1 Corinthians 7:25-31
25 Now regarding your question about the young women who are not yet married. I do not have a command from the Lord for them. But the Lord in his mercy has given me wisdom that can be trusted, and I will share it with you.26 Because of the present crisis,[i] I think it is best to remain as you are. 27 If you have a wife, do not seek to end the marriage. If you do not have a wife, do not seek to get married. 28 But if you do get married, it is not a sin. And if a young woman gets married, it is not a sin. However, those who get married at this time will have troubles, and I am trying to spare you those problems.
29 But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short. So from now on, those with wives should not focus only on their marriage. 30 Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions. 31 Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away.
One of the challenges of reading scripture is understanding the context of the passage. 1 Corinthians was a letter to a specific group of people at a specific time and it is important to read it as such. It is also important to read it with common sense. For example, if Paul were to say to the people he is writing to, bring me some bread when you visit, it is probably not intended to be a command for us to bring bread when we visit people.
As we continue to read through this letter, understanding that Paul is writing in response to specific questions at a particularly challenging moment in the history of the church. They were under intense persecution and facing challenges on every side. So, Paul councils them to retain from marriage and other similar relationships.
If you take the text out of context, you are left with a con.
Paul is not saying that it is better for everyone to be single.
Paul is not saying that we should ignore our pain and never mourn.
Paul is not saying that we should not have possessions.
He was speaking to a specific church at a specific time.
Of course, the danger is then that we relegate this in the file marked ‘not for me.’ This misses that the whole of scripture is God-inspired and useful for our instruction. Recognising context prevents us from from misapplying scripture and allows us to invite the Holy Spirit to speak to us through these words.
This is what we are doing every morning. Recognising context and asking the Holy Spirit to speak to our today through these words.
