started this chapter where they
had written Paul concerning marriage, and how husbands and wives, and
it would be better for a person not to be married, but let every
man have his own wife, every woman have her own husband. Don't
go after somebody else's. And he also talked about there
in verse 11, He said, But if she depart, let not the Lord,
unto the married, I command, yet not I, but the Lord, let
not the wife depart from her husband. But if she depart, let
her remain unmarried, to be reconciled to her husband, and let not the
husband put away his wife. But if she depart, let her remain
unmarried, to be reconciled to her husband, and let not the
husband put away his wife. Now, there's no debate, no argument
about that. You just don't have a little
bit of a difference and just decide, you know, we're not going
to stay married anymore. Somebody departs. That's just
not the way it's to be. Our Lord, you know, he said,
if a man puts away his wife or a wife puts away her husband,
say, from any other cause save fornication, he that marries
them commits fornication, and the one who they marry commits
fornication, commits adultery. And our Lord made that plain.
So this idea of marrying and getting married and all that
in religion, the world, you know, the world don't know any better.
But that's why these folks wanted to know. Well, now we're going
to talk about some other things here and start here in verse
12 and go down to verse 24 and talking about the calling that
God gave us. And then he says in verse 12,
but the rest speak. But to the rest speak I, not
the Lord." This is Paul giving his advice. If any brother hath
a wife who believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with
him, let him not put her away. And the woman which hath an husband
that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her,
let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is
sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified
by the husband. Else were your children unclean,
but now are they holy. But if the unbelieving depart,
let him depart, a brother or sisters not under bondage in
such cases. But God hath called us to peace.
For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband?
Or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? But
as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called
every one, so let him walk, and so ordain I in all churches.
Is any man called being circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised.
Is any called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision
is nothing. Uncircumcision is nothing but
the keeping of the commandments of God. Let every man abide in
the same calling wherein he was called. Art thou called being
a servant? Care not for it. But if thou
mayest be made free, use it rather. For he that is called in the
Lord being a servant is the Lord's free man. Likewise, also that
he is called being free is Christ's servant. You are bought with
a price, be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, that every
man wherein he is called therein abide." And he's still dealing
with this business of marriage here, and believers married to
unbelievers. And Paul, what he does, he just
offers his counsel and his advice. He has no commandment from the
Lord regarding this matter. But if a believer is married
to an unbeliever, and that unbeliever is agreeable and enjoys the marriage,
and they live in harmony and peace with the believer, they're
not to separate, they're not to depart. If you're living with
an unbeliever, and you get along with them, and you love one another,
and things are well, and you can live in harmony and peace,
Stay together, stay together. And that's what he says, you
know, here in verse 12 and 13, don't let her put them away.
If they're pleased to dwell with you, don't put them away. And
here's the thing that so many people teach, you know, they
think when they get saved, you know, that this changes everything,
that if her husband's not a believer, her wife's not a believer, that
they don't have to leave her with an unbeliever. But if you
get converted and your wife or husband's an unbeliever, you
know, that's no reason for you not to stay married. whatsoever. And if they're pleased to dwell
with you, and they all love one another, and you have harmony
and you have peace in your home, you don't have hell in your home,
you have arguments in your home, and they live and you can live
in peace and harmony, don't let them depart. And then he says
here in verse fourteen, For the unbelieving husband is sanctified
by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband,
else were your children unclean, but now they are holy. And what
he means by this, the unbelieving husband or wife, when they're
married, legally married, in the sight of God and the sight
of people, in the eyes of the believer, in the eyes of God
to the believer, the unbeliever is, they're legally, rightfully,
in the sight of God and before the human race, they're legally
husband and wife, regardless of their difference concerning
the gospel. And if a person is converted to Christ, and the
one they're married to is not, And there's no reason to dissolve
the marriage or make it unholy in God's sight. And I'll tell
you why. Because if the marriage were not legal, and if the marriage
was not regarded holy, then the children born to them would be
considered illegitimate. And that's what he meant. It's
just the same thing as believers having children. They're regarded
as legitimate children, holy children. And he said, you know,
if the husband and wife are legally married, then that way their
children are legal children. And that's holy here doesn't
mean that they're holy, born holy. It means that they're regarded
as lawful, legal children. They're not illegitimate just
because you're married to an unbeliever. And that's what,
I don't understand how anybody could even think any different
than that. I don't even understand, you know. And they're just as
holy and as regarded in God's sight as treated in God's sight just as
if they're the children of a believer. No difference. But he said here
in verse 15, here, and I don't like dealing with these things,
but I mean, you know, we have to deal with Scriptures as we
come to them. And I wish that I knew more about this kind of
stuff, but I just have to deal with it as we come to it, and
relate it as I understand it. Try my best to leave my opinion
out of it. But if the unbelieving depart, If the unbeliever decides,
I don't want to live with this husband or this wife anymore.
