Ill show you where Im going to be getting these terms from. Were you circumcised? When Jesus said in Matthew 22:14, "Many are called, but few are chosen," he referred to the world-wide call of the gospel which many people hear and reject to their own doom. You should not be driven from one by fear or despair, nor allured to the other by wealth or pride. Your job is not to close your eyes, open the Bible, point to a word and then see what this has to say to me. Your Job as Ministry. *"This date is an approximation of when this sermon was delivered." THE text does not say that time is short. God's Word To The Separated - 1 Corinthians 7:10-16 How To Tame Temptation - 1 Corinthians 10:12-14 This Do In Remembrance Of Me - 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 A Time We Call Communion - 1 Corinthians 11:23-24 Our Time At The Lord's Table - 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 The Lord's Supper Service - 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 Should you leave whatever you are doing and go do whatever you think Holy Spirit should be doing? O God, give me the grace to obey your commandments, which I know are all summed up in this, to love my neighbor as myself. The translation problem in verse 21 is really tough. The calling is the call to believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to walk as faithful followers of Jesus in whatever place of life it is that God has called us to Himself. 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. Picking Your Fights - 1 Corinthians 9:1-23. 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. Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. They may look the same on the outside, but their inner beingtheir spiritis completely transformed. In a word, the application of Paul's principle to cultural distinctives is this: Don't fret and don't boast about your present state of cultural distinctives; they are of little importance to God compared to whether you are devoting yourself, soul and mind and body, to obeying his commandments, which are all fulfilled in this: "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Romans 13:810; Galatians 5:14). Paul talks about this in terms of "living as you are called." This calling is not talking about your vocation, it is talking about your identity in Christ and how you live your life in response to that. First, God is very much more concerned with the way you do the job that you now have than he is with whether you get a new job. This is actually a remarkable thing, if you were a Jew, one of the primary things you were called to do was to be circumcised. Understand that this is the glorious gospel of salvation in Christ. 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. 23 You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. He is author of. 1- They seem to be looking to Paul as an example for the Christian life. First Corinthians 7:17-24 expands on Paul's rule of thumb: that Christians should remain in whatever situation they were in when they came to faith in Christ. This is my rule in all the churches. Regardless of your circumstances. With these other questions since you can take a different job or you can go to a different church, we have to ask harder questions. In the assignment in which the call of God came to you, walk in that. Either way, we belong completely to Jesus as His new creations. This is clear from the fact that he had Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:3), and from his own statement that he becomes all things to all men that he might save some (1 Corinthians 9:22). Paul is not saying that a professional thief or a Corinthian cult prostitute should stay in the calling in which they were called. Its in almost every verse. They might be translated slightly differently in your Bible, but we are going to go with the words that ESV has since thats what Im preaching from. Its the principle that, when God the Father calls us into a relationship with Himself through faith in Jesus and we become new creations in Christ, we should not take this to mean that everything about our outward life now needs to be abandoned, or that we must now start life over again from scratch. Any duration. Text: Acts 20:17-38 Sermon Series: On Mission. Gods Calling Teaches Us to Abide with God. But if it is not sinful place of lifeif it is not a place that is in violation of Gods clear commandmentsthen we are to remain there and let God work through us. How to Survive the Last Days, Part 3 - 1 Corinthians 16:17-24. Were on a mission to change that. Indeed, becoming a slave of the right person could be a career choice. And do you remember what Zacchaeus did? Thats the most important thing. Genesis 5:22-24 What wonderful news that is! 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. Gods life gives us courage as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. How do I sort through my own mixed emotions when Im trying to make decisions on how to live in the various circumstances of my life? 17 Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. Devote yourself to that with all your heart, and take whatever job you want. He makes them new creations from their inner-most being, and calls them to walk faithfully with Him in the outer life. The universal default principle is that you should stay where you are. John 5:1-18 Study Guide: Do You Want to be Healed? 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. 18 Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7:17-24. 1. 