WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.279 Do turn up, 1 Corinthians 7, page 956, the Black Bibles, 1 Corinthians 7, and it's great 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:10.240 to see so many visitors. 00:00:10.519 --> 00:00:11.380 It's lovely to have you. 00:00:11.660 --> 00:00:15.700 Just to let you know, you're dropping into a series that we're doing in the book. 00:00:16.140 --> 00:00:19.699 This isn't just an arbitrary thing that I've decided to preach on this morning. 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:22.719 It's just the next section in the book of 1 Corinthians. 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:28.140 And each week as I've been preparing and I stand up and I see the visitors, I feel I need 00:00:28.140 --> 00:00:32.780 to say that more and more because of the material that Paul keeps putting in front of us here. 00:00:33.660 --> 00:00:36.100 1 Corinthians 7, beginning at 25. 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:43.679 Now, some of you, well, all of us, if we're over the age of six, if you're over the age 00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:48.560 of six this morning, you know what it's like to live through major social upheaval. 00:00:50.100 --> 00:00:52.420 Because if you're over six, you'll remember COVID. 00:00:52.840 --> 00:00:57.880 And COVID was a time when normal was anything but normal. 00:00:58.140 --> 00:01:04.859 Some of us here this morning, I know there are some of you here this morning who you remember 00:01:04.859 --> 00:01:09.960 when life in your homeland of Ukraine was taking along just fine. 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:12.340 And then it wasn't. 00:01:14.099 --> 00:01:16.840 And more recently, of course, it's Iran. 00:01:18.340 --> 00:01:19.540 Things have changed. 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:25.740 And when a distress like this happens, whether it's a pandemic or a war or something significant, 00:01:25.739 --> 00:01:29.079 the normal ways of life end up going out the window. 00:01:30.199 --> 00:01:31.039 Relationships change. 00:01:31.199 --> 00:01:32.839 Plans are canceled or put on hold. 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:34.399 Things are different for a season. 00:01:35.459 --> 00:01:38.159 Normal, well, we got that phrase in COVID, didn't we? 00:01:38.179 --> 00:01:39.219 The new normal. 00:01:40.659 --> 00:01:44.879 Now, for Christians, when these kinds of things happen, we still have to serve the Lord. 00:01:45.299 --> 00:01:48.219 We're still required to honor Him in all that we do. 00:01:48.219 --> 00:01:51.099 But the things that we do are a bit different. 00:01:52.379 --> 00:01:55.260 I realize this is very live for some of us this morning. 00:01:56.700 --> 00:02:03.819 But even if we just imagine that experience, we are able to grasp the kind of atmosphere in Corinth 00:02:03.819 --> 00:02:06.200 as Paul writes to this church. 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:08.280 It's not a pandemic or a war. 00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:12.319 But when Paul responds to their questions, particularly about relationships, 00:02:12.860 --> 00:02:19.759 his answers are framed by major social and political dislocation that is happening in Corinth at the time. 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:21.180 Verse 26, do you see? 00:02:21.780 --> 00:02:24.819 Verse 26, in view of this present distress. 00:02:25.340 --> 00:02:28.020 Then you go down to verses 29 to 31, and he says, 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:31.639 This present form of this world is passing away. 00:02:32.680 --> 00:02:35.479 This is not regular run-of-the-mill life. 00:02:35.479 --> 00:02:39.519 The situation that Paul is writing to here is not ordinary, 00:02:40.239 --> 00:02:42.519 and therefore things are a bit different. 00:02:43.519 --> 00:02:47.179 It's vitally important that we see this, because if we take Paul's instructions here 00:02:47.179 --> 00:02:53.459 and bypass the specifics of the Corinthian situation to make them a hard rule in all cases, 00:02:53.659 --> 00:02:54.939 we're going to get into trouble, 00:02:55.319 --> 00:02:59.959 because we'll find ourselves out of step with the broad sweep of the Bible story as a whole. 00:03:01.099 --> 00:03:03.219 So, if we think about that, 00:03:03.219 --> 00:03:08.900 the foundational charge at the beginning of the Bible given to humanity is to marry and have children, 00:03:09.259 --> 00:03:11.979 to be fruitful and multiply and fill and subdue the earth. 