WALKING FAITHFULLY WHERE GOD CALLED – 1 Corinthians 7:17-24

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on January 27, 2019 under 2019 |

Bethany Bible Church Sunday Message; January 27, 2019 from 1 Corinthians 7:17-24

Theme: We are to walk as a faithful Christian in the place of life where God has called us to Himself.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

One of the most amazing and encouraging verses in the Bible is 2 Corinthians 5:17. It declares to us how much it is that Jesus transforms the life of whoever trusts in Him.

That verse says;

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

What wonderful news that is! That speaks of the total transformation of our inner self. The moment any woman or man or young person places their faith in Jesus Christ, they become completely born-again in Him. They are made brand new on the inside. They may look the same on the outside, but their inner being—their spirit—is completely transformed. They are new creations. Their sins are completely forgiven—cast into the sea of God’s pardoning grace. A brand new inner life—made gloriously new in Christ—has begun. All things truly have become new.

And to a certain degree, that new inner life also has an impact on the outer life. Once we are made new on the inside, things begin to change on the outside. Old sinful habits and practices begin to be set aside. New practices and habits begin to be embraced. The things we used to love to do, we no longer want to do. The things that we didn’t want to do before, we now begin to love to do. The Holy Spirit living in us helps us to walk through life in a new way. We begin to read the Bible with new passion and understanding. We begin to pray about everything. We start seeking out fellowship with other Christians. We start to show the love of Jesus for other people. We begin to treat our daily responsibilities and duties more seriously. Praise God for the total transformation that comes from being a new creation in Christ.

But that raises and important and practical question. To what degree should the outside be changed? If everything on the inside is new, should we then completely get rid of every aspect of the outside life and start over?

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That was a very important question that was being asked by the Christians in the ancient city of Corinth. They were called into a relationship with Jesus Christ from the midst of a sinful culture. Many of them had lived very sinful lifestyles. They had clearly been transformed on the inside; and there were many changes that were happening on the outside too. But how much of these things on the outside needed to change?

They wrote to the apostle Paul; and they asked him many questions about such things. One of the questions that they asked had to do with their marriages. Some of them had become born again by faith in Jesus, and were now brand new creations in Christ. But their husbands or wives had not done so. They were believers who now, suddenly, found themselves married to non-believers. Now that they were made new on the inside, did their condition as married people also need to change?

In our last time together, we talked about Paul’s answer to this important question from 1 Corinthians 7:12-14. He told them;

If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy (1 Corinthians 7:12-14).

So in answer to their question, he told them ‘no’. Their condition as married people did not need to change. A believing husband should not divorce his unbelieving wife, and a believing wife should not divorce her unbelieving husband. Instead, they should stay in the marriage in which God had called them to Himself. God had providentially called them from within that particular relationship in order that He might use them as a witness to their unbelieving husband or unbelieving wife. God left them to remain in that very situation so that they might also have a godly influence upon their children.

Paul went on to tell them that, if their unbelieving husband or unbelieving wife resented their new life in Christ—if they hated their faith so much that they did not want to stay with them any longer—then the believer should allow that unbelieving spouse to go. But otherwise, the believer is to remain in the place where God had called them to Himself; and they should continue walking faithfully with Him there, and allow Him to use them as His witnesses for the kingdom of Jesus.

And now, as we continue our study in 1 Corinthians 7, we find that this was not just a principle meant only for marriage. Paul intended this to be a fundamental principle for all people who have put their faith in Jesus Christ and have become ‘new creations’ in Him. In verses 17-24, we see that Paul applies this principle to all of life. He wrote;

But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches. Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called (vv. 17-24).

This is a very important principle. It is so important, in fact, that Paul repeats it three times in this short passage. It’s the principle that, when God the Father calls us into a relationship with Himself through faith in Jesus and we become ‘new creations’ in Christ, we should not take this to mean that everything about our outward life now needs to be abandoned, or that we must now start life over again from scratch. Rather, we are to walk as a faithful Christian in the very place of life where God has called us to Himself—and to let Him use us there, in that place, as His witnesses for Christ.

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Now; this fundamental principle is given to us in three verses. The first time is in verse 17; where Paul writes, “But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk.”

Look carefully at that phrase “as God has distributed to each one”. That has to do with our outward mode of life—the place of life in this world that God has granted to us. And it assumes that God had been sovereignly working in our life—all the way up to that point in time at which He called us into a relationship with Himself through the gospel. It’s important to remember that when someone comes to faith in Jesus, it wasn’t only then—at that moment—that God had begun to work in their lives. Those that He has called to Himself by faith in Jesus were chosen by Him for that relationship long before they were ever born. The Bible tells us that “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:7). And so, He had His loving eye upon us, and His sovereign hand upon our lives, from the very beginning. That place that we were in when He called us was no ‘accident’. It was a sovereign ‘on purpose’; and was guided and arranged by Him for the manifestation of His glory in and through us.

