And it's from Matthew's Gospel, chapter 5, verses 27-32, page 969, Matthew chapter 5, beginning at verse 27, you have heard that it was said, do not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. It has been said anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce. But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife except for marital unfaithfulness causes her to become an adulteress. And anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery. This is the word of the Lord. The second reading can be found in our church, Bibles on page 1148, 1148. We continue our reading of the letters that St Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. One Corinthians chapter 7, beginning at verse 17. Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts. Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. Were you a slave when you were called? Don't let it trouble you, although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's freed man. Similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave. You aborted a price. Do not become slaves of men. Brothers, each man as responsible to God should remain in the situation God called him to.
Now about virgins. I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are. Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. But 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. What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wise should live as if they had none, those 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. Those who use the things of the world as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away. I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs, how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, how he can please his wife, and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs. Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world, how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. If anyone thinks he is acting improperly towards the virgin he is engaged to. And if she is getting on in years and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinny. They should get married. But if the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion that has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin, this man also does the right thing. So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does even better. A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes. But he must belong to the Lord. In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God. This is the Word of the Lord.
To us again, we sing our praise to our Lord God. O Lord our God, how majestic is your name? The earth is filled with your glory.
Hope it, I have to tackle things that if I were preaching on what I wanted, I would often just leave aside. Because there are either two difficult or two sensitive. And we believe firmly that the Bible is God's Word here. And so we have to tackle everything in the Bible. And actually preaching through in this way makes sure that I, as I do my preparation, are not pre-selecting the material that I want you to hear. And so we're actually quite a difficult passage as you'll have picked up when the readings today in 1 Corinthians 7 do turn up that in the Bible's in front of you if you can to 1 Corinthians 7. But what we're trying to do as we look in this passage is to see what the Lord Jesus, whom we love and whom we serve and whom we want to respond to what the Lord Jesus asked of us and how we should behave. So that's the motivating factor for all of us as Christians. It isn't that this is a legalism. It isn't that this is the only way that one could live or something like that. It is that we long to live as God wants us to live. Why? Because Jesus came and died for us. So that's the context in which we're studying some of these things. This week I had a circular letter from a friend of ours who works for the Christian Center called Lebride. Some of you will know about. Let me read a bit of it to you. At church the other week I was sobered and rather surprised by the sermon. It was on divorce. In some 20 years as a church going Christian I can only recall one other sermon on the subject. The reason is surely obvious. Can you imagine any subject that is more of a past or minefield? There's been plenty written of course but to teach it biblically and address it partially from the bull pit bull pit takes a brave pastor for divorce is no longer out there a Hollywood phenomenon. It's in our midst and it faces us with heart-rending complexity and explosive emotional power. The frightening truth is that when it comes to the breakdown as a family evangelicals are right at the heels of the surrounding culture. I used to think it was the past or work at Lebride that brought me into contact with so many breakups but I now know differently whether among family friends the local church or even among Christian leaders the story is the same. Consider this comment in the recent edition of evangelicals now by a young man who spent a year visiting the churches of Britain with an evangelist. He shared by learned many lessons that undoubtedly the greatest sadness to me was hearing in church after church of Christian families breaking up. To be honest by the end of the year I was no longer expressing surprise on hearing the tragic news. We're not just talking about a trickle here but a tidal wave that is engulfing the church for we must not forget that a divorce is not merely traumatic to the husband and wife that can be devastating to a wide circle of people. Psychologists have shown that children survive the death of their parents better than the divorce. I personally do not think there is a greater moral challenge facing Christians nor a more difficult one. We found the abortion issue divisive, the homosexual issue is proving sensitive but these are as nothing compared to the pain, anger and confusion of divorce. Nonetheless we must face it, we must stand against this tide or we will reap the most terrible consequences. Well I must say that after the last time sermon I moderately encouraged by that letter that it is right to