

II. CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE CAREFUL, IN SUCH INTERCOURSE, NOT TO BE THE MEANS OF CAUSING THEIR CHRISTIANITY TO BE EVIL SPOKEN OF. The particular way in which this might be done is specified by the apostle. Occasions, in such intercourse, there are sure to be, when the temptation to belie our faith in Christ will be strong. An unguarded word or look may be the means of causing some of "the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme." Moreover, we may advert to the care we should take to turn such social intercourse to good account. To what an eminent degree did Christ do so; and well would it be if Christians embraced opportunities of saying "a word in season" in that easy, natural way in which Christ did it. We must cultivate our own personal godliness — live more ourselves in the Spirit — and then we shall make that use of social intercourse which we ought.

(Caleb Scott, LL.B.)

Strictly the form of the expression would be, "Conscience, not only thine own, but of the other as well." The moral significance of life is nowhere more vitally manifest than in what we do or fail to do for the characters of our neighbours. And it is easy enough to agree that we ought not to damage other men's consciences; but to give up the pleasant and otherwise harmless habit which will damage them, is not always easy. Besides, there are some questions of right, how far this ought or is demanded to be done. Now note —

I. THAT EVERY MAN SHOULD MAKE HIS RELATIONS TO OTHER MEN'S CHARACTERS, AND THE EFFECTS OF HIS ACTIONS ON OTHER MEN'S ACTIONS, A DIRECT PART OF HIS REGULAR RELIGIOUS CULTURE.

1. On the ground of the nature of the case this can he denied only by the monk on the ground that in solitude, as a higher state of man, the relations do not exist; by the indifferentist on the ground that the result of things is beyond the influence of ethical distinctions; or by the believer in the legitimacy of sheer impulse.

2. Quite as clear is the word of the gospel. The Christian faith is eminently a social principle. The forms it takes on are domestic and associative. It founds a church. It advocates the common weal. Amongst its commandments are, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," and "Bear ye one another's burdens." The lives of the apostles were consecrated labours for the souls of their fellow-men.

II. NOW, THE HELPS MEN RENDER TO ONE ANOTHER'S VIRTUE ARE FOR THE MOST PART, RENDERED WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS ATTEMPT AT WHAT IS CALLED "SETTING AN EXAMPLE." Excellence is more impressive when it is seen living and acting by a certain independent force from within itself, than when it is put on exhibition for a pattern. In agriculture and mechanics producers do sometimes raise stock, or finish fabrics, merely for a show; but goodness is a more delicate thing. If we undertake to manufacture it for a pattern, we shall spoil it in the making. It will not be genuine, but Pharisaic.

III. BUT THIS DOES NOT AT ALL DENY OUR OBLIGATION TO DO OR NOT TO DO SOME THINGS, OUT OF A SIMPLE REGARD TO THEIR SOCIAL EFFECTS. Christian modesty may shrink from the thought of being exemplary; but Christian principle will eagerly renounce what is hurtful. Is it not likely that we are set into society for this very end, that by sacrifices for others we may be disciplined into a more Christlike disinterestedness? The complicated case, undoubtedly, is where some habit is felt to be perfectly safe to yourself, but would probably be unsafe to others who are the more likely to go astray for your practice.

1. The defence set up is: "Rules of meat and drink, amusement and display, are not definite nor absolute. Each must adjust his habit to his constitution and circumstances, and stop there. Everything is likely to be abused. I am to strike out a way of living that seems lawful enough for myself, and expect everybody else to do the same." Now —(1) This language has a sound of hardness and selfishness, and the moral judgment pronounces that it is not the final nor the highest view of duty. It is not the sort of response we expect from the nobler order of men, who live for the good of their race, and not for themselves.(2) This defence is not very likely to be urged where the party endangered by our gratification should be a child or a brother. But Christianity recognises no such limitation of responsibility — it declares all mankind one family; and that, for the purposes of doing God's will, every human being is a mother or a brother or a sister.(3) And when it is said that all things must be abused, remember that this tendency by no means excuses him who so uses, beyond the line of necessity or duty, that the abuse comes in. If "offences must needs come," none the less "woe to him by whom the offence cometh."(4) If you further say that, so long as your act is not in itself wrong, Providence must see that no harm comes of it, the reply is that Providence is quite as likely to see that no harm comes to you when you deny yourself. Besides, when we speak of an act as "right in itself," consider what is included in "itself." For no act can be said to be right in itself which is so done that the spirit of the doer or the situation of its occurrence binds it up inseparably with wrong.(5) And if you still urge that nothing ought to be given up which makes for the happy processes of social life, then let it be fully established that the practice does belong to the best order of life, and is essential to it, and that its advantages are not outweighed by the evils that spring directly out of it. Above all, let it be clear whether the thing is really done from a conscientious regard to the public good, or whether that is only a sophistication to palliate what is actually done only because it is agreeable.

