11. How NOT to be a Corinthian! 1 Corinthians 7

Rev. Lauri Ferring

How Not to be a Corinthian! • Sermon • Submitted 3 months ago • Presented 3 months ago

1 Corinthians 7

1 Corinthians 7:25–40

Relationships

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Remember whose you are, accept correction, and mature in your faith.

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Transcript

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I Just Want to Be Where You Are, Don Moen

Stand with me as we open our worship with scripture this morning.

Opening Scripture:

Psalm 146 NIV

1 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. 2 I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 3 Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. 5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. 6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— he remains faithful forever. 7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, 8 the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. 10 The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord.

Prayer

Worship Set

Prayer

Worship Through the Word:

How NOT to be a Corinthian! 1 Corinthians 7

Whether we get married or not is an important question for most people. We do not like the thought of living alone or trying to maintain a living and household chores all by ourselves. However, if you knew your time on earth were short, would it be as important to you?

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul asserts that it is not sinful to stay single or to get married. However, he continually brings up the advantages for remaining single. Today we will discover why Paul is so adamant on that point and we find it is because he believes their future is limited.

Today we will finish this difficult chapter of Corinthians. Paul has dealt with Christians married to Christians, then he addressed those who became Christians but were married to someone who did not follow suit in becoming a Christian. Now Paul turns his subject to those who are single or widowed. Please stand as I read chapter 7:25-40.

1 Corinthians 7:25–40 NIV

25 Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. 26 Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. 27 Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this. 29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away. 32 I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— 34 and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. 36 If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. 37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better. 39 A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. 40 In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

Pray

I. Christian Principles for Relationships, Pt 3 1 Corinthians 7

Allow me a brief review, just highlighting the essentials.

In week one we discussed Paul’s response when he was asked if it was more spiritual for people to remain celibate. Remember, this question came from everyone both married and singles. Paul addressed the question directing them to the truth that it did not make you any more spiritual if you were married or single. If they were married, they should remain married and living a healthy marital relation as God designed. Singles could remain single or get married, though Paul saw advantages to being single, it did not in any way make one more spiritual or pleasing to God. The key principle here is this.

Singles glorify God through staying celibate; Likewise, a married person glorifies God through their faithfulness and intimacy in marriage, that being a union between one man and one woman.

Paul also took a moment here to address any Christians who had separated or divorced their spouses (perhaps some had done so for this reason of spirituality) to encourage them to remain single and work to bring reconciliation between them and their spouse. If they remarried another, they would most assuredly be guilty of adultery.

The next question drew Paul’s response to those who had become Christians after they were married and were now married to non-believers. They wanted to know if they should divorce their non-believing spouses, to which Paul said, “no.” He called them to honor their wedding vows with the encouragement that they may yet lead their spouses to the Lord, as well as their children. However, if their spouses divorced them, they were not bound to the vows. They had not abandoned their vows, the non-believers had and they were free to move on to marry someone else.

Paul also addressed questions from those who lived as slaves and felt a similar struggle of tensions as those married to non-believers. He told them they were okay as they were but if they had an opportunity to be free, they should take it.

Of course, these are short answers and shy of all we discussed, including the importance of marrying a believer when you did marry. But this bring us to the next group that Paul addressed.