I invite you to take your Bibles this morning, turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 7. We're going to be looking this morning at verses 17 through 24 as we continue to work our way through 1 Corinthians on these Sunday mornings. If you have not brought a Bible with you this morning, our passage is found on page 955 in the pew. The Bible's in front of you, and the Purah's in front of you, so I encourage you to take that out and read along, follow along with us. This entire chapter, as we've seen over the last couple weeks, is devoted to the theme of marriage, divorce, and singleness. One and three are good, Paul says. Two is bad. Marriage and singleness are both good. Divorce for unbiblical reasons is not right. We've already seen in this passage. Now Paul here in verses 17 to 24 does not deal with marriage or singleness. He's actually going to come back to those topics in the following verses in chapter 7. addresses two other topics, and yet this passage right in the heart of this chapter is crucial to Paul's argument. In fact, in many ways we can say his basic argument here is at the heart of his argument in this entire chapter, 1 Corinthians 7. So hear God's word as I read it to you this morning. 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 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 slave when called? Don't be concerned about it. But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself the opportunity. For he who was called in the Lord as a slave is a freed man of the Lord. Likewise, he who was free when called is a slave of Christ. You were bought with a price. Do not become slaves of men. So brothers, in whatever condition each was called, let him remain with God. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever. Let's go to him in prayer. Our Father, how we thank you for your word that teaches us who you are and what you require of us. How we thank you, O God, that we as your people have indeed been bought with a price, with the death, the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. who has redeemed us from our sins and made us Yours. So, God, we pray that You would help us as those who are united with Christ by faith to follow in Your ways. Give us the grace to do that today. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. When I was younger, true confessions, I was a Bruce Springsteen fan. That is, any of you younger people are saying, who? But that's all right. I believe that he is one of the greatest entertainers that we have ever seen. Thoughtful, music, music that was memorable, that drew you in, a hard-driving rock beat. He was pretty amazing on the stage. I've had the opportunity to see him on stage many times. actually throughout my life. One of the things that set the boss apart, as he's called, was the thoughtfulness of his music. We could call it a kind of working man's poetry. He appealed to the working class, and there was a certain thoughtfulness to it that mostly revolved around a kind of restlessness that people have. And he appealed to this restlessness. Maybe he fostered a restlessness in some, but he used songs like, Everybody Has a Hungry Heart or We Are Born to Run. But he also used a number of biblical imagery in his songs as well, things like faith and hope and love, but there was one continual theme that marked many of his songs, the continual search for the, quote, promised land, the promised land in many of his songs. To my knowledge, he never found the promised land. He never found the one who can give to rest to the restless heart as another, maybe we could call A rock star of his own age, Augustine, the theologian and the bishop, put it, the heart is restless until it finds its rest in God. And many, much of what we see in the world today, much of what we see and hear in pop culture, in movies, reflects a kind of restlessness. A striving after something, a striving for something that they think is going to bring a sense of rest and a sense of peace, but it never does. It just makes us long more and more for what does bring true rest and true peace. But this restlessness is not just for unbelievers. It's not just found in unbelievers. In fact, really much of what we see here in 1 Corinthians reflects a kind of restlessness on the part of these Corinthian believers. We deal with many of the same struggles that they deal with, a kind of worldly philosophy or a worldly ambition. that we strive after to try to satisfy worldly desires. And yet these worldly desires, even when attained, never satisfy. And Paul is addressing that here in this passage in 1 Corinthians. This restlessness, this going after something that we don't currently have, which is okay in some circumstances, but we'll get into this more as we move along. But Paul is speaking to us here, all of us here, in this passage, written for believers, written for us. You notice that three times in this passage, at the beginning, right in the middle, And at the end, verses 17, 20, and 24, he basically repeats the same thing. 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. Verse 20, each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Verse 24. So brothers, in whatever condition each was called, let him remain with God. Remain in the situation where God has called you. Be content, in other words, where you are, where God has called you. Now let's turn, we actually were just in this passage Wednesday night, so those of you who are there on Wednesday night, so you're there this previous Wednesday night, bear with me, we're going to go back to Philippians chapter 4. Turn with me to Philippians chapter 4. If you're using the Pew Bible, this is on page 982 in your Pew Bibles, 982, Philippians 4. We're going to look at verses 11 to 13, and then we're going to actually look at a few earlier verses in Philippians. Paul says in Philippians 4 beginning in verse 11, not that I am speaking of being in need for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Now as we saw on Wednesday night or the last few Wednesday nights actually, we see here a number of things that Paul teaches us about being content or contentment. One of the things we see in Scripture is that contentment is actually required. It is commanded. Paul doesn't explicitly do it here. He kind of implicitly does here, but elsewhere we see it, the command to be content. with what you have, Hebrews 13, 5 for instance. It's also inherently in the 10th commandment, do not covet. And if you read through our Westminster standards discussing the 10th commandment, you'll see this word, contentment, contentment, contentment, all through it. To not covet means