44:54. But their husbands or wives had not done so. This is the word of our God for us this morning. The Bible doesnt say yes it will or no it wont. Gods Calling Teaches Us to Abide with God You can't be white if you want to be accepted." Its taking the objective teaching of scriptures and applying it to the specifics of our lives. Then Paul gives the theological reason for this admonition. "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established" (Proverbs 19:21). This passage teaches us that we can all calm down; we dont have to get anxious about our calling in life. Even in there God made a way that he powerfully calls us out of ourselves and open our eyes to see Jesus and how good and glorious and radiant he is. The upshot of this is that whether a person is a slave or a freedman, it ought not be the cause of his despair or his pride. 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 Study Guide: The Sin of Tolerance. We are located at the top of the intersection of NW 185th Avenue and Germantown Road. Hes talking about this calling about what Jesus has done and a calling to believe that what Jesus has done is for me.Let me read you what the Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 67 defines the effectual call as it looks at all the places this word is used in scripture. The Jews were separated physically from other people by the sign of circumcision that God gave to them. The call of God which puts us into believing, loving fellowship with Jesus is a powerful, effective call that draws us to the Son (John 6:44, 65). When you are called to Christ, even as a bondservant you dont belong to your master but to the Lord. Now if we read the word called as it is translated there it almost sounds like what Paul is saying is that we are called to these assignments. Rejoice in the Lord and hope in him and you will be freer than all the anxious nobles." Gods Calling Transcends Horizontal Assignments God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him Learn more about Desiring God Ways to Follow. 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. They are different from circumstance to circumstance and person to person. Theme: We are to walk as a faithful Christian in the place of life where God has called us to Himself. There were some who had forsaken that sign and who had become uncircumcised. This is a very important principle. That speaks of the total transformation of our inner self. Please answer His call. Sometimes we start to ask, what if my good shepherd wants me to go to a greener pasture? It doesnt work that way. All Videos Images Commentaries Devotionals Other Translations Sermons Related Scriptures Podcasts Blogs. We want the Bible to give us clear answers. Quietness Of Spirit . Instead, they should stay in the marriage in which God had called them to Himself. I think it is true in the final analysis that this is not an absolute prohibition of accepting freedom, anymore that verse 18 was an absolute prohibition of circumcision. "So brethren," Paul concludes in verse 24, "In whatever state each was called, let him remain with God." Having discussed the principle of staying in the God-ordained relationship of marriage when you become a Christian, Paul now discusses this principle in two other connections. Playing To Win - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Now I want to start this morning by defining three terms that we will be using. Introduction. God would not call us in Christ to remain in a continually sinful lifestyle or to carry on sinful practices. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. With God! 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. Now obviously, staying in that place in which He called us assumes that it is not an inherently sinful place. Later text clarifies that Paul is not denouncing marriage or forbidding it in any sense. This calling is the Holy Spirit's pull into fellowship with Christ. Use it to obey Christ and thus "adorn the doctrine of our great God and Savior" (Titus 2:10). Or to put it another way: How you do your job is a big part of your obedience to Jesus. In other words, whatever assignment you have been given, the calling of God comes to you at a specific time in the middle of an assignment. It seems wholly out of place between these to say, "If you can gain your freedom, do it." (2) If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast aboutbut not before God. He wrote; For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God (Romans 2:28-29). So, he says in verse eighteen, Gods joy gives us perseverance in the midst of sorrow. His concern is not to condemn job changes, but to teach that you can have fulfillment in Christ whatever your job is. If we translated this really literally, it would go like this, Only to each as God assigned, in the situation in which God has called each thus let him walk.. He showed Zacchaeuas love and mercy; and He even went to Zacchaeus house for dinner. There is no new prophecy, no new words from the Lord, they are already given to us. Many of them had lived very sinful lifestyles. you should give the resounding answer: "His will is that I maintain close fellowship with him and devote myself to obeying his commandments." John Piper Jun 14, 1981. It was a sovereign on purpose; and was guided and arranged by Him for the manifestation of His glory in and through us. The Holy Spirit living in us helps us to walk through life in a new way. 1) God put us here. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? This is my rule in all the churches. Gods call transforms and transcends us, as one commentator writes, in all of the circumstances that we find ourselves in. To seek Godly counsel. But this was not the calling Paul had in mind. Let me conclude now with some practical implications. Do not be concerned about it. We can say in this situation, how can I serve? They would find his favor to be life and his loving kindness to be better than life.. Those are the vertical, the authority, differentials. They were believers who now, suddenly, found themselves married to non-believers. 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. He is radically God-oriented. The Bible tells you to love your neighbor as yourself and that looks different in different relationships. In 1 Corinthians 7:8, Notice how radically different Paul's rationale is for keeping your cultural distinctives than the rationale current in our day. As one commentator, Lenski, writes, Paul is taking the minor idea of these assignments that we have, and he is including them with the major blessing to the call to faith in Jesus Christ.. Likewise, he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) There are times where opportunities present themselves to make something different of our circumstances. Between the top two pieces are verses 18 and 19 where the principle is applied to the issue of circumcision and uncircumcision. You must be white in order to be approved." Were not automatically required to leave our families when we come to know Jesus Christ. In verse 19, Paul wrote, Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing And we should understand that Paul, in saying this, didnt mean that such things didnt matter. Not only that, but this translation does not do justice to all the words in the Greek ("even" and "rather") which come out in the alternative translation: "Were you called as a slave? God left them to remain in that very situation so that they might also have a godly influence upon their children. Do you remember the story of Zacchaeus the tax collector in Luke 19? By: Pastor Jacob Gerber | Series: 1 Corinthians. so it be allowed, having put her away, to marry another. Paul then learned of divisions . Those that He has called to Himself by faith in Jesus were chosen by Him for that relationship long before they were ever born. God had providentially called them from within that particular relationship in order that He might use them as a witness to their unbelieving husband or unbelieving wife. GOD says, I called you in the middle of an assignment that I had given you, you just werent aware of my presence in that. 17 Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. Never mind." We know this not only because of the exceptions Paul allowed to his principle here in 1 Corinthians 7 (cf. Once we are made new on the inside, things begin to change on the outside. Let him not seek circumcision. Why is this? Yet he realized that was the greatest joy that he had. Now we need to see how Paul applied this principle in his day, and what it means for us today. Once the person came the sign gave way to a reality. John 7:1-13, 40-52 Study Guide: What's the Deal with Jesus? In other words, in communion with God this would secure their contentment and happiness. 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. Then and only then may circumcision (as Paul implies in Romans 2:25) and other cultural distinctives become beautiful, in a very secondary and derivative way as expressions of the obedience of faith. Let's read 1 Corinthians 7:1724. 7 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: "It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman." 2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. Again, Gods calling intersects whatever people groups you were born into so that you dont have to join a new one. To what degree should the outside be changed? Paul then wrote a letter to the Christians at Corinth warning them "to have no company with sexual sinners" (1 Corinthians 5:9), but that letter has been lost to us. Sometimes we think of calling in the sense of vocation, but the word calling as Paul uses it has to do with Gods effectual calling. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity. 3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. In Corinth, there was a grave danger facing a girl who had reached the age of marriage. 1 Corinthians 1:1-17 - God Calls Us to Unity - Study and Obey And to give you faith to believe that Jesus became a human being for us and for our salvation, because he lived the perfect righteous life that was required of us and died the cursed death of sinners that we deserved in our place. Thats because its a manifestation of Gods providential work in our lives. This was meant for all of Gods people in Christ. There is no clear objective rule on this. What should we be saying? Preach on topics including unity among believers, immorality, spiritual gifts, the meaning of love, and the certainty of the resurrection. by Alistair Begg. ", John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. Dont be anxious about your assignment in life. Never mind. But it's true. But it may be, as Jesus predicted in Matthew 10:34ff., that the rebellion and unbelief of the unbelieving spouse will turn Christianity into a sword that severs, instead of a peaceful balm that heals. Charles Hodge describes it this way, This would mean to be near God. The fact were urged to stay in the place we were when God called us does not mean that thats where God will always keep us. But having said that in verses 12 and 13, the apostle does allow that, if the unbelieving partner deserts the believing partner and wants nothing more to do with the believer, then the believer is not bound forever to the relationship. Bible > 1 Corinthians > Chapter 7 > Verse 17 Library Free Downloads eBibles 1 Corinthians 7:17