preach on such a difficult subject and to continue expounding this passage that deals so relevantly with the issues of today. So far in this chapter we've talked to the need for husbands and wives to work at their marriages to give themselves properly and unconditionally to each other. We've seen that there will be genuine temptations to sexual sin and it's no good Christians saying we're too holy to be tempted in that way. Rather they should try to satisfy each other's needs in every way possible to help each other overcome temptation and then we saw how Paul spoke right against the philosophy of our age in commending singleness. Not as something better than being married so much as something that was good and God given if that is what God has called you to. And then in verses 10 and 11 of chapter 7 we saw that the married Christians divorce should not should simply not be on the agenda and we talked about divorce. And in verses 12 to 16 Paul addressed the situation you remember where only one partner is a Christian. Now if you didn't hear that sermon please do order one at the back in fact they may be able to give you one today of not they can you can certainly order a tape of the sermon. Well the rest of the chapter really falls into two sections. In the first from verses 17 to 29 Paul talks specially of God's calling, God's calling and then again illustrates it from the area of personal relations. And in the second he reminds us of God's perspective, God's calling and God's perspective and then again he illustrates it from more discussion about personal relationships. So Paul is in the midst here of talking about marriage, singleness, being a widow, a young couple in love, all these things that we all know about. None of us is excluded in the categories that he deals with in this chapter and suddenly he stops and encompasses all Christians in verse 17. Each one should know God's calling and stick with it. That is really what he's now getting at. Each one should know God's calling and stick with it. Look at verse 17, God's calling. We'll start there but the message is for each one. It's fundamental for all Christians what Paul is going to say here. In Greek the verse stresses this even more. If there's something like this, let each one, verse 17, let each one as the Lord has assigned, let each one as God has called so let him walk. If it repeats the each one twice, every single person who is a Christian here must take note of this. Let him continue walking in life as God has called. None of his exempt is exempt. The gospel Paul is saying must affect every single one of us whatever our calling and he stresses each one of the calling again and again and again in these verses. Just look quickly down and he started it in verse 15. God has called us to live in peace. Verse 18, when God called him and it repeats it again when he was called. Verse 20, each one again should remain in the situation he was in when God called him. Verse 21, when you were called, verse 22, he was called and again he was called. Verse 24, each man repeated again should remain in the situation God called him too. See the stress we repeat something if we want to make it import sound important to people. How many times does he repeat this message through here? It's fundamental to our understanding and it's a very simple message. Every Christian God has called you to be where you are to live life in the place to which God has called you. Paul doesn't want Christians running around in this life being discontented. He's talked about why his and husbands staying together and about Christian spouses staying with their non-Christian partners as long as they will have them. Divorce he said is off the agenda for Christians and all this comes from the simple basic Christian principle that applies in every single area of life. Let each one stay in the calling that God has called you to. You see the principle of God's calling has immense and sometimes very difficult implications. When I used to interview people for theological college I always used to ask them why they wanted to go into the ministry and the most frequent answer was that they felt they could serve God better in the ministry. Now I was always happier with the answer because God has called me. Do you see the difference between the two? I would always probe underneath the usual answer because I think I can serve God better in the ministry. It may be that what they were saying was absolutely right but there was a danger in that attitude. You find it very very frequently indeed among new Christians. The first thing they want to do is to go into the ministry. I would think probably 30% of all new Christians want to go into some sort of ministry within the first 10 weeks of becoming a Christian. Something like that. Why? Because they have what actually is a false assumption that it is easier to serve God or better to serve God in full-time ministry. The sort that I have a rough has or whatever. It is easier to serve God than where they are. Of course God does move us around. He does call us to different things but he also wants Christian teachers to be teachers and Christian firemen to be firemen and Christian policemen to be policemen and so on. In relationships he doesn't want everyone to be single even though he says he is happy to be single because God has now called him to that position. As we said earlier we think probably he was actually widowed. He doesn't want everyone to enter the ministry. In verses 18 to 20 years to then Paul uses illustrations that they would rather they understand. If you're a Jew don't try to be a Gentile, be a Christian Jew. And if you're a Gentile when God calls you to be a Christian don't feel you have to become a Jew to be a proper Christian. You don't. Be a Gentile. And then Paul goes on and he talks out of the religious sphere he talks in the world that they would have known around them. If you're a slave, be a slave. That is a tall order. Indeed Paul recognizes that trouble may go with it. He says in verse 21 it be a Christian slave. Being a free person will have a different set of difficulties