Join me and let's open our Bibles together to 1 Corinthians chapter 7 as we continue our study through this letter, as we wrap up this chapter, our long study of chapter 7. This is kind of the conclusion of a long list of instructions on singleness and marriage. A few weeks ago I told you that This is one of the more difficult chapters in the entire New Testament because there are some really hard translation issues here. Kind of translating some of these words into English and what exactly is the cultural background that he's dealing with? What was the situation in Corinth and how that played out? Some of those things are really difficult to determine. But nevertheless, of course, this is the Word of God. It's given for our good, for our growth, for our edification. And so we're going to do our best with this chapter, but at the same time, we're going to remember that we are dependent upon the Lord and the gift of His Spirit to give us understanding. But we're going to pick up in 7, verse 25. The main point, as we saw last week, is remain in the position where God has placed you. Our circumstances do not hinder our growth in faith. And so with that, Paul now turns to address another group in the church, which are those who are betrothed or engaged to be married. 1 Corinthians 7, verse 25. We'll read now through the end of the chapter. This is God's word. Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. I think that in view of the present distress, it is good for a person to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned. And if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and it would spare you that. This is what I mean, brothers. The appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it, for the present form of this world is passing away. I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly towards his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes, let them marry, it is no sin. But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity, but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better. A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she's free to be married to whom she wishes only in the Lord. Yet, in my judgment, she's happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the spirit of God. It's God's word. Amen. Let's pray again. Father, we acknowledge as we come to your word that we too desire undivided devotion to You. And that so often our hearts are sadly very divided. So often they're divided because our desires lay in the things of this world. Even now, Lord, even during the one hour of public worship, the one worship service the entire week, Lord, so often our minds are divided. with that difficulty of giving you our undivided attention. But Lord, that's why we pray. And we humbly ask that you would sanctify us by your word, your word, the truth. We pray that you would help us to have undivided devotion to you. Teach us what this means. We pray to you, Father, by the Holy Spirit, In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, Amen. Well, there are a few decisions in life that hit us with the weight and the sobriety as the decision whether or not to get married. If you're not married, I'm sure you've given plenty of thought to that. If you are married, perhaps you remember that time before you were married, leading up to that. Whom do I marry? What kind of spouse should I look for? When do I get married? Do I marry this person? Do I break things off? I mean, there are a few other decisions in life that prompt such soul searching. few other decisions in life that lead us to desperately seek God's will. And in light of this, I think you might, you know, it might be easy to find this chapter a little disappointing. It's the longest and most detailed chapter in all of Scripture about marriage and singleness. And yet the instructions are difficult and they're confusing. Part of our nature, part of our sinful nature At times, particularly with issues as serious as this, we just want clear, unambiguous instruction. God, just tell me what to do, right? You've been there before. Please, just tell me what to do. It'll all be better that way. Do I date this person? Do I pursue this person? Do I marry this person? Do I break things off in this person? Who do I look for? Who in my life might be this potential spouse? Lord, is my desire for marriage unhealthy? Is my desire for marriage hurting my devotion to You? Am I discontent being single, even though that might be Your will? So often we long for the Lord to just tell us what to do. Speak from heaven. Write it in the clouds. Give us a sign, whatever it is. At least I'll know it and I can do it. But brethren, you know, that's not how the Lord often works with His children. It's not how the Lord normally deals with us in these types of decisions and situations. Oftentimes, when we think about our own sanctification, the decision-making process is just as important as the decision itself, and we lose sight of that sometimes. God doesn't save us, just... to make us into mere robots where we just mindlessly and thoughtlessly follow instructions. Getting us to obey precisely, you know, to the fullest extent of every instruction that He gives us is not the reason the Lord saved us in that sense. He could easily create and instantly sanctify us to obey in everything instantly. Oh, in Christ, God adopts us as His children. And He is our Father. And when we come to these decisions and some of the biggest decisions of life where there's no right or wrong per se, we're called to pray to Him and seek Him for wisdom. That's part of the sanctification process. We're called to humble ourselves before Him and wait patiently for Him. We're called to entrust ourselves to Him as the sovereign Lord of our lives. And