2. Set over against the defence the following words of Paul, and say which seems to ring clearest from the heights of Christian clearsightedness and truth, "None of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. Let no man put a stumbling-block in his brother's way. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink," etc.

IV. THE MORE FREQUENT OBSTACLE TO THIS THOUGHTFUL AND GENEROUS BEHAVIOUR, IS THE ABSENCE OF ANY GLARING EVIDENCE THAT OUR LUXURIES DO TEMPT OUR NEIGHBOURS. What is the delight of a palate, or of an amusement, that any of us would not hurl from him if he saw one fellow-creature plunged into all profligacy by it? But surely, in such a matter, a doubt is grave enough to dictate a Christian's conduct. A very earnest moral nature will not be willing to imperil a fellow-creature's purity on the slender difference between a conjecture and a certainty. And little as they may suspect it, who eat, drink, and are merry, without a religious scruple on their pleasures, all the while, in many a building not far away, the beginnings of vice are taking a terrible warrant and license from their freedom. Conclusion:

1. There is no self-denial deserving the name that is not willing to give up any privilege rather than endanger the least or lowest of God's children. In the estimates of God and eternity, the generosity that shields a human heart from shame will stand above a genial style of hospitality. Not till comfort shall become the creed of Christendom, can free living be the testimony of faith.

2. After all, we must raise our minds before a higher judgment than our own. Again the voice of the Lord God will be heard at the end of the day, asking of you and me, "Where is thy brother?" How little will it avail us then to stammer with the impotent mockery of self-defence, "Am I my brother's keeper?"

(Bishop Huntington.)

Corinthians, Israelites, PaulCorinthAction, Another's, Conscience, Decided, Dependent, Determined, Eat, Fact, Free, Freedom, Ground, Judged, Liberty, Man's, Mean, Object, Other's, Question, Scruples, Sense, Thyself, Wrong, Yours1. The sacraments of the Jews are types of ours;
7. and their punishments,
11. examples for us.
13. We must flee from idolatry.
21. We must not make the Lord's table the table of demons;
24. and in all things we must have regard for our brothers.

1 Corinthians 10:15-31

     5773   abstinence, discipline

1 Corinthians 10:23-31

     5010   conscience, matters of

1 Corinthians 10:25-29

     7436   sacrifice, NT fulfilment

1 Corinthians 10:27-29

     6257   unbelievers

Ninth Sunday after Trinity Carnal Security and Its vices.
Text: 1 Corinthians 10, 6-13. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 9 Neither let us make trial of the Lord, as some of them made trial, and perished by the serpents. 10 Neither murmur ye, as …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

December the Twelfth Relating Everything to God
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God." --1 CORINTHIANS x. 23-33. And so all my days would constitute a vast temple, and life would be a constant worship. This is surely the science and art of holy living--to relate everything to the Infinite. When I take my common meal and relate it to "the glory of God," the common meal becomes a sacramental feast. When my labour is joined "unto the Lord," the sacred wedding turns my workshop into a church. When I …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Mental Prayer.
"Pray without ceasing."--1 Thess. v. 17. There are two modes of praying mentioned in Scripture; the one is prayer at set times and places, and in set forms; the other is what the text speaks of,--continual or habitual prayer. The former of these is what is commonly called prayer, whether it be public or private. The other kind of praying may also be called holding communion with God, or living in God's sight, and this may be done all through the day, wherever we are, and is commanded us as the …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

Doing Glory to God in Pursuits of the World.
"Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."--1 Cor. x. 31. When persons are convinced that life is short, that it is unequal to any great purpose, that it does not display adequately, or bring to perfection the true Christian, when they feel that the next life is all in all, and that eternity is the only subject that really can claim or can fill their thoughts, then they are apt to undervalue this life altogether, and to forget its real importance. …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