I don't love their gospel. I don't want their gospel. I
don't want to dwell with them. I don't like their relationship
with Christ. They make too much out of being a believer. And
he wants to depart. He don't want nothing else to
do with the gospel. Unless they deny the gospel,
the truth is compromised, let him leave. Let him leave. And I know of a couple instances
that's happened over the years. I remember a fellow, and I can
tell you his name. He says the same name as a famous boxer.
He was married to a woman for years, and she finally, you know,
he'd get up and go to service every... I remember Henry Mahan's
church, 13th Street Baptist Church for a year. His wife told him
one night, she said, if you go to church tonight and don't stay
here with me, if you think more of Christ than you do of me,
I won't be here when you get back. Because they'd had arguments
before. And he said, you know, if you'd
have asked me, he said, would you stay home with me tonight,
honey? I'd love for you to spend the evening with me. I'd enjoy
your company. I'd have been glad to stay home.
But since you made it an issue between me and Christ, he said,
I've got to go. And he went to service and got
home. She's gone. She's gone. And now he goes to
another church, and he's happily married. Got a wonderful wife. But she said, I just don't want
your Christ and your gospel. If you think more of your Christ
and your gospel and your attended service than you do me, then
I'm not going to be here when you get back. I'm not going to
be here when you get back. Well, you know, what are you
going to do? You going to compromise your
relationship with Christ? That's what our Lord said. If
you love your life in this world, you'll lose it. But if you lose
your life for my sake and the gospel's, You'll gain it. And how many men and women have
denied the gospel, denied their relationship with Christ over
something like that? And that's why if the unbeliever
does not, you know, if you don't want your gospel, if you have
to deny Christ, your relationship with Christ, or compromise the
truth in order to get along with them, and that person say, you're
going to have to do this or I'm going to leave, let them depart.
Just let them depart. That person has been, they said
here, what he says, a brother or sister is not under bondage.
They're not, God called us to peace, you're supposed to live
in peace. And they're not bound in their conscience. And you
know, they're bound in their conscience to obey God, to obey
Christ, and the things pertaining to worship and the service and
glory of Christ. And I'll tell you this, and as far as I understand
here, that person who, the unbeliever departed, You know, they're free
to marry another, but only in the Lord. You know, if somebody
deserts another for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of
Christ, what he's saying is, is, I don't want this marriage.
And he's the one who's broken the marriage contract with the
person that left. And a brother or sister wouldn't be in, you
know, if that didn't happen, they'd be in subjection and in
bondage to a rebel all the days of their life. They never would
have peace. If you ever compromised with them, you'd never, ever
have peace again. They'd ridicule you over your
gospel, they'd ridicule you over your relationship, they'd call
you a hypocrite, they'd call you everything under the sun.
But God has called us, that brother or sister is not under bondage
in such cases, they're not bound to that rebel, they're not bound
to that God-hater, not bound to that Christ-rejecter. God
has called us to peace, peace in our home, peace in our heart.