ultimately, in accordance with the image of God, we're called to imitate Him. exercising wisdom. We are called to exercise wisdom in accordance how the Lord exercises wisdom. To make the decision for ourselves, for lack of a better way to put it. So I say this because this is absolutely central to understanding this passage. We're going to be disappointed if we're looking just to find a set of rules and law so we know exactly what to do. Because if you didn't notice when we read this passage, what do we hear over and over and over and over again? Paul's saying, this is my opinion. If you do this or you don't do this, you haven't sinned. I only say this for your benefit, not to put a restraint on you. Let them do what they wish, they haven't sinned. He who does this will do well. She is free if she wishes. It is my judgment that such a person would be happier. We don't get law. We don't get do's and don'ts. We don't get sin and obedience, or even good or evil. Rather, all of this is simply a matter of what is most profitable in relation to that situation in Corinth? What is wise? And how do we exercise wisdom? And if you don't grasp this, you won't grasp the point of the passage. If you don't grasp this, you might walk away thinking, well, marriage is okay, it's not sinful, but singleness is better. That's not the point. Or maybe marriage is good, but only the single can really serve the Lord. That's not the point. Or maybe even, well, my anxiety to care for my spouse is detrimental to my devotion to the Lord. That's not the point. Instead, we see wisdom. Wisdom is the right application of the revelation of God to a specific circumstance. It isn't the law. The law says do this, follow this every time without exception and don't ask questions, right? You never like lay in bed thinking, am I gonna murder my neighbor tomorrow, right? It's clear, God says don't murder. And there's no exception to that. This is not law. This is wisdom applying the law, applying the general revelation of God to the gray areas of life and living in light of that. So that's what we find here, principles of wisdom applied to marriage and singleness. And we are to look at this passage, not one-to-one as if we live in first century Corinth, but we are to look for the principle here, how the gospel shapes our decision-making, how the gospel informs our approach to singleness and marriage, that we might apply it to our own situation. Because really, ultimately, at the end of the day, The point of the passage is that the gospel changes everything. We have a radically new and different relationship to the world and the things of the world, including singleness in marriage, and we are to pursue all things in light of that new relationship that Christ has brought. That's what we see here today. So three points to work through this, and let me just say that whether you're married or single, whether you're engaged, whether you're widowed, whatever it is, the principles here speak to your situation no matter where you're at. So I'll preface it with that, as long as we look at the principles and see that. Three things then, this morning. We see a season of singleness. We see securing undivided devotion. and we see savoring our freedom in Christ. So let's think about, first, this season of singleness. Season of singleness, and we find this in verses 25 through 28. I said before, but we find instructions here to the betrothed, Paul says. And he gives these instructions. He says, no command from the Lord, because the Lord Jesus didn't teach on these things. But Paul's going to teach on these things. He's going to address those who were, of course, engaged to be married, but who are not married yet. In the ancient world, to be betrothed was a big deal. It involved nothing less than contractual obligations between families. And to break off a betrothal, excuse me, to break it off before marriage was pretty much like a divorce. It was a big deal. So I say this because, don't read this as just speaking to single people in general. Most specifically, it's not speaking to singles. It's not speaking to those who simply desire marriage. It's speaking to those who are engaged. And remembering that, also, we need to remember how it all goes back to chapter seven, verse one. The whole point of this chapter, Paul is dealing with people in the church who basically said, it's more spiritual not to have any sexual relations, even if you're married. So Paul turns to speak to these who were engaged, because this teaching in the church was pressuring them. Well, if it's better to abstain from sexual relations, well, then I'm engaged. Should I break things off? Should I remain single? Is that really what the Lord wants? Is that really how I'm going to serve the Lord better? That's what Paul's dealing with. And as he's done all along, he doesn't really dispute their desire to be wholly devoted to the Lord. Neither does he dispute or disagree with how singleness can be very profitable in some situations. But he really wants to get at the root of why they're saying those things. And he wants to undermine that a little bit. And he also, of course, wants to combat the fact that they are forcing their views on others. Remember as a Jew, Paul comes from a background where being married was mandatory for serving the Lord. But now he's facing a church where they're saying remaining single is mandatory for serving the Lord. So he's kind of like, he's combating both of those views. And that's why when I speak of wisdom, some situations it is better to remain single. Some situations it's not. Wisdom. So he's talking about the pros and cons here, and this is clearly seen if we look again at verse 26, where he says, I think that in view of the present distress, it is good for a person to remain as