to be content with what God has given to us. Now the hopeful thing here is Paul says contentment is attainable. We can attain contentment. Seemingly impossible task for us. We can attain contentment. Paul has. And why can we do it? Because Paul has. Well, Paul says, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Again, recognize here that though we sometimes take that verse and put it up on our refrigerators, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Most of you cannot then take that refrigerator and lift it up. In context, this is referring to acquiring this virtue of contentment. We can do it. God strengthens us to do it. We have to learn contentment. It doesn't come naturally. Paul says, I've learned the secret. I've learned to be content. It doesn't come naturally to our sinful human heart. And one of the things we need to relearn is that how we achieve contentment is different from the way the world says gain contentment. The world says if you're in a bad situation, you're unhappy in your current situation, get out of it. The Bible says be content in it. There might be nothing wrong with seeking a new job if your job is a bad one, but our first response is to be content within it. And then we also see here from Philippians 4, 11 to 13, that Paul. says to us that he has learned to be content in every situation, which for us is the challenge. He says, in plenty and in want. Our response is what? I'll take plenty, but don't give me want. I can be content over here, but I can't be content over here. Learning contentment means that we're content in every Nelson Rockefeller, again for you young persons, think maybe the Bill Gates of today, was once asked, how much money does it take to make a person happy? And his response was, just a little bit more. That's the way we are. What's going to make you happy? a little bit more, just something a little bit different. Jeremiah Burroughs in his classic work on contentment, I highly recommend to you the rare jewel of Christian contentment, uses the illustration of children up on a hill. And they see on another hill that the clouds are over that, and so they go down and they run up, hoping that they'd be able to reach the clouds and touch the clouds. And when they get there, they can't touch the clouds. And they see the next hill or the next mountain, and they go to that one to touch the clouds, and they can't touch the clouds. That's the way we often are, going after things that we think are going to satisfy, and they never do. Turn back briefly to Philippians chapter 1, where Paul says in verses 12 and following, he's writing here from prison. And he says, I want you to know, 112, that what has happened to me has served to advance the gospel. He recognizes God's absolute sovereignty over his condition. God is sovereign. That helps him to have contentment here in this imprisonment. And if you turn over to chapter 2, he says, verse 14, to the Philippians, do all things without grumbling or questioning that you may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world. Do all things without grumbling or questioning or your Bible might read grumbling or complaining that you may be blameless and innocent. Our contentment, our lack of grumbling is essential to our holiness is what Paul is telling us here. We need to pursue this. virtue, this biblical command of contentment. The word that Paul uses here in verse 14 about grumbling is actually a word that is used in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, over and over and over again to refer to the Israelites grumbling in the wilderness. murmuring in the wilderness. And God brought plagues on them. God brought death on them. They longed to go back to Egypt. Oh, if only we could go back to Egypt. Forgetting the hardship there, their complaining, their longing to go back would be like an ex-convict saying, oh, how I long to go back to prison. We used to have these wonderful feasts there and drink big bottles of wine. It's a false memory. That's what these Israelites wanted. But you know, interestingly, They were in the wilderness without a steady supply of food and drink. And God brought judgment on them for their grumbling. If we put that in perspective, our grumbling is ridiculous. Now, let's come back to 1 Corinthians 7. Notice what Paul says here, how he ends this passage in verse 24. So brothers, in whatever condition each was called. Let him remain with God. He doesn't just say remain there, remain in that situation. He says remain with God. What's the implication of those words? It means God is there with you in that situation. God has put you in that situation. Remain with him. Don't run away from him. Don't run ahead of him. Let God do the work, but remain with God where you are. And of course, God is there to hear your prayers in the midst of your trials and in the midst of your difficulties. I love Jeremiah Burroughs' definition of Christian contentment. This is actually printed for you in the bulletin this morning in the announcement section. Or he says, Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit which freely submits to and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition. Every condition. Now Paul actually gives two examples or two areas of restlessness and discontent in this passage this morning. And the first is The example of religion, religion. We see this in verses 18 and 19. He says, first of all, in verse 18, was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. If you're already circumcised, don't seek to be uncircumcised. Don't seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Yes, historically there was a surgical procedure to remove the marks of circumcision. Why would people do this? It was actually well known in Jewish circles in the Diaspora, that is outside of Israel itself, who are out among the Greco-Roman culture. If they wanted their boys and young men in particular to be taught and trained in the best schools out there, those schools were associated with a gymnasium. And what happened in the gymnasium in the Greco-Roman world? Boys would not only learn in the gymnasium, but they would work out without clothes on. That was the standard in the ancient world. Well, and when you're without clothes on, you can tell who is the Jew and who is not the Jew. And so there were Jews who would seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Maybe Paul was saying here, and maybe the question is, once we become Christians, does that mean we should give up signs of being a Jew? We're no longer Jewish. We no longer worship in the synagogue. We're no longer directly tied to that community. Should we