17 And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your marital status, defines your life. Don’t think I’m being harder on you than on the others. I give this same counsel in all the churches.
18-19 Were you Jewish at the time God called you? Don’t try to remove the evidence. Were you non-Jewish at the time of your call? Don’t become a Jew. Being Jewish isn’t the point. The really important thing is obeying God’s call, following his commands.
20-22 Stay where you were when God called your name. Were you a slave? Slavery is no roadblock to obeying and believing. I don’t mean you’re stuck and can’t leave. If you have a chance at freedom, go ahead and take it. I’m simply trying to point out that under your new Master you’re going to experience a marvelous freedom you would never have dreamed of. On the other hand, if you were free when Christ called you, you’ll experience a delightful “enslavement to God” you would never have dreamed of.
23-24 All of you, slave and free both, were once held hostage in a sinful society. Then a huge sum was paid out for your ransom. So please don’t, out of old habit, slip back into being or doing what everyone else tells you. Friends, stay where you were called to be. God is there. Hold the high ground with him at your side.
1. What is the first principle that he gives about how believes should live?
Don't be wishing that you were somewhere else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and love and obey and believe right where you are.
2. What does it mean to remain in condition in which we were called? What are some ways you have done that in your life?
It means to stay there and use our gifts that God has given us in the spot where we are now. I have stayed with my passion for as long as I can remember, even when I get made fun of for it. I also have used it when times have been hard on me like switching jobs. I have tried to be positive through all things, no matter the situation.
3. We often talk about how Jesus changes our life when we become His followers. What are some life changes that you think Paul would counsel against for believers? What reasons does he give for this?
Being slaves, being a Jew or a non-Jew. Don't try to remove things that you are already. Don't become something that you aren't. The important thing is that you follow God. Don't slip back into old habits.
The reasons for these are following God and His calling for you, God could lead you to things that you could never think of, and God defines you life.
The Unmarried and the Widowed
25-28 The Master did not give explicit direction regarding virgins, but as one much experienced in the mercy of the Master and loyal to him all the way, you can trust my counsel. Because of the current pressures on us from all sides, I think it would probably be best to stay just as you are. Are you married? Stay married. Are you unmarried? Don’t get married. But there’s certainly no sin in getting married, whether you’re a virgin or not. All I am saying is that when you marry, you take on additional stress in an already stressful time, and I want to spare you if possible.
29-31 I do want to point out, friends, that time is of the essence. There is no time to waste, so don’t complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple—in marriage, grief, joy, whatever. Even in ordinary things—your daily routines of shopping, and so on. Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out.
32-35 I want you to live as free of complications as possible. When you’re unmarried, you’re free to concentrate on simply pleasing the Master. Marriage involves you in all the nuts and bolts of domestic life and in wanting to please your spouse, leading to so many more demands on your attention. The time and energy that married people spend on caring for and nurturing each other, the unmarried can spend in becoming whole and holy instruments of God. I’m trying to be helpful and make it as easy as possible for you, not make things harder. All I want is for you to be able to develop a way of life in which you can spend plenty of time together with the Master without a lot of distractions.
36-38 If a man has a woman friend to whom he is loyal but never intended to marry, having decided to serve God as a “single,” and then changes his mind, deciding he should marry her, he should go ahead and marry. It’s no sin; it’s not even a “step down” from celibacy, as some say. On the other hand, if a man is comfortable in his decision for a single life in service to God and it’s entirely his own conviction and not imposed on him by others, he ought to stick with it. Marriage is spiritually and morally right and not inferior to singleness in any way, although as I indicated earlier, because of the times we live in, I do have pastoral reasons for encouraging singleness.
39-40 A wife must stay with her husband as long as he lives. If he dies, she is free to marry anyone she chooses. She will, of course, want to marry a believer and have the blessing of the Master. By now you know that I think she’ll be better off staying single. The Master, in my opinion, thinks so, too.
-1 Corinthians 7:25-40 (MSG)
32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.- (ESV)
1. What does verse 26 means?
It means that whenever and however you are in the present time that you should stay there.
2. What advantages does Paul say singleness offers to the followers of Jesus? What advantages does marriage offer the the followers of Jesus?
Singleness advantages: Free from anxieties, Live with God and follow Him, Think about how to be holy in body and Spirit, and can do things for God, You can focus more on Him because you don't have other things taking that time away from you. You get to spend more time with God.
Marriage advantages: You have someone to work along side while you two bring God the Glory that He deserves. You have someone to care for and nurture you.
3. How would you respond to someone who says this passage teaches that living single is a sign of greater spiritual maturity and that marriage is only for those who have no self-control?
I would respond by saying, "Both singleness and marriage has its own ups and downs. One might be harder then the other but it just depends on the person God made you to be. Marriage isn't about having no self-control at all but it is about how you use that self-control for God's Kingdom and where He wants you to be."
Then I would on about stories of the single people I know in my life that as made a difference in my life and other peoples' lives too.
4. How would you counsel someone (single or married) who says that their present marital status is a hindrance to their following Christ?
I would remind them that God has them where they are now for a purpose. They just need to find it. God has a purpose for both the married and the singles. He knows what each one of us can handle at a time and He knows our future so let Him handle things in His own Way. Each one of us grows in different ways and at different times. I would give them different ideas on how they could serve Christ with their present marital status and again tell them stories of people, both ways, that have made a difference in my life. I would also tell them that their status is not a hindrance because if you look hard enough you can find ways to serve Christ in any way and through any situation.
My Own Side Note: These verses really had an impact on me during the sermon. So much of an impact that I realized how I was treating my single friends and how wrong I was because of that. I also noticed that I have been focusing a lot on marriage and my married friends that I really couldn't see my single friends for the way they truly are and what they are truly doing for Christ. These verses impacted my life so much that I want to focus more on being single and doing things for God that way. To be honest, my mission heart came back to me on the way home from church and was driving home crying every now and then. That is how hard it got to me. I have heard these verses over and over but I think it was just the way that they were said last night that really hit me hard. I felt appreciated and I wanted my other friends to feel the same way so after I got home from church, I thanked them too from the heart. I just pray that they know it was from the heart and nothing more.
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