00:03:12.439 --> 00:03:16.079 That stands for all time as a regular pattern. 00:03:16.539 --> 00:03:19.439 Here, however, Paul is saying something that contradicts that. 00:03:19.979 --> 00:03:20.979 Why does he do that? 00:03:20.979 --> 00:03:24.439 It's not that the old instructions no longer apply, 00:03:25.099 --> 00:03:27.399 but rather that the circumstances in Corinth, 00:03:27.479 --> 00:03:30.579 the circumstances that are beyond the Corinthians' control, 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:33.959 mean things might need to be different for a time. 00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:36.699 And as we've been seeing, 00:03:37.419 --> 00:03:41.879 in chapter 7, the area under discussion is relationships. 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:44.060 Paul has talked to married people, 00:03:44.179 --> 00:03:45.280 he's talked to single people, 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:47.379 and now he has a word for two other groups. 00:03:47.379 --> 00:03:49.620 First verse 25, the betrothed. 00:03:50.460 --> 00:03:54.219 Now, interestingly, this is a continuation of the point that began back in verse 1. 00:03:56.039 --> 00:03:57.939 It is likely here that the fathers are asking, 00:03:58.159 --> 00:03:59.780 should they then betroth their daughters? 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:03.240 Given all that's going on, should we betroth our daughters? 00:04:03.340 --> 00:04:05.259 To be betrothed was like being engaged. 00:04:05.340 --> 00:04:06.840 That's the closest thing we have today, 00:04:07.019 --> 00:04:11.079 but it was a much bigger deal involving a bigger commitment than we're used to. 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:13.919 There were legal implications, for example. 00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:18.300 Then Paul speaks, verse 39, to widows. 00:04:21.159 --> 00:04:24.240 If a wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives, 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:27.539 but if her husband dies, she is free to be married, and so on. 00:04:27.939 --> 00:04:30.800 So, in that case, it is widows. 00:04:31.879 --> 00:04:34.219 They're probably younger widows who would be keen to remarry, 00:04:34.300 --> 00:04:36.099 and he advises them as well. 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:39.879 The essence of the question is whether or not those who are not married 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:42.500 should go ahead and marry or not. 00:04:42.500 --> 00:04:47.420 And Paul says he doesn't have a command from the Lord on this question. 00:04:47.500 --> 00:04:52.019 That is, the Lord Jesus didn't speak exclusively to this point in the Gospels. 00:04:52.740 --> 00:04:54.379 But verse 25, Paul is trustworthy. 00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:55.339 He's an apostle. 00:04:55.680 --> 00:04:58.360 So, verse 40, his authority comes from the Holy Spirit. 00:04:58.699 --> 00:04:59.199 You see that? 00:04:59.699 --> 00:05:02.339 When we're reading our Bibles, we need to understand that Paul's teaching, 00:05:02.459 --> 00:05:06.459 the apostle's teaching, in the Scriptures is no less authoritative than the Lord Jesus. 00:05:06.459 --> 00:05:17.519 So, what does he say we must do about engagement and marriage and widowhood in a time of social and political upheaval? 00:05:18.159 --> 00:05:19.120 Here's his answer. 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:20.719 It depends. 00:05:22.599 --> 00:05:26.339 Now, that's quite a short sermon, so I think I should probably say a bit more. 00:05:27.240 --> 00:05:27.959 What should we do? 00:05:28.060 --> 00:05:28.620 It depends. 00:05:28.620 --> 00:05:33.780 Paul's point, the whole way through this chapter, has been that every Christian, wherever you are, 00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:37.500 whatever you have, whatever you don't have, you should be content. 00:05:38.100 --> 00:05:42.759 Content in the place where you were when God called you, whether married or not. 00:05:43.240 --> 00:05:47.379 Whether in this situation, earlier on we heard it was he was talking to a willing unbeliever. 00:05:47.459 --> 00:05:50.280 That is, if you're married to somebody, you come to Christ. 