Christ's Law

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● Cor 7:5 . . Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time,
that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that
Satan not tempt you by means of your lack of self control.

I think it goes without saying that spouses have an inalienable right to expect their
need for companionship to be satisfied in marriage; and if one, or both, is feeling
lonely and marginalized at home, then they will be vulnerable outside the home
when someone comes along with whom they click.

I heard a story some time ago about a rather conniving Christian woman who
wanted a divorce from her Christian husband; but seeing as how God only allows
death or adultery to dissolve the marital bond; she deliberately began shunning her
husband in order to force him to think about finding an alternative; and when he
did; she proceeded to divorce him on the grounds of unfaithfulness. That way, in
her mind's eye, she was the victim and he the villain. (chuckle) What people won't
do to circumvent the laws of God.
_
 
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● 1Cor 7:8-9 . . Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to
stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry,
for it is better to marry than to burn.

Paul said it's good to remain single; but he didn't say it's best.

The Greek word translated "burn" basically means to kindle, to ignite, to glow,
and/or to be inflamed. I seriously doubt Paul meant to convey the thought that the
believers who lacked self control at Corinth were in grave danger of the flames of
Hell since he had already assured them in 1Cor 6:9-11 that they were washed,
sanctified, and justified in the name of The Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Paul was one of those kinds of men with a very low-powered libido. But not
everyone is like him; nor is everyone cut out to live alone.

Webster's defines "celibacy" as (1) the state of not being married, (2) abstention
from sexual intercourse, and (3) abstention by vow from marriage. Celibacy then,
isn't limited to zero carnal activity; it includes zero marriage; even platonic unions.

Not long ago, a Catholic priest here in Oregon quit the priesthood after serving
more than 30 years in order to get married because he couldn't stand being alone
anymore. He wasn't especially looking to get naked with somebody, he just wanted
a companion; which is exactly how normal guys are designed.

"The Lord God said: It's not good for Adam to be solitary" (Gen 2:18)

The problem with a vow of celibacy is that although it may hinder a priest from
getting married, it does nothing to prevent him from pining for a female
companion. 1Cor 7:9 should suffice to silence the mouths of ascetics who preach
it's holy to abstain from every form of earthly pleasure; and also the mouths of
those who preach it's a sin to marry solely to obtain someone to sleep with.

NOTE: Typical wedding vows are unconditional, i.e. couples, as a rule, don't
promise to love each other in proportion to the amount of love they get from the
other. It would be educational for couples to review their vows now and again to
see just how conscientious they've been in complying with the unconditional
portions of their vows.
_
 
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● 1Cor 7:10-11a . . Unto the married I command-- yet not I, but The Lord --let not
the wife depart from her husband: but and if she depart, let her remain unmarried,
or be reconciled to her husband.

Divorcing a spouse for any cause other than infidelity is unacceptable. (Mat 5:32)
However, separation is a different issue and is sometimes essential for the safety
and welfare of abused women.

● 1Cor 7:11b . . And let not the husband put away his wife.

I think we may assume the above comments apply to husbands as well as to their
wives.

You know, we really can't expect a man to continue living with a woman who
routinely slams the poor guy with demeaning ridicule and denigrating remarks
and/or constantly rakes him over the coals with relentless fault-finding and cruel
sarcasm, and maybe even pours scalding water on her husband while he's sleeping
or burns his face with a steam iron.
_
 
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● 1Cor 7:12-13 . . If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased
to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which hath an husband
that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.

It's not all that unusual for marriages to start off on common ground, and then
later on to become religiously divided; like for instance when one of the spouses
gets converted at a Luis Palau crusade, or both start out as Christians and one
switches over to Buddhism. As long as the situation doesn't cause intolerable
friction in the home, the couple should stay together.

● 1Cor 7:14-15 . . For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the
unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be
unclean, but now they are holy.

According to Matt 5:32 and Matt 19:9, divorce and remarriage are holy only if one
of the spouses has been unfaithful. So; if a believing spouse divorces their
unbelieving spouse solely on the grounds of religious differences, and remarries;
then as far as the New Testament is concerned, any children produced in the
second marriage will be illegitimate.
_
 
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● 1Cor 7:15 . . But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is
not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.

In this situation, Christians are neither required, nor encouraged, nor under even
the slightest obligation to attempt reconciliation; rather, "let him depart" strictly
forbids getting back together with the unbeliever.

The unbeliever's departure is a golden opportunity, to permanently escape a
difficult situation that Christ's followers would be foolish to let slip through their
fingers.
_
 
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● 1Cor 7:17 . . But as God hath distributed to every man, as The Lord hath called
every one, so let him walk.

"distribution" is likely talking about spiritual gifts. All of Christ's believing followers
are supposed to have at least one.