he is. Excuse me. It's good for a person to remain as he is. But why does he say that? What is his reasoning behind that? in view of the present distress. We need to see that there was some sort of pressing distress that the Corinthians were facing. And this is why Paul gives his advice. The problem with that is that we don't know exactly what this distress refers to. There's been a lot of speculation, of course, Some people think that it refers to the tribulations of the end times before Christ's return, and that they're saying Paul thinks that Christ is about to return. Others argue that it's just distress that's common for all Christians in every age. Others argue that it refers to the famines in Greece at that time, because Paul mentions elsewhere the famine and the scarcity of food that was upon them. Others believe that this distress refers to the factions and the dissensions in the church, which we read in the earlier part of the book. Others say it's some sort of other distress in the city of Corinth at that time. We don't know exactly what it is, but I do argue this. As my study and my look at this passage, I believe that he's referring to something either specific to the church or the region at that time. In other words, I don't take this as a present distress that is common for every age and every Christian. I say this because he calls it a present or impending distress. It indicates, I think, something particular to a time period. And I also say this because the advice that he gives is a little bit different when he talks about tribulations in other parts of the New Testament. He gives different advice there, particularly when he talks about the imminence of the Lord's return. He gives different advice in 1 and 2 Thessalonians than he does here. So I believe we ought to interpret this as Paul saying, in light of the troubles going on right now, that you're all aware of, is it really best or wise to add this additional distraction, this life-changing event of marriage, put that on your plate right now? I think that comes out in the next two verses where He says, are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned. And if a betrothed woman marries, she's not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. He speaks of being bound here. He's not referring to marriage in general. He's referring to being betrothed. And when he speaks of being free here, he doesn't just mean that you're single and you're staying that way. It refers to those who are not presently at the moment engaged. And so his point is, if you're engaged, it's not sin to go through with the marriage. And if you're not engaged, it's probably best that you don't seek to get married right now. In other words, I argue that Paul's not giving permanent advice here. Don't seek to be free or don't seek a wife. Don't read this as, well, I'm single. I guess it's not wise for me to seek a wife right now. He's just saying in the temporary situation that you are in right now, It's better that you just stay where you're at. We shouldn't forget just how difficult it was to find a Christian spouse in that day. You know, you think it's difficult now? Well, amplify that by a hundred. You know, if you're only to marry again the Lord, your options are really, really limited. Not only that, but if we look at verse 28 where He rinses this, I would spare you this worldly trouble, That's a word that refers to physical, provisional needs. When a man married a woman back then, he took upon himself the responsibility to provide entirely for her and for any children that may come. And so think about this. If there was a serious famine in the land, if it was already difficult to put food on the table, Paul's saying, are you going to take on another mouth to feed? Think about if it was very difficult to live a Christian life because of a hostile pagan culture. If you are having trouble providing for yourself because you're a Christian, is it really time to get married? In other words, to illustrate, I think this is kind of like, you know, the young man in our day who wants to marry his high school sweetheart and he goes to the bride's father And the dad points out, you got no job, you got no education, you got no stability. As a pastor in that present situation, I would say to such a young man, hey, this is no time to propose to your girlfriend. You need to remain as you are in light of your present situation. That's what Paul is saying here. And yet he's quick to say, OK, if you marry, it's not sin. But I do seek to spare you worldly troubles. I want what is best for you. I don't want you taking on this marriage to add another burden to your plate right now when things are so difficult. And this is a loving pastor. He doesn't bind them with rules. He doesn't throw his weight around or his authority. He doesn't make the decision for them. He just says, consider what is best, consider what is wise, consider what is appropriate for your situation. And brother, I think there's a lot of wisdom here in our own day, for our own situation. We live in different times, but marriage was arraigned back then. We married for love. We live in a fairly stable society where it's not impossible to find a godly spouse, even if it is difficult. And yet, think about some of the things we face in our day. It's nearly impossible in our day for a family to survive on one income. That's a factor. It ought to be a factor. We live in a society that's growing more and more hostile to the Gospel. It might be just around the corner. A situation where, as a Christian, it might severely hinder your ability to hold down a decent job. We live in a day where marriage is under attack in the sense of the sexual revolution going on and the expanding of marriage to mean all these other things. These