00:05:50.379 --> 00:05:53.480 If your unbelieving spouse is willing to stay with you, you should stay with them. 00:05:53.480 --> 00:06:00.640 Whether you're unmarried and able to control your desires or not, whatever your ethnic background, 00:06:00.939 --> 00:06:02.220 whatever your social status. 00:06:02.540 --> 00:06:05.220 Look, verse 24, just up from the section we've had this morning, 00:06:05.500 --> 00:06:09.920 in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. 00:06:10.840 --> 00:06:12.620 I want you to be content, Paul is saying. 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:17.020 Content with what you have, content with what you don't have, trust the Lord. 00:06:18.439 --> 00:06:20.860 Before we move on, I want to be clear. 00:06:20.860 --> 00:06:26.120 This speaks both to the power of the gospel and the sufficiency of the Lord Jesus. 00:06:26.280 --> 00:06:32.759 Now, what I mean by that is, when you put your faith in Christ, you are forgiven every sin, 00:06:33.500 --> 00:06:35.900 and you're reconciled to God. 00:06:36.840 --> 00:06:40.400 You are given a completely new identity. 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:47.000 The old identity, the categories that you apply to yourself and that others apply to you that define 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:48.740 who you are, they are done. 00:06:48.740 --> 00:06:55.699 You are now a Christian because you are in Christ by faith, and therefore, it is God who defines you, 00:06:55.980 --> 00:06:59.819 and it is who you are in Christ that is your identity. 00:07:00.819 --> 00:07:06.740 All those expectations, all of that need to achieve that you felt that others have put on you, 00:07:06.980 --> 00:07:14.180 all of that expectation that you would be able to obtain those things that others put upon you, 00:07:14.180 --> 00:07:18.840 the expectations and the desires that you have to get to a certain level. 00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:23.439 All of that, whether it's your family or your friends or the culture around you, 00:07:23.579 --> 00:07:28.019 all of the things that they say, you need to have this in order to be acceptable, it's all gone. 00:07:29.740 --> 00:07:32.139 The God of heaven and earth loves you. 00:07:33.420 --> 00:07:39.399 The God of heaven and earth has accepted you in His Son, whatever state you are in. 00:07:39.399 --> 00:07:48.079 So, you don't need to be in any other state than the one that you are in in order to flourish in life as God has designed. 00:07:49.139 --> 00:07:50.719 I want you to hear that this morning. 00:07:50.819 --> 00:07:54.299 We're talking about sort of insider baseball in Corinth, it seems, a little bit. 00:07:54.500 --> 00:07:55.339 It's very specific. 00:07:55.479 --> 00:08:00.539 There's lots here for us, obviously, but it's really important that in the context of what we're talking about, 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:01.260 you hear that. 00:08:02.200 --> 00:08:07.439 When you put your faith in Christ, you are set free from the enslavement of the opinions of others, 00:08:07.520 --> 00:08:11.319 of the expectations of others, of the opinions and expectations that you put on yourself. 00:08:12.820 --> 00:08:18.280 You're in Christ, and you don't need to be anything other than the state that you are in before Christ 00:08:18.280 --> 00:08:20.180 to live a life of flourishing. 00:08:20.180 --> 00:08:28.180 When you find contentment hard or elusive, when you feel the pressure of those expectations, 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:32.259 it's all very well me saying that's who you are in Christ, but when you feel the pressure of those 00:08:32.259 --> 00:08:37.680 expectations rise up, when you feel the struggle, you want the good things that God gives. 00:08:37.779 --> 00:08:38.620 You've read your Bible. 00:08:38.740 --> 00:08:42.759 You say, oh, I would like these things, and He doesn't give them in that situation. 00:08:42.759 --> 00:08:49.519 Well, the sufficiency of Christ means that because He has given you His Holy Spirit who lives in you, 00:08:50.059 --> 00:08:54.840 He has given you all the strength that you need to resist the temptation and to keep trusting the Lord. 00:08:55.439 --> 00:08:57.399 Christ enables you to be content. 00:08:57.980 --> 00:09:01.580 It is not something you need to work up inside yourself. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:06.340 It is Christ by His Holy Spirit who enables you to be content in who the Lord has made you to be 00:09:06.340 --> 00:09:09.100 in the situation that the Lord has placed you in. 00:09:09.340 --> 00:09:12.659 And this is true even in turbulent times. 