"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of
administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is
the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to
every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit, yada, yada, yada."
(1Cor 12:5-8)

The "call" likely includes the venue where each individual's gift is put to good use
for The Lord. I don't think we need to worry about how to find that venue; it'll find
us. Thing is, stay in your own zone; don't crash somebody else's party and/or stick
your nose into something that's none of your spiritual business, and quite possibly
out of your spiritual depth too.
_
 
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● 1Cor 7:18a . . Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become
uncircumcised.

It was of course impossible to literally reverse circumcision in Paul's day. However,
there did exist a procedure to ceremoniously reverse it. (cf. 1Maccabees 1:15)

● 1Cor 7:18b . . Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised.

The circumcision in question is ritual circumcision; specifically the initiation rite into
Judaism.

Paul's advice is very practical because when men undergo Judaism's circumcision
rite, they obligate themselves to comply with the covenant that Moses' people
agreed upon with God on oath per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

As a result; they put themselves in danger of God slamming them with the curses
for noncompliance listed at Lev 26:3-38, Deut 27:15-26, and Deut 28:1-69.
(cf. Gal 3:10)

All one has to do is research the last 3,500 years of the Jews' history, up to and
including the Holocaust, to see for themselves that God is serious about those
curses.

FAQ: If 1Cor 7:18b is a hard and fast rule, then why did Paul circumcise Timothy at
Acts 16:1-3?

REPLY: The procedure wasn't done to initiate Timothy into Judaism, but rather, so
that the Jews wouldn't make an issue of Paul associating with an uncircumcised
Gentile which, in their minds, would effectively invalidate his message.

A similar problem exists today among Christians fixated on a particular translation
of the Bible. They will not listen to a teacher, not even a Spirit empowered teacher,
unless he quotes from their favorite version. In their minds; all who use any other
version are heretics right from the get-go.
_
 
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● 1Cor 7:20 . . Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God
called him.

I once knew a really good Christian man who felt guilty never going out as a
missionary to a foreign land to help people less fortunate than himself. Well, I
assured him that somebody has to stay back here in the States and hold down a
job in order to earn the money needed to finance missions already in place.

The ratio of soldiers in the rear compared to the ones at the front is something like
six to one. It takes a massive support base to keep our guys on the line out there
facing off with the other guys; all the way from workers in state-side factories
manufacturing war materiel, to the sailors, soldiers, and airmen moving men and
materiel over land and seas, to the doctors and nurses staffing MASH facilities, to
the guys and girls driving supply trucks to the front. We can't all be in the bush.
Somebody has to be in the rear with the gear.

So take comfort in knowing that if you're involved in the effort, then you're a part
of the effort; and will be rewarded accordingly. (cf. 1Sam 30:1-25 and Matt 20:1-16)
_
 
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● 1Cor 7:21-22 . . Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but
if you can be made free, rather use it. For he who is called in The Lord while a slave
is The Lord's freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ's slave.

Were this the only life, then slavery would be a terrible fate because there would be
nothing better to look forward to; viz: Christian slaves should think of their
situation as only a temporary set-back. They're missing out on the best that life has
to offer for now, but I'm pretty sure they can look forward to Christ making it up to
them in the next life.

The situation of Christians behind bars, without possibility of either release or
parole, is little different than that of slaves. However, though their time inside may
be for life, it isn't permanent. No, their time inside is just a bump in the road: it's
not the end of the road.

As I was watching a prison documentary on NetFlix some time ago, one of the
inmates interviewed-- an elderly man sweeping with a broom out in the yard --said,
in so many words: Guys come in here thinking their life is over. It ain't over, it's
just different.

That old guy was a lifer, but he was at peace with his situation-- an amazing
attitude for an institutionalized man with no hope of ever again having a normal life
on the outside.
_
 
dizerner said:
We are not saved by living holy enough, we are saved by faith in Christ's Cross, his suffering for our sins.

You can try to love others as much as you want, but it will never meet God's holy perfection.

You can spend your whole life trying to love people out of your flesh and your mind, and wake up forever damned in hell.

Transfer your trust from your own good works, to Christ's suffering on the Cross to save the worst sinners of all!

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
(Rom. 3:19-24 NKJ)


DBY Romans 3:24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

NJB Romans 3:24 and all are justified by the free gift of his grace through being set free in Christ Jesus.

NKJ Romans 3:24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

NLT Romans 3:24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

YLT Romans 3:24 being declared righteous freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

BGT Romans 3:24 δικαιούμενοι δωρεὰν τῇ αὐτοῦ χάριτι διὰ τῆς ἀπολυτρώσεως τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ·

ATGNT Romans 3:24 just-cause grant the self grace through the from-loose-cause-ing the in anoint-ed Jesus

ROT Romans 3:24 Being declared righteous freely by his favour through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:--

ANT Romans 3:24 being justified° freely by His grace through the redemption°, the one in Christ Jesus,

GLB Romans 3:24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus,

KNX Romans 3:24 And justification comes to us as a free gift from his grace, through our redemption in Christ Jesus.