that Paul says this freedom must be used so you can be a slave for Christ. The trouble is the slave will always look at the freed man and think the grass is greener on the other side. Then we come back to that letter from my friend. He went on to challenge in this way about our attitude as Christians to divorce. He says firstly we must end the silence especially from the puppets. It will be painful. Divorce is a failure and no one likes to be reminded of failure but one cannot be squeamish in a crisis. Secondly our teaching on the subject must be sharpened. And then he says the desire to escape an unhappy marriage is strong but it must be counted by a clear understanding of the consequences. I've left out a large section in which he like I did two weeks ago of course points out that there are cases where divorce is necessary as Paul points out in this passage where there is unfaithfulness or abuse or that sort of thing. But he goes on. We must count a buyer clear understanding of the consequences. People will try to avoid this but the grass is greener mentality must be confronted. How right he is. The grass is greener mentality is one of the curses of human nature. Paul spoke of the problem with divorce but how often people want to change job because the grass greener on the other side. How often wise who stare at home looking after children feel the grass would be greener if only they could get back out to work. They forget what God has called them to you see. How often do single people feel the married life would be better. How often do employees feel it would be better to be an employer and how often do employers wish that perhaps they could work the eight hour day that some of their employees work. Have you ever felt like that? The grass is always greener it's part of human nature and to all of those Pauls there's let each one of you walk in the way the Lord has assigned and that's not an easy teaching to put into practice and so in verse 25 Paul now becomes specific again and he applies it these principles to sexual relationships again. The verse begins now about or now concerning. In other words we're back to yet another question that the Corinthians have asked in their letter to Paul. That's why Paul deals with these subjects in the way he does. He's answering a letter the tragedy is or the difficulty is that we don't have that letter and so we sort of have to piece it together but he says now about again it the Corinthians seem to have asked a question then about virginity in this case. Unlike the subject of divorce where Paul could turn specifically to the words of Christ Paul now speaks on his own but he does so as an apostle the words he says are inspired by the Holy Spirit. They are no less significant than the words of Christ himself because they come from the same Holy Spirit who inspired both to speak. Paul was not writing an everlasting law that Christians should be celibate when he says in verse 26 the virgins it is good to remain as you are rather that they should look at what God has called them to and weigh things up. Quite what the present crisis is in verse 26 we don't know but we do know that in that time exactly in that time when Paul was writing this letter there was the most frightful famine through the whole of that area around Corinth. People were dying of hunger all over the place indeed international aid of today has nothing so much is nothing so much is so great as the international aid that Rome was sending to these devastated famine stricken areas in that day and age. Rome was supporting them trying to keep people alive. Perhaps that was the present crisis and Paul's advice therefore was extremely sensible how much harder it would be if a person had a family to care for than if they were single. Married people would certainly face many troubles as verse 28 says but Paul is again sensible and practical you see if a couple is in love and cannot be without each other then just as he said earlier let the marry but marriage is certainly not a sin even given the present critical situation whatever it may have been and then we come to verse 29 and the start of the second section. God's calling then now God's perspective, God's perspective thinking of the present crisis whatever it was has reminded Paul generally of the shortness and the temporality of life. Brothers the time is short he said he suddenly been reminded that this life does not go on forever that we do die that one day we will go to be with the Lord and then he makes some strange statements if you have a wife live as though you had not if you mourn live as though you don't if you're happy live as though you were not if you've bought something live as though you can't keep it it's very strange surely he doesn't expect husbands to suddenly try to pretend that they don't have a wife he couldn't possibly mean that could he after all look back to the first few verses of the chapter where he says the husband and wife must be so involved that they must give each other completely and unconditionally to each other he's already told singles they can marry if they want what's going on well actually verse 31 here is the key he says let those of you who use the things of the world live as if not engrossed in them for this world in its present form is passing away you see he wants yes all Christians everywhere to live as God has called them but also to approach that life to which God has called them from an eternal perspective this world does not last forever Christ will return you and I will die we will spend if we know and love the Lord Jesus and I hope you all hear this morning do if you know and love the Lord Jesus if you've committed your life to him in faith then we will spend eternity with Christ and when we do things will be different Jesus himself said there'll be no more marriage in heaven there'll be no more possessions as we understand them and what Paul is saying as he has really said all the way through in a different way is set your face on Christ keep God's perspective on things see things with the eyes of God if you can we mustn't see the whole of life