WWUTT 1528 Come As You Are Called (1 Corinthians 7:17-24)

Were you a slave when you became a follower of Jesus Christ? Well, then you're the Lord's freedman. Were you free when you became a follower of Christ? Then you're Christ's slave when we understand the text.

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Paul’s Instructions to Remain in the Condition You Were Called

Thank you, Becky. We come back to our study in 1 Corinthians. It's been over a week, but we're gonna pick up where we left off last time. We're still in chapter seven, and I'm gonna start today by reading in verse 17 to verse 24 out of the Legacy Standard Bible.

The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. Only as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches. Was any man called when he was already circumcised?

He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing. But what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.

Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called. Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it. But if you're able also to become free, rather do that. For he who was called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord's freedman.

Likewise, he who was called while free is Christ's slave. You were bought with a price. Do not become slaves of men. Brothers, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called. And that statement that we have right there came up three times in this reading.

It's in verse 17. As the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. And then we have it in verse 20. Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called.

And then verse 24. Brothers, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called. Do you think Paul has something to say here? Now keep in mind, our context in chapter seven is with regards to marriage.

Those are the bookends. We start with Paul talking about instructions regarding marriage, and he's gonna finish that way. Because when we come back to chapter seven next week, and I pick up in verse 25, he's going to give advice to the unmarrieds and say because of the distress that's about to come upon us, talking about a persecution that's gonna arise against the church, he says, not as a command, but as a matter of wisdom, it would be better for you to remain single and not get married.

We'll talk about that when we get to that section next week. So the first half of chapter seven, or the first portion of chapter seven is, if you're married, don't get unmarried. The last portion of chapter seven is, if you're unmarried, don't get married.

What we're looking at today is this middle part. And this is in the context of the instructions that Paul has been giving regarding marriage. Now this looks like an interlude or a rabbit trail. Like Paul has gone off on this other thing for a few verses, and then he's gonna come back to the subject of marriage.

But let's understand the reason for this. So in 17, he says, as the Lord is assigned to each one, as God has called each in this manner, let him walk. And again, this is right after he said, if you're married, don't try to get unmarried.

Even if you're a Christian and you're married to an unbeliever, if your unbelieving spouse consents to live with you, then don't try to leave your unbelieving spouse. But if they leave you, and it would probably be in a context of, they just hate Christianity.

They hate that you're now a follower of Jesus Christ and a baptized member of his body. So they're gonna abandon you and leave. That's kind of a persecution. And so Paul says, if that's what's gonna happen, then just let them go.

He said in verse 15, the brother or sister is not enslaved in such cases, but God has called us to peace. So now we have in verse 17, only as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner, let him walk.

So if you're married, remain married. Don't try to get out of your marriage. Even as Paul is gonna give this instruction later on about remaining single if you're unmarried, he's sure to say that you should be committed to this covenant of marriage that you are in.

And then Paul gives a couple more examples. So we have married and unmarried. We're going to look here at circumcised and uncircumcised, and we have slave or free. See, there's nothing about your condition or your social position that needs to change in order to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

Now, when you hear the gospel, you hear the good news that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, rose again from the grave, ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God, is coming back again to judge the living and the dead.

And whoever believes in him will not perish under the judgment of God, but we will have everlasting life. Your sins are forgiven by faith in Christ. When you hear that good news, the Holy Spirit has worked in your heart to believe it, and you have become a Christian.

Your orientation has changed by the power of the Spirit that is in you. But there's nothing about your social status, your standing in the culture or society or anything like that, that you need to adjust or change in order to become a follower of Jesus.

There is a change that needs to take place. The Spirit does that work. You've been brought from death to life. You must no longer submit your members to unrighteousness, but you submit your members to slaves of righteousness, as Paul talks about in Romans 6.

There is definitely a change that happens. But your status in the culture or whatever context, social context in which you live, those things do not need to change in order for you to become a genuine disciple or a follower of Christ.

