Remain as You Are (1 Cor. 7:25-28)

Now concerning virgins I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. I think then that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you.
(1 Corinthians 7:25-28, NASB)

These are the last of Paul’s exhortation to those single and to those married. Again, his feelings are very clear: If you’re married, stay married. If you’re single, stay single. Neither is sinful.

But more than any other passages, Paul states unequivocally that he really feels being single is the better way: “Yet such [married people] will have trouble in this life.”And he’s not far wrong. It takes a lot of work to enjoy a successful, thriving marriage. In many ways, being single is far easier.

Frankly, there are pros and cons for both states. Married couples have constant companionship. They have someone to share the joy and the sorrows of life. On the other hand, singles have the freedom to go where they want when they want. They don’t have to get anyone’s “permission” to move to another country if they want to.

Pray for God’s will for your life. If you feel called to marriage, embrace it and be committed to it. And if God’s calling you to remain single? Enjoy the freedom to serve Him in a way your married friends just can’t.

True Freedom (1 Cor. 7:21-24)

Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that. For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.
(1 Corinthians 7:21-24, NASB)

When we come to know Jesus Christ, we experience true freedom. Freedom from sin. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from the world’s enticements. True freedom.

But sometimes, we don't live as though we're free in Christ.

Our Lord paid the ultimate price for our salvation. And yet, we are still enslaved by some kind of sin. It’s just like Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome: “I don't understand why I act the way I do. I don't do what I know is right. I do the things I hate” (7:15, CEV). We’re still at war with the flesh even though we know how Christ provided for our freedom from sin.

Yet, even when we sin, we can be assured: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ” (Romans 8:1, NASB). When we confess our sins and strive diligently to live like Christ, He will forgive us. Yes, it's a constant battle this side of heaven, but we can win each battle. If we keep our focus on our Lord.

I want so much to show my gratitude for all Jesus has done for me. I want to live for Him, not for myself. I want to be a slave to Him, not a slave to the world. And so each day, I have to commit my life to Him. I have to give up my fleshly desires for Him. I have to—no, I want to—honor Him and give Him glory.

Because I know the freedom I have as a daughter of the Most High God. A freedom that will one day give me the privilege of standing before His throne and hear—oh, how I pray this will be true—“Well done, my dear daughter.” I will hear Him say, “…enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21, NASB).

Ahh. That’s true freedom.

Walk as You've Been Called (1 Cor. 7:17-20)

Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches. Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God. Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called.
(1 Corinthians 7:17-20, NASB)

God calls each of us uniquely. What He’s called me to do is different than what He’s called you to do. And vice versa. Each of us needs to walk in the manner to which God has called us.

It doesn’t matter if one is a Jew or a Gentile, if he has committed his life to Christ, he is to do as God called him. In the early church, a huge controversy existed about Gentiles and circumcision. Jewish Christians insisted that Gentile converts be circumcised according to the law. But Paul said that circumcision was part of the old covenant, and with Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection, He fulfilled the law and established a new covenant. Therefore, a Gentile Christian was to “remain in that condition in which he was called.”

We don’t really have to be concerned about this issue today; however, we do need to take to heart Paul’s words: “… what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.”

No matter where you were, no matter where you come from, once you know God, once you’ve committed your life to His calling, then you need to focus on Him. Focus on His commandments. Make Him the number one priority in your life. Study His word, applying its truths.

Indeed, let me repeat: Walk in the manner to which God has called you.

Commandment and Encouragement for the "Unequally Yoked" (1 Cor. 7:12-16)

But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?
(1 Corinthians 7:12-16, NASB)

Today’s verses are very personal to me. They’ve provided both conviction and encouragement for me for years. And I frequently meditate on them when I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by one of the more painful realities of my life: being married to someone who doesn’t share my faith.

I am blessed with my husband. He is loving, supportive, loyal, faithful, trustworthy—a true gem! The only thing about him that is heavy on my heart is his lack of faith.

But even if he wasn’t the amazing guy that he is, I’d still be committed to him. Because I’m commanded to do so. The Bible doesn’t give me any “out.” I am commanded to stay with Russ because he “consents to live with [me].”

Those of us who are married to spouses who don’t share our faith are commanded to stay with them, but Paul also gives great encouragement in the final verses. I especially like the New Living Translation’s version of verse 16: “Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?”

I often tell women who are married to unbelieving husbands that God has entrusted to us a great honor. He’s allowed us to play a part in our husbands’ faith journeys. And for me at least, being “unequally yoked” has helped to grow my faith. I’ve investigated other belief systems and my own so I can be completely certain of why I believe what I believe. I’ve drawn closer to God through daily Bible study and prayer. I’ve fully committed my life to God’s will.

If you’re married to someone who doesn’t share your faith, be committed to him or her. Be a Christ-like example. Pray consistently and persistently for his or her salvation.

