_Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman._ MARRIAGE I. Is not necessary for all (1 Corinthians 7:1). 1. Instituted by God, sanctified by Christ, it is pure and holy. 2. Yet circumstances, such as times of calamity, personal duty, &c., may rende... [ Continue Reading ]
_I speak this by permission, and not of commandment._ REVELATION I. By permission. 1. Is still Divine and therefore authoritative. 2. Respects matters of expediency and private application. II. By commandment. 1. Is absolute. 2. Of immeasurable importance. 3. Universally binding. (_J. Lyth,... [ Continue Reading ]
_And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband._ THE MARRIAGE UNION: HOW DISTURBANCES OF IT ARE TO BE ALLEVIATED I. If both parties are believers--according to our Lord’s command. 1. Not by divorce. 2. But by mutual conciliation. II. If one pa... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife._ THE SANCTIFICATION OF AN UNBELIEVING PARTNER The Christian wife lays her heathen husband upon the altar of God; and in all her intercourse with him acts as God’s servant, striving ever to accomplish His purposes. Therefore, whatever the husb... [ Continue Reading ]
_But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk._ EVERY CHRISTIAN AT HIS POST 1. God appoints every man his station and condition in life. 2. Has called him in it. 3. Requires him faithfully to fulfil its duties. 4. Allows of no exception unless whe... [ Continue Reading ]
_Brethren, let every man wherein he is called, therein abide with God._ THE CHRISTIAN CALLING 1. The word “calling” in a Christian sense is a condensed confession of faith. It means that our life is governed by a will above it, and is capable of receiving influences of attraction from the Spirit o... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord._ CONCERNING VIRGINS AND WIDOWS The apostle advises-- I. The unmarried of both sexes. As he has argued against the disruption of the ties between slave and master, Christian and heathen, so Paul now advises the unmarried to remain as they... [ Continue Reading ]
_But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth that both they that have wives be as though they had none._ THE TIME IS SHORT I. For the domestic connections of the world (1 Corinthians 7:29). 1. Man is the creature of the family. He is nursed and trained under its influence. When call... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they that use this world, as not abusing it._ USING THIS WORLD (Election sermon):-- 1. It is the duty of a Christian, so long as he is a citizen of this world, to take a part in its concerns. “I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world,” &c. (1 Corinthians 5:10). How can salt s... [ Continue Reading ]
_But I would have you without carefulness._ “WITHOUT CAREFULNESS” I. By avoiding those states which involve carefulness. Take, _e.g._ 1. The question of marriage. Paul bids Christians, in the first place, not to marry. (1) But that was a time of persecution. The Christian man who had no family c... [ Continue Reading ]
_She is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord._ ON MARRIAGE Let me-- I. Explain and justify the rule laid down in the text. 1. To be in the Lord is to be a believer in Christ, to be united to Him by a living faith, and to be interested by reason of that, in all the blessing... [ Continue Reading ]