Live the Difference
DON’T LOSE YOUR ASSIGNMENT!
I Corinthians 7:17-24
Have you ever noticed that some people are never content?
John was working as a short-order cook at two restaurants in the same neighborhood. On a Saturday night, he was finishing up the dinner shift at one restaurant and hurrying to report to work at the second place, but he was delayed because one table kept sending back an order of hash browns, insisting they were cold. He replaced them several times, but still the customers were dissatisfied.
When John was finally able to leave, he raced out the door and arrived at his second job. A server immediately handed him his first order.
"Make sure these hash browns are hot," she said, "because these people just left a restaurant down the street that kept serving them cold ones."
Some people just never are satisfied. But I like to think that I am like the apostle Paul. He said that whatever state he was in, he was content. And I would like to say that I, too, have learned to be content in any state I’m in – whether it is Georgia, Florida, Tenn. or the Carolina’s.
Seriously, though, we have all come across people that just are not happy. They are controlled by envy, everybody always has it better than them. Or they are possessed by an uncontrolled ambition, to be better than everybody else.
Or perhaps they have a critical and complaining spirit. According to their experience, there is always something wrong that someone should do better.
But, as believers in the Lord Jesus, we live differently. We do not live lives characterized by envy, ambition and a spirit that is critical and complaining. Rather, we are to be different.
We are to be content and satisfied.
In chapter six Paul talked about a specific area where the believer must be different, purity.
You see, we live differently when it comes to purity. We do not live according to the popular musical title of “Anything Goes.” For the believer, it is not anything goes. Rather we live a life that is characterized by holiness.
We do not give in to the philosophy of the world that rejects God’s design. For purity is safe. Impurity is risky. Purity always helps us.
Impurity always hurts us.
You see, because the Lord Jesus has invested in us, we have a high calling. Remember Paul’s words, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
We have been bought with a price. This means that we must use our bodies, not for our own benefit, but for the high calling of Christ. We have responsibilities that can and will make an eternal
difference in others. So, we cannot become so self-absorbed in our own thinking and desires that we miss what God has for us. Instead, WE ARE TO LIVE CONTENTED IN OUR CALLING.
Sometimes this is very hard for us. We want our own way. We want to do what we want to do. We want to become what we want to become. God, however, often has different ideas about what we should be and what we should be becoming. This is where we must be willing to accept the situation in which God has placed us.
This being so, we will find in our study three circumstances in which we are to find contentment.
The reason the issue of contentment is discussed in this letter to the Corinthian church is this fellowship of believers had misinterpreted and abused the Christian concept of freedom.
Their newfound freedom in Christ was misinterpreted to mean freedom to do as they pleased. What they missed was that this freedom was not given them in order to satisfy themselves, but rather, it was the freedom to do as God pleased.
I. The first circumstance is MARITAL POSITION (1-16). This first circumstance is a review from chapter six. To appreciate this week’s text, we must see how the two texts work together.
So, let us consider these four situations.
Paul is giving answer to those in the church that wanted to change their marital status now that
they had become believers in the Lord Jesus.
There were some that were married that now wanted to be single in order to be a better Christian. In the same way, there were some singles that were very anxious to be married in order to be a better Christian. And then, there were also those that were married to an unsaved spouse. They thought it would be better to divorce and begin again in marriage to a saved spouse.
To all these circumstances, Paul has the same advice. His instruction to them was to stay as they are. He says, regardless of our circumstances, we are to practice contentment. We are to stay in our God-ordained relationships. We are to use every situation as an opportunity to glorify God.
The second circumstance is RACIAL POSITION (17-19). Paul also had to deal with it, (17) 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. (18) 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. (19) For neither circumcision counts for anything nor un-circumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.
Have you ever wished you were different than you are? Such as, I wish I had not been born in a family of short people. Growing up, my favorite sport was basketball. Had I been born to the
preferred height of 6’5”, as opposed to 5’5”, our conversation might be different.
Paul has a message for each one of us that is not quite satisfied with how we are born. It is this, The Lord is intricately involved in our lives.
If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus today, you have received the greatest honor that a human being can possess. It is that God has called you to be one of His. As believers we are called. We are called to be in a relationship with the Lord Jesus.
And if we are in fellowship with Jesus, then we are also called to fulfill the responsibilities of this relationship. We are called to make disciples! We are given the opportunity to participate in changing the world through spiritual regeneration. We have a message that changes people and the world. This is great stuff.
But do you know what happens to us Christians?
We fail to appreciate what God has given us to accomplish. In fact, we often complain about our circumstances. We would prefer something else.
We wish we were like someone else. This is the same thinking we find in the context of the Corinthian church, circumcision was confusing people about who was in or out.
You may remember, circumcision is the physical distinction that was placed on the Jewish male that marked him as a faithful follower of the Lord God.
It made him physically different than the Gentile male, and thus a member of the covenant people.
Culturally, at that time, there were some interesting things going on. There were some Jewish men who wanted to be accepted into Greek society but found it difficult because they were circumcised. Alongside of this, there were some Gentiles that were being told that if they wanted to truly arrive as God’s people, they had to be circumcised. They couldn’t just settle for believing in Jesus. They also had to become like a Jew.
