After a busy weekend I am playing catch-up, so there will be at least one more post with multiple chapters. It's nice that it's easy to catch up and stay on track with this format.
1. What stood out to me from this chapter?
Chapters 7 and 8 of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians address some specific questions the church had for him after he had left their company. Although we don't even know the exact questions, we can guess pretty closely by his answers that they had to do with sexual immorality and how it relates to marriage, circumcision versus uncircumcision, and eating food that was sacrificed to idols. Interestingly enough, these would not have been questions for Jews under the old covenant law of Moses. It was clear: DON'T DO THOSE THINGS! But Paul is saying a few things in these chapters. Jesus came to fulfill the law of Moses and the old covenant because we couldn't. In doing so he also brought about the new covenant, which didn't totally do away with the law. Rather we are now freed from the demands of the law, so that eating food sacrificed to idols is now nothing, and circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing. The important thing is that we are preaching the gospel of Jesus and putting as few stumbling blocks in the way of our brothers and sisters as possible. Paul compares this to a race and says that we should "run in such a way to win the prize."
2. How does this relate to any other Scripture I know?
In Jesus' famous "Sermon on the Mount" which is found in Matthew 5-7, we hear something very familiar concerning the law and the new covenant. Jesus says, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matthew 5:17) He is essentially telling us that we are no longer bound by the old law, although the law is still there to guide us. Throughout the new testament we see passages that help us see in many ways which parts of the old testament laws are not important anymore. Colossians 2, for example, lists several examples of the kinds of laws that no longer bind us - circumcision, rules regarding eating and drinking, rules regarding specific religious festivals or Sabbath days (think of Jesus healing on the Sabbath), and rules about what is okay to touch (ceremonial uncleanness). From Hebrews we read that the old covenant system of priests and sacrifices were basically fulfilled and no longer binding, since Jesus is our eternal high priest and our perfect sacrifice. However, that doesn't mean that all old testament laws don't still have authority over us. Many of the laws were more about morality and God's design for life, including worship of God alone, sexual purity in marriage between man and woman, stealing, murder, lying, envy, etc. These laws are all re-emphasized in the new testament by Jesus, Paul, and others as being important guidelines that are forever in place by God.
3. What does this mean for my life?
I was personally moved by Paul's desire to share the gospel to all people. 1 Cor. 9:22-23 summed it up, "I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings." Paul relates to people, doesn't consider himself worth more than others, and find ways to make the gospel personally relevant to different audiences. His hopes is that some (many) would believe in Jesus and be saved. I especially noted how Paul used to word "all" three times to describe his efforts and then the word "some" to describe the response of his listeners. He knew not everyone would receive the gospel message of Jesus Christ, but he spent his entire life towards that goal regardless. I want that to be true of me too.
4. What questions do I have about this passage?
In two different sections of chapter 7, Paul advises people not to be married. He suggests it is better for most that they remain single, unless they can't control themselves sexually (then it's better to be married). What is he really saying and what are his motivations for saying it? Was he addressing this specific congregation and the issues of sexual immorality? Would he say the same thing today? It seems that part of it was a belief that Jesus would come back any day, literally, and that because time was so short we should all dedicate our energy 100% to the work of the gospel. However this presents a problem if every Christian remained single. As that generation died off, there would only be unbelievers left marrying and having kids. If he understood that it would be at least 2,000 years, would he have spoken differently?
Those are my thoughts for this chapter. I'd love to hear yours. God's blessings to you and KEEP DIGGING IN!
In Christ,
Dan
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