Kenny Moorer - A Reminder in View of Our Present Distress

1:48AM Sep 9, 2024

Speakers:

Kenny Moorer

Keywords:

verse

paul

life

faith

distress

unmarried

chapter

god

talking

married

live

morning

understand

first corinthians

good

man

new testament

relationship

scripture

earthen vessels

First Corinthians seven is a response. It is a response which tells us how important their questions were about marriage. When you get to First Corinthians seven, the text changes from what it started with, because in verse one of chapter seven, Paul says, "Now about the things that you've asked." Now I'm going to address the things that you have asked about. So evidently, prior to that, he was expressing some thoughts about what he wanted to say to them based upon some information he had been given. But now he gets to something they've asked about, and I find it interesting that if, at least, if it goes in order, and it may not, but I find it interesting that this is a question that they ask. And apparently it had something to do with the relationship that a man and a woman who are married have. And right out of the gate, he says, It is good for a man not to touch a woman. And then there's explanations given about that particular question and about other things as it relates to that question given throughout this context. I rarely preach from this context. This seems to me to be a chapter that's better served in a class. As you're talking about things like this, I think this would serve a better purpose to be done in a class. But yet, I think there's is one particular idea that expressed in chapter seven that I think has some merit for us. And so, I want to deal with that this morning, and I want to touch on that as we think about this idea of our present distress. We're going to talk in just a moment really about what that probably was. But I think in this particular context, there are some very, very important lessons for us to think about.

He mentions, in this chapter, he mentions four different groups. He mentions those who are married, those who are unmarried, those who are widows and those who are virgins. And very probably, I think the married idea we get pretty easily if you're married, that you would fall into that category. If you're unmarried, probably he's talking about, and we don't know this particularly, but he may be talking about those who have divorced. Those who are no longer married, but have been because he talks then about, specifically, about widows and virgins. Those widows would have been ones whose spouses have died, and the virgins would have been those who have yet to marry, they have never married. And I think a part of what he's going to talk about is that, in view of his writings, he understands what God has said about these things, and he understands what he feels obligated to say about some of these very same things. And he knew what his thoughts meant, and he knew that they were different from God's thoughts, but he also knew what God's thoughts meant.

Let me just give you a sampling of what we're talking about. In chapter seven and verse 10, he says, "Now to the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord." I think that's interesting language. There is something here that he commands, but he says, I'm commanding that based upon what the Lord says. The Lord has told that to me. And then in verse 25 he says, "Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, yet I give judgment as one whom the Lord, in His mercy, has made trustworthy." I think that's interesting language. I have no commandment from the Lord. Some would say that God, that Jesus himself, had not spoken earlier for Paul to take from what Jesus has said, and that may be the case. I tend to think that's not what he's saying. I think what he's saying is what, at least on the surface, this sounds to me like he's saying, he says, I don't have a commandment from God about this, but I want to give some judgment. And I want to give some judgment as one whom the Lord, in His mercy, has made trustworthy. That's a big statement. I think Paul is saying God's given me some ability to understand what it is that he wants. And while what I'm about to say may not be inspired in the sense that God has directly given this to me as a commandment, I think he's saying this is something that you definitely need to understand. Another verse that has something to do with this is the last verse of this same chapter that says, "but she is happier," this is referring to the virgins, again, those who have never married. "But she is happier if she remains as she is, according to my judgment." Think that's interesting again, "according to my judgment. Now I think I also have the Spirit of God." So, I think what Paul is saying is I'm giving some further judgment about what I think you need to be considering if you fall into these specific categories.

Now, as we think about this, I think that Paul is clearly saying that he realizes that some of what he is wanting to say comes from God, and some has to do with his own advice, with his own thinking, with his own judgment, but it is spearheaded all, and it's influenced all, by the Spirit of God. And so he feels compelled to share his own judgment, and he does, and through the Holy Spirit's guidance, that apparently seems to be good. And there's a reason why all this is being stated. I think there's a reason why Paul says, I want to talk to you about all this. First of all, because you've asked about it. But there is something that obviously is going on that they knew about and that Paul knows about, because in verse 26 he says, "I suppose therefore that this is good." I think he's referring generally to everything that he's talking about. 'This is good because of the present distress. That it is good for a man to remain as he is." And I think particularly he's probably talking about the fact that a man needs to stay unmarried if he is unmarried, as it relates to this present distress. And the present distress could be a variety of things. It could be something that had to do with the Jewish persecution that was coming. That seems to me, probably what I would think it is. It may be a Roman persecution that would come later. It may it may have been more of a localized attempt to persecute Christians, but there is something significant about these hardships and this is something that's not just your everyday run of the mill, "we got a problem." This is something that evidently was an extraordinary hardship on men and women, and they need to understand how to handle this effectively. And so in verse eight of chapter seven, he says, "but to the unmarried and to the widows, it is good for them if they remained even as I am." And again, I think we understand that Paul is saying, I am unmarried and under the present distress, under the present conditions, it would be good if you stayed that way.

