Bethany Bible Church Sunday Message; January 27, 2019 from 1 Corinthians 7:17-24. The people group that God assigned you by your birth is in no way a hinderance to believing the gospel and following after the call of Jesus Christ to believe in him. Trending: The Cost of Discipleship. In whatever place of life we were in, at that time when we were called by God to place our faith in Jesus and trust Him as our Savior, we are to remain there as if with God. Very simply the call of God that comes to a person in his vocation is the power of God converting the soul through the gospel. Imagine you had the opportunity to work for that person as a low-level staffer at the White House. We start to show the love of Jesus for other people. What do we mean by this? Never mind. I have to think, do those things line up? Not only the president but anyone at higher rank than you could dump whatever work they wanted to on you. We belong to Him wherever He calls us; For, as Paul tells us in verses 22, he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lords freedman. "Were you a slave when called? He didnt have to be circumcised, and become a devoted follower of the Jewish religious traditions. That would have been a true statement. Stated as a prayer, the main point today is: Father, grant to us all the grace to be conscious of your presence at our work and to obey your commands in all our vocational relationships. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 Denomination: Baptist God's Word About Sex, Divorce, & Singleness Series Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Mar 6, 2003 based on 27 ratings | 5,976 views The purpose of this sermon is to teach God's Word about these areas and inspire obedience to it. What matters is not whether our job is high or low in man's eyes. This isnt to sugar coat slavery; it could be a very bad condition and thats why people did try to save up money to buy their own freedom. Not for an answer, but for the wisdom that other believers, who are further along in the faith perhaps, have gained through the Holy Spirits illumination in their lives as they have been faced with similar questions. Never mind. We dont pray for an answer but for an illumination. Gods Calling Transcends Horizontal Assignments Still, we might ask the question why Paul doesnt seek that the institution of slavery be abolished all together? We will pervert Paul's teaching and miss his intention if we take the sentence, "Let the uncircumcised not be circumcised" (verse 18), and make it an absolute prohibition of cultural adaptations. Now, in actual fact, the whole section - from verse 17 through to the end of the chapter, at vs40, really ought to be . And then, Paul went on to give us another illustrationthis one having to do with social structures. I know what God has called me to be to my family and I know that this job will take time away from me which will cut into the way that I should be loving my family and the way that I should be serving in my church and my neighbors. Notice, for example, how he illustrated this to us in terms of outward traditions. We talk about language where we say that God is leading me here or some people say that they have a word from the Lord. Seized By Temptation - 1 Corinthians 10:13. Slaves were sometimes highly educated and trusted with administrative responsibility. There are times when we should avail ourselves of opportunities. He has sovereignly called us as He did for a purpose. Its in almost every verse. 18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? If you are married and you have an opportunity to divorce your spouse and go after someone else, the Bible tells you that is sin and you may not do it. Or to put it another way: How you do your job is a big part of your obedience to Jesus. But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity" (RSV). The innocent believer is not bound to the deserter. The third word is calling or called, and we see this all over this passage. Now, Paul is then drawing the application of this point to probably one of the most difficult circumstances to find yourself in, that of a bondservant, a slave. But if you translate it as a command to seek freedom, the true point of the passage is obscured. So, what does Paul mean, dont worry about circumcision, just worry about keeping the commands of God. 1 corinthians 7 17 24, Sermon series on 1 corinthians 7 17 24, Sermon series about 1 corinthians 7 17 24. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. In verse 23, Paul said, You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. And that is the true condition of a new creation in Christ, whether they are a slaves or freedmen. Between the top two pieces are verses 18 and 19 where the principle is applied to the issue of circumcision and uncircumcision. 1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Here now the word of the Lord from 1 Corinthians 7:1-9. The time may come when we may do something different, as long as it is lawful and properly available. In the assignment in which the call of God came to you, walk in that. You have a master, its the Lord Jesus Christ. I think Paul himself might be a good example for us in this. You dont have to join a new people group. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? They had clearly been transformed on the inside; and there were many changes that were happening on the outside too. Let me suggest a few things. