Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / August 14 - 1 Corinthians 7

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August 14 - 1 Corinthians 7 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Wednesday, it's the 14th of
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  August, and you have tapped on play and invited me in to your
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  day, and for that I'm very grateful.
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  I hope you're going well. I I've done about you, but I am
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  just loving this music. It is impossibly cool, and in
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  fact, when I talk over the top of it, it makes me associated
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  with something way cooler than I am.
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  So I'll just claim that I'm not trying to be fraudulent and say
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  I'm cooler, but Gee, it's pretty great.
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  Thank you to the good people at Blue Dot Sessions who write this
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  music, record this music and share it free for us to enjoy.
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  So thanks guys, good on you. We are going to continue reading
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  today as we hear what Paul has to say to his old friends in
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  Corinth about the topic of marriage.
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  So join me friends, as we read together First Corinthians
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  Chapter 7. Now regarding the questions you
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  asked in your letter, yes, it is good to abstain from sexual
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  relations, but because there is so much sexual immorality, each
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  man should have his own wife and each woman should have her own
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  husband. The husband should fulfil his
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  wife's sexual needs and the wife should fulfil her husband's
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  needs. The wife gives authority over
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  her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his
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  body to his wife. Do not deprive each other of
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  sexual relations unless you both agree to refrain from sexual
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  intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more
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  completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come
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  together again so that Satan won't be able to tempt you
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  because of your lack of self control.
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  I say this as a concession, not as a command.
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  But I wish everyone was single, just as I am.
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  Yet each person has a special gift from God of one kind or
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  another. So I say to those who aren't
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  married and to widows, it's better to stay unmarried just as
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  I am. But if they can't control
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  themselves, they should go ahead and marry.
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  It's better to marry than to burn with lust.
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  But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not
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  from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her
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  husband, but if she does leave him, let her remain single, or
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  else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave
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  his wife. Now I will speak to the rest of
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  you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord.
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  If a fellow believer has a wife who is not a believer and she is
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  willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her.
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  And if a believing woman has a husband who is not a believer
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  and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not
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  leave him. For the believing wife brings
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  holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband brings
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  holiness to his marriage. Otherwise your children would
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  not be holy. But now they are holy.
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  But if the husband or wife who isn't a believer insists on
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  leaving, let them go. In such cases, the believing
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  husband or wife is no longer bound to the other.
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  For God has called you to live in peace.
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  Don't you wives realise that your husbands might be saved
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  because of you? And don't you husbands realise
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  that your wives might be saved because of you?
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  Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the
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  Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first
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  called you. This is my rule for all the
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  churches. For instance, a man who was
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  circumcised before he became a believer should not try to
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  reverse it. And the man who was
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  uncircumcised when he became a believer should not be
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  circumcised now, for it makes no difference whether or not a man
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  has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep
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  God's commandments. Yes, each of you should remain
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  as you were when God called you. Are you a slave?
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  Don't let that worry you. But if you get a chance to be
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  free, take it. And remember, if you were a
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  slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord.
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  And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a
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  slave of Christ. God paid a high price for you,
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  so don't be enslaved by the world.
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  Each of you, dear brothers and sisters, should remain as you
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  were when God first called you. Now, regarding your question
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  about the young women who are not yet married, I do not have a
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  command from the Lord for them. But the Lord in His mercy has
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  given me wisdom that can be trusted, and I will share it
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  with you. Because of the present crisis, I
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  think it is best to remain as you are.
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  If you have a wife, do not seek to end the marriage, and if you
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  do not have a wife, do not seek to get married.
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  But if you do get married, it is not a sin.
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  And if a young woman gets married, it is not a sin.
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  However, those who get married at this time will have troubles,
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  and I'm trying to spare you those problems.
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  But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters, the time
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  that remains is very short. So from now on, those with wives
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  should not focus only on their marriage.
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  Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be
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  absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions.
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  Those who use the things of the world should not become attached
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  to them. For this world as we know it
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  will soon pass away. I want you to be free from the
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  concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his
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  time doing the Lord's work and thinking how to please him.
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  But a married man has to think about his earthly
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  responsibilities and how to please his wife.
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  His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is
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  no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to
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  the Lord and wholly in body and in spirit, but a married woman
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  has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to
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  please her husband. I'm saying this for your
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  benefit, not to place restrictions on you.
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  I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best,
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  with as few distractions as possible.
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  But if a man thinks that he's treating his fiancee improperly
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  and will inevitably give in to this passion, let him marry her
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  as he wishes. It's not a sin, but if he has
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  decided firmly not to marry, and there is no urgency and he can
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  control his passion, he does well not to marry.
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  So the person who marries his fiancee does well, and the
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  person who doesn't marry does even better.
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  A wife is bound to a husband as long as he lives.
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  If her husband dies, she's free to marry anyone she wishes, but
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  only if he loves the Lord. But in my opinion, it would be
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  better for her to stay single. And I think that I'm giving you
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  counsel from God's Spirit when I say this.
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  Our Lord Jesus, we can hear so clearly in these words from Paul
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  that his heart is for you and for the ministry of your
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  Kingdom. So Lord, wherever our life finds
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  us, in our work, in our friendship circles, with our
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  possessions, our staff, with our families and our marriages,
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  Lord, I pray that they would all be subservient to us as your
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  children, serving you in your Kingdom.
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  Jesus, let us use our life circumstance in a way that lifts
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  you up. Help us to partner with our
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  friends and our families. Help us to use our stuff and our
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  resources to share your love and to beam your Kingdom into the
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  world around us, because that is your calling on our lives.
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  Our Lord, I thank you for the wonderful things that you have
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  given us, our families, our friends, and the things that
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  bring us joy. And Lord, we know that you don't
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  want us not to enjoy them because you've given us to them
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  for joy. But may they always be in
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  service of you. And we pray all of this in your
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  powerful saving name that we are so grateful for Jesus.
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  Amen.