Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Corinthians 10:23

"All things are lawful; but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful; but not all things edify." — 1 Corinthians 10:23 (ASV)

All things are lawful for me. (See the commentary on 1 Corinthians 6:12).

This is a repetition of what he had said before; and it is here applied to the subject of eating the meat that had been offered to idols. The sense is, "Though it may be admitted that it was strictly lawful to partake of that meat, yet there were strong reasons why it was inexpedient, and those reasons ought to have the binding force of law."

All things edify not. All things do not tend to build up the church and advance the interests of religion; and when they do not have this effect, they are not expedient and are improper.

Paul acted for the welfare of the church. His object was to save souls. Anything that would promote that object was proper; anything that would hinder it, though in itself it might not be strictly unlawful, was in his view improper.

This is a simple rule and might be easily applied by all. If a man has his heart set on the conversion of men and the salvation of the world, it will go far to regulate his conduct regarding many things for which there may be no exact and positive law.

It will do much to regulate his dress, his style of living, his expenses, his entertainments, and his mode of intercourse with the world. He may not be able to point to any positive law and say that this or that article of dress is improper, that this or that piece of furniture is absolutely forbidden, or that this or that manner of life is contrary to any explicit law of JEHOVAH; but he may see that it will interfere with his great and main purpose—to do good on the widest scale possible—and therefore, to him, it will be inexpedient and improper.

Such a grand, leading purpose is a much better guide to direct a man's life than exact positive statutes to regulate everything would be, even if such minute statutes were possible.