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:14.500 It might not be COVID. 00:09:14.600 --> 00:09:19.340 It might not be a war, but there may be some sort of turbulence going on in your life. 00:09:19.419 --> 00:09:20.240 You need to hear this. 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:25.019 You need to understand that in Christ, God has given you all the resources you need to be content 00:09:25.019 --> 00:09:26.159 and to keep trusting Him. 00:09:29.779 --> 00:09:31.879 But we see Paul is pushing this out. 00:09:32.059 --> 00:09:35.980 Paul is pushing this call to contentment out into the corners of the Corinthian situation. 00:09:36.100 --> 00:09:39.740 And as he does that, I want us to see is both practical and realistic. 00:09:39.740 --> 00:09:45.480 While we aren't in exactly the same situation today, I want us to see three principles that 00:09:45.480 --> 00:09:51.240 underpin what Paul is saying that should help us think about relationships in the right way 00:09:51.240 --> 00:09:53.639 at any time, turbulent or otherwise. 00:09:54.539 --> 00:09:55.580 And the first is this. 00:09:56.639 --> 00:09:59.940 Marriage is not right for everyone in all situations. 00:10:01.080 --> 00:10:04.120 Marriage is not right for everyone in all situations. 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:05.080 Verse 26, 00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:09.639 I think that in view of the present distress, it is good for a person to remain as he is. 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:10.860 Are you bound to a wife? 00:10:10.960 --> 00:10:12.039 Do not seek to be free. 00:10:12.440 --> 00:10:13.419 Are you free from a wife? 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:14.700 Do not seek a wife. 00:10:15.259 --> 00:10:17.100 But if you do marry, you have not sinned. 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:19.860 And if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. 00:10:19.860 --> 00:10:23.720 As I've said, Paul's answer is framed by the context. 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:25.680 Firstly, this present distress. 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:28.500 Now, we're not told what that present distress was. 00:10:28.820 --> 00:10:33.460 Historians talk about a famine followed by serious flooding, that kind of thing, at the 00:10:33.460 --> 00:10:34.419 time that Paul wrote. 00:10:34.860 --> 00:10:39.860 And some of the historical records talk about the situation, the distress being so significant 00:10:39.860 --> 00:10:44.440 that there was a shortage of certain things and people then began to riot in order to get 00:10:44.440 --> 00:10:45.039 those things. 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:51.559 Do you remember in COVID, all the bulk buying, the people nicking stuff out of other people's 00:10:51.559 --> 00:10:57.459 trolleys, and people like stuff online, people fighting in the supermarket, going for the 00:10:57.459 --> 00:10:58.179 last toilet roll? 00:10:59.059 --> 00:11:01.120 Well, it seems that people have been doing that for quite a while. 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:07.079 Added to that, the imperial cult in Corinth, there was a law that required people to offer 00:11:07.079 --> 00:11:09.439 worship to the emperor and to other gods. 00:11:10.819 --> 00:11:14.699 You had to make a little pinch of incense to the emperor and bow the knee to him. 00:11:14.700 --> 00:11:15.860 Caesar was Lord. 00:11:16.100 --> 00:11:17.820 Well, Christians couldn't do that, could they? 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:20.200 Because we know that only Jesus is Lord. 00:11:20.900 --> 00:11:24.960 And so, if you refuse to bow to the Caesar, you're going to get a very hard time. 00:11:25.420 --> 00:11:30.780 Well, it seems the persecution of Christians simply for being Christians has a long pedigree 00:11:30.780 --> 00:11:31.200 as well. 00:11:33.520 --> 00:11:38.500 Now, while we don't know, we don't know what the Corinthians were experiencing. 00:11:38.740 --> 00:11:41.560 They clearly knew exactly what Paul was talking about. 00:11:41.660 --> 00:11:42.540 Think about it like this. 00:11:42.539 --> 00:11:49.599 In a thousand years' time, the historical records of 2020 will have words like social distancing 00:11:49.599 --> 00:11:51.360 in the records. 00:11:52.099 --> 00:11:54.879 Next slide, please, in the historical records. 