And if somebody don't want to live with you, I don't know why
you'd want them to stay with you anyway, especially over your
relationship with Christ. Would you? And then he goes on to say, in
verse 16, For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save
thy husband? Or how knowest thou, O man, whether
thou shalt save thy wife? And what he's saying here is,
if a believer that's married to an unbeliever, you don't know,
and as you're married and live together for years and live in
peace together and have a life together, It may be, it may be
under the guidance and power and will of God that you can
be a witness to them, and your commitment to Christ and the
gospel, and your character and your conduct, you might by the
grace of God be an influence to them, and they want to go
and hear the gospel, and may be brought to a saving interest
in Christ. And if persons that are believers
and unbelievers can live together, if possible, For the glory of
Christ and the eternal welfare of everybody concerned, you don't
know what God's going to do with somebody. You know, there's people
that's unbelievers and every once in a while their husbands
or wives will come with them. And I don't care why anybody
comes. Everybody has a different reason for coming. But when they're
here, you never know when God will draw that bow and let that
arrow go and hit them right dead in the heart. Huh? There's people
that go to service, you know, say, well, I'll just go with
you tonight, you know, because You know, I ain't got nothing
else to do tonight. I ain't got nothing else to do this morning.
I'll just go to church with you. They don't have no reason. But
God, that may be the very time, the very time that God stabs
them. And wouldn't that be something? You know, come with somebody
unmarried, you know, a believer, go home with a believer. That
would be something. That would be something. And
then Paul goes on to say, But as God hath described it to every
man, as the Lord hath called everyone, So let him walk, and
so ordain I in all churches." And he's going on, what he's
doing here, he placed this word here. And what he's talking about
is to respect the everyman's gift that God gave him by nature,
and the place that he gave him in life, whether they're single,
whether they're married, whether they're married to a believer
or an unbeliever. He said, this is what God gave us a calling.
He put us in these callings. He put us in these positions.
He put us in this station in life. And He's given us all gifts
as to our nature and to grace. And He's given us the place where
we live. He's given us the lot that He gave us to do, the business
that He gave us that we're to follow. And He gives the area
of usefulness in His kingdom. So when He calls us and He reveals
His grace to us, wherever we are, whatever we do, let us be
content with God's good providence and walk with Him. That's what
He says. But as God has distributed to every man by nature the gift
and graces of God, As the Lord has called every one of us, whether
you're married or unmarried, whether you're married to a believer
or an unbeliever, whether you're single, whether you're young,
whether you're old, What he said was, God has called
you, and where He calls you at, the position He calls you in,
you walk with Him in that position, and you walk in that place God
puts you. And he said, and this is what I'm ordained in every
place I go. God calls you to a particular place in life, a
particular marriage, and you stay there, and you enjoy that,
and walk in that calling that He's called you. And then here's
what he goes on to say here. He uses these as examples. Is
any man called being circumcised? If a man's called, being a Jew,
God calls a man who's a Jew, he was circumcised according
to the law on the eighth day, and he's been called by God,
grace been revealed to him, he's embraced the Lord Jesus Christ,
is there a reason for him to go back and try to undo that
circumcision? To go back and undo that? He
feels uneasy about it? Huh? That's because the priest,
that this circumcision's been abolished and fulfilled in Christ?
That circumcision's of the heart? That's, you know, that's one
thing that God's, why the Jews miss this, I don't know, it's
why legalists don't get it. God says you're uncircumcised
in heart and in ear. And what does He mean by that?
You're unclean in your heart and you're unclean in your ears.
You've got that old flesh over both of them. Filthy flesh. And
oh, God's got to circumcise the heart, got to circumcise the
ear. And if a Jew being called and he says, well, I need to
undo this because Christ abolished it and fulfilled it in his flesh.
Oh, listen, let him not become uncircumcised. God called him
as a Jew. He become a believer. Don't try
to undo what you've done. And then look what he said here.
Has any man called it uncircumcision? Has God called a Gentile? Has
God called a pagan dog? Has God called somebody that's
a heathen who knows nothing about circumcision, nothing about the
law, nothing about ceremonies, nothing about rituals? Don't
let him become circumcised. Don't let him do as the law says.
