EXPEDIENCY

Expediency is sometimes defined as the method by which a determined goal is achieved, regardless of the moral consequences. This is not the biblical concept of expediency. In Bible parlance, a method can be expedient only if it is lawful. If, for example, there is generic authority for a practice, then one may pursue an expedient method of implementing the practice. When Jesus mandated his disciples to evangelize the world (Mt. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15-16; Lk. 24:46-47), he left it up to them to use the most expedient mode of transportation possible. Sometimes a thing may be lawful, but not expedient (cf. 1 Cor. 10:23). For instance, in apostolic times it was technically lawful to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols, yet, in some cases (where others might be likely to stumble), it was not expedient (see 1 Cor. 8:1ff; 1 Cor. 10:23ff; Rom. 14).