MLV Romans 3:24 All those who believe, being freely made righteous in his grace, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus,

MOF Romans 3:24 but they are justified for nothing by his grace through the ransom provided in Christ Jesus,

OCL Romans 3:24 Being justified gratuitously in His grace, through the deliverance which is in Christ Jesus

TYN Romans 3:24 but are iustified frely by his grace through the redemcion that is in Christ Iesus
Click to expand...
We are justified by Christ. Nothing else. Very important truth. The law of God, meaning the things which define sins/transgressions which are reflections of His person, were perfectly exemplified in the man Christ Jesus. Who demonstrated the image of God without flaw. So taking the statements from Paul as though all commandments given from God were thrown away as though Jesus saved us from God's charcter is a grievous error. Paul can mean slightly different things when speaking about "law". e.g. the Sinai covenant in whole, the ceremonial parts (or something like that), general principles practiced in humanity, added laws of the Pharisees that were not from God (so-called oral Torah of the Pharisees), "things added because of sins", civil law, etc.

This certainly must be the case, unless Paul contradicts himself. Paul didn't throw away everything in the Torah away for the believer in Messiah. But he was certainly placing Christs work as the only way to being justified in the sight of God. But not at the expense of the law(God's commandments). As he says, the law was never instituted to save people from Hell/death.

"Hell" is the second death. Suffered by all those not found in the book of life. It is the final destruction of all things and persons who have to place in the eternal dwelling that God will restore to the entire created order. And then God will be ALL in ALL. Death no longer is a thing. If Hell wasn't the destruction of evil, that is, the removal of evil from existence God could never be ALL in ALL.

Hell is a fiery judgement at the end of history/1000 years. It is the permanent and eternal punishment for satan and his chid'rens. It kills you and you are no longer alive. And you are never made to be alive again for the ceaseless ages of forever. Day upon day without end.

I would be curious what you agree or disagree about what I have said. Please don't read into anything I am saying. I was careful in my wording and I mean every bit of it. In particular the foundational fact of the first 3 sentences.
 
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● 1Cor 7:23 . .You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.

Selling one's body into slave labor was a very common method for settling debts
in a world where bankruptcy wasn't an option (cf. Matt 5:25-26) whereas selling
one's soul is to be avoided.
_
 
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● 1Cor 7:24 . . Brethren, let each one remain with God in the situation in which he
was called.

If you're a slave; don't become a runaway slave. If you're a secretary, don't quit
your job and/or abandon your husband to run off and become another Joan of Arc.
Stay put; always keeping in mind that whether slave, free, or crusader; will make
no difference in your association with God.

NOTE: Ambitious Christians sometimes feel as though they are not being utilized by
God to their fullest potential, i.e. they could be doing more. Well; it just might be
that in His opinion you're doing enough, and more is a nice thought, but
unnecessary.
_
 
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● 1Cor 7:25 . . 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.

The Greek word for "virgins" is parthenos (par-then'-os) which basically refers to
maidens and/or unmarried daughters.

There's an ancient temple in Greece called the Parthenon; which was at one time a
sort of shrine to the goddess Athena (a.k.a. Minerva). Apparently it was common
for Athena's followers to donate their young girls to her service.

I'm guessing that the Christians in ancient Corinth, influenced by Greek and Roman
culture, were curious whether they were supposed to donate their young girls to
Christ's service; viz: make nuns of them; which of course would seal them into
celibacy and thus preclude the possibility of ever having a man and a family of their
own.

Paul's claim to be "trustworthy" is saying that he could be relied upon to speak as
Christ and for Christ on certain issues without having to first inquire the Lord's mind
about them.

That's a pretty advanced degree of inspiration when somebody is 110% confident
that their thoughts on a matter are God's thoughts.

Too many Christians are wishy-washy. They have an annoying habit of pontificating
their opinions as the God's truth when, in reality, they have neither the authority
nor the confidence to stand up and announce themselves trustworthy, i.e. infallible.
_
 
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● 1Cor 7:26-28 . . 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.

The "present crisis" probably relates to circumstances that make it difficult and/or
inadvisable to settle down and raise a family, e.g. Jer 16:1-4 and Matt 24:19-22.

However, marriage, overall, doesn't displease God; and best of all, the Corinthian
Christians didn't have to donate their maidens to Christ as nuns; rather, the girls
were perfectly at liberty to settle down with a man.
_
 
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● 1Cor 7:36 . . If anyone thinks he is acting improperly toward the girl he's
engaged to, and if she is getting along in years and he feels he ought to marry, he
should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married.

