I.
INTRODUCTION.
A.
In
the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court
life and the pressures of being a monarch.
1.
He
made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be
accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the
monastery.
2.
“Your
Majesty,” said Prior Richard, “do you understand that the pledge here
is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a
king.”
a.
“I
understand,” said Henry. “The rest of my life I will be obedient
to you, as Christ leads you.”
b.
“Then
I will tell you what to do,” said Prior Richard. “Go back to your
throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.”
B.
I
understand that illustration has many denominational overtones—the term
“Prior” was used in monastic orders—but, I don’t want us to lose sight
of the meaning of that illustration.
1.
King
Henry thought it would be wonderful to join a monastery so that he
could serve God and get away from the pressures of the throne.
2.
The
leader of the monastery wisely told him to go back to the throne and
rule where God had placed him.
C.
Paul,
in the text before us this morning, is informing the Corinthians of the
very same thing.
1.
He
says, “Stay where you’re called.”
2.
In so
doing, the apostle informs us of THE PAUSE & THE PATTERN.
II.
THE
PAUSE, vv. 17, 20, 24.
A.
The
fact that Paul repeats his main proposition three times in this one
paragraph illustrates how seriously he takes this mandate. He
says:
1.
“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,”
v. 17.
2.
“Each
one should remain in the condition in which he was called,” v. 20.
3.
“So,
brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain
with God,” v. 24.
4.
Thus,
Paul is saying, “Brothers, before you change the position in which you
were called, PAUSE.”
B.
Each
repetition of this commandment compliments the other, and each adds its
own nuance to Paul’s argument.
C.
What
Paul says here is one reason I really believe that those married with
unbelieving spouses in Corinth were wanting to divorce.
1.
In
the previous paragraph, Paul says, “Stay. Don’t you leave.”
2.
Here,
Paul adds to that argument, and says, “Stay in the condition you were
when God called you.”
D.
Because
this
paragraph
stands in the middle of a discussion of divorce, many
have said that Paul teaches here that we should stay in wrong marriages
if we were in them when we became Christians.
1.
Illustration
redacted.
2.
That’s
not
the appropriate interpretation of this text.
a.
It
can’t be, in the first place, because Paul is not talking about
remarriage in this text—he speaks of being single and of being married,
but divorce and remarriage never enters the picture. The only
time
Paul mentions remarriage, he says it’s sinful.
b.
Second,
if
that’s
the right understanding of Paul’s words, then I’m free to
remain in remain in whatever sin I was in when I came to Jesus.
1)
Was I
in the mafia when I came to Jesus? I’m free to stay there.
2)
Was I
in a homosexual “marriage” when I came to Jesus, I’m free to stay there.
c.
Third,
that
cannot
be what Paul means, for Scripture teaches that if we don’t
have a right to be married to someone, we need to get rid of that
person.
1)
Ez
10:2-4, 19.
2)
Mt
14:3-4.
E.
Paul
instructs the Corinthians to live the life that the Lord has assigned
him, v. 17.
1.
The
KJV says: “As God hath distributed to every man.”
a.
The
idea is almost of God’s passing out different lives to different people.
b.
The
newer translations, therefore, generally chose the word “assign”—it’s
as if a teacher is requiring a report on history, and she says to her
students, “You do a report on George Washington,” “You do one on
Abraham Lincoln,” etc.
2.
God
has assigned us different lives.
a.
He
assigned to Paul a life vastly different than Paul ever
anticipated.
1)
When
Paul was at the height of his Judaism, God called him. The Lord
says
to Ananias, “God, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my
name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.
For I
will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (Acts
9:15-16).
2)
That
wasn’t the life that Paul wanted at that time—he was well on his way to
being an important figure in Judaism and having a nice life—but God
called him and that all changed.
b.
What
does it mean that God has assigned us different lives?
1)
I
don’t think for a moment that this text is teaching predestination.
a)
We
could divorce this text from the total teaching of Scripture and say
that God has determined every facet of our lives—our career, our
spouses, our children, our house, our car, etc.
b)
You
understand that Scripture teaches we have free choice—we could choose
any career, any spouse, any number of children, any house, or any car.