centering on things that pass away but rather on Christ and his eternal kingdom and then again he gives some lovely practical examples from relationships in verses 33 and 34 he says the problem with marriage is precisely that it's all so absorbing and those who are married know that it's true isn't it that that marriage God has caused you to be married yes he's not saying forget it in fact he says exactly the opposite don't separate don't misunderstand my teaching don't separate he says and yet marriage does create problems if we're to keep that eternal perspective it's actually quite difficult to keep God's perspective when you're worried about the famine and putting food on the white on the table for a wife and children in that sense there's Paul there is a real advantage to being single or to being a widow and remaining unmarried it's easier for them to be devoted says Paul to the Lord both in body and spirit and Paul knows that he could easily be misunderstood how many of you have heard Paul falsely quoted from this passage that he's against marriage it's almost as common to hear that said is it to hear that Paul is against women and neither of them is even remotely true Paul knows that he could be misunderstood so in verse 35 he points out again that this is not a restriction against marriage it's just an example in the area of sexuality of the general point that he is making that each of us must apply in every single area of our life that we must be focused on eternity in whatever God has called us to indeed whatever we do temptations are there if you're single the attentions if you're married the attentions temptations to divided loyalties the loyalty to Christ and the loyalty to other things that we become so engrossed in what he's saying is summed up beautifully by the writer of Hebrews if you turn for a moment to Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2 where the author says this let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfector of our faith who for the joy set before him endured the cross warning it's shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God let us fix our eyes on Jesus and so Paul comes back again to relationships let us fix our eyes on Jesus let us keep God's perspective let's have an eternal perspective on these relationships given that caught that calling by God and given that perspective of eternity get married if that is what God's will for you is certainly don't sleep with your fiancee as verse 36 says without marrying her no amount of thinking about eternity should ever be allowed to excuse sin Christian should not say I think God has called me to be single but I need sex I'll sleep with my girlfriend and you may think that's weird but let me put it in a more modern way I've often talked to Christian couples who have said God has called them together but the time is not right to get married for example because they can't afford a house yet so they're going to live together anyway or sleep together anyway God would have none of that God would have none of that if God has called you to marry and you want each other enough that you can't wait Paul is deeply practical get married it's not wrong get married never find an excuse for sin and Paul goes on if the two of you is engaged people pray about your calling and think God may be calling you to serve him as single people then that's two is good and there's nothing wrong with splitting up the engagement verses 37 and 38 I wish some Christian couples could hear that from scripture as well there's so much pressure in some Christian circles to get married that some couples are almost thrust into marriage because they're fond of each other or they enjoy spending time in each other's company and Paul says marry if you want but remember the eternal perspective and remember as you think about which side the grass may be greener but God's perspective is this there is a lot to be said for the freshness in the service of the Lord that is available for singles it's awful in young people's groups when single people are made to feel the odd ones out it is terrible and it is so un-Christian and so unloving when the Bible says quite clearly that such people may be better able to serve God than any one of us who has a wife or a boyfriend or a girlfriend God's perspective and widows yes you too he says in the last couple of verses you too married for life to your husband bound for life to him but when your husband dies you're free to marry again if you desire but the same goes for you he says as a Christian don't let the world get to you and how often do we see this happening with all the women who are widows don't let the world get to you don't let your friends always be telling you to keep an eye out for another partner don't look down on yourself as pasted or as no of no longer any use remain as God has called you to be and be happy for he has worked for you wherever he has placed you the teaching of this chapter today is vital for us as Christians in our society our society says almost the opposite of all that we've read this morning our society lives for now God's word says in all your relationships keep the eternal perspective keep Jesus in front of your thinking our society says singleness is bad news or divorce is okay if you found someone better our society says if you don't like your job try to get out of it God's word says let each of you remain in whatever situation you were called to our society says do what feels good God's word says follow the call of God are you following God's call today wherever it may take you are you
or this morning are the values your values and the decisions that you make in your life unduly influenced by the world around that's pretty
father we thank you for calling us to yourself we pray for any this morning who perhaps maybe feeling that you are calling them to yourself at the moment we ask that you will open our hearts that they may turn to the living Lord Jesus and father for those of us who know and love you we pray that we may indeed serve you in the in the state to which we have been called in Jesus' name our man