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a right to put away all that troubles our conscience and be free from all sense of condemnation. In acting upon this prin ciple, we should be careful to “give no occasion to stumble, either to the Jews, or to Greeks (Gentiles) or to the Church of God.” God divides men into three classes, Jews, Gentiles and Church of God. Inside the Church of God there is neither Jew nor Greek (Gal. 3:28), the believers in the Church stand in the same relation to God; but, outside the Church, there are Jews and Gentiles who stand in different relations to God. God has His future plans regarding the Jews and His future plans regarding the Gentiles, that is one who is not a Jew, and His future plans regarding the Church. Our own pleasure should never be our rule of action, but the pleasure of others, even all men. Our own profit should be entirely ignored (cf. Phil. 2:4- 11 ) and we should live for the profit of others. Our object in seeking the profit of others should be “that they may be saved.” We should be glad to give up our liberty or any right that we possess if someone thereby may be saved (cf. ch. 9:12, 22 ). Friday, Nov. id . i Cor. i i :i. The first verse of chapter 11 ought not to be separated from chapter 10. The chap ter division should begin with verse 2. In the first,verse Paul says: “Be ye followers of me,” and the particular point in which he wished them to follow him is the one mentioned in the last verse of chapter 10 , that is, “not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.” We should all imitate Paul in this. No one who calls himself a Christian should live for his own profit, but for the “profit of many;” and he should live for “the profit of many,” in order “that they may be saved.” This is their highest profit. Are you thus living? Is your absorbing aim in life the profit of many and especially their highest profit, their eternal salvation? Do you .live for this one thing? Do you plan, labor and pray for it? In this matter Paul, himself was “imitating Christ;” and, if in
this matter we imitate Paul, we will be imi tators of Christ. The one decisive proof that we are abiding in Christ is that we imitate Christ, that we walk as He walked (1 John 2:6). Christ pleased not Himself (Rom. 15:3). He sought not His own profit but the “profit of the many” (Phil. 2 : 8 ; Eph. 5:2). He sought the salvation of men. It was for the salvation of men that He came into this world at all (Luke 19:10). It was for this He lived, worked, prayed and died (Matt. 20:28). Saturday, Nov. ipv I Cor. 1 : 2 - 7 . Paul now proceeds to rebuke certain abuses in church order that had arisen in Corinth, but before he rebukes them, he commends them for holding fast, as a rule to the “traditions” (R. V.). By tradi tions he means the apostolic directions delivered to them (cf. v. 23, ch. 15:3; 2 Thess. 2:15). In these things Paul was the apostle who had delivered these “tra ditions” to them. The Greek verb trans lated “delivered” is from exactly the same root as the Greek noun translated “tradi tion,” so “traditions” means “things deliv ered,” and both our Authorized and Revised Versions would be more consistent with themselves, if in the Authorized the word which they translated ordinances were translated “deliverances” and if the Revised Version translated the same word (which they have translated “traditions”) “deliv erances.” Paul commends them for hold ing fast these “deliverances” which he had “delivered” to them. We too, would do well if we held fast the things which the apostles have handed down to us, instead of running after every specious talker who wishes to substitute his own ideas for the “deliverances” of the apostles. It was always Paul’s method to commend that which was commendable before reproving that which was reprehensible. The first abuse in the Church in Corinth that Paul takes up, was that the women had stepped out of their true place of subordination and true modesty. The women of Corinth, pre suming upon the great truth that as far as
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