And turn in your Bibles with me to 1 Corinthians. Told you we're changing everything up today. We'll get back to our slow study through the Psalms in context, maybe in a couple of weeks at our next afternoon service. But just with everything happening, I didn't feel I had the time to do justice to Psalm 78. It's a long psalm as well. But this is a passage that I read recently. It's one that I was talking about recently in a kind of a counseling setting, and perhaps is good for this time of year. A sermon, ultimately, it's about contentment, about contentment. And I don't know if after holidays and all the materialism, people are discontent or, you know, even kind of entering the new year, setting all of these goals, thinking about your life circumstance. Again, some people can struggle with discontentment. And this passage is one, again, that I regularly come back to in counsel, and it's just always a good reminder to us. It's in 1 Corinthians 7, which you normally think of as the chapter on marriage, and it is, we'll talk about that in the context. But in the middle of this chapter, Paul kind of broadens out and makes a broader point that's related to the points he's making about marriage as well. And it's verses 17 to 24 is our passage. So let's read this, we'll pray for God's help and then dig in. 1 Corinthians 7, beginning in verse 17, only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of his circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant or a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. But if you can, gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity. For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise, he who is free when called is a bondservant of Christ. You were bought with a price. Do not become bondservants of men. So brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we do pray for your help. This is a practical and a practical prayer. instructional passage of the New Testament from the Apostle Paul, and we know that its instructions are good for every age, that we all need to hear them. But more than just hearing, let us not just be hearers of the Word, but also doers of the Word. Help us to examine our own hearts, to see where and in what circumstances we might struggle with contentment, and be reminded by the truths of your word and the instructions of your word to submit ourselves to your sovereign providence in our lives and in all things, and to be content and to be grateful. We pray that this passage will help us in that with the help of your Holy Spirit as well. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. The poet John Greenleaf Whittier wrote an interesting little poem way back when, entitled Maud Muller. Maud Muller. And it's an interesting little story. It's a story of a beautiful peasant girl named Maud Muller. And Maud is out working in her field one day when a young judge from a nearby town comes riding by, and the judge asks Maud for a drink of water, they get to chatting, and there's obviously kind of a spark between them. But then he leaves, he has to go on with his business, and Maud begins to daydream about how wonderful her life would be if she were to marry this judge. You know, how many nice things she'd have, how much good she could do with so much money, you know, because he's well off, she's a poor peasant girl. And as for the judge, he goes and he begins to daydream about how much more simple and wholesome and carefree his life would be if he were to marry the peasant girl and live the way that she does. They both go their separate ways. Maude marries a poor, uneducated man. She has lots of babies, she loses her beauty and her wit, and the judge marries a rich, materialistic woman who makes his life miserable. But often, the two think about one another, and they get to daydreaming again. They regret their choices, and Whittier sums up his poem by concluding, you might be familiar with this line, says, for of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, it might have been. If all sad words of Tungurpan the Saddest are these, it might have been. Discontentment with one's situation in life is common. It's very common. Many, many people constantly wonder about what might have been. Even Christians certainly are not immune to this attitude. We're often tempted to think about how much better things might be or have been in our lives if only this or that circumstance had been different. And we can even have those thoughts in not just purely selfish ways, but kind of more pious sounding form. We might be tempted to think that if just a few things were different about our situation in life, that we'd be able to serve Christ so much more effectively. We might be able to keep his commandments more easily. Right, that sounds kind of pious to us. We think maybe if only I had a better paying job, or if only I had a less demanding job. Or if only I were more naturally intelligent, or maybe more naturally outgoing, you know, I have a different personality. If only I had this other gift or strength, or if I had a different personality trait. If only I'd been, again, kind of sounds pious, if only I'd been born into a believing family, you know, or come to Christ at an earlier age. I hear a lot of people say that. I just wish I'd come to Christ. I mean, you understand that, but it can kind of be used