1 Corinthians 8

1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge.[1] Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But the man who loves God is known by God.
4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
7 But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.
9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.

8:1 - Knowledge, almost the entire world seeks this. It's one of the most highly coveted, not things, but objectives of life. To gain knowledge. I had once thought this, but after reading a lot of theorectical physics stuff, I realized that none of it was worth knowing. I knew all this physics, but it did me no good.

8:2-3 - People think they know everything, but if they're not known by God, what's it all matter? It matters not. You can look at the evolutionists and all the other "thinkers" of the world. These people are so highly regarded, why? Because of this knowledge that they have. But they still don't know God, so all of that stuff in their head is meaningless. They're just going to go to Hell and burn like everyone else. Those that loves the Lord, is known by Him, and will be saved.

8:4 - Idols and the "gods" that people worship should not be feared. For we have the one mighty God on our side. It is a righteous anger that burns within Him. It is this righteous anger that will destroy them. So instead of fearing the wicked and their gods, have mercy on them. For the only life they'll know is the one they have here on earth. Isn't that sad? Look at where they live. Look at the way they live. The have nothing and have even less to look forward to.

8:5-6 - Oh wonderful Christ, for whom has saved me from the fist of thy wrath. Hold me close in your arms of precious Father, I am nothing without you. Remember not my sins and have mercy on me, a wretched sinner. Praise and glory be to your name for there is none like you.

8:7 - We don't know where people are in relation to their idols. We must respect that and not stumble them. If someone was addicted to alcohol and you drink in front of them, you are tempting them.

8:8 - It's not the act of fasting that brings us closer to God, it's our attitude of fasting and comming before Him that brings us to God. We are to have broken hearts and contrire spirits, the rejection of food is mearly the outward manifestation of those heart conditions.

8:9-10 - This applies to all that we do. Whether it be alcohol, smoking, counter-strike, we are to live with discernment. Those that are weak, like me, will slip into these temptations easily.

8:11 - It's not enough that they have sinned, it is because of you that they fall into these sins. Carry yourself lightly brother or sister and be weary of all that you do in front of others. You have more of an impact on them then you think.

8:12-13 - A lot of times we don't even know what our brothers or sisters stuggle with. We don't know what they can or can't handle. That's why we must be extra careful when we are around people we don't know.

1 Corinthians 7

32 I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs--how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world--how he can please his wife-- 34 and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world--how she can please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.
36 If anyone thinks he is acting improperly toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if she is getting along in years and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. 37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin--this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does even better.[2]
39 A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. 40 In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is--and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.


7:32-34 - This is why it is better to be unmarried. I can understand why people do want to get married. They don't want to be concerned with the things of God, but instead, want to please their spouse. Unfortunately, marriage is about pleasing one self. Just look at the divorce rate. 50% of all marriages end in divorce.

I see the issue that arises once someone is married. Sure, that marriage can be used to glorify God, but the focus of one's life cannot be truly given up to the Lord, in terms of service. Why is this? Because you now have to take care of your wife. You have to take care of your kids. Sure the Lord is still important in your life, but you have other responsibilities now. This isn't to say you can't do crazy things, like Jim Elliot, but your wife must be like minded towards that task.

Even still, the man or woman debates and struggles over pleasing God and pleasing his wife. I know it would seem easy, please God, but we don't always see it that clearly when we love our spouse as Christ intended it.

So should i stay single? I don't think I can. I "burn" with too much passion. It is better for me to be married. I also see marriage as a gift from God. But it is also a blessing to those who stay unmarried. They have the privelege to devote their entire lives to Christ and His works. I don't know if I would be able to do that.

7:35 - This isn't by any means a law, like the way the Catholics have turned it into. You can see the fruits of taking the word out of context. Here, you have these priests that are obviously "burning with passion". I'm not saying that I know anything about them or their true motives, but I think it would be better for them to have been married.

7:36-37 - What does Paul mean by "improperly"? Could this be referring back to the earlier verses of sexual immorality? Possibly. Maybe it's not sex, maybe its just foreplay. I don't know what Paul means by this. But since the man is acting this way, he feels that it they should be married. Is this so that he doesn't "burn with passion" or is it because the man feels bad for what he's done?

At the same time, Paul talks about this guy who's made up his mind. Made up his mind about what? Is this the man who is not driven by feelings? One who has decided to give his whole life in devotion to the Lord?

7:38 - In the end, both are winners.