Now, you may have a job that might be wicked, and then you hear the gospel and you realize, well, I can't do that job anymore. As a follower of Jesus, I cannot in good conscience continue to make money off of this job that I have.

That could be something as extreme as working as a prostitute or in an abortion clinic, or you could be an atheist, working for some sort of atheist organization. I can't do this anymore, so I have to resign.

Could be something like that, or it could just be that you work for a job that has very unethical practices, and you recognize now as a Christian, I can't continue to do this job anymore. I have to quit.

So something like that may take place, but you don't have to do that to become a Christian. That's a work that the Spirit is gonna do in your heart. You don't change your social standing in order to become a follower of Christ.

Jesus calls us to follow him in various contexts in which we are, in various contexts that we are in, and we don't have to change our position in those contexts in order to be a follower of Christ. So were you married when you became a Christian?

Then stay married. As long as your spouse consents to be with you, though your spouse may be an unbeliever, then continue to remain married. And as Paul says here in verse 17, he says, I direct this in all the churches.

This is an instruction that extends to every church, not just talking to the Corinthians in their context. So in verse 18, was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised.

Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised. Remember what Paul said to the Galatians. He said, if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

That's Galatians 5, 2, and 3. He's talking to people who think, well, in order to be a good Christian, then I have to be circumcised. And Paul is saying to them, if that's what you're gonna do, obeying the Jewish law to become circumcised, thinking that you can only have salvation if you do this, then Christ is nothing to you.

There's nothing about Christ as savior to you if you think that you still have to do something else in order to gain or earn that salvation. It is not by our works or our keeping of the law that we are saved.

It is only by the work of Christ, his fulfillment of the law and the prophets, his dying on the cross for our sins, by faith in him, we are justified. There is no work that we do. As soon as you start saying, well, I also have to do this, this, and this in order to gain salvation, then Christ is of no use to you.

As all you have to do is your works and then you're saved. It is not by our work. It is faith and trust in Christ alone. So there's nothing inherently wrong with getting circumcised and there's nothing wrong with remaining uncircumcised.

But if a person is gonna get circumcised because they think, hey, I just gotta make sure I have all my bases covered. Better for me to enter heaven circumcised than uncircumcised. Well, then they've neglected the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice.

They've put it off and have said that it wasn't enough. I also have to have this happen. Paul says in verse 19, 1 Corinthians 7, 19, circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Neither one counts for anything.

So do it if you want or remain uncircumcised. What matters is the keeping of the commandments of God. Well, wait, that's interesting because circumcision is the commandment of God. God commanded the children of Israel to be circumcised.

So how does Paul tell the Corinthians here, circumcision accounts for nothing. What matters is the commandments of God when circumcision is a command of God. Well, because as it's plainly stated here, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matter at all.

If you're circumcised or uncircumcised, that does not improve your standing before God. It is Christ. And the commandment now is put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And it's by faith you are saved.

Abraham was a model for this even before Christ came. He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. As Paul says in Romans chapter four. So Abraham's faith was his righteousness. And that's the commandment that you believe on him for your salvation.

This is a commandment of God. Now, even though there are certain commandments and laws that have passed away, those ceremonial laws, the dietary laws, circumcision laws. And Paul is saying here, all those are gone.

We're gonna talk about dietary laws a little bit later on. Even though certain laws that were given to the Jewish people once upon a time, even though those laws have passed away, there are still commands that we are to follow.

So as Paul says, what matters is keeping the commands of God, you still have to obey. And the first commandment you obey is repent and believe the gospel. That was how Jesus began his earthly ministry in Matthew 4 .17, in Mark 1 .15.

The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. Those are commands we obey. And it's by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to respond to the gospel in that way, in a matter of obedience, that we turn from the world to Christ, putting our faith in him.

And so we are saved. God said through the prophet Ezekiel, in Ezekiel 36, I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. That begins with responding to the gospel.