And then there is a further explanation, beginning in verse 27 that says this, "Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But even if you do marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marry, she has not sinned. Nevertheless, such will I have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you. But this, I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on, even those who have wives should be as though they had none, and those who weep as though they did not weep, and those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess and those who use this world as not missing it - or misusing it - for the form of this world is passing away." I think, I think what he's saying is clear, if you're married, stay married. If you're weeping, we understand. If you're rejoicing, we understand. But if you're in a situation whereas right now, you don't need to, you don't need to put yourself in a situation where all of the things that you would normally do are going to become more troublesome because of this present distress. He says, in verse 29 the time is short, or shortened. We might say the times are tough right now. And the idea is that the present distress has put a squeeze on whatever time the Corinthians have. And so in verse 31 the last, the very last verse that I have on the screen there, he says, "For the form of this world is passing away." There you have it, you see. All that to say this, the form of this world is passing away. Which tells me that what Paul is saying is another form -- the form of this world is passing away, but there is another form that is coming. And as Peter would say in second, Peter three, this form is one in which righteousness dwells. It is a realm in which righteousness only dwells. And that is a day that he says we need to look forward to.

So, how then would I describe, really in very general terms, what First Corinthians seven is saying? While he's talking about marriage, and while he's talking about all of these things that these different categories of people and the relationship that they have in reference to marriage. Either they are, they have been, they might be, all of those kind of things. The real issue is not marriage. The real issue, it seems to me, is that this world is temporary. And not only is the world temporary, but marriage is temporary. And I think he includes marriage, first of all, they've asked about that. But he's saying, even in this most intimate, earthly relationship, what you need to understand is this is passing away. Well, no matter what relationship you have, whether you're married, unmarried, a virgin, a widow, whatever you, whatever you are, whatever category and reference you find yourself in all of that, is passing away because it's temporary. It's not going to last. And I think that's ultimately what he's saying. Everything lasts until it doesn't. Everything lasts until it does not last. Everything lasts until the very end.

Do you see the value of that information, today? Do you see the value? As I thought about this lesson and as I began to put this lesson together in my mind, I thought this is a lesson that helps us. It's not about marriage. It's about understanding what marriage is and what marriage isn't. It's about understanding what relationships are and what they aren't, and as good as they may be or as bad as they may be, they're temporary. All of it is temporary. And so he says, How do you live, no matter, no matter what your relational condition is? How do you live in terms of what's going on right now in your life. So, what and how does what Paul says, how does that qualify to us? What does that mean to us? I mean, is this the kind of thing where we just we get to chapter six, and then we skip to chapter eight, we say, well, that chapter seven doesn't have any relevance for us. I think it does, because it really of what it teaches us. Now, there are some things that it teaches us in reference to the relationships. I'm not dismissing that at all, but I think the main category that he discusses here is that all this is passing away, and because of that, just stay as you are. Because the issue is, what condition are you in spiritually, and don't let any other thing come into play in that. Stay with whatever you're doing and understand that you may have to adjust, whether married or unmarried, but if it doesn't matter, don't complicate your life more now because of what's actually happening in the world.

So, what do I think about that? What do you think about that? I think we, too, are living in difficult and challenging circumstances. I think it's different a little bit, though. I want you to think about this, and I thought about this in thinking about the lesson. From the time the church was established, the whole time of the New Testament, where God is asking and he's having the apostles teach, he's having them preach, that the entire time that he's doing that, for those 100 years, and for several 100 years before and certainly throughout The Old Testament, I want you to think about this, His people are living in occupied territory. Just think about that. I mean, everything we read we have written for us in the New Testament has to do with Roman occupation. It has to do with Jewish sentiment in Roman occupation, and yet these were Christians who lived in these challenging and disturbing and difficult circumstances, and they lived out their faith. But yet they weren't in control of the government. They were anything but in control of the government. And that was not just in the New Testament. Testament that's been in the Old Testament as well. I mean, how often, maybe, except for the time of the United Kingdom? How much did God's people really, how much were they really, really at ease, and how much were they in charge of their own circumstances? I would tend to say, as I've thought about that, not much. They were having to live their life under conditions that were less than ideal, and the admonition in Scripture was always, You've got to keep your faith as a priority. Even if there's a present distress, you've got to keep your faith as the priority, and whatever that faith would would tell you to do in whatever relationship you find yourself in, that's what you do.