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? It doesnt mean that you are fixed there forever, but the default is bloom where you are planted. The circumstances you are in are relatively unimportant because of the glory that God is calling to you in Christ. You would work gruelingly long hour. He wrote; And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. For holy Scripture causes a hard knot in this matter, in that the Apostle says, that, by commandment of the Lord, the wife ought not to depart from . Seek to follow the Lords leading but remember this number one priority. Putting the two applications of Paul's principle together, the teaching seems to be this: Obeying the commands of God (v. 19) and enjoying his presence (v. 24) are so vastly more important than what your culture or your job is that you should feel no compulsion to change your position. Then he looks to the noble free man and says, "Do not become proud, for in Christ you are a slave. Second, as we have seen, the command to stay in the calling in which you were when converted is not absolute. He also gives us some illustrations of what this principle should look like in some specific cases. As a declaration it would be: How you fulfill the demands of your vocation is an essential part of Christian discipleship. An opportunity we are going to see is a lawful and properly available path where we might change our circumstances. That place that we were in when He called us was no accident. b. We do have assignments from the Lord, but the important thing is that call. We abide in Christ now, so that when he appears with all his holy angels and all the armies of Heaven, we wont be frightened. Rather, the Jewish follower of the Jewish traditions who came to Christ was encouraged to remain in the cultural traditions in which he was called, and to live faithfully for Jesus in it. Rather, he meant that ones place in the social structure as a slave didnt affect whether or not someone was able to be a follower of Jesus. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. In 1 Corinthians 7:8, We begin to pray about everything. Should you leave whatever you are doing and go do whatever you think Holy Spirit should be doing? Our responsibilities to our families, to our work, to our neighbors, to our churches. Our big idea today is this,We can abide in our circumstances because God calls us to abide with him. Paul is saying that change, as good as it is and as much as you should pursue it if you can, that change is unnecessary in light of what we are called to in Christ. I love to watch Paul put his theology to work like this. The word of God for all us "success seekers" is this: Take all that ambition and drive that you are pouring into your upward mobility and pour it instead into a spiritual zeal to cultivate an enjoyment of God's presence and obedience to his revealed will in Scripture. Playing To Win - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Gods call transforms and transcends us, as one commentator writes, in all of the circumstances that we find ourselves in. There were some Jewish Christians who insisted on that, however. No matter how difficult his circumstances was, no matter how menials the assignments he was given, what a joy to abide in the presence with God. We say, white is beautiful, black is beautiful, red is beautiful, yellow is beautiful; therefore, don't try to switch cultures. Gods presence enables us to abide in whatever assignments we have. When we are called into a relationship with Jesus, God calls us in a place where we still have our old friends and old relations. All of us, in whatever assignments we find ourselves, we are the slaves of Jesus Christ and that transcends any worldly employment or assignment. 2. The Holy Spirit living in us helps us to walk through life in a new way. For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lords freedman. A- He has discussed marriage and divorce. In light of the glorious heavenly calling that we have received, our earthly circumstances are in fact rather unimportant. ", 18245 NW Germantown Road 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 New International Version Concerning Change of Status 17 Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. Use it to obey Christ and thus "adorn the doctrine of our great God and Savior" (Titus 2:10). This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Search the scriptures, but not for an answer. John 5:19-29 Study Guide: Jesus Gives Life, John 5:30-47 Study Guide: The Scriptures Point to Me, John 6:22-40 Study Guide: I am the Bread of Life, John 6:41-59 Study Guide: Jesus Addresses the Skeptics. 29. My life is to obey God and enjoy his presence.". There is no clear objective rule on this. How do you know if they are good or if you should pursue them? The calling of life has been provided by nothing less than the blood of Jesus Christ and the faith that he gives us by the Holy Spirit. He told them; If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. When Paul says in verse 17, "Let everyone lead the life . You are not my life. So, as a church we are not separated as this holy huddle that is kept away from all peoples everywhere. This idea of effectual calling when we are drawn out of our sin to Jesus Christ, that is included in the assignments in which the calling finds us. Gods Calling Teaches Us to Abide with God. He may call us to Himself while we are in a place of sin; but He then leads us to live for Him outside that place of sin. What Paul was doing was showing that obedience to the commands of God is so much more important than any cultural distinctives, that the mere changing of these distinctives should be of no importance whatever to the Christian. No new uncircumcised believer in Christ was required to become circumcised or to hold to the traditions passed on by Moses. Lets have enough confidence in Gods call upon us to trust Him in it, and to let Him use it, and to even thank Him for it. Again, there is no point system. God used Pauls place of calling mightily. For those principles from your word, for the clear teaching of your word to so saturate everything we think and do that your Holy Spirit can illuminate our responsibilities, our vows, our promises, the needs of others around us in a way that accords with what you have taught in your word. Effectual calling is the work of Gods almighty power and grace, whereby (out of his free and special love to his elect, and from nothing in them moving him thereunto) he doth, in his accepted time, invite and draw them to Jesus Christ, by his word and Spirit; savingly enlightening their minds, renewing and powerfully determining their wills, so as they (although in themselves dead in sin) are hereby made willing and able freely to answer his call, and to accept and embrace the grace offered and conveyed therein.
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