Articles
Abide In The Calling - 1 Cor. 7:24
Abide In The Calling - 1 Cor. 7:24
The gospel was preached to all classes of people: single, married, slaved, free, moral and immoral.
Paul’s emphasis here is that they do not HAVE to change, it is not a prohibition against change. Yet, in some areas such as already married, they were NOT to seek the change of becoming unmarried! In other areas, such as slavery, while one was acceptable unto God BEING a slave, it was OK to improve the situation by becoming free.
That takes us to the idea of immoral situations. Yes, there are situations of life that are immoral, and such MUST be changed when one obeys the gospel. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
Being called unto God while a slave did not demand changing one’s situation of slavery. Being called while a fornicator, drunkard, or other things on this list in chapter 6, DOES demand a change. To apply the admonition to abide in the situation (condition – NASB) of verse 24 to immoral relationships is wrong. Being ‘washed, sanctified, and justified’ did not change immoral relationships and situations into morally acceptable ones.
Hugh DeLong