Now obviously, staying in that place in which He called us assumes that it is not an inherently sinful place. God would not call us in Christ to remain in a continually sinful lifestyle or to carry on sinful practices. He may call us to Himself while we are in a place of sin; but He then leads us to live for Him outside that place of sin. I think we have a great example of this from the Bible. Do you remember the story of Zacchaeus the tax collector in Luke 19? As a tax collector, he was a sinful man. He had betrayed his own Jewish kinsmen; and he was collecting taxes from them for the Roman government. He was considered a traitor to the covenant promises of Israel, and a robber of his own people. In the minds of most Jewish people, he was something close to a ‘gangster’.

But Jesus came by one day and paid a call on Zacchaeus. He showed Zacchaeuas love and mercy; and He even went to Zacchaeus’ house for dinner. And do you remember what Zacchaeus did? During dinner, he stood up and said,

“Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:8-10).

Zacchaeus became a new creation by faith in Jesus. Salvation came to him—and right in the middle of a sinful lifestyle. But as you see, Zacchaeus didn’t remain in that sinful lifestyle any longer. He repented of his sinful practices. And so, the apostle Paul’s specific instruction to us—that is, that we remain in the place we were in at the time God called us to Himself—should be understood to mean that we are not to continue practicing sin. But if it is not sinful place of life—if it is not a place that is in violation of God’s clear commandments—then we are to remain there and let God work through us.

Paul gave the same principle again in verse 20; “Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called.” Do you notice that Paul referred to that place in which God calls us as a “calling”? That’s because it’s a manifestation of God’s providential work in our lives. We’re not automatically required to leave our families when we come to know Jesus Christ. We’re not automatically required to move out of our neighborhoods. We’re not automatically required to quit our jobs, or quit our course of study at school, or abandon our vocations. All of those things are, by the providence of God, a part of our “calling”—in the very midst of which He “calls” us into a relationship with Jesus. We need to remain in the same calling in which we are called—unless and until God calls us to another place of life.

And again, he says the same thing in verse 24; “ Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called.” Literally, the apostle Paul wrote, “In whatever you were called, brethren, in this remain before God.” And note carefully the manner in which Paul tells us to remain in that calling; that is, “with God”. In whatever place of life we were in, at that time when we were called by God to place our faith in Jesus and trust Him as our Savior, we are to remain there as if “with God”. We are to live in the same family “with God”. We are to live in the same neighborhood “with God”. We are to go to the same job or the same school—but we’re to now do it all as before God, and as His servants, and with trust in Him, and as unto His glory. What a wonderful way it is that God places us in a ready-made mission field in which to serve Him as His ‘new creation’ ambassadors for Christ!

And note one more thing. This wasn’t meant just for the believers in Corinth. This was meant for all of God’s people in Christ. As Paul writes in verse 17, “And so I ordain in all the churches.” This is a foundational principle for every believer in Christ, in every Christian church, in any culture, in any nation of the world, at any time in history. We are to walk as faithful followers of Jesus in whatever place of life it is that God has called us to Himself.

It’s a fundamental principle for us here today, dear brothers and sisters.

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Now; Paul doesn’t just merely state this principle to us. He also gives us some illustrations of what this principle should look like in some specific cases.

Notice, for example, how he illustrated this to us in terms of outward traditions. In verse 18, he wrote “Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised.” To be circumcised, of course, was to bear upon one’s self the covenant sign of Israel. It was to be a follower of the traditions of the Jewish people. There were some who had forsaken that sign and who had become uncircumcised. Some Jewish men made themselves “Hellenistic”—that is, members of Greek culture—by doing so. But Paul was urging that this was not at all necessary for a believing Jewish person to do. Paul himself was a devoted Jewish man; and becoming a follower of Jesus didn’t mean that he had to abandon the traditions of his fathers.

Likewise, Paul also said, “Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised.” If a Gentile man became a believer in Jesus the Jewish Messiah, he himself did not have to then become ‘Jewish’. He didn’t have to be circumcised, and become a devoted follower of the Jewish religious traditions. There were some Jewish Christians who insisted on that, however. Many of them demanded that the Gentiles who were coming to Christ now needed to become circumcised and to follow the traditions passed on by Moses. But the apostles and church leaders met together, and prayed together, and declared from the Lord that this was not necessary. No new ‘uncircumcised’ believer in Christ was required to become circumcised or to hold to the traditions passed on by Moses.

