1 Corinthians 7:1-40

In a recent poll to discover which magazine
had the highest male readership in Australia.

What do you think it was?

I can tell you what it wasn't Not Sports Illustrated, or Time Magazine not National Geographic, or That's Life

It was you guessed it - The Australian Women's Weekly.
Can you imagine that?

More Australian blokes read Women's Weekly than any other magazine.

More to the point, it's hard to believe how so many guys admit it!

you can't argue with statistics
whatever men may say to their wives about it,
at some point they're sneaking a peek in at the Weekly -

whether they're on a visit to the barber's or doctor's surgery,
or a casual flip-through at home when you're not looking
while they're looking for a bit of the 'bathroom reading material'.

One of the features you'll find it most women's magazines
(or at least so I'm told!) is the 'relationships advice' column
some self-appointed Agony Aunt or relationships expert,
fielding readers' questions about love and romance,
conflict and suspicion.

It's always interesting to see both the questions people ask,
the answers they get

Well, there's a sense in which
what we're reading here in 1 Corinthians 7
is something of an 'Agony Aunt' column
Paul writes to the confused conflicted Corinthians to set them straight on issues of love, sex and marriage,

we find clear indications that this isn't unsolicited advice.

Some members of the Corinthian church had written to Paul
as a kind of Agony Aunt,

they were looking for his helpful advice to pick their way through the minefield of marriage and sexuality.

trouble is the Corinthians were taking exception to Paul's responses

for a church that prided itself on its apparent wisdom & knowledge
they keep coming back with "why can't we attitude"

there were a number of issues they wanted Agony Aunt Paul to solve

in 8:1 they had questions about food sacrificed to idols
whether Christians can eat it or not

in 12:1 about spiritual gifts

in 15:1 questions about death and what happens after I die

in 16:1 about a collection being take up for the Christians struggling under the weight of persecution in Jerusalem

so back to 1 Corinthians 7 where we're concentrating on this morning

as we read in 1 Corinthians 7:1-2

1 Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry. 2 But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.

marriage, remarriage & singleness

as we've just got past Paul dealing with all the negatives
in chapters 5-6 on how to follow Jesus in a sex mad world

Paul turns to the positives
affirming marriage
affirming singleness

Marriage & Singleness is where we find ourselves parked

I think it's fairly summed up by Paul in verse 17

17 Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.

Then back up to verses 3-7

3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

Then down to verses 25-28

25 Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. 26 Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are. 27 Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.

Again understand what Paul is getting onto
We have to get our heads around something ancient as well
culturally most marriages were arranged