Good morning and welcome in today. Today we’re going to pick up where we left off from yesterday. We were in 1st Corinthians chapter 7. We will begin today at verse 12.
12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
14 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.
15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.
I want you to think of a situation right now where two people get married and they’re both unbelievers. Sometime during their marriage, one of them becomes a believer in Jesus Christ. The husband starts to study God’s Word and gets forgiven for his past. He’s growing day by day in his faith but his wife still remains an unbeliever yet. The Apostle teaches that if any brother has a wife that believe not and is pleased to dwell with him, he is not supposed to put her away.
Remember that yesterday we learned that the husband is not supposed to put away his wife, even if she is an unbeliever and is pleased to dwell with him. Do not put her away.
There is a possibility in the future that you could lead her to Christ. Remember, that people who reside in a state of unbelief until the day they die are not going to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. In a marriage you obviously care for the other person because you married them. That should encourage you to try to be a part of the saving process and help them on to that path of salvation.
13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
God does not want the marriage bond to be broken because he has brought the two of you together. God has a purpose for everything he does. Separation and divorce happens because of a hard heart.
If a woman is professing to be a Christian and is married to somebody who doesn’t believe and he’s happy with her, she is not supposed to leave him and walk off on him because he is simply an unbeliever. You can win him to Christ by serving, obeying and showing him the love of Christ. . A woman is not supposed to preach the scriptures or teach their husband because that is forbidden. She can win an unbelieving husband by her deeds.
When she does what Jesus teaches in the scriptures and applies those things to her marriage, she can be a part of leading him to Christ.
She obviously loved him enough to marry him. She should also love and care for his soul and salvation.
13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband:
What does it mean to be sanctified?
Sanctified means to make holy. Marriage is a holy Union created by God. Holiness refers to something that is divine. The scriptures teach us that God is love. When you love an unbelieving spouse you are showing them a part of that divine love.
In a marriage the bed is undefiled. That means it is holy. It is consecrated in love for each other. The unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife which means she is showing him Divine love because she is a believer in Jesus Christ. She truly and sincerely cares about him and his soul.
When children are produced, one of the parents is filled with that divine love. As the children grow in the home, the exposure to divine love is a holy influence unto them.
The end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart. If you’re married to somebody who is an unbeliever who is caught up in sins and and other issues that they may have, a Christian spouse is to love them and to care for them. Remember that Christ Jesus cares for us even while we were yet sinners.
Marriage between an unbelieving and a believing spouse is actually a place of ministry in a home. You can win the other to Christ and Lord willing, they will be in Heaven someday. Our precious God ultimately wants everybody to come to a place of repentance and accepting the truth.
15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.
Yesterday we were talking about verse 10 where it says unto the married I command yet not I but the Lord let not the wife depart from her husband. If she’s claiming to be a Christian, she is not supposed to leave her husband under any circumstances because it’s the command of Christ.
If an unbelieving spouse were to depart because they are not happy, then a brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases. That means that you are released from that marriage, only in such a case.
The only time that this can happen is if they are a complete unbeliever and they walk off on a marriage. God doesn’t want to make you feel like you have to go the rest of your life without a spouse because they left you. If they remain with you and they’re happy to be with you and they’re a non-believer, do not leave them because God has placed them in your path. Years down the line they could become a believer. Remember that at one point of your life, you were an unbeliever too.
We obviously came to Christ and became Christians at one point, so you want to be patient with others especially if it’s your own spouse. As long as they want to be with you and they’re pleased to dwell with you, you need to remain with them.
Again, a wife is not supposed to depart from her husband, whether he’s a believer or an unbeliever she’s never supposed to do that to him.
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?
To save somebody is to keep them safe or rescue them from harm or danger. A wife who marries an unbeliever and became Christian some point in her marriage can win her husband by obeying the teachings of Christ. When she loves her husband the way Christ teaches her to in the scriptures, her husband may want to know more about her faith because he sees qualities that are admirable in her. Her love and obedience towards him can draw him to God. It can even make a husband ask is this what Jesus Christ teaches you?
It can cause a husband to want to learn more about our faith. But remember, a woman is not supposed to preach or teach her husband at all. She wins him by her actions and her deeds.
17 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.
Ordained simply means to order to do something. Jesus ordains and gives us Commandments in the scriptures that we want to follow. The Apostle Paul was commanding things to all the churches so that they would all be united and sound in the faith together. If you went to one church group and then went to another somewhere else, they were all the same and they all believed the same things together.
18 Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised.
19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.
John 10:3
To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
Being called is being called by Christ into His service. He calls us by name. He knows each of us personally.
He called the Apostle Paul to preach. He calls men in the church to instruct their own families. When you are called, Jesus is Calling You to become a follower of his. Jesus called His apostles to become followers of Him.
As far as circumcision goes, it was something that was put forth by God in Judaism. The Old Testament is Judaism. As a Christian, we are under the New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because circumcision is of the past and Christ abolished the regulations under the old Testament, Christians are not required to keep those things anymore. What is required is a keeping of the commandments of God.
There are numerous things in the New Testament that we are supposed to keep according to the Commandments of the Lord God. One that we learned yesterday is that a wife is not supposed to depart from her husband.
Many people think of Commandments as simply the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament but the New Testament is filled with commandments that we need to keep to become pleasing unto God and to do his will.
Circumcision was an outward showing of your faith. Circumcision was something that was done on the exterior rather than the interior. The Apostle spoke of circumcision of the heart.
To some, Christianity is just an external religion or just what people can see. Some go to a church service somewhere and put on a suit and a tie or even a robe simply because they want to appear religious to others. These things do not matter to God. He wants our faithful obedient and loving hearts. It’s not the exterior but on the interior that He writes on the fleshy tables of our heart. It’s about trusting and believing what God is calling you to do and become.
It’s becoming a door of the word as the Apostle James taught. When we obey God, God will reward that. Don’t ever forget I said that. He will reward obedience and a diligent seeking heart!
So think on those things for today and Lord willing we will talk to you some more tomorrow till then, by by everybody.
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 