You know, in Acts 15, they came up to him and said, except you
be circumcised and keep the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.
And that's what they said over in Galatia, you've all got to
go back and be circumcised and keep the law. And he says, no, listen, is any
man called in on circumcision, called as a Jew, called out of
his uncleanness, called in from a paganism, let him not be circumcised. And this circumcision means a
cleansing. It means an acceptance with God
either by circumcision or uncircumcision. That's what he goes on to say.
In verse 19, circumcision don't amount to anything. Neither does
uncircumcision. Neither one of them is nothing.
What does he mean by that? It absolutely means nothing as
far as our acceptance before God, our righteousness before
God, our justification before God. I mean, he says, don't try
to undo the calling God put you in. If you're called a Jew and
you embrace Christ, forget the law, press forward to Christ.
Paul says, you know, after the righteousness, I want to be found
in Christ, not after the righteousness of the law, but the righteousness
of faith, which is by faith in Jesus Christ. And all, beloved,
uncircumcision is nothing. Well, you know, I never was circumcised.
I never did know anything about the law. So I never, you know,
I'm free from the law. Now, listen, that don't nullify
anything. Oh, no. It can't make us righteous
or unrighteous before God. And then look what he says, but
the keeping of the commandments of God. What in the world is
he talking about keeping the commandments of God? That means
keeping the law of God. That means keeping the Word of
God. And when he talks about the law of God, he's talking
about the whole Word, precept upon precept, line upon line.
Is there any place in the Bible where if God, you've seen something
that you're supposed to do, but you look at it and say, I'm not
going to do that? He says, by love, serve one another. As the elect of God, holy and
beloved, put on vows of meekness, and what you read tonight, love,
I pray that our fellowship with the Father and the Son, you have
fellowship with us." And when he talks about keeping the commandments,
he's not talking about the Ten Commandments here. No, no. People kept those to keep from
being punished and to keep from going to hell and to get a reward
from it. And they thought they were, but
no By the law shall no flesh be justified in God's law. When
he talks about keeping the commandments of God, he's talking about keeping
the whole Word of God. When you find something in there,
that's what you, by God's grace, you're going to walk in the light,
as he is in the light. Ain't that right? There's a good story
here, right here. I thought I was just seeing it
when I was looking at these notes. I heard Bonner tell this, and
I suspect it's true. He was in Texas one time. holding
a meeting years and years ago. And he was eating supper with
these people one evening. And this woman's husband, when
he was eating supper, he owned a saloon. And as they were sitting
there eating supper, that man asked him, said, Preacher, do
I have to sell my saloon before I can get saved? He said, every
preacher that's ever been here told me, he said, I'd have to
sell my saloon before God saved me. He said, Preacher, did I
sell my saloon before God saved me? He said, well, I thought
about it a minute, tried to put a few more chickens into the
ministry before I answered. But he said, yes. He says, Nelson,
you don't have to sell your saloon. You see, that's the difference.
Whenever somebody gives you something to do in order for God to save
you, he could have sold that saloon and got self-righteousness.
No, you don't have to sell your saloon. You don't have to sell
it at all. And the question was, do I have
to sell my saloon for God to save me? Huh? That's what people used to tell
you all the time. You've got to get your hair cut for God to save you.
Quit your cigarettes, and God'll save you. Clean up your life,
and God'll save you. Quit them drugs, and God'll save
you. Well, what are you going to be safe from? Because you
can quit anything on your own. And so that old boy, what he'd
done is he started going to service. He said, well, this first preacher
never told me I didn't have to sell it, you know. And boy, so
he started attending the service with his wife. He said, I'll
just go hear this preacher preach. First one ever told me that in
that service place. And, you know, back then they didn't have
no three, four, five night meetings. They'd go on and on and on. And
Barnard preached. And God saved that man. God saved
that man. And guess what he did? Went slowly,
slowly. You see, that's the difference.