7:39 - Marriage is binding, it lasts for the lives of both parties. Even when the husband dies, she must find another believer if she wants to marry. I know this seems a bit dogmatic, but i think the scripture is not only the law, but it's good advice too. Whether this verse is a law or not, i don't know. I think that if the Church followed every word of the Bible, or at least tried to, the world would be a completely different place.

7:40 - So it is better for someone to stay unmarried.

1 Corinthinas 7

17 Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. 18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts. 20 Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. 21 Were you a slave when you were called? Don't let it trouble you--although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22 For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to.

7:17 - It's so easy to say that we want to do what the Lord has assigned us to do. To do what He wants. That's if we knew exactly what he wanted. A lot of times, we look at him with those blank puppy dog eyes. What? I don't understand. I think we go about it the wrong way. Instead of just doing, we think too much. We're too busy trying to find out what He wants. Sure this is improtant and we should go to Him in prayer, but that doesn't mean we should do nothing in the meantime. I say live by faith. If it will please God, do it.

7:18-20 - If you were in a particular situation or circumstance, you shouldn't actively change it. You should be where you are until God tells you to go somewhere else. I think this answered my question about YG vs CCF. I'll stay at YG until the Lord specifically calls me to CCF. This doesn't mean that I won't serve CCF in anyway what so ever. I just won't take a huge role.

Ah, praise the Lord for giving me an answer so quickly. Even though this doesn't spicifically tell me where i should go, it does tell me that i show stay at YG till I'm enervated or till he calls me elsewhere.

It's so easy to get caught up with human reasoning and human insight as to lose perspecitve and sight of the Lord almighty.

7:21-22 - I think back to when I finally gave my life entirely to Christ. I looked at my life, I looked at all that I had been doing. The schooling that I was going through. It all seemed so worthless and pointless to me. Now that I look back, I'm glad I stuck with Computer Science.

So many times it's my own personal desires that drive me, rather than the will God and my love for Him. Even now, it's hard to fully obey Him. I can only remind myself: "We're not called to be perfect, just try to be."

7:23 - Men will tell us what to do. They'll tell us what they think based on what they see in our lives. What they see in the world around them. We are not slaves to them, we do not have to obey them. Not that they are really our slave masters, but it's the idea that we don't need to seek the same things that the men of this world tell us to.

Like money, so many people are always telling us, "Go make some money" "Go do something with your life". They don't see that this is our life. There's nothing else out there that can compare to the life I have here or now. Men don't understand the joy or the love that we have. For the things of God are foolishness to men. It's kind of sad really.

7:24 - Don't listen to men. Don't let the world try and pull you away. Don't be distracted by human philosophies or human thoughts. Rather, stay where you are. Do what the Lord has called you to do until your role there has been completed. Then the Lord will call you elsewhere and you will go.

I really lost this perspective in the past few months as I've lost touch with my Lord. Now that I've taken a few steps closer, I can see a few things more clearly. Although I should be worried and stressed by what's about to come in the next few weeks, I'm doing fine. I know that the Lord has it all in His hands.

1 Corinthians 7

8 Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. 16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

7:8 - Why is it good for them to stay unmarried? Yesterday, Paul talked about the various things about sexual immorality. Could this be a continuation of that? In the previous verses, it was stricly addressing those who were married, now Paul is addressing the unmarried but with the similar issues.

7:9 - Is this the role of marriage: To give an outlet for our passion? I can really wonder if it would help to be married. I know at times I "burn with passion", a little too often in fact. Is is right to marry for that one purpose? I don't think it's a problem with scripture, rather, it is an issue with the way we see and value marriage. Marriage has become like some sort of contract or agreement. Sure there's that aspect of marriage, but a real marriage should be a covenenant, something sacred and can not be broken.

7:10-11 - What's the difference between separate and divorce? In this context are they the same thing? I would think that when Paul was writing this, if he intended for them to mean the same thing, he'd use the same words. I think they mean the same thing to us. Back in those days, women didn't have much rights or abilities to do anything. If she wanted a divorce, she couldn't get one. Instead, all she could do was leave her husband. This is probably why Paul makes the distinction.

The wife is not aloud to remarry and the husband is not aloud to divorce her. This gives good insight into how God sees marriage. It's not something that can easily be broken. It's not something that can be destroyed by a few words or a piece of paper. As Christians, we should stand firm against divorce. This is an issue that is stated clearly and absolutely in scripture. There's only one circumstance where divorce is allowed, and that's in repeated and habitual adultery.

