Sex freedom note

A relevant insight is 1 Cor. 6:12:

All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. [1]

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1. The context for this excerpt is

a. Lawsuits among believers, who were appealing to unbelievers for justice. Why weren't believers getting answers via the Holy Spirit, and further, why weren't they following the spirit of love, tolerance and forgiveness? Where was the longsuffering that comes of bearing wrongs cheerfully?

b. Dietary and sexual practices. On Jewish dietary rules, the apostle says that both the stomach and its contents are annihilated in the end. It's not the material formations that count, but the spirit. As for sexual "fornication," it should be noted that many Greek sexual practices were abhorrent to Jews, including to the trailblazer Paul. In fact, such practices must have been a source for transmission of a number of incurable ailments, but this possibility was not Paul's primary target, which was that such sexual behavior was unlikely to lead anywhere positive.

That is, from a spiritual perspective:

Sex without love is deadly, because it does not strengthen, but weakens. Tho it is certainly so that God is the final arbiter of sex relations, Paul was only too aware of how "liberty" in the sexual area can lead to bondage associated with giving the lower nature too much play.

We might take this theme further: Anything a born-again Christian does is best when done out of love, even if for God only. When the believer loses sight of that goal, unnecessary trouble may easily ensue.

So now that we have spoken of the context of the verse, we are now able to see its general value "out of context."

As a born-again Christian, I am free to do anything but not everything is a good idea. That freedom includes choice of a better way and a more painful way. You may reach a very nice destination in the end, but in the meantime, why not "learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart"? (Mt. 11.29-30) and give up tearing your flesh with foolish goals?