And live in hope that, indeed, he or she finds Christ because of you.

The Marriage Covenant (1 Cor. 7:8-11)

But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I. But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife.
(1 Corinthians 7:8-11, NASB)

Today’s verses begin by reiterating Paul’s exhortations we looked at yesterday. Single people should stay single and serve God, but if their sexual drive is strong, they should get married.

Then he goes on to instruct married people. And he reminds his readers that these instructions come from the Lord, not from him. Please know that I'm not condemning those who have experienced the tragedy of divorce; if this is you, and you've sought God's forgiveness, then my heart breaks for you. But I truly believe with all my heart that God's heart is for healthy, strong Christian marriages. And so I write:

Married couples should stay married. Bottom line.

Paul writes that wives should not leave their husbands and that husbands should not divorce their wives. But the reverse is also true.

Marriage—Christian marriage—is a covenant relationship, with God at the center. And it is meant to be for life. Hebrews 13:4 states, “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” Nothing—nothing—should break this covenant.

And yet, Christian marriages break up all the time. The Bible gives two “reasons” for divorce (and I believe implies a third). The first is infidelity (see Matthew 19:9), and the second will be addressed tomorrow. The implied third is in cases of abuse, and I believe this because the Bible is clear that wives are to be subject to their husbands, and husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves us (see Ephesians 5:22-28; Colossians 3:18-19). Abuse is not love.

The fact that Christian marriages end because of “irreconcilable differences” is one of the biggest tragedies of our age. “I just don’t love him anymore,” she says. “We’ve grown apart,” he insists.

I’m sorry (well, no I’m not sorry), but committed couples understand that love and passion ebb and flow, and they work through those times when things may not be all “roses and sunshine.”

And guess what? Couples cannot “grow” apart. Growth implies maturity and health. Instead, couples fall apart. And sadly, it’s often because they just don’t try. They aren’t willing to work during the hard times.

It’s tragic. Truly tragic.

Sex in Marriage (1 Cor. 7:1-7)

But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. But this I say by way of concession, not of command. Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that.
(1 Corinthians 7:1-7, NASB)

In these verses, Paul is clearly gives two messages. One is for married folks, and the other is for singles.

Marriage is a partnership, and each partner is to “fulfill his (or her) duty” to his (or her) spouse. And frankly, he’s talking about sex here. Each has “authority” over the other’s body, and to use sex as a weapon is wrong. In healthy marriages, each partner should be satisfied with the couple’s sex life. The couple should be in agreement about when, where, and how.

Then, bookending this message to those married, he writes to the singles. His very first verse of this chapter shows Paul’s heart: He really thinks that the celibate, single life is more conducive to serving God. And the last verse reiterates this thought. Paul was single, and he “wish[ed] that all men were even as [he was].” Again, to be frank, in many ways, he’s right. A single person has more time (and energy) to serve God. He can spend more time in Bible study. He can volunteer more. He doesn’t have anyone competing for God’s attention.

But Paul is very aware that celibacy isn’t for everyone. And so, if the possibility of immorality exists, then a man or woman must be married to meet his or her sexual drive.

Paul doesn’t give a middle ground: If you want sex, get married. If you’re going to stay single, don’t have sex.

Simple, isn’t it?

Temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17-20)

But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
(1 Corinthians 6:17-20 NASB)

These verses are so convicting—or at least they should be.

You have been bought with a price: The Son of God, Jesus Christ, chose to come to earth and take on human flesh. He chose to suffer betrayal, a sham “trial,” and excruciating, beyond-our-comprehension pain. He chose to die a humiliating death.

For you. For me.

He paid our penalty for our sins, and He paid it with His own life.

And when we accepted the gift of salvation through His sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection, the Holy Spirit—part of the triune God—took up resident in each and every one of us.

God Himself resides in us. Each of us is a temple of God! But do we truly understand this amazingly mysterious concept?

I don’t think we do. Not really.

Because if we really, truly did, we would take so much better care of these temples of ours.

We would, indeed, flee immorality. We would treat our bodies with respect, with dignity. We would make wiser choices. We would remain pure and clean. We would fill our hearts and minds with thoughts that edify and help us to become stronger in our faith.

And frankly, even though Paul is writing about not using our bodies for immoral acts, we would do even more to keep our temples healthy and strong. We would eat better and exercise more. We would avoid things that break our bodies down.

Think of it this way: The God of all creation calls to say He’s coming to visit your home. What would you do to prepare it for Him? What kind of feast would you create? How diligently would you clean?

Well, He’s not just visiting your home; He’s living in you. Inside of you.

So how is your temple? Is it clean and fresh and full of good things? Does the Spirit feel welcome? Or is He competing with all the junk and clutter?

I don’t know about you, but I have some housekeeping to do …