The Local Church & Contentment

Introduction

A recent Gallup poll showed that 77% are completely dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States. This poll was done from August 2-17 of this year. Another poll shows that American satisfaction hit an all time of low of just 11% of people who were satisfied in January of this year. People are not happy and people are not content. As we all know the main reasons behind the lack of satisfaction today is the current pandemic, the political climate of our nation, and the state of our economy.

Now, we know, as we study God’s Word, that unbelievers never will be satisfied or content. Man’s sinful nature always wants something different. The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life are at constant work in people’s lives. That is why the advertisement industry is a billion dollar industry. The make billions of dollars as they constantly appeal to man’s unbridled desire for bigger and better.

But, for the believer, is it possible to be content amidst all the current turmoil and chaos. Even as I prepare this message, believers are texting me asking me what should we do? Should we rise up? Should we accept our fate?

This is the very issue that the Holy Spirit is addressing in our text this morning.

Now, remember, in the first part of this chapter, the Holy Spirit has laid some foundation teaching about marriage.

He states that marriage is the best avenue to avoid fornication. (1 Corinthians 7:1-7, especially verse 2)

He goes on to give instruction to believer’s who are married as well as those who are in a mixed marriage meaning believer married to an unbeliever. (1 Corinthians 7:10-17, last week’s message)

You may also recall that chapter 6 dealt extensively concerning fornication. Fornication is sexual immorality. The biggest issue with sexual immorality is a desire for more of what pleases self. The person who engages in sexual conduct outside of marriage is a person who simply fulfilling their own lusts. Unfortunately, that desire is only satisfied temporarily. Therefore, they always want more. There is no contentment. Marriage in and of itself is not a complete determent. It helps especially if the husband and wife within the marriage pattern their lives according to God’s Word. However, even for the believer, there must come a time when they learn to be content. It is for this reason that we have read already these instructions.

1 Corinthians 7:3 KJV 1900

Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.

1 Corinthians 7:10–11 KJV 1900

And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

Each of these verses contain a certain element of contentment. Be content husband with your wife. Wife, be content with your husband. Render to each other due benevolence. Don’t depart. Stay married and committed to the person you married.

Here are some principles concerning a believer and contentment.

BE CONTENT as YOU TRUST GOD’S DESIGN for YOUR LIFE!

Look at verse 17 which is the verse we ended with last week, God encourages us by stating...

1 Corinthians 7:17 KJV 1900

But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.

What is God saying? He is saying to all of us believer that we need to learn contentment. Whatever situation we find ourselves in as believers, we need to remember that God is always in control and He is the One Who has allowed us to be in that situation. Note the words “hath distributed” and “hath called.”

The first gives us the understanding of receiving one’s portion. Thus, whatever situation you are currently in (single, married, married to a believer, married to a unbeliever, or divorced) that is your portion from God.

The second phrase which is “hath called” has a twofold connotation. It means to summon by name. Thus, there is summoning or calling and there is a person being named who is called or summoned. Thus, each of us must know that the Lord has personally called each us as believers to live for Him in whatever situation we are placed. And, if there happens to be any question about that, God finishes that verse stating “so ordain I in all churches.” In other words, He gives none of us any choice in the matter. We as believers, who by the way make up every true local church, are commanded to accept our lot in life and be content. That is the bottom line.

Now, as we move to our text today, the Holy Spirit builds upon verse 17 by giving us some key principles concerning contentment. Again, the answer to my previous question is yes. It is very much possible for a believer to live content in whatever situation he or she is placed.

We can be content our marriages.

We can be content in our jobs.

We can be content in our community.

We can even be content when evil and wickedness is raging all around us.

The apostle Paul is a great example. Over in Philippians 4, Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, testified...

Philippians 4:11–13 KJV 1900

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

You will note that he had learned what? He had learned “to be content.” Note also that he said he had learned to be content in “whatsoever state I am.” Thus, if he was in the state West Virginia, he could be content. If he was in the state of California, he could be content. No, I am just kidding. The “whatsoever state” means whatever condition he found himself in. He goes on to note there were times when he was abased, there were times when he was hungry, there were times when he was full. Yet, in ever situation, he had learned to be content. What was the source of his contentment? His faith in the promises of God. As he was obedient to God, Christ strengthened him enabling to him to all things and to be content in all things.