are issues that we need to consider and that we need to work through when we consider marriage and singleness. Again, we're not talking about sin and obedience, but we are talking about what is most profitable, what is most wise, what is most fitting for the advancement of the gospel. The principle here is the fact that in the gospel, it's not just about what you want. I hate to break that to you, but it's true. The gospel, if it has invaded your life, it is a call to the Lordship of Christ. And God has given you higher priorities than just what you think that you want, just what you think you deserve, or your plan for your life. But that's not something that binds you and it's a burden. That's something that frees you if looked at through the lens of Christ. The gospel frees you to set aside your own desires for the good of others and the good of the church. And so in light of that, Paul says, I advise a season of singleness as a matter of wisdom, a temporary hold on seeking a change in status because of your present distress and situations. And I think such times and situations can be fitting for us as well when wisdom is properly exercised. But secondly, he now broadens this to apply it to the entire church. Secondly, he seeks to secure their undivided devotion. His goal, to secure their undivided devotion. This is found in this middle section, verse 29, all the way down through verse 35. We know he bronze it because in verse 29, he mentions brothers. This is what I mean, brothers. He's signaling here that this is a principle that applies to everyone, whether you're betrothed or not. He says, this is what I mean. What do I mean? The appointed time has grown very short from now on. And then he lists a number of things related to this life, concluding with the present form of this world is passing away. What does this mean? The time is short. Well, in our day, we live entirely by the clock. And I can see a clock right back there on the wall, reminding me of what time it is. It's on my phone, it's on my iPad right now, it's on my wrist. We live by the clock. We always know what time it is. We always know how many hours are left in the day, how much time we have left to do what we need to do. You're thinking right now, you know about the time when I'm supposed to finish, right? You know what is an appropriate sermon length. We live by the clock in our day. And so it might be easy to think that the time is short and to put that into 21st century Western ideas. That's not exactly how Paul uses the phrase here. And that's not how they looked at time. Paul isn't saying here, well, the world is about to end any day now. So you don't really have the time. You don't have enough hours. You don't have enough days left to marry or mourn or rejoice or buy or sell. No, he's using this phrase to communicate in the sense that the end of the ages is upon us. The theological term would be that it's an eschatological statement. In summary, basically, the monumental event of Christ's death and resurrection has happened. And so on the prophecy timeline, there's nothing left for God to do before the consummation of all things. And that's what the imminence of Christ's return means. Right? That we know that there's nothing left before the end of all things. And the kingdom of God is breaking into this age right now, and this present world is passing away. So again, the point is not look at the clock and see how much time you have left. Rather, the point is, don't you know that in the gospel that we have eternal life? Our life here, even if it's 80 or 90 years, it's infinitely short compared to eternity. That's what he means by the time is short. No matter how long you live, don't you know, it's so brief. It's like a puff of smoke in the wind. It's a call for them to live in light of eternity. If you only live 80 or 90 years, and that's a long life, and you order everything in your life in relation to that 80 or 90 years, what a fool you would be, because eternity lasts forever. The present age is passing away. He's calling them to see how the future changes how we live in the present. How our eschatology, our understanding of the consummation of all things to come, how it informs our ethics in Christian living. And that's his point here in why he lists these things. He's saying, don't cling too tightly to the things of this world. Whether it's money or possessions, whether it's happiness or sorrow, whether it's marriage or singleness. It's all temporary. It's all passing away. Your time to participate in these things is very short, so don't let them dominate your heart. In this sense, everything that he lists is lawful to enjoy, but we were never to cling to these things. We were never to allow the worldly, the things of this world to rule and dictate our life. You've heard it said before, don't let the things you own end up owning you. Well, that's what he's kind of saying in relation to marriage as well. The crucial question for your soul is not just whether you're single or married, it is, where's your heart? Is your heart set on the things of this world? even things that are legitimate, not sinful, like love and marriage? Or is your heart set rightly on the things of the age to come? And that's applying wisdom. Again, not law, do this, don't do this, but it's ensure that you are orientating your perspective and your priorities toward what really matters. That's what we heard earlier in Matthew chapter six, laying up treasures in heaven. Why would you lay up treasures where moth and rust and thieves destroy rather than lay up treasures in heaven where you will enjoy them for all of eternity? That's what he's saying. Be smart, be wise about the time is short here, the time there is for all of eternity. So this is how he seeks their undivided