00:11:55.559 --> 00:12:01.879 And in 2026, they will have mentions of something called Project Freedom and the Strait of Hormuz. 00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:06.500 Now, we know exactly what that means, but it might not make sense to those who come later. 00:12:06.500 --> 00:12:09.500 That's what's going on here with the present distress. 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:14.440 And what that means is that the questions that they're asking about relationships are natural 00:12:14.440 --> 00:12:15.460 questions to ask. 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:16.340 Do we marry? 00:12:17.059 --> 00:12:17.820 Do we wait? 00:12:18.679 --> 00:12:21.659 Should I be looking for a spouse at the moment, given everything that's going on? 00:12:21.659 --> 00:12:26.679 And then add to that a second situational factor. 00:12:27.319 --> 00:12:28.319 It's there in verse 29. 00:12:28.439 --> 00:12:28.819 Do you see? 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:29.819 Look at verse 29. 00:12:29.820 --> 00:12:56.500 Now, Paul here is anticipating a time of trouble when marital status would actually seem irrelevant. 00:12:56.500 --> 00:12:58.899 People wouldn't be talking about it. 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:02.419 When weeping and rejoicing would seem pointless. 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:05.240 When buying things would have no significance. 00:13:05.659 --> 00:13:12.940 It was a unique time in history in the first century when believers were living in the transition of the ages. 00:13:12.940 --> 00:13:23.640 So, the Lord Jesus, in history, went to the cross, died, and rose again, and returned to the Father in heaven. 00:13:23.980 --> 00:13:28.580 With that cataclysmic event in history, the old order of things had finished. 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:31.320 The curtain in the temple, you remember, was torn down. 00:13:31.860 --> 00:13:34.640 The old Israelite religious structures were now obsolete. 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:38.399 And the vestiges of that era were passing away. 00:13:40.980 --> 00:13:43.120 And Christ then is raised and ascended. 00:13:43.240 --> 00:13:45.139 His Spirit is poured out on all believers. 00:13:45.779 --> 00:13:55.039 And with the pouring out of His Spirit at Pentecost, what is happening is that the new era under the reign of Christ is beginning and gathering momentum. 00:13:55.299 --> 00:13:59.559 This shift was culturally, politically, and religiously seismic. 00:13:59.559 --> 00:14:09.919 And Paul is saying, in light of these major societal dislocations, verse 38, it's better to refrain from marriage. 00:14:10.719 --> 00:14:14.339 Verse 40, the widow will be happier if she remains single. 00:14:16.419 --> 00:14:18.279 One commentator puts it like this, 00:14:18.319 --> 00:14:22.859 The very structure of the old Judaic eon was about to go defunct. 00:14:23.299 --> 00:14:28.500 The Christian eon was beginning, and the convulsions that would occur would make it not a marrying time. 00:14:29.559 --> 00:14:34.399 There are circumstances in life when singleness is the better option. 00:14:34.899 --> 00:14:36.259 We did see that in the pandemic. 00:14:36.419 --> 00:14:40.539 People didn't know what the future held, and they put off major plans, including getting married. 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:43.359 It's the same in wartime. 00:14:43.439 --> 00:14:46.259 I doubt many people in Iran are planning weddings at the moment. 00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:51.819 And this has also been true down the ages in the church in times of persecution. 00:14:54.179 --> 00:14:56.859 Marriage is not right for everyone in all times. 00:14:56.860 --> 00:15:01.200 And the reason for that is the second principle that Paul gives us. 00:15:01.580 --> 00:15:01.960 Here it is. 00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:07.340 Point number two, marriage and family come with big responsibilities. 00:15:08.180 --> 00:15:10.519 Marriage and family comes with big responsibilities. 00:15:10.980 --> 00:15:12.919 Paul describes these as worldly troubles. 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:16.539 Not in the sense of kind of worldliness in the negative sense of the word, 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:21.139 but it is concerning things of the earth, of this world. 