My point is this. Christian, whatever situation you are in this morning, you can be completely content. You can do so as you simply accept your own situation knowing God has allowed it.

If you go back to our text, the Holy Spirit reinforces this principle with the next two verses.

1 Corinthians 7:18–19 KJV 1900

Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.

Now to understand this verse is to understand the context of the first local churches. As you may recall, Christ came and offered Himself first to the children of Israel. He came as the promised Messiah offering salvation to Israel. His ministry on earth came to an end when Israel rejected Him. However, out of their rejection of Christ came our blessing. For as Christ offered Himself upon the cross, He did so not just for Israel, but for all nations and all people. Thus, by God’s grace, we, as Gentiles, have the blessed opportunity to be part of God’s family as we accept all that Christ did for us through His death, burial, and resurrection.

How does one become part of God’s family? That is great question and I am glad that you asked. You become part of God’s family when you...

REALIZE your hopeless and helpless condition before God - Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

ACKNOWLEDGE all that Christ has already done for you. - Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

CONFESS & REPENT of your sinful condition accepting all that Christ as done by faith. - Romans 10:9-10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Acts 3:19 “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;”

1 John 5:11–12 KJV 1900

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

John 1:12 KJV 1900

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Going back to the context being spoken of here in our text is this. Many of those who initially accepted Christ as Messiah were indeed Jews. However, over time as you study the book of Acts, the number of Gentile believers began to increase rapidly. Soon, in many of the local churches such as the Corinthians church, there were mixed congregations of Jewish and Gentile believers. Thus, there were circumcised believers also known as Jewish believers and there were uncircumcised believers also known as Gentiles. One of the major issues that developed in many church was this. The Jewish believers were teaching that for the Gentile believer to be truly saved the must be circumcised. That is, of course, not true and a topic that is too broad for us to get into this morning. However, back to our point, division was creeping into the local churches over the topic of circumcision versus uncircumcision. The Holy Spirit points in our text that if one is circumcised or a Jew then be content. Additionally if one is uncircumcised or a Gentile then he is not seek to be a Jew or circumcised. Again, he is to be content as Gentile. To sum it all up, the Holy Spirit makes a blanket statement. That statement being “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing.” In other words, it matters not. If you are Jew, be content. If you are Gentile, be content. All of which leads us to the next principle of contentment.

What is the first?

BE CONTENT AS YOU TRUST GOD’S DESIGN FOR YOUR LIFE - Simply trust Him!

Here is the second which is found in verse 19

1 Corinthians 7:19 KJV 1900

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

BE CONTENT BY SIMPLY LIVING OBEDIENT TO GOD’S WORD!

The only thing that matters in any believer’s life is obedience. It matters not if you are Jewish believer or a Gentile believer. It matters not if you are single or married or divorce and remarried. It matters not if you are married to a believer or an unbeliever. What matters is your obedience to God and His Word. It is just that simple. Unfortunately, we struggle with the most basic elements of a believer’s life.

The first thing that popped into my mind as I was preparing this point was a kid’s song called OBEDIENCE. Listen to the words.

Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe

Doing exactly as the Lord commands, doing it happily

Action is the key, do it immediately, JOY you will receive

Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe

We want to live pure, we want live clean, we want to do our best

SWEETLY SUBMITTING to authority, leaving TO GOD THE REST

Walking in the light, keeping our attitude right, on the narrow way

For if we believer the WORD WE RECEIVE, we alway will obey

This is something that is taught throughout all of God’s Word.

God told Israel...

Leviticus 26:3–4 KJV 1900

If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

The very first Psalm recorded in the great book of Psalms say...

Psalm 1:1–3 KJV 1900

Blessed is the man That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season; His leaf also shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Later in the book of wisdom, God gave this ...

Proverbs 3:5–10 KJV 1900

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: Fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, And marrow to thy bones. Honour the Lord with thy substance, And with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, And thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

Christ himself said in His great Sermon on the Mount...

Matthew 6:33 KJV 1900

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

You cannot get away from the fact that contentment is tied to obedience. If you really want to be content, then be obedient. It is that simple. But, as I already stated, the most simple things in life can be the hardest thing to do. Our sin nature is constantly at work within us working to stop us from doing something so simple as obedience to the Lord. Yet, when we give in to self and are disobedient, we, as believers, are miserable. There is no contentment for a believer during times of disobedience. Thus, we are reminded to keep “the commandments of God.”

