1 Corinthians 7:1-9

1 Corinthians 7:1–9 ESV

1 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. 7 I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. 8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. 9 But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

Introduction :

The ethic of the day was indulgence and premissiveness. Your appities exist to be sastisfied.

Slaves, prostitutes, and boys were seen as perfectly legitimate outlets for male sexual desire.

Christianity was a radical idea. It was so radical that the Romans found it utterly strange.

These teachings sound like they come from another world.

In reality they come from the creator of this world.

In his book From Shame to Sin: The Christian Transformation of Sexual Morality in Late Antiquity (Harvard, 2013)

Harvard Professor Kyle Harper’s

Sexual morality quickly came to mark the great divide between Christians and the rest of the world.

The great divide.

Singleness is a gift from God but it is not given to everyone.

1 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV)

1 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”

1 Corinthians 7:6–7 (ESV)

6 Now as a concession, not a command, I say this.

7 I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.

If you are single you are not a second class citizen in the Kingdom.

Paul was a single man ministering to men, women, and children within the church.

The culture divides people into subgroups.

The gospel unites people of every subgroup into a new entity, the church.

You shouldn’t feel out of place in the church because you are single.

Celebration

We must celebrate our single brothers and sisters.

Isolation

We must not isolate them.

They are part of the body not glorified nobodies.

Whatever place the world places you in…you have a place here.

Singleness is not good for those who struggle with sexual temptations.

1 Corinthians 7:2 (ESV)

2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.

1 Corinthians 7:8–9 (ESV)

8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am.

9 But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

Protection

Sex is a powerful gift for good to bind the hearts of husband and wife together.

That same power that is good can be utterly destructive.

The power that binds the hearts of husbands when mishandled can enslave.

1 cor 6 12

1 Corinthians 6:12 (ESV)

12 ... but I will not be dominated by anything.

Marriage is God’s good gift to help protect us from sexual sin.

1 Corinthians 7:2 ESV

2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.

1 Corinthians 7:5 ESV

5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Safe sex - is sex that protects you from temptation.

Sex is powerful