1 Corinthians 10 - Good Advice

Wrapped into the framework of the ongoing discussion about idols, meat, Israel's history and more, this chapter is chock full of straight forward mandates like:

'Do not be idolaters' (v. 7)
'We should not commit sexual immorality' (v. 8)
'We should not test the Lord' (v. 9)
'do not grumble' (v. 10)
'be careful that you don't fall' (v. 12)
'flee from idolatry' (v. 14)
'Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience' (v. 25)
'eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience' (v. 27)
'whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God' (v. 31)
'Do not cause anyone to stumble' (v. 32)

How great life would be if every one of us did our best to live like this.

1 Corinthians 9 - "The Rights of an Apostle"

In this chapter we see Paul's passion for his purpose, "to win as many as possible" (v. 19).  He spends the first 14 verses in the chapter claiming his right to earn a living from his teaching and preaching.  He makes a compelling case, talking about oxen, soldiers and 'those who work in the temple'.  And then in verse 15, he turns this all around, saying that although he had this right, he didn't make use of it, to the point that he'd rather 'die than have anyone deprive him of this boast'.  So apparently Paul is pointing out to the Corinthians how he went above and beyond in his dealings with them, so that none of them would be put off by the Gospel.  Seems to tie in with the discussion in chapter 8 about avoiding practices that will cause others to stumble in their faith.

We know from other letters he wrote that Paul did receive gifts from churches and friends, that he did, at least at times, earn his living from the Gospel.  I think that's an important point.  The argument he makes here seems to be somewhat unique to his dealings with Corinth.

I want to emulate Paul, doing all I do for the sake of the Gospel, sharing in its blessings, making my body my slave, and not being disqualified for the prize.

1 Corinthians 8 - Compassion vs. Freedom

Thirteen short verses with a common theme, summarized well by verse 9.  We see in the first 8 verses that we have great freedom in Christ.  Idols are worthless, and the eating of food that's been sacrificed to these worthless idols makes us no less holy.  In 2012, although we rarely come across people struggling with those who eat meat sacrificed to idols, we do see Christians struggling to embrace other believers who drink alcohol. There are Christians convinced that we must not eat pork.  There are some who have a real problem with a believer watching an R-rated movie.  Bottom line:
"Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak." (v. 9).  Also, we see that Paul clearly puts his obligation to others ahead of his own personal freedom in Christ:
"if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall." (v. 13).  First and foremost, we are built for others, not ourselves.

1 Corinthians 7 - Marriage Talk

1 Corinthians 7 is one of those chapters that can get someone in a lot of trouble if quoted recklessly and without context.  For example:

"It is good for a man not to marry"
"Those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this"
"Those who have wives should live as if they had none"
"Were you a slave when you were called?  Don't let it trouble you"
"He who marries does right, but he who does not marry does even better"

Any of these could be controversial if removed from the broader context of understanding to whom Paul is writing and why.  The church in Corinth was suffering from the sexually immoral behavior of some of its members, which Paul has already specifically addressed in earlier chapters.  Then at the end of chapter 6, we read even more about sexual immorality in more general terms.  All this paints for us the picture of a people who were constantly bombarded by sex-related issues.  Probably not too different from modern-day Western society.

Even more, we see this in verse 1 of chapter 7: "Now for the matters you wrote about".  The people in Corinth apparently had asked Paul some specific questions about marriage.  Questions like: is it OK for a Christian spouse to divorce an unbeliever?  Is it OK for a widow to remarry?  Is it even good to marry at all?  Paul answers these directly; even being careful to explain where he is applying the known Scriptures of the time, and where he is trusting his own judgment.  The funny part for us, of course, is that Paul's writing became part of Scripture. (An aside: do you ever wonder if the writers of what became the books of the Bible had any sense that they were being used to put the Word of God on paper?  I wonder about that all the time.)

Clearly, Paul has an understanding of basic biology and knows that apart from procreation, the believers in Corinth will die out after a single generation.  So is he really saying that they should do their best to stay unmarried if possible?  Is there a broader truth to apply here...namely that the heart turned toward God does well to remain as undivided as possible?  Sometimes reading and studying the Bible causes me to turn toward God and just ask Him, what does this mean?  What are you trying to tell me?