00:15:21.800 --> 00:15:22.580 So verse 32, 00:15:22.580 --> 00:15:48.840 I don't need to tell you that when a man marries, he has a responsibility to care for his wife as he cares for his own body. 00:15:48.840 --> 00:15:50.440 That's what we're called to. 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:56.740 He's called to sacrifice for her as Christ has sacrificed for his bride, the church. 00:15:57.259 --> 00:16:03.120 A husband is called to cherish and love his wife and provide for and care for any children that their marriage produces. 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:05.420 That's a lot to think about. 00:16:05.419 --> 00:16:12.819 That's a lot to worry about when you're also worried about where your next meal is coming from. 00:16:13.779 --> 00:16:18.899 Or how to navigate HR at work because of something you've said about the Lord Jesus. 00:16:18.899 --> 00:16:22.919 Or when the bombs start to drop. 00:16:24.959 --> 00:16:28.539 When a woman marries, she now has earthly responsibilities as well. 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:29.799 She's to respect her husband. 00:16:30.199 --> 00:16:36.860 And as his helper, she is to orient her life towards him in their shared mission of filling and subduing the earth according to God's design. 00:16:37.139 --> 00:16:40.340 That is hard to do when the culture mocks this kind of thing. 00:16:40.340 --> 00:16:47.639 That is hard to do when you are separated because you've had to flee the country because of your faith in Christ. 00:16:48.379 --> 00:16:49.180 And so on. 00:16:49.500 --> 00:16:50.300 You get the point. 00:16:51.300 --> 00:16:52.879 Marriage comes with responsibilities. 00:16:53.500 --> 00:16:54.980 You become one with your spouse. 00:16:55.139 --> 00:16:57.560 You are bound to them as long as you live, verse 39. 00:16:57.920 --> 00:17:03.399 Until parted by death, you no longer only have your own interests but other interests to consider. 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:08.740 Paul is saying here that in the present context, these Corinthians should be free from those concerns. 00:17:08.940 --> 00:17:10.859 Free from those anxieties, verse 32. 00:17:11.099 --> 00:17:14.279 In order that they can devote themselves wholeheartedly to the Lord. 00:17:16.339 --> 00:17:19.279 Now, if you've been here, you'll know I've made this point earlier in chapter 7. 00:17:20.279 --> 00:17:22.839 It is one thing to provide for yourself when times are tough. 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:25.720 It's another thing altogether when you have to provide for a wife and children. 00:17:26.579 --> 00:17:29.879 It's one thing to stand up for Christ when you might lose your job. 00:17:29.880 --> 00:17:34.180 It's another thing completely when that job keeps a roof over your family's head. 00:17:35.860 --> 00:17:39.380 You might be willing to endure persecution for the sake of Christ. 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:47.240 You might think twice if your children are going to be bullied or worse because of the stand that you take. 00:17:49.320 --> 00:17:54.860 Because of the current, because of the impending struggles, and because of what marriage requires of you, 00:17:54.860 --> 00:17:58.040 Paul says it is not a good time to marry and start a family. 00:17:59.880 --> 00:18:05.500 Singleness is not being held up as a timeless good in the universal sense, 00:18:05.860 --> 00:18:08.200 but there are times when it makes good sense. 00:18:09.340 --> 00:18:14.880 Paul isn't trying to be difficult, verse 35, but he wants to benefit these Corinthians in difficult times. 00:18:16.360 --> 00:18:20.480 But, but, but, with all that said, Paul says, third principle, 00:18:21.900 --> 00:18:25.040 marriage is always better than sin. 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:27.359 That's the third principle. 00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:28.819 Marriage is always better than sin. 00:18:28.819 --> 00:18:33.460 All the way through, Paul is clear that even in the most turbulent times, it is not sinful to marry. 00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:34.579 Verse 28, can you see? 00:18:34.680 --> 00:18:35.299 Look at verse 28. 00:18:35.740 --> 00:18:37.159 But if you do marry, you've not sinned. 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:40.980 And if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. 00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:48.720 But the main reason why you would marry in these circumstances contains, concerns rather, sexual sin. 