Sermon Tone Analysis

In the city of Corinth, there’s a church.

A church planted.

A church led by Paul, by Apollos, by other capable, godly men.

In the city of Corinth, there’s a church.

A God-ordained city on a hill.

A light in the dark.

In the city of Corinth, there’s a church.

A church pulled this way and that by conflicting social and personal pressures.

A church pulled this way and that.

A church that moves with culture.

A church that sways in whichever direction the societal wind is blowing.

A church pulled this way and that.

In the small town of Rich Hill, there’s a church.

A church planted nearly 140 years ago.

A church that has been led by capable, godly men.

In the small town of Rich Hill, there’s a church.

A God-ordained city on a hill.

A light in the dark.

In the small town of Rich Hill, there’s a church.

We face what Corinth faced those many years ago.

We face what any and every other church faces—the very real possibility of being pulled this way, pushed that way, moved in this direction or that by the world around us.

We let the world influence us individually—it goes to follow that this will have a very natural effect upon the gathered assembly of God’s people.

Should the Lord tarry, it could very well be said that there was, in the small town of Rich Hill, a church pulled this way and that.

We must intentionally and purposefully guard against such pull.

This church in Corinth was fighting this battle on several fronts.

In the realm of marriage and sexuality, it was struggling to be salt and light to people outside their gathering.

The church in Corinth had been pulled this way and that and, in these areas, looks virtually no different than the world around it.

So Paul writes to them.

He confronts them (5:1), answers their questions (7:1), and addresses their thoughts on the topic.

>If you have your Bible (and I hope you do), please turn with me to 1 Corinthians 7. Keep them open in front of you this morning.

We’re going to cover a lot of ground, a section at a time.

Let’s start with 1 Corinthians 7:17-24:

In the middle of this section which is almost entirely about marriage, Paul seemingly interrupts himself.

In the middle of a chapter on marriage and sex, why is Paul talking about circumcision and slavery?

The answer is that he’s using them to illustrate the larger point he’s making which we find repeated three times here (vv.

17, 20, 24).

The point for the larger discussion is obvious: you shouldn’t feel under any pressure either to get married if you’re single or to separate from a spouse if you have one.

But why does Paul choose to speak about circumcision and slavery here?

Of all things?

One of Paul’s basic principles centers on these two things.

This chapter—1 Corinthians 7—is about how male and female is to work out in the Christian community.

So to illustrate it, Paul chooses the other two parings: Jew and Greek and slave and free.

Paul’s point is that the social, cultural, ethnic, and even gender distinctions are nothing compared to the new life brought through the gospel.

God’s calling is more important than worldly status

Christians should not allow social pressures of whatever sort to force them into thinking that the most important thing they could do was to change their status into something else.

That would undermine the very thing he had been urging in the first two chapters.

Remember: God chooses the nobodies of the world.

If the nobodies then decide they want to become somebodies, what would that say about God’s design?

In the city of Corinth, many Jewish men in Paul’s day were under pressure to pretend they were Gentiles, and some even tried surgery to make it look as though they were uncircumcised after all (Greeks went naked when they exercised, or used public baths, so Jewish identity was all too obvious).

Likewise, Gentile men were under pressure from certain Jewish groups to get circumcised—this is what Paul is referencing in verses 18-19.

Paul cautions the Corinthians not to be pressured into seeking to change their social status one way or the other.

“Don’t get circumcised or make it look like you’re not circumcised; none of that matters.

What matters is that you’ve been called.”

Called.

8 times in 8 verses Paul writes about their calling (vv.

17, 18, 18, 20, 21, 22, 22, 24).

This is referring to the effectual call from God to salvation.

The Corinthian Christians had been called by God to become Christians.

This is not a call to a specific job or vocation; this is God’s call to salvation.

If you’re a Christian, it’s because God called you to Himself.

So Paul says, this is what’s most important.

God’s call, the salvation you’ve found in Him, is primary, numero uno, of first imporantance.

There were people in Corinth (and people around today) who would urge believers to change their social circumstances (including marriage) in order to be more spiritual or gain a better status.

No change in status is going to add even one iota to our salvation or our spirituality.

Paul cautions the Corinthians not to be pressured into seeking to change their social status one way or the other.

“Don’t get circumcised or make it look like you’re not circumcised; none of that matters.

What matters is that you’ve been called.”

In Christ, you have all the status you need!

Even the slave/free distinction doesn’t matter compared to the status the Corinthians had in Jesus.

To the Corinthians, Paul says, “If you were a slave when you became a Christian, you shouldn’t be constantly seeking to become free as though everything depended on it.”

God’s call through the gospel, the call through which people come to faith and become part of God’s people—that call is far more important than social or cultural status.

The most important thing about you isn’t your status, your position, your earthly place.

The most important thing about you isn’t your last name, your job title, your position in the church, or anything that can be measured by a worldly metric.

Everything you need is in Christ.

If you’re a Gentile and Christian, a slave and a Christian, an ethnic Jew and a Christian, a Barbarian and a Christian; if you have no status, but you’re a Christian you are immeasurably blessed.

You have been bought at a price, and that gives you inestimable value and worth.

When we’re being pulled this way and that, we need to remember that fitting in or measuring up to someone else’s standard, some worldly standard is insignificant; what we’re tempted to think is important, isn’t.

Don’t be pulled this way or that.

Don’t be tricked into thinking that is most important.

What’s important—all that matters—is that you’ve been called by God to be one of His.

>Now Paul is in a position to get back to the subject of sex and marriage:

These are some of the most difficult verses in any of Paul’s letters; just so you know.

We won’t wade into all of the technical and grammatical issues here (you’re welcome).

After pulling out what little hair I have left, I’ve surmised that the thrust of this passage teaches:

God’s people must have an eternal perspective and eternal priorities

There’s a lot going on here, but it continues from what Paul has just said.

He says plainly (v.

26)—I think it is good for a man to remain as he is, whether married or unmarried.

And this, because of the present crisis.

Paul left Corinth around AD 51.

Right around that time, and for a few years afterward—exactly the period between his leaving and his writing this letter—there was a severe shortage of grain around the Greek world.

Other people writing at the same time mention it.

Many Roman citizens had taken it for granted that the great Roman empire would keep them safe, sound, and well-fed.

Suddenly, the food had run out.

A question mark hung over the whole imperial world.

Was everything going horribly wrong?

The poor—that would be most of the Christians in

Corinth—would be feeling the pinch.

It was a time of great distress.

Because of this present crisis and the ever-imminent return of Christ, Paul urges the Corinthians to adopt an eternal perspective and eternal priorities.

There will never be a time when Christians can settle down and treat the world as though it’s going to last forever.

In this world, there is trouble.