The Limits of Liberty
'All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. 24. Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth. 25. Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake. 26. For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. 27. If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed togo, whatsoever is set before you eat, asking no question for conscience sake. 28. But if any man …
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

Men Often Highly Esteem what God Abhors.
Ye we they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts for that which is highly esteemed among men, is abomination in the sight of God." -Luke xvi. 15. CHRIST had just spoken the parable of the unjust steward, in which He presented the case of one who unjustly used the property of others entrusted to him, for the purpose of laying them under. obligation to provide for himself after expulsion from His trust. Our Lord represents this conduct of the steward as being wise in the …
Charles G. Finney—Sermons on Gospel Themes

God's Glory the Chief End of Man's Being
Rom. xi. 36.--"Of him and through him, and to him, are all things, to whom be glory for ever." And 1 Cor. x. 31--"Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." All that men have to know, may be comprised under these two heads,--What their end is, and What is the right way to attain to that end? And all that we have to do, is by any means to seek to compass that end. These are the two cardinal points of a man's knowledge and exercise. Quo et qua eundum est,--Whither to go, and what way to go. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Communion with Christ and his People.
AN ADDRESS AT A COMMUNION SERVICE AT MENTONE. "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread."--1 Cor. x. 16, 17. COMMUNION WITH CHRIST AND HIS PEOPLE. I WILL read you the text as it is given in the Revised Version: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ?" …
Charles Hadden Spurgeon—Till He Come

The Rock of Ages
(Ninth Sunday after Trinity.) 1 Corinthians x. 4. They drank of that Spiritual Rock which followed them; and that Rock was Christ. St. Paul has been speaking to the Corinthians about the Holy Communion. In this text, St. Paul is warning the Corinthians about it. He says, 'You may be Christian men; you may have the means of grace; you may come to the Communion and use the means of grace; and yet you may become castaways.' St. Paul himself says, in the very verse before, 'I keep under my body, and …
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

Heaven on Earth
1 COR. x. 31. "Whether ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." This is a command from God, my friends, which well worth a few minutes' consideration this day;--well worth considering, because, though it was spoken eighteen hundred years ago, yet God has not changed since that time;--He is just as glorious as ever; and Christian men's relation to God has not changed since that time; they still live, and move, and have their being in God; they are still His children--His …
Charles Kingsley—Twenty-Five Village Sermons

Touching Jacob, However, that which He did at his Mother's Bidding...
24. Touching Jacob, however, that which he did at his mother's bidding, so as to seem to deceive his father, if with diligence and in faith it be attended to, is no lie, but a mystery. The which if we shall call lies, all parables also, and figures designed for the signifying of any things soever, which are not to be taken according to their proper meaning, but in them is one thing to be understood from another, shall be said to be lies: which be far from us altogether. For he who thinks this, may …
St. Augustine—Against Lying

But, as I had Begun to Say, Whether the Fruit an Hundred-Fold be virginity...
47. But, as I had begun to say, whether the fruit an hundred-fold be virginity dedicated to God, or whether we are to understand that interval of fruitfulness in some other way, either such as we have made mention of, or such as we have not made mention of; yet no one, as I suppose, will have dared to prefer virginity to martyrdom, and no one will have doubted that this latter gift is hidden, if trial to test it be wanting. A virgin, therefore, hath a subject for thought, such as may be of profit …
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity.

Here Peradventure Some Man May Say, "If it was Bodily Work that the Apostle...
14. Here peradventure some man may say, "If it was bodily work that the Apostle wrought, whereby to sustain this life, what was that same work, and when did he find time for it, both to work and to preach the Gospel?" To whom I answer: Suppose I do not know; nevertheless that he did bodily work, and thereby lived in the flesh, and did not use the power which the Lord had given to the Apostles, that preaching the Gospel he should live by the Gospel, those things above-said do without all doubt bear …
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

Nor, Because I Called Ruth Blessed, Anna More Blessed...
10. Nor, because I called Ruth blessed, Anna more blessed, in that the former married twice, the latter, being soon widowed of her one husband, so lived long, do you straightway also think that you are better than Ruth. Forsooth different in the times of the Prophets was the dispensation of holy females, whom obedience, not lust, forced to marry, for the propagation of the people of God, [2242] that in them Prophets of Christ might be sent beforehand; whereas the People itself also, by those things …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood.