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:54.400 Now, this has been a thread that we've seen run through most of the letter to this point. 00:18:55.880 --> 00:18:59.299 Paul's actually just returning to verse 9, where he said of the unmarried and widows, 00:18:59.420 --> 00:19:04.360 it is good for them to remain single as I am, but if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. 00:19:04.660 --> 00:19:07.220 For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. 00:19:07.299 --> 00:19:08.640 It's the same point in verse 36. 00:19:08.700 --> 00:19:11.900 If anyone thinks that he's not behaving properly towards his betrothed, 00:19:11.900 --> 00:19:15.580 if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes. 00:19:15.700 --> 00:19:16.259 Let them marry. 00:19:16.360 --> 00:19:17.400 It is no sin. 00:19:19.740 --> 00:19:22.160 Now, that's a tricky verse for a number of reasons. 00:19:22.259 --> 00:19:26.120 I think there's something, I'll not bother going into it now. 00:19:26.220 --> 00:19:32.300 The underlying point is that if someone is unable to get their desires under control, 00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:38.740 they are free to marry, even in turbulent times, even in present distress. 00:19:39.300 --> 00:19:41.780 Paul is always realistic. 00:19:41.900 --> 00:19:49.440 He thinks it's better for people to travel light, so to speak, because of the times that they're living in. 00:19:50.300 --> 00:19:53.040 But not everyone can manage their sexual desires. 00:19:53.180 --> 00:19:57.480 Not everyone is gifted with celibacy the way that Paul was, verse 7. 00:19:57.560 --> 00:19:58.800 Do you remember we talked about that? 00:19:59.460 --> 00:20:02.340 And he's saying in that situation, those people should marry. 00:20:02.460 --> 00:20:03.280 Here's the bottom line. 00:20:03.340 --> 00:20:04.019 He's saying this. 00:20:04.019 --> 00:20:08.620 If you haven't been gifted with celibacy and you consistently fall into sexual sin, 00:20:08.619 --> 00:20:14.539 you'd be better off with a wife during times of persecution than an internet browser full of porn. 00:20:15.579 --> 00:20:19.919 You'd be better off with a husband during a distressing time than Tinder. 00:20:20.379 --> 00:20:30.399 You'd be better off turning your fiancé into your spouse in a time of persecution than getting into a habit of sinning together in a time of persecution. 00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:35.640 In this case, he's saying marriage is always better than sin. 00:20:36.580 --> 00:20:38.940 And one further pastoral note to make on that. 00:20:39.300 --> 00:20:40.180 Look at verse 39. 00:20:40.380 --> 00:20:41.980 It's a detail that Paul includes here. 00:20:42.660 --> 00:20:45.120 That spouse should be a Christian. 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:53.419 When Paul talks to widows, he says the death of their husband means they're no longer bound by the marriage covenant and they are free to remarry. 00:20:54.019 --> 00:20:57.759 And they can marry whomever they wish with one stipulation. 00:20:58.419 --> 00:21:00.339 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. 00:21:00.819 --> 00:21:03.739 But if her husband dies, she's free to be married to whom she wishes. 00:21:04.719 --> 00:21:06.419 Only in the Lord. 00:21:06.420 --> 00:21:13.880 If you belong to the Lord, you should only marry someone who belongs to the Lord. 00:21:15.940 --> 00:21:19.740 Paul has already made provision for marriages where one spouse is an unbeliever. 00:21:20.259 --> 00:21:23.100 And he's encouraged those in that situation to stay married. 00:21:23.700 --> 00:21:27.080 Remember, one believing spouse sanctifies the household. 00:21:27.500 --> 00:21:29.720 It's not that that person defiles you. 00:21:29.840 --> 00:21:32.519 It's that you actually sanctify them. 00:21:32.519 --> 00:21:36.539 But that is the case where one party comes to Christ when they're already married. 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:42.000 In the normal run of things, to marry an unbeliever would be to add strife on top of sin. 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:48.319 Rather than creating a context for obedience that Paul has in mind here. 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:53.879 Paul talks in 2 Corinthians, his next letter here, about being unequally yoked. 