Tuesday, October 2, 2018

I Corinthians 7  Paul addresses the issues of marriage - everything from remaining single, having an unbelieving spouse, to remarriage after the death of a spouse.

It seems that Paul's bottom line is found in verse 17 " Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk..."  He reminds his readers once again that " You were bought with a price; "  We are Christ's slaves.  Whatever we do.. married, divorced, single, widowed..

A person who remains single, Paul says,  is able to be devoted to the Lord..  and undistracted by care for a family.  That is a good thing!

A person who is married, pleases the Lord by being spiritually united with their spouse. Integrity and stability in marriage is a good thing. A  mutual respect and submission to one another is necessary and wonderful thing !

A person who becomes a believer, but who's spouse is not.. can please the Lord by remaining with him or her.. as long as they desire to remain and stay faithful.  This way they may be able to "save" their spouse by their testimony before them. This is a good thing!

A widow or widower can remarry.. or not.. however the Lord leads them.. as long as they remain "in the Lord" and only marry a fellow believer.

In the middle of this discussion on marriage, Paul adds a few comments about other circumstances that a new christian might be in and how to handle these...
If circumcised.. or not.. ( If a Jew.. or a Gentile) - becoming a christian won't change that, so don't worry about it.
If someone is a slave - don't worry, but if you can be free.. be free!
"Brethren, let each man remain with God in that condition in which he was called." 

In other words, I hear Paul saying.. let God take care of all your circumstances.  Trust Him in your marriage.. or your singleness... in your position.. in your heritage.. and focus on the one important fact - You now belong to Jesus!

Father in heaven, thank You for giving us eyes to see and ears to hear Your Word - truth to live by in all of our circumstances of life.  We profess again - we are Yours.  We desire to please You in every part of our lives, including in our marriages.  Sanctify us - make us holy in every way as we submit to You, to Your Word, and to each other in Christ Jesus.  Lord Jesus, it is in Your name we ask this. Amen.

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