as sort of a source of discontentment. That's when God brought you to him. And well, we'll get into this, but you know, all of the circumstances that you experienced before you came to Christ, all of those things might just make, you know, the forgiveness and the peace that you have in Christ all the more sweet now, you know. But we can, again, there are different forms of this kind of discontentment. If only I had a different family situation. or only any thousands of other scenarios were different in my life, then maybe things would be better, even better for me spiritually. Have you ever felt that way? Do you sometimes struggle with feeling that way? That if only God had placed you into even slightly different outward circumstances, that you'd be so much better even about following his will? Have you ever daydreamed about what might have been and been tempted to be discontent with what is. Well, we all have, and we all continue to struggle this, and Paul really is addressing that kind of attitude here in 1 Corinthians 7. 17 to 24, and he forbids us from indulging it. Now, the word contentment doesn't appear here, but this is, in essence, what Paul is talking about, about being content with your outward circumstances, even the circumstances you were in when Christ called you to himself. This section in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians might seem, at first glance, to be a little bit out of place. Again, as we mentioned, the whole rest of chapter seven is all about what topic? All about marriage, right? And there's some interesting passages in here that raise some interesting questions. He's addressing some problems that the Corinthians had concerning relationships between men and women, even within marriage. But throughout this discussion on marriage, Paul has been emphasizing, and he's been coming back again and again to one main point. And that is, remain as you are. He's saying, remain as you are. And you can see how the idea of contentment, it fits in, you remain as you are. You might be tempted to try to change something about your outward circumstances, maybe even for good reasons, but he's in essence saying, as a general rule, just remain as you are, right? He emphasizes this in the circumstances of marriage, right? He says, if you're unmarried, In essence, don't kill yourself trying to get married. Don't become obsessed with trying to change that particular circumstance. If you are married... Well, obviously stay married and perform your duties to your husband or wife, even if you're married to an unbeliever, right? That's what he's emphasizing. If they're content to remain with you, then you remain with them. Don't try to seek to change your circumstance. If you are divorced or widowed, or if you're single, see if you can get along without, well, if you're divorced or widowed, see if you can get along without remarrying, right? This is all the suggestions that Paul is making, the advice that he's giving. He's not commanding, absolutely. But he's saying, in general, just remain as you are. In other words, be content. In all of these various circumstances, Paul's main concern for the Corinthians is they strive to be content with their circumstances and not to become consumed with trying to change their circumstances, not obsess over what might have been. And right in the middle of all of this, in this passage that we just read in verses 17 to 24, Paul shows the Corinthians that this principle of contentment with one's situation in life, of remaining as one is, this principle is applicable in all of life, not just in regards to marriage. He expands on this principle. It really shows how universally relevant it is. And what we find here, then, is a very wise and very practical instruction to all of us. Notice what he says at the end of verse 17. This is what he ordains in all the churches. He's saying, this is my rule in all the churches. This applies to everyone, not just to the Corinthians, but to everyone and even throughout time. Paul makes no secret, really, here of what his main point is in these verses. He repeats it, you might have seen that as we read it, no less than three times in these eight verses. In verse 17, in verse 20, and in verse 24, read those again. Verse 17, only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. Verse 20, each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. And then verse 24, so brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. It's interesting advice. The main point of this beginning, middle, and end three times is that we as Christians must be content with our outward circumstances in life. And to drive this point home, Paul gives three reasons why we ought to be content with our circumstances, with our situation in life. Three reasons. Sounds like an outline, doesn't it? Three reasons why we should be content with our outward circumstances. The first of which is, very simply, because our situation in life is assigned to us by God. It's because our situation in life is assigned to us by God. Now, this hardly needs to be emphasized in a congregation like ours that confesses belief in the sovereignty of God. Right? We do believe in that. But we often lose sight of this. It's a good reminder. We need these reminders. And we see this, especially in verse 17. Again, Paul says, only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. It's