So, when you get to a passage like this passage in First Peter one, where Peter would say, "for in this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you've been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold, that perishes though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom, having not seen you love, though now you do not see him, yet believing you rejoice with joy, inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls." I love that context. I mean that, as we say when we're thinking about preaching, that'll preach. Those few verses, will preach for a long time. But let me just sum up what he's saying, is you are, you're grieved by various trials, and what these trials are going to do is they're going to hopefully produce the fact that your faith is going to be genuine. Whatever circumstances you find yourself in, you're going to have to live that faith. And so he says, the end of that faith, as you see in verse nine, is that's going to be salvation. Whatever, wherever you find yourself, whatever you find yourself doing you you're going to go through these difficulties. And if you'll just have faith as the source of how you live your life, you'll find salvation. Salvation of your souls.

In chapter four, he says it this way, "Beloved, do not think it's strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you." You see that context? He said you're going through these various trials. He calls him fiery trials here. I don't think he's saying they actually involve fire, although they may. I think he's, I think he's just saying they're severe. Fiery trial would would be the idea would be describing something that's very severe. And he says, don't think it's strange that this is happening to you. This, and I think he could say also, this has happened, this has happened a lot for years. It's happened for centuries. This is what's happened to people who are are willing to profess faith. They suffer for the cause of Christ. And I think what First Peter is about primarily, it's about mainly living your life under less than ideal circumstances. And may I say this about that? I don't think we get it. I don't think I get it. I've never lived, I've never in my life lived under the conditions that we've read about this morning. I've never done that, and my guess is most of you have not done it either. As a matter of fact, the conditions under which I've lived have been great. They've been great. I think about Kenneth's prayer this morning and some of the things that he said in reference to being thankful for what we do have and using those things to help. And that kind of, that kind of meant something special to me this morning, because I was thinking about my lesson. I think about, yeah, we've got all these things. And I do think we help. I think we help collectively. I think we help individually. But what Peter described, what Peter's describing and what Paul's describing as as some great distress and some real problem that you think about has never affected me. I've never stayed in my house before because of a present distress. I've stayed in there because of ice on the road. That was stressful, but I wouldn't call it a present distress, not in the sense that Paul calls it a present distress, or in the sense Peter calls it a fiery trial.

You can't read the book of Revelation and feel good about anything other than the Lord's won the victory. Now, you can feel good about that, and that's the point. That's the main point. But that's all about, Look what's happening, and look what's happening to Christians. They're martyrs. They're being killed. I mean, it is, it is stuff that we just don't understand. Now we may. There may come a point in our time, in our lifetimes, where we do understand more of what was going on in these letters. But it's not just in what we read. It's all over the pages of the New Testament and the Old Testament. Second Corinthians four, this is what Paul says when he's talking about what, what's been given to them. They are, they are these earthen vessels that preach the message of the gospel. But he says, but we have this treasure. I think, referring to the Gospel, the message of the gospel, "we have this treasure in earthen vessels." I think he's talking about men, "that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We're hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed. We're perplexed, but not in despair. We're persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed, always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is working in us, but life is working in you." See, that's more challenging and difficult circumstances, but that's not us, is it? I mean, I preach the message. I'm an earthen vessel, but after you get past that point in verse seven, that's not me, in verse eight and nine, that's not me, but he says that's us.

And it's not just here that he says it. He says later on in his same letter, I think maybe at another time he says, I was beaten, all of the things that happened to him, he had to deal with. And what he goes on to say after this in verse 13, he says, "and since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, I believe, therefore I spoke, we also believe, and therefore speak." That's a statement from Psalm 116, and verse 10. I think what he's saying, he's saying, David praised God for delivering him from the difficult circumstances that he faced, and I'm speaking what David spoke. He says, we have this spirit of faith. I think he's saying that's what David had, that's what we have. And what Paul says about it, he says, I believed it, I believed it and I spoke it. And I think what he goes on to say in the last part of this chapter, chapter four, he says that I not only believed it, I not only spoke it, but he said, I think, he says I lived it. Because he says this, "Therefore we do not lose heart, even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day." That's what I think he's dealing with. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