So, the church had a lot of confusion when it came to this issue. There were Jews that wanted to be like the Gentiles. There were Gentiles that felt they ought to become like the Jews.
Because of this, Paul states that they are missing the point. It is not an issue of race. For circumcision is nothing and un-circumcision is nothing. There is no spiritual significance for either state. Being a Jew or a Gentile did not matter. What matters is being “in Christ.”
Everyone is welcome in our fellowship. People from Japan, China, Korea, Singapore, Pakistan, Nigeria, Germany, Russia, Great Britain, Haiti and so on; folks of all colors and nationalities.
Have you ever wondered why you were born in one place over another? Scripture tells us that God forms us before we are born. Behind each individual person is the creative work of God. He knows who we are, where we are going to be born, and what we are like. So, recognize that God has made us – physically and emotionally.
He has been personally involved in our personality (and with some of you, He has been especially creative). Everything that we are, God has been involved, so that we could properly live out His call on our life.
You see, the priority for the Christian is not external, but internal. What this statement means is that there is one proper response to grace. It is not a matter of what one looks like, or where one is born. It is a matter of will that starts on the inside.
It is wrapped up in obedience.
A policeman pulled over a car, walked up to the driver’s window, and asked the man if he knew why he was pulled over.
"No," the man replied.
"You failed to stop at the stop sign," the policeman explained.
"But I did slow down!" the guy argued.
The policeman shook his head. "You are required to stop. That’s why they’re called stop signs."
The man started to get belligerent. "Stop, slow down -- what’s the difference?"
The cop pulled out his baton. "I can show you. I’m going to start hitting you with my baton. You tell me if you want me to stop or slow down."
For the Christian, obedience is the true mark of faithfulness. Let me say that again, For the Christian, obedience is the true mark of faithfulness.
For obedience demonstrates the reality of the inward change that takes place in us as a result of being a temple of the Holy Spirit.
It is not your race. It is not whether you have a tattoo or not. It is not the style, length, or the amount of hair you have. It is not the external.
What truly matters is a heart bent on serving the Lord Jesus. So be content in how God has made and designed you.
Now we come to, the third circumstance, SOCIAL POSITION (20-24). (20) Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. (21) Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity. (22) 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. (23) You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. (24) So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.
Have you ever wished you were born into a family that had just a little more prestige or money? Have you ever felt that if you had just been born into circumstances that were a little better, you could really have made something of yourself? Folks we are to gratefully receive our position in life.
Where God has put us is exactly where we need to be. We need to sanctify the place where God has placed us. We are to make a difference, a holy difference, in every situation we are placed.
This means that there is no circumstance that keeps us from being a Christian. No matter how terrible, No matter how unjust, No matter how painful, No circumstance keeps us from showing the difference the Holy Spirit makes in us.
This brings us to the context: Being freed from slavery was not the priority. When we come to the context of slavery, it is difficult for us to understand. It is a culture that we find reprehensible. And what we find even stranger, perhaps, is Paul’s exhortation to those that were slaves. His advice was, “Don’t let it trouble you!”
“Don’t seek your way out of it!”
But in Paul’s thinking, a slave had a unique opportunity to testify to the difference the Lord Jesus makes in a life. By living the difference and working hard and honestly, they would show their human masters the way to true contentment and peace. The potential power of the gospel was enormous in this situation.
Now, Paul wasn’t stiff on this subject. He does say that if the opportunity came to be free, a slave was to take it as a change offered by the Lord.
We understand, by the way Paul states things, in the letter to Philemon that owning humans fundamentally contradicts a person’s position in Christ. But Paul also understands that every difficult situation is not going to be changed. And because this is true, we are to keep our priorities clear. If we are to lead any kind of revolution, it is to be a spiritual one, not a cultural one.
In fact, what is interesting, the test of history has shown us that when Christians are faithful to Scripture, slavery does not flourish. When the gospel is believed and obeyed, there are wonderful by-products – better government, better societies, and better families.
Paul further explains this concept by returning to the concept of giving attention to the inner being.
He wants both the slave and the free person to have perspective.
The person who is a slave is now free. And the person who is free is now Christ’s slave. So, whether a slave or a free person, your outlook was going to change once you became a believer in the Lord Jesus.
Alongside of this, we discover that it is much better to be a slave on the outside and free on the inside than free on the outside and a slave on the inside.
To be free in Christ is truly a great thing. For our freedom in Christ is not to sin, but from sin. Our freedom is not in doing our own will, but the freedom to do His will.
So, at this point, Paul tells us that, we are not to let the world shape us. We are not to become slaves to the ways of men. For we belong to God.
We have been bought, and this fact should cause us to rejoice. And because we belong to Him, we can be confident that God is behind every twist and turn of life.
So…are you a believer? Don’t lose your assignment! Let God sanctify your situation and be content…whether it be in marriage, singleness, work, socioeconomic condition, or even a physical disability or chronic illness. Use what God has given you for His glory.
Be content…be content in how God has made you, because you are especially designed – outwardly and inwardly.
Be content…be content in where God has placed you, for you have an assignment, a call to be used for the glory of God, what a privilege it is, what a delight it is!
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.