July 21
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INSTRUCTIONS TO THE UNMARRIED
25 Now concerning virgins, I have no command of the Lord, but I am offering direction as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. 26 I think, then, that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such people as yourselves will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you. 29 But this I say, brothers, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; 30 and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; 31 and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the present form of this world is passing away. – 1 Corinthians 7:25-31
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In this letter, Paul addresses the unmarried. He uses the word virgin both for men and women who haven’t been committed to someone in a covenant. Paul wrote this letter approximately in the year 53-54 AD according to some bible introductions to this book. Persecutions of believers started and Stephen had been martyred. Roman Emperor Nero began his cruel persecutions of Christians. During these times, it was completely illegal to be a Christian in the Roman Empire. To declare that you are a follower of Jesus was considered a capital crime against the state of Rome. It was during these “distressed” times that Paul wrote this letter. Eusebius, a Christian who wrote a history of the early church in around 300 AD wrote a description of the unthinkable torture and executions of early believers. Husbands, wives, children, the elderly, pastors or anyone who admitted that they were a follower of Christ, would be denied disowned by their own families because of the impact it would have on their own lives. They were almost considered criminals against the Roman Empire.
It is in this context that Paul instructs the single men and women of the body of believers. He says that the Lord has not commanded this, but because of such circumstances they are experiencing. He is advising the unmarried to stay single and to stay put whatever situation they are at that moment. Being a follower of Jesus has presented many challenges because of the Roman oppression of faith in Jesus. Paul isn’t discouraging marriage, but presents the advantages of remaining single in the time of distress.
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REFLECTION
• Is Paul’s advice to the unmarried still applicable in our current times now? How?