Rather, the Jewish follower of the Jewish traditions who came to Christ was encouraged to remain in the cultural traditions in which he was called, and to live faithfully for Jesus in it. And likewise, the non-Jewish follower of Jesus was encouraged to remain non-Jewish and live for Jesus in that condition. In verse 19, Paul wrote, “Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing …” And we should understand that Paul, in saying this, didn’t mean that such things didn’t matter. As a Jewish man, he would never have been indifferent to the covenant sign that God gave to his ancestor Abraham. Rather, he simply meant that in terms of a saving relationship with God through Christ, those things are not what is important.

I think that the greatest explanation of what Paul meant is found in Romans 2. He wrote;

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God (Romans 2:28-29).

That’s why Paul said that circumcision is nothing, uncircumcision is nothing, “but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.”

So; that’s what this principle looks like in relation to outward traditions. And then, Paul went on to give us another illustration—this one having to do with social structures. In verse 21, he wrote, “Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it …” Paul didn’t mean, of course, that it was a matter of indifference that someone was a slave. Rather, he meant that one’s place in the social structure as a slave didn’t affect whether or not someone was able to be a follower of Jesus. Someone was just as able to be called to God through Christ—and to live for Jesus just as faithfully—in a state of slavery as much as in a state of freedom.

Paul went on to say, “… but if you can be made free, rather use it.” Remaining in the cultural situation in which God called us didn’t necessarily mean that God may not call us to a different cultural situation later on in life. We should seek to serve God in whatever situation He places us—either now or later. We belong to Him wherever He calls us; “For”, as Paul tells us in verses 22, “he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave.” As the Bible tells us, if the Lord Jesus sets us free then we are free indeed—even if, culturally speaking, we are still in a state of slavery. And likewise, the Bible tells us that we are not our own, but that we have been purchased at the cost of the blood of Jesus—even if, culturally speaking, we are now in a state of freedom. Either way, we belong completely to Jesus as His new creations.

In verse 23, Paul said, “You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.” And that is the true condition of a new creation in Christ, whether they are a slaves or freedmen. If they were called to God in a state of cultural slavery, then they are to be faithful to walk with Jesus Christ as His servants within that state of slavery. If they were called to God in a state of cultural freedom, then they are to be faithful to walk with Jesus Christ as His servants within their liberty.

Either way—whatever the cultural or social situation we are called in, we are to do as Paul says in verse 24. We are—each of us—to remain “with God” in that state in which we were called.

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Now, dear brothers and sisters; how do we apply this principle? Let me suggest a few things.

First, I believe we should learn to be confident in God’s call for us. In calling us to Himself in Christ at the time He did, and in the place of life He did, and under the circumstances He did—with that upbringing we had, or in that cultural setting in which we live our lives, or with that social standing He has given us in this world—He has not made any mistakes. He has sovereignly called us as He did for a purpose. We should learn to accept His calling, and to be confident in it, and to even thank Him for it.

I think Paul himself might be a good example for us in this. He told his story in 1 Timothy 1; and he was thankful for how God used the place of life he was in when he was called. He wrote;

And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen (1 Timothy 1:12-17).

Do you notice how he was able to say how thankful he was for his calling? Do you see how he praised God for it? God used Paul’s place of calling mightily. Let’s have enough confidence in God’s call upon us to trust Him in it, and to let Him use it, and to even thank Him for it. It was all for a glorious purpose.

Second, I suggest that we should always be flexible to change. The fact we’re urged to stay in the place we were when God called us does not mean that that’s where God will always keep us. It may be that He calls us to that place for the initial stages of our walk with Him; and all so that He can train us for what He has for us in the future. If we are faithful in the place where He has called us, then He is better able to lead us to another place of calling if He so chooses.

And thirdly, I believe we should always strive—wherever He has us—to be a faithful witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the great message of this morning’s passage. When we are called into a relationship with Jesus, God calls us in a place where we still have our old friends and old relations. He has kept those relations in place for a reason. We should stay where our Lord has called us—so long as He has us there—because that’s the place where He wants us to serve as His faithful missionaries to others that are in our life.

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This, then, is a very important principle for ‘new creations’ in Christ. It is, in fact, a principle for all those who believe on Jesus—and in all the churches that belong to Him. Our sovereign God makes those of us who trust in Jesus into new creations on the inside; but He then calls us to remain in the place where He has called us on the outside—and to thus let Him show forth His work in us to others who are also in that place.

Now; if you have never placed your faith in Jesus and trusted Him as your Savior, I believe He is offering a call to you right now. You have heard this morning about how He transforms the lives of all those who trust Him. He makes them new creations from their inner-most being, and calls them to walk faithfully with Him in the outer life. Please answer His call. Please place your trust in Him. Let Him make you into a new creation.

And for those of us who have already trusted Him, let’s walk as a faithful Christian in the place of life where God has called us to Himself.

EA