Redeeming Singleness: In the Christian life, is it better to stay single or to become married? There is not a simple, black-and-white answer for everyone. While marriage can provide loving companionship in our short time on earth, it is not without the difficulties and distractions of family life. Remaining single can allow you to focus more easily on a life of undivided devotion to the Lord. Regardless of marital status, we must evaluate our priorities in light of eternity, avoiding distractions and focusing wholeheartedly on serving the Lord. Recorded on Nov 13, 2022, on 1 Corinthians 7:25-40, by Pastor David Parks.

This message is part of our sermon series, “Redeeming Regular Life,” from the Epistles of the New Testament in the Bible. The Epistles are letters from the Apostles to the early Christian churches around the Roman Empire, helping them understand and apply the gospel to life. The way of Jesus changes everything, including marriage, sexuality, singleness, parenting, work, politics, and friends. In some ways, it’s easier to accept Jesus our Savior than it is to accept him as the Lord of our lives who wants to make some changes in our lives. In Christ, regular life is a gift. The way of Jesus is not easy, but it’s the way of redemption which leads to true and lasting freedom, joy, and peace.

Sermon Transcript:

This year, our annual theme is, Learning the way of Jesus. And we’re working through a sermon series called Redeeming Regular Life. And we’ve said that our series is from the household codes found in the epistles/letters in the New Testament in the Bible. In the first century AD, household codes addressed the way our basic relationships ought to work, whether it be in marriage, parenting, in our work, and so on. This sort of instruction was common at that time, but the Apostles wrote from a uniquely Christian perspective. And it’s vital, as Christians, to think these things through, because the way of Jesus changes everything. And there’s so much redemption and growth and freedom and joy that can come from learning the way of Jesus in regular life. For the last few weeks, we’ve started our series with redeeming marriage (Eph 5) and sexuality (1Co 7). Today, we’ll come back to 1Co 7 in order to consider what the gospel and the way of Jesus has to do with being single. I’m not sure why, but growing up in the church, I can remember hearing teaching on being married, but I’m not sure if I ever remember hearing teaching on being single. And this is kind of weird to me. After all, it is true that despite the fact that people tend to get married later in life than a generation ago, still, according to the US Census Bureau, about 90% of adults will be married at least once in their lifetimes. So, even in an age of mass confusion and anxiety about marriage, most people get married; however, not everyone. And not everyone who gets married stays married, whether because of divorce or death. This means that 100% of us, every one of us, needs to learn how to follow the way of Jesus as a single person. Thankfully, the Bible directly addresses this question for us. So if you have a Bible/app, please open to 1Co 7:25. Since this is a longer passage, we’re going to split it up into three parts. 1. Our priorities in light of eternity 2. The calling to undivided devotion. 3. The gift of freedom in Christ. So first, our priorities in light of eternity. v. 25.

1 Corinthians 7:25-31 (NIV), “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 a man to remain as he is. 27 Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? 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.  29 What I mean,