Study Desk

I am free to do all things; but not all things are wise. I am free to do all things; but I will not let myself come under the power of any.

It is my desire that all men might be even as I am. But every man has the power of his special way of life given him by God, one in this way and one in that.

But I say to the unmarried and to the widows, It is good for them to be even as I am.

Am I not free? am I not an Apostle? have I not seen Jesus our Lord? are you not my work in the Lord?

If to others I am not an Apostle, at least I am one to you: for the fact that you are Christians is the sign that I am an Apostle.

Am I talking as a man? does not the law say the same?

But I have not made use of any of these things: and I am not writing this in the hope that it may be so for me: for it would be better for me to undergo death, than for any man to make this pride of mine of no effect.

For if I am a preacher of the good news, I have no cause for pride in this; because I am forced to do so, for a curse is on me if I do not.

But if I do it gladly, I have a reward; and if not, I am under orders to do it.

What then is my reward? This, that when I am giving the good news, I may give it without payment, not making use of my rights as a preacher of the good news.

So then I am running, not uncertainly; so I am fighting, not as one who gives blows in the air:

What I am saying is for wise men, do you be the judges of it.

Right and wrong, I say, not for you, but for the other man; for the fact that I am free is not dependent on another man's sense of right or wrong.

Now I am pleased to see that you keep me in memory in all things, and that you give attention to the teaching which was handed down from me to you.

But in giving you this order, there is one thing about which I am not pleased: it is that when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.

What? have you not houses to take your meals in? or have you no respect for the church of God, putting the poor to shame? What am I to say to you? am I to give you praise? certainly not.

If the foot says, Because I am not the hand, I am not a part of the body; it is no less a part of the body.

And if the ear says, Because I am not the eye, I am not a part of the body; it is a part of the body all the same.

But let your desires be turned to the more important things given by the Spirit. And now I am pointing out to you an even better way.

If I make use of the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am like sounding brass, or a loud-tongued bell.