July 4 Click on verses for Full Scripture

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Today's Pathway: I Corinthians 7:25-31 Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be. Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you. But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.

In today's passage Paul expands on a topic that he addressed earlier in the chapter - the advantages of remaining unmarried. He begins by stating that what he is about to write is not something that God has commanded previously, but is his divinely inspired opinion. He can render this judgment because God has given him the mercy required to do so. In verse 26 he mentions that being single was particularly a good idea during the "present distress". We do not know exactly what is being referred to here, but most commentators believe that he is speaking of the persecution that the churches were facing. Dave Guzik wrote,

"What is the advantage of remaining single? We can easily imagine how in a time of persecution or great crisis, how much more of a burden a wife or a family can be for someone committed to standing strong for the Lord. We may say, 'Torture me, and I will never renounce Jesus.' But what if we were threatened with the rape of our wife or the torture of our children? These may seem far away to us, but they were not far away to Christians in the first century."

In verse 27 he reiterates what he has already taught. If you are married, stay married. If you are divorced, don't get remarried to another. In verse 28 he says that it is certainly not a sin for a virgin to get married. However, there may be difficulties when someone gets married, particularly in times of persecution, and Paul is trying to spare his readers from those problems. Jack Arnold commented,

"Paul is not saying marriage automatically brings trouble into one’s life, although many can testify to the fact that while marriage lifted some major pressures, it added many more cares: education, food, clothing, housing, bills, etc. However, Paul is thinking about trouble in times of crisis due to persecution. It is one thing for a man to face persecution and even martyrdom, but it is quite another to bring this upon his wife and children. Paul’s point is that in times of crisis, single life has advantages. Singles can be more flexible, can adapt more readily to certain cataclysmic conditions, can pick up and move if necessary, and can act without handling the affairs of others for whom they are responsible. Paul is not putting down marriage but is suggesting that for some, singlehood might be the better course to take because marriage increases responsibilities."

In verses 29-31 Paul gives another reason for staying unmarried: the time is short. While there are differences of opinion as to what this means, it seems clear to me that he is speaking about the time before the Lord's return for he writes in verse 31 that "the fashion of this world passeth away". In I John 2:15-17 the Bible says that we should not love the world, and one of the reasons given there is that "the world passeth away". We only have a few years on this earth, the Lord's coming is drawing nigh, and as believers we need to keep our focus on the Lord and stay busy serving Him. Charles Smith paraphrased verses 29-31 this way:

"We don't have time, really, to get involved in marital relationships. We don't have time to indulge in grief or sorrow. We don't have time for partying and revelry. We don't have time to amass possessions. We are in the world, but let's not abuse it. Let us use it; we have got to live. We have got to eat, so do what you have to, but don't get overly involved, for the fashion of the world is rapidly passing away."

We will conclude Paul's writings on this subject tomorrow.