a point that he makes. Your situation in life is assigned to you by God. He is in control, he is sovereign, and he has specifically designed your situation for you. Really, as Paul originally wrote this in the Greek, the word each in this verse is strongly emphasized. It's strongly emphasized. Paul is making it very clear that God has a specific and personal plan for each and every individual believer, each and every one of us. There is a life that God has assigned to you, that he has not assigned to others. He's assigned different kinds of lives, different situations to others. Only let each person lead the life that God has assigned to him, to you, and to which God has called you. God's decree, we confess, is specific. It's exhaustively detailed. It includes each one of our outward circumstances, each one of our individual situations in life, and each and every last detail of each one of our individual situations in life, right? It's exhaustive. God is in control of all of it, the timing, everything. and he's assigned a specific situation to each and every individual believer as is. Now, I think this, recognizing this, remembering this truth, puts the issue of contentment with our circumstances, with our situation, into a whole new light. This means that discontentment with our lot in life is ultimately discontentment with God and with God's plan for us, for me. To think that we would be better off, that we might be better able even to serve God if our outward circumstances were different is to think that God's plan could have been better. I mean, it is, in essence, it's to say that God's plan could have been better is to say, in essence, what? That we know better than God. We are smarter than God. I don't think that any of us really want to make that claim. To wish that we had, again, examples, you each know your own hearts and what the situation is that you might be discontent with. To wish that we had a different personality. I sometimes think that, you know, it'd be nicer to be a little bit more extrovert as a pastor. It's one of those, I compensate, but I think as I'm getting older, I'm getting more introverted. And I think especially as one person I think defined introverts versus extroverts, being around other people, does that energize you or does it kind of deplete you? And sad to say, I think more and more I'm kind of on the deplete side with those things. But it's OK. It's something that I can compensate for. I try. But in essence, it's sort of a personality thing. It's not something I could change. And sometimes it'd be nice to be more on the extrovert side. So different personality, or a different family, or a different history, whatever it is, to wish that is to imply that God messed up. that God made a mistake, and further, that we could have done better. These things, obviously, I'm talking about that are outside of our control. Things, again, that God has assigned to us. But if we truly believe what we say we believe, if we truly believe that God is all sovereign and all good and all wise, then we must believe that his plan for each of our individual lives is exactly what it should be. that it is, in that sense, the best possible plan for our lives, even when that includes very difficult circumstances. Think of health issues. Praise God, we don't have in our family major chronic health issues, but how many how many faithful Christians struggle with that? And sure, as each and every one of us gets older, we'll have more of those largely outside of our control. But acknowledge this is the best possible plan for our lives. No one, especially not me, could have planned it any better than God. We must be content with our situation in life because our situation in life has been assigned to us by God himself. But Paul gives us another reason for contentment. And that is, secondly, so first, because our situation in life is assigned to us by God, but secondly, because our situation in life is irrelevant to our true calling. Now, I know that's kind of a strong statement to make, but I'm gonna stick with it, because I think it does kind of reflect some of Paul's language here. That sounds, again, like it might be an overstatement. Our situation in life, again, just general things that are out of our control, situation in life is ultimately irrelevant to our true calling. Obviously, from what we just said, our situation in life or outward circumstances cannot ultimately be considered absolutely irrelevant to our true calling, because each one of those outward circumstances is part of God's plan, right? So it's not, but again, I stick by this language, this wording, because I think it reflects the rhetoric of Paul in this passage. I'm thinking especially here of verses 19 and 21, where Paul says, for neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. Right, and so there's what we call an ellipsis here. Paul has left out some words, and we have to supply them, but they're easy to supply. What's being left out here? For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God counts for everything. Right, that's what he's left out. He's saying, okay, your outward circumstance of circumcision versus uncircumcision, that's irrelevant. really matters is whether you're circumcised or uncircumcised, that you keep the commandments of God. That's your true calling. And then he kind of reiterates this in verse 21. Were you a bondservant, a slave? I don't know why the ESV translates it as bondservant here. Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. He just says if you're a slave when you were called as a Christian, don't be concerned about it. Now, It's might think easy for you to say, Paul. I mean, slavery might have been somewhat different in ancient Rome than it was say in the antebellum South. But, you know, being a slave has never been a desirable condition for pretty much anyone. Paul, saying to a slave, don't be concerned about it. Don't worry about it. Because again, what's the point? Because that outward circumstance that's beyond your control, it's really irrelevant. Just focus on your true calling, which is what? Which is keeping the commandments of God. Which is being a faithful slave of Christ. That's what he goes on to say, right? Even if you're a freeman, you're a slave in Christ, and that's ironically true freedom, as he says, regardless of whether you're free or enslaved in your physical outward life. Here, to use those two examples, Pohl highlights two kinds of outward circumstances that may not seem to be relevant to us in our modern lives, circumcision and slavery. Thankfully, there's no longer slavery, and there's no longer any religious significance to circumcision. But these, why did he pick these two? Why those two issues, circumcision and slavery? Well, those were the two great divides of Paul's time. Right? Those are the two biggest outward circumstances that distinguished one man from another during the first century, in essence, especially within the church. The one circumcision, of course, was the key religious and racial divider, right? Religious, Jewish, and then also ethnic, you know, racial, Jewish versus Gentile. Of course, we know that was a huge matter of division within the early churches. And so Paul chooses that. And then the other, slavery. So circumcision is a religious racial divider. Slavery was the key social economic divider, right? If you were a slave, and there were lots of slaves in first century Roman Empire. And again, we know from church history, a lot of slaves came to Christ and were part of the first church. And some of them, take Onesimus and Philemon, some of them were even enslaved to each other within the church, which is very interesting. But that was a major issue or a key divider, right? Socially, economically, slavery versus freedmen or even slave holding. So a social divider and a religious divider. And again, Paul has been using another issue, too. He's been talking about marriage. That's another example of this. Again, that's the broader issue. I don't know where I was going with that. But again, these types of things, so your marriage situation, your social economic situation, your religious racial situation, all things that, for the most part, are largely out of your control, but they're outward circumstances with which one might be tempted to be discontent. One who is married might wish he were unmarried. Hopefully not. But you see, even sort of a pious reason that's given here, it's, well, okay, you have other worldly concerns that you have to worry about when you have a wife, when you have children. You might think I'd be freer to serve Christ if I weren't married. Someone could even have a somewhat pious-sounding reason for that. Whereas, of course, someone who is unmarried might wish to be married. Some of you might have that desire, unmarried and wishing to be married. Others, someone who is circumcised might wish to reverse his circumcision. I'm not gonna get into it. There were ways of doing that, or at least of masking things. perhaps in order to gain more respect among Gentile acquaintances or something like that, maybe for business purposes. Whereas another who is uncircumcised might be tempted to seek circumcision, thinking it would somehow make him more spiritual or righteous or maybe be less offensive to Jews, might be good reasons for this. One who is a slave, you can easily imagine, might wish that he were free. And each one of these might be discontent with their situation in life, with their outward circumstances, and for some seemingly pious reasons, hoping that a different set of circumstances would enable them to have maybe a more effective witness to Jews or Gentiles, or to live a holy life more easily, with marriage or being unmarried. Right? Okay, it might be easier to live a holy life if I were married, with fewer obstacles, fewer temptations. But Paul basically tells the Corinthians here that whatever the situation that they're tempted to be discontent with, he tells them they can serve God. They can do exactly what God wants them to do, regardless of those outward circumstances. And that's what they should do. That's what they should be focused on. God has placed them in exactly those circumstances in which they live, and they must be content and trust that God will enable them to live for him just as they are. In a very real sense, one's outward circumstances are irrelevant to your true calling. Circumcision is nothing, uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments, that is everything. If God has called you to himself while you're a slave, don't worry about it. That's literally what Paul says. I know it sounds kind of