And then we follow the commands of Christ as we grow in sanctification, according to his word. So there's instructions here. There are commands for us to follow. There are so many that take that passage out of Romans 6 that says we're no longer under the law, but we're under grace.

And they just, that's like the only Christian verse that exists in the Bible. I just walk in grace for the rest of my life. I can sin, my friends can sin, my family can sin. As long as I believe in Jesus, then it's all okay.

Well, no, as Paul will go on to say, well, I mean, he's already said it there in Romans 6. If you're looking at the full context of Romans 6, a person who's walking in sin like that is demonstrating that they don't have the grace of God upon them.

If they truly have God's grace, then they're not going to be judged by the law because the requirements of the law have been fulfilled in Christ. And it is Christ who is our salvation, who is our justification.

If we have the grace of God, then we will walk according to God's commandments. We're not judged by those commandments, but we demonstrate that we have God within us when we walk according to his ways as stated in his law.

If you walk in sinfulness, then you show that you actually don't have the grace of God. It's not continuing in sin so that grace may abound. Paul says, by no means. How can we who have died to sin still live in it?

So if you're still living in sin, then you're showing you're not dead to it, that you really haven't been brought from death to life if you're still walking in dead, dirty things. So this is not, it is never permission to continue to walk in wretchedness.

There is indeed a way that we are to go. And that is according to the commands of God. Jesus said to his disciples in John 14, 15, you will show me that you love me when you obey my commandments. And John would say later on in his first epistle, we show that we are the children of God when we obey what he has commanded.

The instruction to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. These are commands. And Jesus said all the law and the prophets hinge on these two commandments.

So what matters is keeping the commandments of God. We demonstrate that we're children of God when we walk according to his commands. Again, the commands don't save you. Faith in Christ, that is our salvation.

By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. But then you show that Christ has indeed transformed your heart and made you a child of God when you walk according to God's commandments.

The commands don't save you. They show that you're saved. Verse 20, each man must remain in that condition in which he was called. Paul says, were you a slave when you were called? When you were called by the spirit to turn from sin to righteousness?

Paul says, don't worry about it. If you continue as a slave the rest of your life, you're not doing anything wicked or sinful, nothing that would condemn you before the judgment seat. But Paul says, if you are able also to become free, do that.

Purchase your freedom, walk in freedom. Don't become a slave of man. Verse 22, for he who was called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord's freedman. Likewise, he who is called while free is Christ's slave.

This is one of the things I love about the Legacy Standard Bible is it is translated that word doulos into slave. So many translations have tried to avoid that word slave because of the stigma that exists, especially within our American context.

That stigma exists around the world. It's not just in the United States of America concerning our history, the slave riddled past that we have. But anywhere in the world you go and that word slave is just kind of taboo.

We want to stay away from it. We don't want to think of people as being slave or free, but you have to serve somebody. You're either a slave to Christ, you're a slave to Satan. If you're a slave to Christ, you're actually free.

You're set free from the bonds of sin and death and corruption. And we are free to worship God and enter into his glorious kingdom. Paul says here, if you were called in the Lord while a slave, you are free.

And if you were called while free, you're a slave, a slave to Christ. It's a beautiful paradox, but it's something to rejoice in. A good man that I met at G3 this past week, good because Christ has made him good.

His name is Buddy. I'm going to give him a shout out on Twitter this coming Friday. He asked me to be his Friday follow. Well, like when I put on Twitter, hey, my Friday follow is this guy. Okay, Buddy is going to be that guy.

Anyway, he was wearing a shirt that had Duloss on it. I knew exactly what that meant. And I commended him for that. Hey, that's not a popular thing to wear. And he said, it certainly is a conversation starter.

But he has this shirt on that says Duloss means slave. And he's able to share with people that I was once a slave to sin, but I've been set free. And now I am a slave to Christ. We rejoice in that. We're not ashamed of it.

