{"id":16920,"date":"2021-08-11T22:00:49","date_gmt":"2021-08-12T05:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1corinthians-7_17-24-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-07-28T21:56:39","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T04:56:39","slug":"1corinthians-7_25-31","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1corinthians-7_25-31\/","title":{"rendered":"Live for God\u2019s Greater Purposes"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 Corinthians 7:25-31 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Corinthians 7:25-31.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 7:25-28 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are.
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife.
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 25-28:\u00a0\u00a0What \u201cpresent crisis\u201d is Paul referring to in verse 26?\u00a0\u00a0It is not entirely clear.\u00a0\u00a0Some scholars think Paul may be referring specifically to a famine that had hit the region including Corinth.\u00a0\u00a0Others think Paul may be referring more generally to the normal struggles people were experiencing from day to day, or what Paul believed was the soon coming return of Jesus Christ.\u00a0\u00a0In any event, Paul advises the Christians in Corinth to \u201cremain as you are\u201d (v26).\u00a0\u00a0So to the already married Paul tells them not to seek a divorce (v27a) and to those who are single Paul advises not to be too caught up trying to look for a future spouse (v27b).\u00a0\u00a0Paul does clarify that getting married is certainly not a sin (v28a) but he wants to spare his people from the troubles that married people will inevitably go through (v28b).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Marriage is a blessing, but it\u2019s not a walk in the park!\u00a0\u00a0Those who get married will face challenges and troubles that unmarried will not have to face, and vice versa. Don\u2019t ever fall into the trap of thinking that getting married (or staying single) will solve all your problems; it won\u2019t.\u00a0\u00a0Marriage and singleness each comes with its own set of challenges and trouble.\u00a0\u00a0Marriage is not a saviour.\u00a0\u00a0Singleness is not a saviour.\u00a0\u00a0Only Jesus is the saviour.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Notice that Paul gives this advice not because God has commanded him to give it, but as an opinion based on his experience and his role as an apostle.\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0You don\u2019t need to hear directly from God on every single little matter in life before you act.\u00a0\u00a0God gives us a brain and a heart as well as the freedom to use them.\u00a0\u00a0You can overspiritualize a decision-making process by requiring that you need to hear from God on every little matter, when that is not necessarily what God requires.\u00a0\u00a0Imagine a child who into his 20s, 30s and 40s refuses to make any decision, even the decision as simple as what to eat or when to sleep or what to wear, without consulting his parents.\u00a0\u00a0That is not a sign of maturity, but immaturity.\u00a0\u00a0It can also lead to a life where you never take responsibility for your own decisions but blame others for why you are in the place you\u2019re in.\u00a0\u00a0It can lead to wasted time and missed opportunities when we always think, \u201cI need to audibly hear the voice of the Lord on this issue\u201d before you act.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t get me wrong.\u00a0\u00a0On important decisions, it is important to seek the Lord and to get good advice.\u00a0\u00a0It is important to ask God for wisdom generally and in many situations specifically.\u00a0\u00a0But God wants you to grow up with His values, wisdom and perspective increasingly engrained in your heart such that you don\u2019t need to \u201cget a word from God\u201d on every little thing that you\u2019re thinking about doing.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Rather God wants you yourself to make good and wise decisions with the goal of honouring God and to own those decisions yourself.<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 7:29-31 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none;
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep;
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 29-31:\u00a0\u00a0Does Paul mean that husbands should ignore their wives or actually live as if they were single again (v29)?\u00a0\u00a0No.\u00a0\u00a0I believe Paul is using slightly exaggerated language in verses 29-31 to express a point:\u00a0\u00a0we must live with a sense of purpose and urgency<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0As Paul says in verse 29, \u201ctime is short\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus is coming again (\u201cthis world in its present form is passing away\u201d \u2013 v31).\u00a0\u00a0So\u00a0don\u2019t get caught up in a lifestyle where it\u2019s just all about your love life (v29b), or all about your feelings (\u201cthose who mourn\u201d \u2013 v30), or all about your happiness (\u201cthose who are happy\u201d \u2013 v30), or all about material things (\u201cthose who buy something\u201d \u2013 v30), or all about the things we have or use in this world (v31).\u00a0\u00a0Instead live your life for God\u2019s greater purposes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But when exactly is Jesus coming again?\u00a0\u00a0We don\u2019t know.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s why a good piece of advice I once received is this: plan for a 1,000 years but live each day as if Jesus were coming again tomorrow.\u00a0\u00a0In other words, live with a sense of urgency balanced with wisdom, going after the things that matter most and making the most of every opportunity, so that you will have no regrets at the end of your life.<\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, thank You for showing me today that part of growing up is realizing that nothing \u2013 not marriage, not being single, not any material possession and not any circumstance \u2013 can save me.\u00a0\u00a0Only You can save me.\u00a0\u00a0So I declare today that You alone are my hope.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You that part of growing up is learning to make mature decisions with the goal of honouring You without having to consult You on every little matter.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You that part of growing up is not getting caught up in the little things while missing the biggest thing.\u00a0\u00a0May I live for Your purposes today.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Corinthians 7:25-31.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 7:25-28 (NIV)
\n25\u00a0\u00a0Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.
\n26\u00a0\u00a0Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are.
\n27\u00a0\u00a0Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife.
\n28\u00a0\u00a0But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.<\/p>\n

On verses 25-28:\u00a0\u00a0What \u201cpresent crisis\u201d is Paul referring to in verse 26?\u00a0\u00a0It is not entirely clear.\u00a0\u00a0Some scholars think Paul may be referring specifically to a famine that had hit the region including Corinth.\u00a0\u00a0Others think Paul may be referring more generally to the normal struggles people were experiencing from day to day, or what Paul believed was the soon coming return of Jesus Christ.\u00a0\u00a0In any event, Paul advises the Christians in Corinth to \u201cremain as you are\u201d (v26).\u00a0\u00a0So to the already married Paul tells them not to seek a divorce (v27a) and to those who are single Paul advises not to be too caught up trying to look for a future spouse (v27b).\u00a0\u00a0Paul does clarify that getting married is certainly not a sin (v28a) but he wants to spare his people from the troubles that married people will inevitably go through (v28b).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16922,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16920"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16921,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16920\/revisions\/16921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}