That's the difference. And that's why he says circumcision
evades nothing or uncircumcision. That fellow could have said,
well, I'm going to I'm going to sell my saloon and I'm going
to show everybody what a fine fellow. I'm going to join the
church. And he had just been a Pharisee. But no, you don't
do nothing to get saved. In fact, you don't get saved. God saved you. You know, as a
woman asked me that here a while back, she said, how do you do
like that? Phrase you know, I got saved, or God saved me. And I said, I like God saved
me. The Lord saved me. The Lord brought me to himself.
The Lord called me. She said, I do too. She said,
I just hate that saying, I got saved. What does it mean, I got
saved? And that's what we're talking about. You know, circumcision
avails nothing to uncircumcision. None of these things will make
us acceptable to God. Only Christ makes us acceptable
to God. And wherever you're called, if
you're called to be married, stay married. If you're called
to be married to an unbeliever, stay married. if they're pleased
to dwell with you. If you're called single, stay
single until God gives you a wife or a husband. And if you're called
whatever you're called to be, you stay in that place. That's
why God gave you the gift and He gave you the grace and He
put it in your nature and put you in that situation is what
Paul says. And then he says here in verse 20, Let every man abide
in the same calling where it is called. Yes, there you are,
you're called, wherever you're called to be, wherever you're
called, whatever you're called to do. And look at all the callings
we have in our life. Our calling gets bigger and bigger
the places God gives us and the situation He puts us in life.
We get married, we're young. Things don't go well for a few
years. We're all trying to find our feet in our own territory.
And then, you know, we have kids. Next thing you know, we have
grandkids. Next thing you know, we have more and more friends
and more and more brothers and sisters. And boy, you know, and
our world just gets bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger.
And we find more contentment and peace in our callings now
than we did when we was younger. People want to get out of those
calls, looking for something bigger, looking for something
better. Grass greener on the other side. And that's what Paul
says here, let every man abide in the calling that God put him
in. And this is why he goes on to show us here in verse 21,
are thou called being a servant? And back then, you know, in the
Roman Empire and in the world in those days, slaves, there
was more slaves than there were free men. And the Romans were
scared to death if slaves ever rose up against them. There were
so many of them. But are you called being a servant
or being a slave? Being a slave. Or you call being a slave. Don't
be afraid of it. Don't care for it. Don't be worried about it. Don't
be careful about it. And what he's saying here, you're
a slave or a servant, God Christ called you to himself. Don't
be troubled because you're a slave. Don't be troubled because you're
a servant. Just be a good servant. Serve
your master faithfully. Don't look upon your position
as a lowly position or hard work as a contradiction to what Christ
called you to do. And then he says here, but if
you may be made free, if God makes you free, if there's some
tumped up that you're made free, you cease being a slave, use
that opportunity rather, and use this opportunity that God
gives you to be freedom, to better your position, and avail yourself
of every opportunity. And then he goes on to say here
in verse 22, for he that's called in the Lord, though he may be
a slave, though he may be a servant, he's the Lord's free man. I have
to get up and go serve my master. I've got to serve my master.
Let me give you an illustration. Look over here at 2 Kings with
me right quick, 518. 2 Kings, chapter 5. Here's your perfect
illustration of what we're trying to say. Were you a slave, a servant, and you were called
to Christ? Or whatever is the cause you
were called by grace? You're the Lord's free man of
spiritual sins. God sets you free. Free from
sin, free from death, free from hell. And here you remember when
Naaman was saved by the grace of God, 2 Kings 5. And you remember
when Naaman was saved, and God does something for him, and he
obeyed the servant of God and went and washed in the water
seven times, and his flesh came to him clean again. And Naaman
says there in verse 17, he told Elisha this, and Naaman said,
Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant
two mules burdened of the earth? For thy servant will henceforth
neither offer burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods,
but unto the Lord. Look what he says now here about
being a servant, being a slave, abiding in this calling. Is this
the thing the Lord, in this thing the Lord pardoned thy servant?
That when my master goes into the house of remnant to worship
there, and he leans upon my hand, and I bow myself in the house
of remnant, when I bow down myself in the house of remnant, the
Lord pardoned thy servant in this thing. And he said, Go in
peace. So he departed from him a little
way. What he's saying was, I'm a servant, I'm a slave, and when
my master goes to do something, I'm not worshiping the same God.