2)
We
need to keep this passage in context.
a)
Paul
is writing about singleness and marriage—he is saying if you were
single when you became a Christian, stay single; if you were married,
stay married.
b)
The
apostle, in this paragraph, also expands that idea to social status:
circumcision and slavery.
3)
What
way can we lead the life God has assigned to us?
a)
We
can use whatever situation we’re in to make a difference for the
Creator.
·
If
you’re a school teacher, can’t you do much to make a difference?
Can’t
the very way you treat your students be vastly different from the way
they’re treated at home? Can’t the example you set be vastly
different
from what they get at home?
·
If
you’re in business, cannot your honesty speak volumes about who you are?
·
What
will you do this week—in the place where you find yourself—to make a
difference?
b)
There
is an old story about Lou Gehrig which fits perfectly at this point.
·
Gehrig
had
been to Mayo Clinic, where he had just been diagnosed with ALS, the
disease that now bears his name.
·
While
at Mayo, Gehrig talked with a little boy named Billy who was suffering
from polio and sitting in an iron lung.
·
Billy
asked his idol if he would hit two homeruns the next time he played for
the Yankees.
·
Gehrig
was
having great difficulty at this point, but he went and did as
promised.
·
On
July 4, 1939, Yankee managers hosted “Lou Gehrig Day” at Yankee Stadium.
·
We
remember that day as the occasion when Gehrig, a dying man, uttered
those famous words: “Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the
face of the earth.”
·
What
you may not know is that just before Gehrig stepped up to the
microphone, Billy caught Gehrig’s eye.
·
Billy
was standing there in leg braces and standing with the help of crutches.
· Yet, he threw off those braces and crutches and ran to Gehrig. It is then that Gehrig, a dying man, uttered those most famous words.
-
Gerhrig
found
a way to make a difference even as his body was wasing
away with ALS. Can we not make a difference in whatever situation
we are in?
III.
THE
PATTERN, vv. 18-19, 21-23.
A.
Paul,
in these verse, provides a pattern, an example, of the principle he
lays down in this paragraph.
B.
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, vv.18-19.
1.
The
one who is circumcised shouldn’t seek to undo the circumcision.
a.
As
you probably recall from history courses, the Greeks exercised nude,
and both the Greeks and the Romans frowned greatly upon circumcision.
1)
Some
Jews, ashamed of their circumcision, tried various surgical and
non-surgical methods to appear uncircumcised.
2)
In
the Intertestamental Period, we learn that the Jews did so: “Some of
the people eagerly went to the king, who authorized them to observe the
ordinances of the Gentiles. So they built a gymnasium in
Jerusalem,
according to Gentile custom, and removed the marks of circumcision, and
abandoned the holy covenant” (1 Maccabees 1:13-15). I know First
Maccabees isn’t inspired, and I don’t mean to imply otherwise, but as a
historical document, it informs us what the Jews were doing.
b.
Paul
says, “If you’re circumcised, don’t worry about it. Just stay
that way.”
2.
The
one who was uncircumcised should remain uncircumcised.
a.
You
know that was a big issue in the early church, as there were always
those who said that circumcision was a salvation issue.
1)
While
Paul and Barnabas were ministering in Antioch, Some men came down from
Judea, and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised
according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1).
2)
Paul
wrote Galatians to combat such heresy: “Look: I, Paul, say to you that
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” (Gal 5:2-3).
b.
Paul
declares, “Don’t let it bother you if you are uncircumcised and some
people come and start saying that you need to be circumcised.”
3.
Why
not be concerned about either circumcision or uncircumcision?
a.
Because
neither
one amounts to a hill of beans.
1)
Yes,
circumcision was required under the OT, but Jesus abolished the
ceremonial law at his death.
2)
Baptism
is
the
new circumcision: “In him also you were circumcised with a
circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh,
by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful
working of God” (Col 2:11-12). Circumcision used to be the
demarcation
line of who was and who was not a child of God, but that demarcation
line is now baptism.
b.
Keeping
God’s
commands is what counts.