Why is this issue so important? Because we should be lights unto the world. We should not be of the world and we should stand fast with what scripture says. A lot of the human thoughts and justifications seem fair. Like if someone's in an abusive relationship or this or that. There's that human tendency to say that they are better off somewhere else. Do we know that? Do we know for certain? We don't. We just think we do.

7:12-13 - I think this was more of an issue in the past when being a Christian was a dangerous thing. Now adays, it's so easy and so comfortable to be a Christian that this may notbe applicable. I think when Paul is talking about this, he is not talking in such a way to discourage them, but to encourage them. Since being a Christian was so difficult back then, the husband or wife that became a Christian wold go through a lot of sufferings. The husbadn or wife would want to divorce out of caring for their spouse rather for any other reason. Paul tells them the opposite. If the spouse is willing to live with them, they should stay together.

7:14 - Sanctified, in the process of being made holy. By being a Christian, the husband or wife would be an awesome testimony to not only their spouse but to their children as well. We see that God loves children in every way shape and form. He knows how devastating divorce can be to them, probably more so today. There's not only the emotion damage but the mental damage as well. I never went through a divorce, so i couldn't possibly imagine what it was like to suffer through that.

7:15-16 - The spouse would probably want to leave because of all the suffering that they experienced. The believing husband or wife would try to hold on to the relationship in order to save their spouse. But we don't know for certain if they will be saved or not. Only God knows and only God can do it.

This verse might be taken and used to argue missionary dating, but i can tell you right now, it doesn't work. It's one thing to be already married and then become a believer, it's another to be a believer and then marry a non-believer. We may try to say to ourselves and justify ourselves with the idea that they will believe, but God tells us not to do so. Not to mention just the shear experiences that missionary daters have.

1 Corinthians 7

1 Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry.[1] 2 But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

7:1 - Why is it good for a man not to marry? I always saw marriage as an emulation of our relationship with Christ. By getting married, we are preparing ourselves for the day when we are Jesus's bride. I can see how there are some advantages to not getting married--if not advantages, good reasons not to. Some people are just not suitable for marriage. What ever the various reasons may be.

7:2 - Is the question of the sexual immorality within the marriage? If it is within a marriage, I can understand the need for having "his own wife" and "her own husband". This would be a clear message against adultery. If this message was for the unmarried, I think it would be addressing fornication and the need to marry because of it. This may be counter to many people's views on marriage, but i feel that the reasons people marry today are not always the best. They come together on a whim, while they're still flying high on their emotions. As a result, once the honeymoon is over, their life crashes.

Marriage isn't about liking someone. Nor is about about being happy. It's about love. Not affection or esteem or friendship. All of these things can develope later on.

7:3 - These duties, are they the vows that were spoken at the wedding? Or are they biblical duties defined in scripture. It's obvious that there are certain roles that the husband and wife must fulfill. How has that changed in our post-modern society? There has been such a shift towards a feminine free specific society, we may have destroyed these roles, thinking that any traditional portrayal or role of the woman was supressive and confining.

7:4 - The one-flesh relationship. When man and woman come together, they become one flesh. Not only in a sexual way, not only as offspring, but spiritually as well. They should now think as one, act as one, and do as one. I wonder how the world would be different if everyone was a Christian and read this verse. There would no longer be divorce, adultery, abuse. It would be a much better place.

7:5 - What is Paul saying when he says "deprive"? What should we not deprive each other of? Is it of each other? In the previous verse, Paul talks about belonging to each other. And before that, he talks about sexual immorality. So if we make the logical connections from verse to verse:

It is better not to be married, but because of the sexual immorality, we should be married. When we are married, our bodies belong to each other. Because our bodies belong to each other, we should not run off and just have a fling with anyone we want. Since this is all about sexual immorality, the "deprive" should be talking about sex or some sort of relationship, maybe about just seperation, like a business trip or something. Unless both can dedicate a good portion of time to prayer, because if they don't, Satan will tempt them. Because we lack self-control, we may get with other people because of Satan's temptation.

So deprive is talking about either the act of sex, the relationship, or just physical seperation.

7:6 - What does Paul mean by "concession". Is he reluctant about his statements to the corinthians? Or is he granting them this right instead of as a command? I think Paul is speaking of this in a reluctant tone because this message has been about sexual immorality. He's not giving it to them as a right, but reluctantly giving in to what they want, but giving them guidelines to follow first.

7:7 - Was Paul unmarried? Did he have the gift of selebacy? We can only infer these things from the passage. Paul sees that not everyone can be like that. So he encourages them by lifting up each individual's gifts from God.