callous. Don't be concerned about it. Don't worry about it. Don't let it concern you. Why? Because your true calling, your true identity is not found in your relationship with other men, whether you're slave or free. No, your true calling, your true identity is found in your relationship to Christ. Verse 22, in Christ, the slave is a free man. And in Christ, the free man is a slave. Because again, true freedom, the freedom that really matters is spiritual freedom, not physical freedom. And true freedom is found, again, ironically, in slavery to Christ. Everyone who is in Christ is therefore both a slave and truly free, no matter what his outward situation. And in verse 23, Paul brings us back to and bases all of this on the gospel. For you were bought at a price. You were bought at a price. What? The sinless and precious blood of Christ. You were bought, you're not your own. You're not in control of your outward circumstances. Christ is. You are his slave. In his death on the cross, Christ redeemed his people. He paid the debt that our sins had accrued before God. He gave his own life in substitution for our lives that were forfeit to God because of our sin. And Paul's point in all of this is again, that no matter what the outward circumstances, no matter whether we're circumcised, uncircumcised, slaves, free, married, single, divorced, widowed, black, white, Asian, Indian, Arab, Hispanic, any other combination of the above, whether we're rich or poor, extroverted, introverted, none of those things can affect our true calling, which is to keep the commandments of Christ, to be a faithful and obedient slave to Christ. None of our outward circumstances can excuse or hinder us from our duty to Christ. None of our outward circumstances can excuse or inevitably hinder us from fulfilling our duty to Christ. Sometimes they might seem like a hindrance to us, our outward circumstances, but none of them is a hindrance to the Holy Spirit. And we're promised, we have the Holy Spirit, all true believers who is always perfectly able to empower us to fulfill our true calling, no matter what our outward circumstances are. In a very real sense, our outward circumstances are irrelevant to this. And so we must be content with our situation in life. Why? First, because our situation in life has been assigned to us by God. And then secondly, because our situation in life is irrelevant to our true calling and to our true identity, slave of Christ, bound to keep the commands of Christ, which is everything. And then third and finally, why should we be content? It's because discontentment with our situation in life distracts us from our true calling. And that's kind of the flip side of the last point, but because discontentment with our situation in life distracts us from our true calling. And this really is Paul's primary concern throughout this chapter. He wants his readers to be free from whatever will distract them from serving the Lord, from living as a Christian should. This is exactly what he states in his broader discussion on marriage. Look at verse 35. which he'll pick up this issue of marriage again. In verse 35, 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. Right, that's why he's writing all of this. He wants to remove distractions to undivided devotion to the Lord. This... Paul's been giving lots of commands, lots of recommendations here to people in different marital situations, but here he states his ultimate goal, that they might serve the Lord without distraction. For some, he argues, marriage would be a distraction. I know that sounds kind of strange to us, but again, You know, we teach here, we see in scripture, some people God has called to singleness, has called to celibacy. And it's for what purpose? So they can focus in completely undivided, devoted way to serving Christ. And marriage, while a good thing, not sinful, not wrong in itself, but for some people that could be a distraction, right? You suddenly, as we said, you have to be concerned about worldly things. more so than if you were unmarried, if you were single. For others, not being married would be a distraction. Paul says, otherwise they would burn with passion, verse nine. And some people are so consumed with their desire to change their outward circumstances that that distracts them from their true calling. To be so discontent, to be so consumed, obsessed with changing one of these circumstances, That's distraction from what you're truly called to be and to do. This is exactly what Paul means when he writes in verse 23, do not become slaves of men. An obsession with one's outward circumstance is a form of slavery. It's a form of slavery. Some people become so discontent so preoccupied with what they consider improving their outward circumstances, they forget what their lives are all about in the first place. We're just serving and obeying and glorifying God. Now, there's an important caveat that Paul makes. This doesn't mean that one can never change one's outward circumstances or can never improve one's lot in life. Contentment doesn't necessitate stagnation. That you can never change. That if you're single, you can never get married. That's not a requirement, you guys are okay. No, you're single, you were called single, so you gotta stay single for the rest of your lives. No. a nice young man, if a nice young lady comes