I Corinthians 7:25  Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.
26  I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.
27  Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.
28  But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.
29  But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;
30  And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;
31  And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.

As we write these devotionals, it is important to remember that I am not the final authority. I am accountable to God for what I write. I will need to answer to God for what I write and what I say. I want to be careful not to interfere with what God’s Word says. You, the reader, need to study God’s Word as well. You need to be saved in order to understand God’s Word properly. If you are saved, and I am saved, we should agree on what the Bible says. There is much disunity among those who claim to be saved. The problem is not with the Word of God. The problem is with us as people. Those who are truly saved cannot be content to say we believe the Word of God and then insist on our own way. God’s Word must be our authority in all things.
In our text today, God directed Paul to speak to the needs of the widow and the unmarried. We need to understand again that Paul is not just giving his opinion here. We have already looked at similar wording in this chapter. We need to keep in mind that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” We cannot relegate one single word of Scripture as the writer’s opinion. That would make God’s words in II Timothy 3:16 a lie. We know God’s Word is not a lie.
We know that God’s general will for men and women is to marry. However, He does not command all men and women to marry. Fornication or adultery are never God’s will. In verse 25 Paul is addressing the matter of virgins. Virgins are unmarried people. As an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul was going to address this matter.
In verse 26 Paul was directed to note the present circumstances under which he and all saints of that time were living in. The Roman government was becoming more hostile toward true saints. The false religionists were also hostile toward true saints. The Roman government chose to side with the false religions rather than to repent and be saved. Persecution was more intense in those days.
In verse 27 Paul stated that the married person is bound to a wife. He is bound in that he is joined to her and he needs to provide for her. His status changed when he chose to get married. Obviously this is not a bad thing for those who are saved. It is not a bondage. It just changes the situation. The saved married man does not pray and seek to be loosed from his marriage. He is not looking for some way to get away from his marriage obligations. He does have responsibilities that he did not have before. He can deal with those responsibilities in Christ. He needs to be aware of this fact.
The widower in this context, is better off to remain a widower rather than seek a second wife. Obviously a widower is a man who was married and lost his first wife due to her death. It is not someone who is divorced.
In verse 28, Paul was also directed to write that the person that marries is not sinning against God. We will see further that this marriage must be in the Lord. Thus a widower or a widow can marry again if they do so in the Lord. The virgin can also marry. God is not telling us that there is a certain time in history when people should not get married. What He is saying is that the person needs to understand the responsibilities that come with marriage. Jesus addressed this matter as well in Matthew 24 and elsewhere.
Paul was also directed to address the issue of persecution for the married. A loving husband does not want to see his wife suffering. He would rather see her protected and spared persecution. However, as a married woman she would be connected to her husband and if he is affected by persecution, it will affect her as well.
In verse 29 Paul wrote of the shortness of the time. This was written around 2,000 years ago. The time was short then. How much shorter do you suppose it is now? We need to understand that God’s clock is ticking. We do not know the day, nor the hour, but we know that our time on this earth is short. It is not only becoming more difficult for women, with the sodomite agenda that is being pushed; it is also becoming more difficult for children due to the wickedness of society.
There was a new report put out recently about a BRICS nations meeting that is coming up in a few days. There is an alliance developing that is seeking to topple the power of the U.S. dollar. The success of this alliance will have many ramifications for the West. As those changes take place, we can be assured that the West will turn further away from God, which means greater persecution for those who are truly saved. This will affect saved couples.
It is always important to consider carefully our actions and choices. The carelessness that many professing Christians have been living under is going to come back to bite them.
In verse 30 we see further instructions with regard to the challenges that saved people will face. A husband and wife can be a real comfort to one another in difficult times. However, if the government becomes more like the German government in the days of Hitler, then we will see husbands and wives separated by a wicked government. Hard labour and death can be coming for those who walk in the fear of the Lord. That is not pleasant for the flesh, but for those who are saved, we do have the assurance of a home in Heaven.
In verse 31 the caution is for those who are living on borrowed money. That was obviously an issue in Paul’s day and it seems quite a big issue in our time. We are being trained that we must borrow money for a car or a house, etc. We, those who are saved, need to understand that debt is not our friend. During the Wuhan virus debacle, there were churches that were carrying large amounts of debt and that affected their decision making. They needed to cover their debts and thus they compromised on the truth just to keep the money coming in so that they could meet their financial obligations.
We need to be reminded that this world is passing away. If people will not attend a simple church, their heart is not right with God. We do not need to accommodate the lust for worldly things. We need to help people to see where true value lies. It is interesting to me to see how many churches cater to the flesh. The number of side programs that they seem to think they need to have to keep the people coming and happy. Meanwhile some of those extracurricular things are a distraction. They may build unity, but unity around what? What will happen to those people when the pressure builds?
We need to be careful not to be in love with the world. We need to see the value of quality Bible studies and of true Biblical fellowship. We need to remember that persecution is part of the true Christian’s life. God is there to sustain us in the midst of trouble. We need to be sure we are walking with Him.
Pastor Bartel