I am delighted to be Christ's slave for it's in Christ. I know that I have been set free and have become a fellow heir of the kingdom of God with him. Verse 23, Paul says, you were bought with a price.

Do not become slaves of men. Now we've seen that before, haven't we? It was in chapter six, right at the end. Verse 20, before we moved into these instructions about marriage, that Paul said, for you were bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body.

Verse 23, you were bought with a price. Do not become slaves of men. There's another way that we can apply this particular passage, and I'm going to come back to it on Friday. We're almost done with the lesson today.

So I'm not going to spend time considering 1 Corinthians 7 .23 today, but I am going to talk about this more on the Friday Q &A. Okay, so that's coming up this Friday. Be sure to tune back in. We say tune in when it's a podcast.

You're not like tuning a dial. It's not like grabbing a radio frequency out of the air. Anyway, that's what I'm used to because of my background in radio. So that's what I'm going to say. Tune in again on Friday.

You were bought with a price. Do not become slaves of men. Verse 24, brothers, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called so that you don't put your faith or your trust in your condition to be your salvation.

You're putting your faith and your trust in Jesus Christ. If you are married when you come to Christ, remain married. And remember, you know, again, to those who are married to unbelievers, Paul's assurance to them is you're not doing anything wicked just because you're married to an unbeliever, and your children are not condemned because you're married to an unbeliever.

Your children are holy. Paul had talked about that earlier. That was in verse 14. They've been able to hear the gospel, and your children likewise are walking in Christ. So your children are not damned or condemned.

They're not in danger because you're married to somebody who is an unbeliever. So don't leave your unbelieving spouse thinking you have to do that to protect your kids. Remain in the condition in which you were called.

If you are uncircumcised, don't try to get circumcised thinking, well, I have to do this in order to be saved. We know the Judaizers were convincing the Galatians that they had to be circumcised in order to have a true, genuine saving faith.

And if you're a slave, you're not unsaved. Christ calls slaves. In fact, we are made slaves of Christ. The person who's a slave is the Lord's freedman. And he who is called while free is Christ's slave.

So there's nothing about your status that you need to change in order to become a Christian. But whatever needs to change about us is a work that the Holy Spirit does in our hearts. As I said in the very beginning, there is a change that must happen.

You've probably heard it said, and this has been spoken about in American Christianity in particular for a long time. It said, come as you are. You've heard that, right? Come as you are. Don't try to change yourself, come as you are.

Now that's true. To come to Christ, you can come just as you are. You don't change something before you come to Christ. I've had many conversations like that before. Somebody saying, well, I have to do this first and then I can become a Christian, or I can't return to church until I take care of this.

And I will say to them, you need to come now because if you continue to repeat that and you think that you do need to accomplish that before you start attending church again or before you come to Christ, then what you're saying is that you have the power to fix yourself and you don't.

Come as you are and Christ is the one who fixes you. So that saying is definitely true in that sense, but it's not true that you remain as you are. You come as you are, but you don't stay as you are. If you stay as you are, well, the power of Christ is not truly within you, but you come as you are and Christ will change your life.

He will raise you from the dead. He will turn you from a child of unrighteousness to a child of righteousness, from one who lived in sin to one who desires to do the good works of God, obeying and keeping his commandments.

And this all happens by the transforming power of Christ and the power of his spirit that lives within us. So walk according to God's commandments today that we have here in the Bible. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the good work that you are doing in our lives and I pray that you continue to do so.

As Paul said in Philippians 1 .6, I am confident of this that he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it at the day of Christ. So continue this work, making us into the image of Christ.

May we find ways today that we resist temptation and we walk in righteousness to the praise of your glorious grace. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Program Sign-off and Weekly Schedule

You've been listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Gabe will be going through a New Testament study. Then on Thursday, we look at an Old Testament book.

On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and viewers. Tomorrow, we'll pick up on an Old Testament study When We Understand the Text.