How then can a believer be content? We can be content by simply trusting God and by obeying His commands. However, there is one other principle give in our text. Look again at 1 Corinthians 7 and verses 20-24.

1 Corinthians 7:20–23 KJV 1900

Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant. Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

BE CONTENT BY REMEMBERING YOUR PROPER PLACE BEFORE THE LORD

You will note that emphasis that the Holy Spirit now places on “being a servant.” There is a double application here.

First, the context at the time of the writing of the original document was that of a time of slavery. There were many believers who were literally under the bondage of slavery. Thus, you had slaves and you had free men. Both were believers. So, within that context, the Holy Spirit was once again reminding these believers to be content with whatever lot in life they found themselves. If they were slave, then learn to be content and fret not about it. If they were free, then they had a larger responsibility. That responsibility was to use their freedom for the Lord. However, no matter whether they were slaves or free men, all believers are the Lord’s servants. This then is the second application or thought.

We, as believers, are reminded of our proper place before the Lord. What is that place? We are His servants. The word “servant” means to be the property of another. We are literally His property. Thus, as with any owner, the Lord has absolute say as to our lot in life. One of our struggles is our ability to accept that we are not our own. You may recall the Holy Spirit already bringing this up in a previous text that we studied. Remember the end of chapter 6.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 KJV 1900

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Now, once again, the Holy Spirit reminds us of this great truth. We are “bought with a price.” It was a very precious price that God paid for our salvation as well as for our service to Him. He paid that price with the blood of His only begotten Son. In fact, He paid the price with His own blood. Thus, we are not our own. Our body belongs to Him. Our service belongs to Him. That is why the Holy Spirit warns us...

1 Corinthians 7:23 KJV 1900

Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

We are not the servants of men. Even within the context of the literal slavery of that day, each believers who was a slave to a human master was to consider the fact that we in fact slaves to a much higher power and owner, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, their service to their human master was to be a reflection of their service to God. In the same manner, we are must have the same mentality. We must realize that we belong to Him.

Another aspect of this principle is this. A slave goes wherever and does whatever the master says. A slave has no say whatsoever. A slave’s simple duty is humble obedience. For this reason, we must realize that whatever lot in life we have been handed by the Lord it our duty to accept it. We are not gripe about it. We are not object to it. We just simply accept it and keep on being obedient to Him.

How does this look in a practical sense?

Well, let’s take the marriage situations presented in our text. First is the believer’s marriage where we have a believing husband and a believing wife. Each believer is to be content. How? Each one, the husband and the wife, is to trust God in their particular situation. When it comes to our mates, we find out real quick how different they are from us. We learn all their weaknesses and their little idiosyncrasies which drive us nuts. Our gut reaction is we need to change them and make them conform to what I want. Well, wait a minute, is that trusting God in the situation? Certainly not. My concern as husband is not to change my wife, but simply learn to live with her as I put my trust in God. Which leads me to the next practical step. If I am going to successfully live with her then I must practice obedience to God’s word. I must the obey the command as a husband to...

Ephesians 5:25 KJV 1900

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Therefore, I have no choice to but love her as Christ loved us. Why? I am bought with a price. That price was Christ himself who gave himself for me. Therefore, as His servant or slave, I must live as He has determined and as He has instructed. It is the same thing for a believer who is married to an unbeliever.

Let’s conclude with the last verse of our text.

Conclusion

Note verse 24 which says...

1 Corinthians 7:24 KJV 1900

Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.

The single essence of that verse is this. No matter where God has placed you, abide with Him. If you are single, abide with Him. If you are married, abide with Him. If you are married to an unbeliever, abide with Him. If you are divorced and remarried, abide with Him. It matters not the situation. What matters is God! As believers, we are instructed to live for Him. We are to live for Him Who paid the ultimate price for us. We belong to Him.

It is possible for a believer to be content? Yes. We can be content when trust God’s design for our lives, we obey His commands, and when we remember that we belong to Him.

I know that we live in some troubling times. I also know that even in the midst of trouble, we can be content knowing the promises of God. Just ask the three Hebrew men of Daniel’s day! They stood for the Lord remaining loyal to Him. They were content and were not afraid of men. Even when they were faced with heat of the fiery furnace, they remained loyal to Christ. They were abiding with God. Then, when they were in that fierce furnace, God abided with them. I will close with this verse from the book of James.

James 4:8 KJV 1900

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.