I'm not bound down to that God. And God pardoned me in this thing.
This, I'm a servant, I'm a slave now, but Christ has already saved
me, and I've got to do what my master tells me to do. But I'm
the Lord's free man. And he said, God pardon me in
this thing. And then he goes back over here in verse 22. If
you're called in the Lord, And that's the secret to it, called
in the Lord, being a servant. He's the Lord's free man. And, oh, you know, you may be
working on a job or something, and you're in bondage to, you
know, you're a servant somewhere, you have to work for a living
or that, but God sets you free. You're actually His servant. And then likewise, also, he that
is called, if he is free, he's not a slave, he's not a servant
to anybody, well, then turn right around, and he becomes Christ's
servant. You're a bond-slave to Christ. If you're a slave,
you're a Christ-free man. If you're free, you're a Christ-servant. So either way you go, you're
the Lord's. Whether we live under the Lord
or whether we die, we die under the Lord. And then in verse 23, you are bought with a price.
You are bought with a price. That's it. You're bought with
a price of His blood, bought with a price of His obedience,
bought with a price of His death, bought with a price of our Lord's
sacrifice. You're bought with His, you know,
no man ever paid you. No man redeems you. You didn't
buy yourself. You didn't set yourself free.
You never called yourself in the Lord. You never gave yourself
the calling you had. You never, I mean, everything
you have, you got from God. And that's what he says here.
You're bought with a price. So don't you be the servants
of men. In other words, don't try, you know, realize and understand
that you're the Lord's free man. Whatever calling he's got, don't
you serve men like they're your master. Christ is your master. And then he goes on to say here,
And oh, brethren, let every man wherein he is called abide therein
with God. That's the key right there, abide
therein with God. Whether you're a servant, whether
you're a master, whether you're married, whether you're unmarried,
whether you're married to a believer or an unbeliever, whether you're
single, it doesn't matter. Whatever station you have in
life, whatever state you're in or condition of life you're called
to, let's continue therein. Because it pleased God in His
providence to put us there, and until He changes it, let's stay
right there. Stay right there. Let's stay
right there. That's what I'm going to do.
That's what I'm going to do. I'm called to be a husband, I'm
going to stay a husband. Called to be a daddy, I'm going
to stay a daddy. Called to be a grandpa, I'm going to be a
grandpa. Best one I can be. Called to
be a great-granddaddy, I'm going to be the best one I possibly
can. Call to be a preacher. I'm going to stay in this calling. Call to be a pastor. I'm going
to stay right in it. Call to be your brother. Call to be your
sister. I'm going to abide in that calling faithfully. Don't
you? Some of you call to take care
of businesses. Some of you call to go out, and you'll get up
in the morning, early in the morning, and you'll go to work. And you'll
have to go to work. But remember this, you're a Christ-free
man. You belong to Him. You bought
with the price. And wherever you're at, just rest in Him,
find comfort in Him, and abide in Him. And when He gets ready
to change your situation, He'll change it. Go on. Our Father, in the gracious
name of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for allowing
us this time together. Thank You for Your Word. I ask
that You'd bless it to our hearts, bless it to our understanding.
And Lord Jesus, we do so want to find such peace and contentment
and rest in your calling, in your providence, in the lot you
gave us in this world. No matter what it might be, you
call us to different things and different times and different
situations and circumstances. But whatever you call us to and
call us in, help us to abide in that and walk with you walk
with you in this calling. And Lord Jesus, thank you for
shedding your blood, bearing our sins in your own body on
that tree. To just for the unjust, and bless
your holy name for bringing us to God, making us accepted, making
us accepted. And that's the reason we come,
O Father. Because you told us, you told us, we were accepted
in the beloved. God bless these saints of God
as they go to their homes, go to their jobs. Protect them and
keep them and preserve them. See them safely home, safely
through the week. We ask these things in our Lord
Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.