Paul's warning on marriage 1 Corinthians 7:28

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
JohnB

JohnB

Well-known member
#21
Jul 31, 2022
2,078
456
83
Calif
#21
MsMediator said:
I don't think Jesus would approve lusting after virgins to be appropriate either. Also, at that time, all women probably above 14 or 15 were married. There were not many single women past this age. I believe the assumption in Jesus' quote is that most/virtually all women were married.
Click to expand...
Not all women were married.
 
ResidentAlien

ResidentAlien

Well-known member
#22
Apr 21, 2021
7,649
3,227
113
#22
JohnB said:
"But I say unto you, That whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. "...the key word is ADULTERY. He did not say fornication. He's talking about adultery.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure I follow. Are you saying it's okay to fornicate in our minds but not okay to commit adultery?
 
JohnB

JohnB

Well-known member
#23
Jul 31, 2022
2,078
456
83
Calif
#23
notonmywatch said:
The verse on lusting was given in the context of not committing adultery.

Matthew 5

27Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

No married man or woman should be thinking about having any sort of sexual relations with anyone other than their spouse.[/QUOTE]

That was the point Jesus was making.
Click to expand...
 
R

Runningman

Banned
#24
Mar 4, 2020
8,614
3,680
113
#24
Paul isn’t wrong and I agree with him, but it probably isn’t as
JohnB said:
"But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that." 1 Corinthians 7:28 Sadly, you have troubles either way. But some in the church make being single even harder than it should be, by telling singles if you even think about sex, you have sinned. Or they use "Stay away from every kind of evil. " 1 Thessalonians 5:22 They use that verse for anything they don't like.
Click to expand...
Paul is basically saying you can get married, but you probably shouldn't. If you do then you're going to have problems, but I won't stop you from pursuing those problems. Paul knows, that at the end of the day, if church members stopped marrying, and thus stopped reproducing offspring, their chance of survival would be greatly inhibited.
 
JohnB

JohnB

Well-known member
#25
Jul 31, 2022
2,078
456
83
Calif
#25
ResidentAlien said:
I'm not sure I follow. Are you saying it's okay to fornicate in our minds but not okay to commit adultery?
Click to expand...
The point Jesus was making it, if you're PLANNING on committing adultery...even before the act, you have already committed adultery.
 
JohnB

JohnB

Well-known member
#26
Jul 31, 2022
2,078
456
83
Calif
#26
Runningman said:
Paul isn’t wrong and I agree with him, but it probably isn’t as


Paul is basically saying you can get married, but you probably shouldn't. If you do then you're going to have problems, but I won't stop you from pursuing those problems. Paul knows, that at the end of the day, if church members stopped marrying, and thus stopped reproducing offspring, their chance of survival would be greatly inhibited.
Click to expand...
Paul was warning about the problem with marriage. It isn't all sunshine and bunnies. yes it will stop some people from committing fornication. Paul said it was betting to marry than to burn with lust.
 
Beckie

Beckie

Well-known member
#27
Feb 15, 2022
2,516
935
113
#27
Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
 
R

Runningman

Banned
#28
Mar 4, 2020
8,614
3,680
113
#28
JohnB said:
Paul was warning about the problem with marriage. It isn't all sunshine and bunnies. yes it will stop some people from committing fornication. Paul said it was betting to marry than to burn with lust.
Click to expand...
That's true and I know Paul was an intelligent man. He foresaw the possibility that a false teacher could mislead people and say "Don't get married and have children anymore because that's not necessary to please God. Just live your life and we will focus on self-control" when their ulterior motive is to actually get the church to reduce their numbers or become non-existant.

1 Tim 4
1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.
 
R

Runningman

Banned
#29
Mar 4, 2020
8,614
3,680
113
#29
I think the goal with anything should be to not take it too far. Paul is warning about the possible troubles one may experience in marriage, but also not forbidding it either. Anything taken too far extreme can cause an issue.
 
ResidentAlien

ResidentAlien

Well-known member
#30
Apr 21, 2021
7,649
3,227
113
#30
JohnB said:
The point Jesus was making it, if you're PLANNING on committing adultery...even before the act, you have already committed adultery.
Click to expand...
I agree, but the same holds true for fornication. I doesn't matter what you call it, sexual immorality is sexual immorality.
 
JohnB

JohnB

Well-known member
#31
Jul 31, 2022
2,078
456
83
Calif
#31
ResidentAlien said:
I agree, but the same holds true for fornication. I doesn't matter what you call it, sexual immorality is sexual immorality.
Click to expand...
Try telling a group of teens it's a sin for them to even THINK about sex. If THINKING about sex is a sin and having sex outside of marriage is a sin, you might as well go out and have sex.
 