1)
Jesus
told us that was the case: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my
Father who is in heaven” (Mt 7:21).
a)
Roger
Staubach who led the Dallas Cowboys to the World Championship in
‘71admitted that his position as a quarterback who didn’t call his own
signals was a source of trial for him.
b)
Have
you learned the harmony, fulfillment, and victory which come from
obedience? Let me encourage you to choose one area where you
aren’t as
obedience as you ought to be and to struggle earnestly this week to
obey.
C.
Were
you a slave when you were 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 slave is a freedman 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, vv. 21-23.
1.
Slaves
shouldn’t
worry
about their slavery, but they could avail themselves of
any opportunities to gain freedom. In the ancient world, slave
revolts
were very bloody, violent, and cruel. Paul, knowing that, says,
“If
your master offers you freedom, take it. If not, stay.”
2.
He
who was called in the Lord is a freedman in the Lord.
a.
This
goes far past declaring that we have freedom in Christ, for there were
obligations that freedman had toward the one who freed them.
b.
Freedmen
bore
the
family name of the one who provided their freedom, he lived in
that home of his patron, he rendered service, and he was expected to
render respect to his patron.
c.
Thus,
because we have freedom in Christ, we have obligations toward him.
3.
The
one who was free when he became a Christian is a slave of Christ—he is
our master, and we are to serve him.
4.
Because
we
were bought at a price, we must not become slaves of men.
D.
You
might be thinking, “That’s great, Justin. But, circumcision isn’t
a
problem in this century, and we’re not slaves, so what’s the point?”
1.
There
are two important lessons we need to learn from this text:
a.
We
don’t need to worry about social class.
1)
This
text is largely about social class in the ancient world—Jews looked
down on the uncircumcised, the Romans looked down on the circumcised,
and everyone looked down on slaves.
2)
Paul
says, “Don’t worry about your social class. You’re in Christ:
that’s what matters.”
3)
Do we
not often worry about our social class?
a)
Maybe
we look around and notice a lot of people have more money than we do or
other people have bigger houses or other people get to mingle with the
riches people in town.
b)
Do
you wish you could move to a high social class, get a bigger house, or
have a fatter bank account?
b.
We
also don’t need to be embarrassed by who we are.
1)
The
Jews were embarrassed by their circumcision.
a)
What
reason did the Jews have to be embarrassed by their circumcision, even
if the Romans looked down on them because of it?
b)
Circumcision
was
a
sign that they were the people of God. Why should we ever
be embarrassed to be recognized as a child of God?
2)
Yet,
we are often embarrassed by such a recognition, aren’t we?
a)
Maybe
we don’t pray in a restaurant so no one will know we’re Christians;
maybe we do whatever our employer asks because we don’t want him to
know we’re Christians; or maybe we hide that identity in other ways.
b)
Brethren,
regardless
of
what this world thinks, says or does, we have every
reason to pick up the badge of Christian and wear it proudly!
2.
I
believe I have told about Polycarp, one of the elders of Smyrna before,
but his story deserves retelling this morning. Polycarp died in
AD
162, and here’s how it took place:
a.
Polycarp
heard
that people were looking for him, and he escaped, but was
discovered by a child.
1)
After
he was apprehended, he desired an hour to pray, which was granted, and
Polycarp prayed with such fervor, that his guards repented of having
taken part in his arrest, but he was carried before the proconsul.
2)
The
proconsul urged him, saying, “Swear, and I will release thee—reproach
Christ.”
3)
Polycarp
answered,
“Eighty
and six years have I served him, and he never once
wronged me; how then shall I blaspheme my King, who hath saved me?”
4)
Polycarp
was
taken
to the steak, where he was simply tied rather than nailed,
for he promised not to move as the flames encircled his body.
5)
After
his death, Christians gathered as much of his remains as possible so
they could bury it.
b.
Brethren,
that
great
man of God could have rejected the name of Christ, but we
remember him as a great man of God because he took up that name of
Christ as a badge of honor!
1)
What
shall we do? Shall we be embarrassed at the name of Christ, or
shall we wear that name as a badge of honor?
2)
Do
you need to come and put on that name this morning?