“All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” (1 Corinthians 10:23)
In everything we do we should be mindful of what we are doing and why we are doing it, to ensure that we don’t lead anyone astray. When Paul wrote today’s scripture to the church at Corinth they had questions about whether they should eat meat that had been sacrificed to false gods and idols. Paul said that all things are lawful for Christians, because we are under grace. If we eat meat, regardless of where it came from it doesn’t matter as long as we are worshiping God. But, all things are not expedient (practical) because if we eat meat sacrificed to false gods or idols we may lead someone to believe that we are worshiping these false gods or idols.
It is clear in the scripture that we are saved by grace through faith. That grace frees us from the sins of our past and future sins. We have the freedom to sin, but (of our own free will) we should not sin, so that we do not become a stumbling block to others and we remain in God’s will, following His precepts. We are ambassadors of Christ, showing the world what Christ is like. If we appear to sin, even if we are not sinning, that perception may cause others to sin. Being good ambassadors for Christ, remembering that not all things are edifying (educational or enlightening), can mean the difference between teaching people about Christ or making people stumble, fall and possibly never know Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Showing people what a Christ filled, Holy Spirit led life is, is far more expedient and edifying than doing whatever we want, potentially causing others to stumble and fall.