Perseverance of Saints.
FURTHER OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 4. A fourth objection to this doctrine is, that if, by the perseverance of the saints is intended, that they live anything like lives of habitual obedience to God, then facts are against it. To this objection I reply: that by the perseverance of the saints, as I use these terms, is intended that, subsequently to their regeneration, holiness is the rule of their lives, and sin only the exception. But it is said, that facts contradict this. (1.) The case of king Saul is …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

The Saint Resumes the History of Her Life. Aiming at Perfection. Means Whereby it May be Gained. Instructions for Confessors.
1. I shall now return to that point in my life where I broke off, [1] having made, I believe, a longer digression than I need have made, in order that what is still to come may be more clearly understood. Henceforth, it is another and a new book,--I mean, another and a new life. Hitherto, my life was my own; my life, since I began to explain these methods of prayer, is the life which God lived in me,--so it seems to me; for I feel it to be impossible that I should have escaped in so short a time …
Teresa of Avila—The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus

Of Resisting Temptation
So long as we live in the world, we cannot be without trouble and trial. Wherefore it is written in Job, The life of man upon the earth is a trial.(1) And therefore ought each of us to give heed concerning trials and temptations, and watch unto prayer, lest the devil find occasion to deceive; for he never sleepeth, but goeth about seeking whom he may devour. No man is so perfect in holiness that he hath never temptations, nor can we ever be wholly free from them. 2. Yet, notwithstanding, temptations …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Man's Chief End
Q-I: WHAT IS THE CHIEF END OF MAN? A: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. Here are two ends of life specified. 1: The glorifying of God. 2: The enjoying of God. I. The glorifying of God, I Pet 4:4: That God in all things may be glorified.' The glory of God is a silver thread which must run through all our actions. I Cor 10:01. Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.' Everything works to some end in things natural and artificial; …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

But one Sometimes Comes to a Case of this Kind...
24. But one sometimes comes to a case of this kind, that we are not interrogated where the person is who is sought, nor forced to betray him, if he is hidden in such manner, that he cannot easily be found unless betrayed: but we are asked, whether he be in such a place or not. If we know him to be there, by holding our peace we betray him, or even by saying that we will in no wise tell whether he be there or not: for from this the questioner gathers that he is there, as, if he were not, nothing else …
St. Augustine—On Lying

Indeed in all Spiritual Delights, which Unmarried Women Enjoy...
27. Indeed in all spiritual delights, which unmarried women enjoy, their holy conversation ought also to be with caution; lest haply, though their life be not evil through haughtiness, their report be evil through negligence. Nor are they to be listened to, whether they be holy men or women, when (upon occasion of their neglect in some matter being blamed, through which it comes to pass that they fall into evil suspicion, from which they know that their life is far removed) they say that it is enough …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood.

For that Both History of the Old Testament...
8. For that both history of the Old Testament, and ætiology, and analogy are found in the New Testament, has been, as I think, sufficiently proved: it remains to show this of allegory. Our Redeemer Himself in the Gospel uses allegory out of the Old Testament. "This generation," saith He, "seeketh a sign, and there shall not be given it save the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so also shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights …
St. Augustine—On the Profit of Believing.

W. T. Vn to the Christen Reader.
As [the] envious Philistenes stopped [the] welles of Abraham and filled them vpp with erth/ to put [the] memoriall out of minde/ to [the] entent [that] they might chalenge [the] grounde: even so the fleshly minded ypocrites stoppe vpp the vaynes of life which are in [the] scripture/ [with] the erth of theyr tradicions/ false similitudes & lienge allegories: & [that] of like zele/ to make [the] scripture theyr awne possession & marchaundice: and so shutt vpp the kingdome of heven which is Gods worde …
William Tyndale—The prophete Ionas with an introduccion

The Lord's Supper
And as they did eat, Jesus took bread,' &c. Mark 14: 22. Having spoken to the sacrament of baptism, I come now to the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is the most spiritual and sweetest ordinance that ever was instituted. Here we have to do more immediately with the person of Christ. In prayer, we draw nigh to God; in the sacrament, we become one with him. In prayer, we look up to Christ; in the sacrament, by faith, we touch him. In the word preached, we hear Christ's voice; in the …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

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