give up the signs? Paul also says, in verse 18, Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision." Again, the question might be if we become Christians because Christianity is so closely tied to Judaism. Jesus was a Jewish Messiah, does that mean now I need to become a Jew? Should I now be circumcised? These would be religious questions. that would be asked. But what does Paul say? Neither count for anything. Neither really mean anything in terms of your religious standing. But notice what he also says here in verse 19. Neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. Now you say, wait a minute, Paul, circumcision was a commandment of God. It goes back to Genesis 17, the commandment given to Abraham. We see it repeated in Scripture. It's a command of God. What do you mean keeping the commands of God? This is one. And what Paul is saying is there's a clear distinction between the moral law and the ceremonial law. That's what he's bringing out here for us. The Christian is not under the ceremonial law, circumcision, food laws, etc., etc., but we are called to keep God's moral law. So here's a place where Paul says, be content in your current religious standing. You know, religion is oftentimes a cause of discontent today. There are many Christians who, especially we can perhaps say in broadly evangelical circles, who, as Paul says in Ephesians chapter 4, are blown by every new wind of doctrine. Earlier in this century, we've seen the rise of the charismatic movement, which was big at the time for many. We've seen the health and wealth gospel. It's still out there. Don't do it, but Joel Osteen, I'll just say a name. The health and wealth gospel about 30 or so years ago. The seeker-driven movement in churches where church services basically became entertainment. More recently, the Hebrew Roots movement. follow the rabbi, etc., blown by these new winds of doctrine. It's often in religion where we see the most change, the most shifting among Christians today. Some show it in their constant moving from church to church. not happy in one, move on to another. The problem with that is when we move on to another, we really take the root of our problem with us, and that is us, our unhappy and discontented heart. Pastors sometimes use the expression or say the words, rolling stones. Just keep on rolling. Now I'm treading on dangerous ground here because many of you have left another church to come here. Let me say there are good and legitimate reasons for leaving one church and going to another. So it's not always bad to move from one to another, and I don't have time to get into that this morning. But what are our deepest inclinations? Are they to settle and serve? Or do our lives just reflect a constant movement simply because we're not happy in our current place? Second area that Paul addresses here is social status, religion. social status. Isn't that also a cause of discontent for us in our world today? Here he specifically addresses slave and free in verses 21 to 23. Slave and free. A large part of the Roman world were slaves. Estimates run from anywhere from 50% to 75% of the Greco-Roman world were slaves. It was a common part of the world in Paul's day. Many people, in fact, sold themselves into slavery. This does not make slavery good or right. And even in Paul's day, Even with people selling themselves into slavery, there was still a social stigma. Many slaves, they weren't working necessarily on The plantation, like we might think of it from our own history, they were out working with businesses. They were out about the town. They were actively involved in doing their master's work in the community. But there was always this social stigma of being a slave. Maybe a certain social stigma even in jobs today. Or if you're at this level, you're looked down on, but if you're a little bit higher, well, people tend to smile at you more or treat you better. What does Paul say in verse 21? Were you a slave when called? Don't be concerned about it. Don't be concerned. Remain there. But notice he says, if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity. If you have the opportunity to gain your freedom, go ahead and take it. Many slaves in the ancient world actually became wealthy, and they bought their own freedom. Or other people bought it on their behalf, or sometimes slaves were just let go. So note here, it is not an absolute requirement to remain in our current situation. So we need to be careful as we think about this passage. Paul says, whatever situation you're in, remain there, be content there, but that's not an absolute requirement. If God opens another door, it's okay to go. And there might, in fact, be good reasons for you to go and to change. But it needs to be the right reason. It needs to be a good reason. Jack Higgins, the spectacularly successful fiction writer. was once asked, what one thing do you wish someone had told you when you were just starting out as a writer? And he answered and said, I wish someone had told me that when you get to the top, there's nothing there. When you get to the top, There's nothing there. A restless ambition never satisfies. Wherever we are, Paul says here, we belong to the Lord. You were bought with a price, as he says in verse 23. So what is our ambition? It is to serve Christ, the one who loved us. The one who died for us, the one who gave himself for us. Are you a slave? You are the Lord's freed man. You have been set free, Paul says here, from slavery to sin, to death, to Satan, to a guilty conscience. Are you free? You are the Lord's slave, he says. We are here to serve the Lord. This is the Christian's ambition. Stay where I am, Paul. Stay where I am. That doesn't sound very ambitious, does it? To the world, it's probably not. But our ambition is to serve Christ wherever He puts us, wherever He calls us. to find our joy and our contentment there. Let's pray together. Our God, how we thank you that you have bought us, that we belong to you. We say with the hymn writer, whatever you, our God, ordain is right. And so, O God, we pray that You would work in us that contentment that is pleasing to You, that we would pursue that holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Given us, O God, a kind of restlessness in our own walk with You, that we would want to and desire to know You better, that is the only proper kind of discontent in our lives, striving after you, pursuing you, knowing you. So work that in our hearts, O God, even as you give us rest and our other circumstances of life. May you be worshiped. May you be glorified in all that we do. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.