devotion to the Lord. And verse 31 through 35 really brings that down, brings that home because his goal ultimately is, as we see in verse 32, I want you to be free from anxieties. That's the point. Whatever else we say about these verses, he wants the church to be free from anxieties. Not a matter of sin or obedience, not about right or wrong, but I want you to live free from anxiety because when you're free from anxiety, you're fit, you're in a better place to devote yourself to the Lord. So he says in verse 32, the unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. This is a negative statement, by the way. He's stressing about the fact that the unmarried, the betrothed, they are stressed about whether getting married or staying single is what really pleases the Lord. Again, I said this earlier, don't we all go through this at one time or another? Lord, is it your will that I get married? I'm not sure what to do. I'm not sure what your will is. Well, Paul's pretty casual about this. He's pretty casual in saying, look, if you have an eternal perspective, you won't be burdened by the anxiety of that question. Even if you get married, yes, it's a weighty decision and it has consequences for the rest of your life, but even still, your life is short. Whether you get married, whether you marry the right person is ultimately not what matters in light of eternity. And if you're in Christ, the Lord is already pleased with you. You don't need to sit around being anxious and stressed about indifferent things, whether they make the Lord more pleased with you or less pleased with you. Marriage or singleness is not going to change the pleasure that the Lord has in you because you are his child in Christ. A trivial illustration of this might be if we get really anxious, so whether we have chicken or beef for lunch today and I didn't look at what's on the menu so I don't know what's but like asking the question if I have chicken is the Lord gonna be upset but if I have beef maybe he's gonna be more pleased I'm gonna have to enjoy his favor Marriage, of course, is a lot more important than what we have for lunch, but I hope you get the point in the sense that Paul is saying, look, that's not really what matters. Don't be anxious about whether being single or being married is more pleasing to the Lord. To be anxious or preoccupied with concern over worldly matters like marriage is to lose an internal perspective. He applies this then to the married in verses 33 and 34. The married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. Now, we need to be careful so we don't read this as saying, well, being single is better because it gives us undivided devotion to the Lord. Because that's not the point. That's not why he says this. His point is that he doesn't want anybody to live in anxiety. And he's saying being single brings anxieties, and being married brings its anxieties. The single man is anxious about whether being married or single pleases the Lord, and the married man is anxious both about the Lord and about worldly things, how to please his wife. Neither position where there's anxiety is best. And he says the same thing about the betrothed and the married woman in v. 34. The point, the fact of it is, verse 35, I say this for your benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. Exercise wisdom. What will secure your undivided devotion to the Lord? If you're betrothed and you're anxious about the decision, or if you're married and your interests are divided, I want you to be free from anxiety and to promote your undivided devotion to the Lord. Your decisions are not bound by commandment, but in wisdom, in what prompts good order, in what secures the undivided devotion to the Lord, that's what I want you to place at the top of the list as the highest priority. So yes, being single in a time of present distress will make it easier to serve the Lord with undivided attention. If we're in a time of persecution or famine, if we're in a place where God might call us to just leave house and home for the sake of the gospel, the unmarried are in a better situation to just drop everything and go serve the Lord. But that's applicable only in a specific situation. And that's why wisdom is needed. And that's what he calls for here. Calling the church to live with singular, undivided devotion to the Lord. Calling the church to remember that we are heirs to the age to come. Calling the church to live in light of the fact that we are in the world, but not of the world, so we don't cling too tightly to it. Calling the church to live free from anxiety. The anxiety of worrying what place in life is better to please the Lord. The place where He has you. the place where he has you. That's the best place for you to serve the Lord right now, today, the place that he has you. So, brother, wisdom doesn't seek what we want first and foremost. It seeks the best avenue for securing our undivided devotion to the Lord, given our present situation and circumstances. Well, this all then comes to a conclusion in our third and final point. He ends by encouraging them to savor their freedom in Christ. Savoring our freedom in Christ. We see this in the end of this chapter, verse 36 through 40. Just as a side note, it'll say that Verse 36 and verse 38 are notoriously difficult to translate from Greek into English. There's just a lot we don't know. And I don't think there's anything wrong with saying that. The ancient church often interpreted this as speaking to parents, like to the father of the betrothed, because one of the verbs here changes, and it's often translated as giving in marriage. But I don't think that's the case. That violates the context, in my opinion. I don't really believe it matters whether he's talking to the betrothed man himself