1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.
7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I.
9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. 1 Corinthians 7.
Up until this chapter Paul is responding in his letter to information he has received from other sources. Consider Chapter 1 verse 11:
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
Chloe’s people may have been the ones who delivered the Corinthians’ letter to Paul.
Later, Paul says he is responding to reports that are circulating concerning a serious matter in the church. Consider Chapter 5 verse 1:
1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.
Now in chapter 7 the apostle begins to respond to the letter he has received wherein they ask him concerning different matters.
1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me….
Regardless of the source, the man of God must deal with the problems.
The matter of Chapter 7 is along the same line as that in Chapter 5.
The problem in the church is fornication. You might think Paul was writing to the American church.
Fornication is sex outside of the covenant of marriage. The easy believism, the seeker friendly system, and the cheap grace preaching of today have all contributed to the rampant disregard for the rule prohibiting fornication in the church.
My single friend, it is time to break up or get married. Living together is not an option. Hotel hopping is not an option. This traveling together on vacation or even missions trips as was reported to me recently is not acceptable. Sexual intimacy is the privilege of the marriage covenant keepers. Get down to the altar to marry or to repent. It is better to marry than to burn. To burn with sexual desire or burn in hell for disregard to the Biblical injunction are both valid applications here.
As we say in Spanish, ¡Ya! Enough of the unmarried couples sitting in church every Sunday pretending to be married, calling each other their husband or wife, wearing a wedding ring, and serving in the church under false pretenses. And enough of the blatant outright refusal to do what is right in the eyes of God. Lady, you are not married in the eyes of God. You are living in sin.
It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
¡Se acabo! (Look it up or ask your Spanish friend). -PJF-
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