Sermon Tone Analysis

*1 Corinthians 7:17-19…* Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk.

And thus I direct in all the churches.

18 Was any man called already circumcised?

Let him not become uncircumcised.

Has anyone been called in uncircumcision?

Let him not be circumcised.

19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.

 

*Commentary*

            In the previous context Paul commanded Christians who were married to non-Christians to remain in their marriages without seeking a divorce.

He had also instructed all married folks to remain married, and he had even advised widows and divorcees to remain as they were.

It was his opinion that perpetual singleness was superior to marriage.

His whole point was that each person should remain in the position they find themselves when God “calls” them.

Notice in verse 17 that it is “the Lord” (Jesus Christ) who “assigns” and God who “calls.”

God the Father calls His elect children to salvation; God the Son assigns them their task in that calling.

For some it’s being married to an unbeliever.

For others it’s about remaining in “slavery” (v.

20).

This is the directive “in all the churches.”

In other words, this is universal advice for all Christians.

In verse 17, though the grammar is rough, the meaning is clear.

The NLT says, “You must accept whatever condition the Lord has put you in and continue on as you were when God first called you.”

When the NT epistles uses the word “call” it usually refers to God’s bringing someone to salvation.

Salvation is always God’s doing, for man has nothing to do with it.

So when a person comes to belief in Christ – as a result of God’s “call” – he~/she is to remain in the situation he~/she was in when they became Christians.

If married when converted, that person should remain married.

Paul uses the example of Jews in verse 18 to instruct them to remain as they are.

If one was a circumcised Jew when they became a Christian, they were not to undo their circumcision.

Circumcision was a surgical procedure done on every male Jew eight days after he was born.

The cutting off of the male foreskin identified that Jewish male with the covenant made to Abraham in Genesis 12-13, 15; 17.

The reason it was performed on the male was because the male carried the “seed” (semen) of the promised Messiah and his children.

Any Jewish male who was circumcised showed that they were a part of God’s covenant, and they just might watch their seed become the Christ – the Messiah.

After Jesus was born circumcision meant nothing because the promised Seed was already born.

This is why Paul calls circumcision “nothing” in verse 19.

Though prescribed in the Mosaic Law Jesus Christ fulfilled that Law.

What does continue to matter, according to Paul, “is keeping the commandments of God.”

Though some would mistakenly say that keeping God’s commandments is a work (and salvation comes by faith not by works), Paul never considered obedience to the commands of God as works leading to salvation.

Obedience to God is what’s important in the Christian life, and a proper response to God’s grace comes through obedient works that conform to Christian ethics – they conform to God’s perfect standard, and that’s the quest of every true Christian.

*Food for Thought*

            What situation in life were you when God saved you?

The passage above does not necessarily speak of our vocations as such, but it does address our life situations.

If when you were married both you and your spouse were unbelievers, then you came to faith in Christ, then  God has put you in a strategic situation for your spouse’s sake.

If you’re in a job, however, that causes you to compromise your Christian walk, then leave.

But if not, then remain in that position and use it to be the faithful missionary God has called you to be in that vocation.

*1 Corinthians 7:20-24…* Let each man remain in that condition in which he was called.

21 Were you called while a slave?

Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that.

22 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.

23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.

24 Brethren, let each man remain with God in that condition in which he was called.

*Commentary*

*            *Verse 20 literally reads in the Greek text, “Each man in the calling in which he has been called; in this he must remain.”

It is somewhat of a summary statement reflecting back to Paul’s teaching on marriage.

No matter what state a person was in upon coming to Christ, they were to remain in that position.

If single, then their conversion to Christ did not warrant their getting married.

If they were married, then their conversion did not warrant a divorce.

When the text says, “in this he must remain,” it is an imperative.

However, this command is actually a God-inspired opinion.

Those who become married do not sin, but the apostle’s opinion is expressed.

Leaving behind the example of marriage, now Paul uses slavery in the latter part of verse 20 to illustrate his point.

One might be tempted to think that after converting to Jesus Christ slaves should seek their freedom.

Paul says “no.”

He asks, “Were you called while a slave?”

In other words, “When God saved you were you at that time a slave?”

If the answer was “yes,” then the godly advice was to remain that way.

Paul says, “Don’t worry about it!”

But he does give permission for slaves to buy their freedom if they are able to in contrast to just leaving their owners and using their conversion to justify the practice.

This is a reference to the common practice of slaves who saved their money and eventually paid for their freedom by paying off their owners.

In the Roman Empire slavery encompassed about half the population, so there were a great many slaves – many of whom were coming to faith in Christ; hence, the answer Paul gives to the common question (much like the Jews who sought to be uncircumcised due to their embarrassment in the Greco-Roman world where athletes exercised and competed in the nude).

Verse 22 is explanatory.

Paul says that slaves, following their conversion, are actually freedmen in Christ.

In the same way, those who were not slaves who came to faith in Jesus Christ become Christ’s slaves.

Either way, whether slave or freedman, both are free, and both are slaves of Christ.

Verse 23 explains that Christian freedom comes as a result of being “bought with a price.”

Of course this is a beautiful explanation of what Christ’s death on the cross accomplished.

He paid for our sins with his blood – not with money.

The ultimate price to pay is with one’s blood, and after Jesus Christ did that those who place their faith in him become his slaves.

So, it matters not whether one is a literal slave or a figurative one.

We’re all slaves, and as such we must never “become slaves of men.”

Now this might seem to contradict Paul’s advice to remain a slave if one was a slave to a man, but the teaching is simple.

Our master is Jesus Christ because he’s the one who paid for us.

We should seek to be tied to no one else, as verse 24 says, we are to remain in the condition were we in when we came to faith in Christ.

*Food for Thought*

            God puts us in strategic positions.

There is scarcely a company, a neighborhood, or an organization that doesn’t have a Christian influence in it to affect it.

God has put His people all over the world, and as such, His Word is set to go out to the whole world.

All Christians need to do is take advantage.

If you’re in one of those spots today, then take advantage of your position.

Remain in it as God has commanded.

The lost souls around you desperately need your witness.

*1 Corinthians 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.

26 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.

27 Are you bound to a wife?

Do not seek to be released.

Are you released from a wife?

Do not seek a wife.

28 But if you should marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin should marry, she has not sinned.

Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you.

*Commentary*

            Paul addressed divorcees and widows in 1 Cor.

7:8, and now he singles out the virgins – those who have never been married.

Jesus did not address this group in his teachings, so Paul reflects this truth by confessing, “I have no command of the Lord…” Now because the Corinthians apparently had a question about virgins in their letter to him, he addresses them with his “opinion.”