or whether he's talking to the father of the betrothed woman. The counsel is essentially the same. But the counsel is, in verse 36, because some were in the church pressuring the engaged man not to go through the wedding, It led to some of them not behaving properly toward his betrothed. It was unfair to a woman, especially back then, to waver or back off an engagement. And so Paul's calling this out. If there's a man wavering, that's not acting properly towards those who are betrothed. Some were saying, don't get married, and yet the man's passions are still strong. And that's why his advice is let him do as he wishes. Let them marry. It's no sin. Don't force them into an opinion. Don't let others place anxiety on you whether marriage or singleness is more holy. Don't let others tell you what to do in matters of indifference as if one is more pleasing to God than the other. And the criteria, verse 37, whoever is firmly established in heart, being under no necessity, having his desire under control, and has determined in his heart to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. Firmly established in his own heart. Let the man make his own decision. He has desire under control. He has pure motives. He is determined in his heart. He's not under compulsion. He's not enslaved to the opinions of others. He's not just doing this because somebody told him to do it. That, Paul says, is good. That is good. Whether you marry or not is less important than living free from anxiety and living for the age to come and living in devotion to the Lord. And that's the freedom that we have in the gospel. The Christian life is about the heart. It's about the motives. It's about our perspective. It's about our desires. And at least when we're talking about things that are not sin. And so he concludes in v. 38, so then, he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better. One is well, and one is better. Not because inherently, singleness is better than being married. Not as a permanent statement on the state of singleness in marriage, but because the situation of present distress that he's dealing with, their surroundings, their place in life, What was going on? One is better than the other. And Paul doesn't shy away from saying and giving his pastoral wisdom in that. Then he wraps things up and wraps up the entire chapter in verses 39 and 40. He comes back again to the main problem where some were advocating divorce on the grounds that it makes people more spiritual. And that's why he says again, A woman, a wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. You can't divorce because you think it's better not to have sexual relations or you think it's more spiritual. If her husband dies, she is free to be married whom she wishes only in the Lord. In other words, it's all a matter of wisdom with the exception that believers are called to marry other believers. And yet in my judgment, she's happier if she remains as she is. Why does he say that a widow would be happier staying single? I'm not exactly sure. I don't think we know that because we don't know the situation there in Corinth. I do know that's not permanent advice because in first Timothy chapter five, he encourages widows to marry. So whatever the reason he thinks that they are happier by remaining single, It has to do with their present circumstance and not as a permanent abiding principle. Nevertheless, all of these things come now to remind us ultimately the freedom that we have in the Lord under the gospel. And we see in this respect the wisdom that Paul calls them to. But even still, I want to conclude by reminding you Even though this is wisdom, that's far different than saying that we can just take it or leave it as we will. The Lord gives us these principles for a reason, and we are to take them to heart. You know, we live in a day where the Roman Catholic Church has taken this chapter to say that singleness or celibacy is a higher spiritual plane, and it makes us more holy and allows us undivided devotion to the Lord, unlike the married life. And that undoubtedly goes against what Paul says here. But at the same time, can't we as Protestants come back sometimes and make marriage the norm? Can't we look at the unmarried with suspicion? I mean, I'm familiar with churches that won't even consider a man for the eldership unless he's married. That's undoubtedly against the scriptures in this chapter too. For some, in some situations, being single frees them up from distractions to serve the Lord. But you know what? And this is my experience. And maybe your experience too, if you're married. But being married, rather than distracting me from devotion to God, marriage has helped me be more devoted to the Lord and to serve him with singularity of heart. In ways I don't think I could being a single man. Would things be different? Would I bear witness to something different if we were under great persecution? Probably. But don't miss the point in this. No matter where you are at right now, the gospel has given us a radically new and different relationship to the world and the things of the world, and we are to pursue all things, even marriage, in light of eternity. So the question is, where's your heart? Where's your trust? Where's your confidence? Where are your priorities? Are you content? And the promise is, I think it's best stated as the hymn goes. If you turn your eyes upon Jesus and look full into his wonderful face, the things of earth, even marriage, will grow strangely dim in light of his glory and grace. God gives us these principles and He has you where He has you right now because He loves you and He wants what is best for you. If you trust Him, if you trust Him, you will do well. May God give us the grace then to trust Him today. Amen. Let's pray.