We have a saying in America that goes like this: So and so married what's her
name and made a decent woman out of her. Well, most grown-ups know what that
means without me having to say so. The point is: if a Christian man finds himself
on the brink of exceeding the limits of propriety with his best girl; it's time to either
break up or tie the knot.

And then too there's the so-called biological clock that stalks women during their
productive years. It's cruel, unthinkable, and utterly selfish and psychopathic of a
man to keep a girl on hold during those years if and when he's fully aware that
she's longing to settle down and have a family of her own. A man who does that
has no clue as the meaning of words like love and honor.
_
 
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● 1Cor 7:39 . . 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 be in The Lord.

When people sound-bite a verse like that one out of context, they run the risk of
coming to some very false conclusions; and one of those is that Christians can
never, under any circumstances, divorce and remarry while their spouses are alive.
Well, obviously they can, under certain conditions. (e.g. Matt 5:32) In other words:
an unfaithful husband is a dead husband, i.e. he's reckoned deceased.

However, a Christian ex-wife has to be careful not to re-marry outside her faith as
that would be like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. (cf. 2Cor 6:14-18)
_
 
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● 1Cor 8:4-13 can be said to be a codicil to the 14th chapter of Romans.

Putting this into a modern context: In my State of Oregon, we have tavern-style
restaurants; viz: a section of the tavern is a bar, and another section is dedicated
to dining. The bar sections usually host State-sanctioned gambling machines and
typically off-limits to minors.

Suppose you have Christian friends who sincerely feel it's wrong to dine in a
tavern-style restaurant because of the alcohol and the gambling. Though you
yourself might be comfortable in your own mind that there is no sin in dining at
taverns, your friends are not so sure. So if you were to take them to a tavern, they
would be committing sin in compromising their conscience; and you would be
committing sin by knowingly leading them into a situation that causes them to
make that compromise. (Rom 15:1-2)

Another pertinent example is Hooters; where the waitresses are cute buxom girls
filled out in all the right places clothed in short shorts, and clingy tops; so that the
situation is a double whammy of babes and alcohol. Supposing your Christian
buddy sincerely feels it's wrong for Christian men to dine at Hooters? Then you
would be wrong in taking him there for a burger even if you were convinced in your
own mind there is nothing wrong with Hooters because you would be leading your
Christian buddy into a situation that causes him to feel guilty and/or less of himself.

The Bible says that Christians should accommodate others to their edification
(edification means to build someone up as opposed to tearing them down), Well,
when we please ourselves to their detriment; that's very bad. Some guys feel that
cute buxom girls and yummy gams are a God-send, while other guys regard them
as the Devil in disguise. The correct route here is to accommodate the more
sensitive conscience. (Rom 14:3-4)

Self defense is another gray area. Some Christians sincerely believe they should
"turn the other cheek" in every situation, even criminal situations; while others
believe it is permissible to use as much force and violence as is necessary to
prevent the commission of a felony-- even lethal force and violence. Let each
individual be fully persuaded in their own mind rather than someone else's mind.
(Rom 14:5)
_
 
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● 1Cor 9:13-14 . . Don't you know that those who work in the Temple get their food
from the Temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the
altar? In the same way: The Lord has commanded that those who preach the
gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

The covenant that Moses' people agreed upon with God in the Old Testament
doesn't allow Levitical priests to own land where they can provide themselves
sustenance by working their own farms and ranches. It's God's decree that a
number of the sacrifices and offerings that the priesthood's constituents bring are
dedicated to not just sustaining a friendly association with God, but also to
nourishing His servants. (e.g. Ex 29:31-32, Lev 2:1-10, Lev 7:11-15)

Obviously then, 1Cor 9:13-14 is saying that Christian congregations ought to pitch
in and help provide their church's full-time Pastor with a decent standard of living.
This is not optional; no, it's something that "The Lord has commanded."

* Though pastors may not always preach the gospel, many are at least capable of
doing so. Of course pastors who never preach the gospel should be required to
maybe go out and get a job somewhere and support themselves rather than
depending upon a congregation to take care of them.
_
 
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● 1Cor 9:24-25 . . Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one
gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in
the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but
we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

The prize that Olympians won back in those days wasn't much. No medals: just a
simple garland for the head consisting of a wreath made with wild olive leaves from
a sacred tree near the temple of Zeus at Olympia. In time the leaves dried out and
crumbled.

The important thing to note about 1Cor 9:24-25 is that the prize isn't a pass into
the kingdom of God. No; the prize is an award rather than a wage; and there is
more than one kind; e.g. Phil 4:1, 1Tim 4:8, Jas 1:12, 1Pet 5:4, and Rev 14:14.
_
 

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