along and you fall in love and they're in Christ and all of that, then yes, you can get married, absolutely. I mean, Paul makes that point with the slave right in verse 21. He says, you know, don't be concerned about it, your slavery, be content where you are. But he says, but if you get the opportunity to gain your freedom, take it, right? You can do that, you can improve your lot in life. But what's his point? It's don't obsess over that. Don't become so preoccupied with changing your circumstances that you forget what you're supposed to be doing, what you're called to be doing, which is to be a slave to Christ, which is to be a faithful servant to Him, to keep the commandments of God, to advance in holiness and be fighting against your remaining sin. That's what you're called to do, whether you're single or married or engaged or whether that situation changes. Say again, the main point, you're not bound to slavery simply because you became a Christian while a slave, but the real point is that whether this person that he's talking to remains a slave or is able to free himself, he is to make sure that he uses whatever circumstances he finds himself in to serve Christ. His focus either way must be on Christ, not on attempting to gain freedom at the expense of serving Christ. And so with us, if we have the opportunity to change our outward circumstances, to improve our situation, by all means, we're free to do so. But we must never be so focused on that that we're distracted from our true calling. If we're single and the opportunity for marriage comes along, you can take it. But whether you're single or married, focus on your true calling. If you're never offered a promotion at work, You ought to be perfectly content with that and focus instead on serving Christ in your calling. But if you are offered a promotion, you're free to accept it as long as that new job or new position wouldn't distract you as well from what is truly important, but still allow you to focus on serving Christ. We're never to become the slaves of men because we were bought at a price and have only one true master. We're never to become slaves of our circumstances. We're bought with a price. We're freemen in Christ, but we have one true master. We must at all times be content with our situation in life because discontentment will distract us from our true calling. The instruction that Paul gives here in these verses is, I think, ever timely. It's always relevant to believers. No matter whether we live in first century Corinth or 21st century San Diego County, we are tempted to be discontent with our outward circumstances, to wonder what might have been, to think that if things were only a little bit different, then everything would be better, everything would be all right. But Paul calls us here to be content, no matter what our situation in life. Because our situation in life has been assigned specifically to each one of us individually by a sovereign and an all-wise God. Because our situation in life is largely irrelevant to our true calling, our outward circumstances are nothing compared to what really matters, our duty to keep God's commandment and be obedient and faithful slaves to Christ. and because discontentment with our situation in life will distract us from that true calling. For all these reasons, we must be content, content to remain as we are when Christ called us, not obsessing continually over changing or improving our lot in life, but focusing whatever might be our circumstances on serving him. And Paul ends this discussion with an implicit promise in verse 24. It's a promise that kind of could easily be taken as a fourth reason to heed his instruction to contentment here. So you get a bonus point this afternoon. But when we do as Paul instructs, when we can learn to be content to remain in that state of life in which we were called, Paul tells us we won't remain there on our own. All alone and lonely as the world passes us by. Now Paul tells us if we are content to remain in our situation in life, we will remain there with God. With God. In whatever condition each was called, therefore let him remain with God. And how can we be discontent if we are with him? no matter what our circumstances, be content, remain with God. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this ever timely instruction, reminders that we need. Father, forgive us when we are discontent, when we grumble, when we complain, when we think that things could be so much better if only some of our circumstances were changed. Again, ultimately what we are doing is complaining about you, about your plan, the life that you have assigned to us. It is to grumble against you. It's to be discontent with you. Father, if we are with you, no matter what our circumstance, then we can be content. We pray that you would write these things on our hearts, that you will cause us to trust in your perfect sovereign plan and timing in all things. and help us to focus, no matter what our outward circumstances, on our true calling and our true identity. We are slaves of Christ. We are bought with a price. We exist to serve and to worship and to glorify you, our true master. Thank you. Thank you for these truths, and again, help us all to put them into practice, even in the coming week. We pray this in Christ's name, for his sake. Amen. All right.