ResidentAlien

ResidentAlien

Well-known member
#32
Apr 21, 2021
7,649
3,227
113
#32
JohnB said:
Try telling a group of teens it's a sin for them to even THINK about sex. If THINKING about sex is a sin and having sex outside of marriage is a sin, you might as well go out and have sex.
Click to expand...
This is going nowhere. Enjoy the rest of your day.
 
Dino246

Dino246

Senior Member
#33
Jun 30, 2015
24,822
13,440
113
#33
JohnB said:
The point Jesus was making it, if you're PLANNING on committing adultery...even before the act, you have already committed adultery.
Click to expand...
No, that was not the point He was making.
 
posthuman

posthuman

Senior Member
#37
Jul 31, 2013
36,749
13,155
113
#37
CharliRenee said:
I was dating a man awhile back, a preacher in fact. He was so very handsome, I'll admit. He quoted scripture and prayed with me. He also was funny and articulate. All good things. I was like, this is so wonderful.

Well, toward the end of the evenings, I started suggesting we not kiss. I asked that because, every time we did, he started taking liberties with where he touched and how he kissed. It seemed clear that there was what appeared to be an intention to create lust. I don't know, maybe I am a prude but I don't think it was appropriate.

He suggested we get married quickly to solve the delima, but I refused to rush to the alter. We had barely started dating.

Since we parted one month later, he married another. No judgement, he seems very happy and so does she.

Anyway, I think it is important how to move with those normal thoughts, and how we also avoid having them in the first place. I think it is ok to find ppl attractive, without lusting. However, I believe that we should take nec precautions from playing with fire.

I believe the man should respect a woman and her personal relationship with Christ, and vice versa. I think that if a man or woman wants to partake in heavy petting right away, maybe this is a good sign to move on, that it is a red flag.

I hope that I have not offended anyone or shared too much. I just wanted to give my female perspective.
Click to expand...
It sounds to me as though, for him, he really needed to find a wife to keep himself from sinning. That he knew that and pursued it - you were a prospective for him but ultimately not the 'right match'
 
R

Runningman

Banned
#38
Mar 4, 2020
8,614
3,680
113
#38
JohnB said:
Just answer the question. Is it a sin for a single person to even think about sex?
Click to expand...
I’ll answer it and no that isn’t a sin. Sex is supposed to just be about creating a family.

To me, it’s utilitarian in purpose even though there is a pleasure aspect to it, that isn’t what you’re supposed to be focusing on. So thinking about sex is kinda like thinking about baking a cake in some ways. Just don’t think too much about eating said cake.

While I think married people have a bit of leeway in that gray area, if you’re not married then you have no one you should be fantasizing about.

Does that make sense?
 
Blade

Blade

Well-known member
#39
Nov 19, 2019
1,666
592
113
#39
JohnB said:
The verse on lusting goes beyond just looking and thinking. It's about planning on sinning. It's the difference between wanting to rob a bank and drawing up plans to rob a bank. You can think about it all you want, it's when you get to the stage of drawing up a map. planning a day and route.
Click to expand...
"Just answer the question. Is it a sin for a single person to even think about sex? "

Kind a hard for anyone to answer this. What is your definition of sex? As silly as that sounds is it thinking about someone or someone made up and then thinking about everything we would be doing married in that bed or room or out side. Duh hello sin. Now am I thinking .. oh me and her married.. haha as guy sex all the time and have kids or no kids thinking about that life. Nothing wrong what so ever. We all get thoughts temptations. To steal to lie to cheat to do harm on and on. So you got that thought ok now what? You have a choice here to keep it or toss it out. There is nothing in this world that has a right to control us. So did you take the thought and start playing with it? Its yours now and yes sin. But its not always instant. Well say someone did something to me or my kid or I just thought lol man I would love to beat the hmm snot out that guy.. just kick him and.. wait wait what am I thinking. Sorry Father.

We don't always catch it right away. You know we can be blind. All this is silly. Well the OP knows you can't think lust after a woman or man and its ok. There is no fine line of lust. You can lust after so many other things. Its simple He wrote His ways on our hearts. Listen. Every time He warns about anything and we ignore it that sweet small voice grows softer and then He wont say anything. It will seem as if God is not there. He is there there but we made the choice not to listen so He is doing what we want. Those time when we figure out its US not Him.. pray seek Him repent make it right.

In all this He does now haha since He made all this about nature so to speak. He knows that pull that desire so just relax. You think wrong get it wrong repent .. say sorry and keep going dont make a huge deal about it. Man + woman.. trust me He does understand but when SIN comes into play there is no understanding ever. Don't believe me here ask HIM..I am no ones god. But it seems to me Hes been talking and were under conviction.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.