I love those verses. And I think what Paul is saying to you, and I think what he's saying to me is this, you can't quit. You can't quit living. I don't think, frankly, I don't think we want to quit living. That's just me. That's a statement that I would make. I don't know if I could back that up without talking to you first, but I don't think we want to quit living. I think we want to live. But I think what Paul is saying is we have to adjust as we go, and if things were to change for us, if circumstances and difficulties were to change for us, we have to remember that nothing lasts forever except eternal things. I find myself talking about that a lot. I find myself talking about that a lot to you, and you may be saying, you know, you you do talk about that a lot. I confess, I do. I'm not trying to convince myself that that's the case. I'm trying to remind myself that that's the case. As much as I love relationships, being married and having kids and grandkids, church family, good things, good blessings in life, and good food, good this, and good that not going to last long. And Paul said, I can handle it. I can handle it because all that's happening to me that's negative, this light affliction, it's momentary, and it's working in my best interest to give me something that's even better. And so he said, I don't look at the things around me that I see. That's a remarkable statement. We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. That makes no sense, right? You go out, you'd like to look at the things which are seen. He knows that he's saying, though, don't look at those things. Look but don't look. You get that, right? Don't let that be the priority in your life. That's what he's saying. Because the things which are seen are temporary.

First Corinthians seven, these relationships that we enjoy, whether we're married, unmarried, widows or virgins, those, those things don't last. He's not dismissing, he's not dissing those, but he's saying put that in perspective, in view of the present distress, because the world's passing away. The form of this world is passing away. I've mentioned this quote. I've shared it with you one time. I'm going to share it real quickly. I've got this book in my library. I've got the older version. It's about worn out because I use it every time I'm teaching or thinking about a particular class in the New Testament. I always get this book out and read what Brother Cogdill wrote. This is a book by Roy Cogdill called Book by Book. It gives a synopsis of each book in the New Testament. And about this section in Second Corinthians, Roy Cogdill said, "No finer description of the proper perspective or Outlook one can have in life can be found in Scripture than Paul's statement from Chapter 4:13 and through 5:11, in this entire section, the spirit of faith is to believe and speak as it is written." And I included "and live." That's what I think. That's why I mentioned verses 16, 17, and 18 in that same context. I think that's what he's, that's what Brother Cogdill was saying. But when you studied scripture like Roy Cogdill did, and you're Kenny Moore reading what Roy Cogdill wrote, and when you hear Roy Cogdill say that you go back. "No finer description can be found in Scripture." Alright, let's go back and see. Let's go back see why he said that. And now I think I know, because what he's saying is, you don't look at stuff here. You don't look at stuff here the same way you look at stuff there. That's what he's saying. And so he concludes with, I think he concludes the idea with this statement in verse seven of chapter five, "for we walk by faith, not by sight." Or to use Paul's words or to use David's words, we walk by spirit of faith, not by sight. We believe it, we speak it, and we live it. Why do we do that? Because we have faith, and I think that's what chapter seven of First Corinthians can teach us primarily. I think it teaches a lot of things. I think it's important to go back and look at some of those things specifically in that chapter. But I think the overall is you just gotta keep it all in perspective and understand what is ultimately valuable to all of us, for we walk by faith and not by sight.

Let me close by just reading this, the entire context of First Corinthians, five, seven. Just listen to this. "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation, which is from heaven. If indeed having been clothed, we shall not be found naked, for we who are in this tent groan being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who is also, who's also given us the spirit as a guarantee. So we're always confident knowing that while we're at home in the body, we're absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord." See that's what we want, that's what we want, and that idea is all throughout Scripture. And I pray this morning that we will just remember these admonitions that Paul and Peter, John, that others give us all throughout scripture, and remember what they were willing to do. They walked by faith and not by sight.

But one day, faith will be made sight. One day what we believe will be nothing longer simply that we believe, and one day what we have believed will be something that we see, and I pray that all of us will live in such a way that we would let whatever circumstances we find ourselves in in this world, let that be something that directs us toward God, and completely gathers us and takes us and helps us concentrate on these things. When I stop and meditate, which at this point time of my life, which is a little bit more often. When I stop, meditate on life now the things here just just don't mean as much. I don't mean they're unimportant, I just mean in view of what's to come, they're less important for all, it ought to be, for all of us. I think they probably are. But if they're not, you need to think about that. You need to give that some thought, and I hope that you will.

If you're in this audience this morning, you need to render obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We would love to assist you in that. If you've never become a Christian, we would ask you this morning, what is asked of people in the New Testament: Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ? Are you willing to repent of your sins and confess that he's the Christ? And are you willing to be buried with him in baptism, immersed in water, so that your sins are washed away, not because of what the water can do, but because of what God can do? That's a wonderful thing for you to consider, isn't it? If you're in this audience this morning, you've never done that. What a great opportunity this morning. If you'd come forward and express your faith in him, we'll baptize you into Christ for the remission of your sins. If that's a need you have come as we stand in as we sing.