00:21:55.539 --> 00:21:57.000 He's not talking about eggs. 00:21:57.859 --> 00:21:58.799 It's not egg yolks. 00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:04.000 The image is the wooden yoke that went across the necks of the two cows as they plowed the field. 00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:08.079 It was the piece of wood that kept them together going in the same direction. 00:22:10.259 --> 00:22:14.200 If they are pulling in separate directions, the whole thing grinds to a halt. 00:22:14.980 --> 00:22:16.460 They're pulling in different directions. 00:22:16.599 --> 00:22:19.180 They don't make any forward progress because they're joined to each other. 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:22.720 And then the whole thing is painful and frustrating. 00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:23.579 It's a good image. 00:22:24.039 --> 00:22:25.859 Well done, the Apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit. 00:22:26.200 --> 00:22:28.119 I'm sure he's delighted that I said it was a good image. 00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:34.119 It is good though because if two people with completely different visions of life, 00:22:34.639 --> 00:22:37.419 whose lives are pulling in completely different directions, 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:39.500 get into any kind of formal partnership, 00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:43.559 if you put the yoke of marriage on, it's a recipe for trouble. 00:22:45.180 --> 00:22:47.519 It's a recipe for pain and frustration. 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:52.639 And look, I say this, knowing that some of you desperately want to be married 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:58.100 and you haven't met a worthy Christian and there is an unbeliever who is great in every other way, 00:22:59.100 --> 00:23:02.000 don't do it. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:06.980 However much you convince yourself that it'll be okay, 00:23:07.820 --> 00:23:09.140 it isn't God's design, 00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:11.100 and you'll either drift away from Him 00:23:11.100 --> 00:23:13.680 or you're simply storing heartache up for the future. 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:18.039 Marriage is always better than sin, 00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:20.140 but only when it is marriage in the Lord. 00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:25.920 How else could you pursue the undivided devotion to Him that Paul wants in verse 35? 00:23:27.900 --> 00:23:29.539 This is an option you're considering. 00:23:29.680 --> 00:23:30.720 My counsel is this, 00:23:31.060 --> 00:23:32.380 save yourself the anxiety. 00:23:32.620 --> 00:23:34.560 Don't add strife to sin. 00:23:34.559 --> 00:23:36.940 I know it's painful. 00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:39.359 I know it's painful. 00:23:40.679 --> 00:23:42.480 But don't add strife to sin. 00:23:44.299 --> 00:23:46.599 So chapter 7, when it comes to relationships, 00:23:46.819 --> 00:23:49.299 Paul wants Christian believers to be content, 00:23:49.799 --> 00:23:50.819 whatever their status. 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:54.079 Whatever is going on around you, 00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:57.259 it is not more or less godly to be single or married 00:23:57.259 --> 00:24:00.500 or more or less godly to be from a certain background. 00:24:01.539 --> 00:24:04.539 Sometimes circumstances dictate that it may be better to travel life. 00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:09.539 But in the end, the big issue is your devotion to the Lord. 00:24:10.359 --> 00:24:13.879 Choose the option that best enables you to do this. 00:24:15.059 --> 00:24:18.799 Choose the option that best enables you to avoid sin 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:20.519 and to walk in holiness. 00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:22.480 And where that's not happening, 00:24:23.299 --> 00:24:26.379 keep asking the Lord to give you the desires of your heart, 00:24:26.679 --> 00:24:29.200 the good things that you long for that His Word holds out. 00:24:30.159 --> 00:24:33.339 Keep asking Him to grant you contentment while you wait. 00:24:33.339 --> 00:24:35.559 Because as Paul says elsewhere, 00:24:36.500 --> 00:24:39.480 godliness with contentment is great gain. 00:24:40.599 --> 00:24:41.599 Let's pray together.