1 Corinthians 7:35-40 (New International Version)
35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.
36 If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong[a] and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. 37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better.
39 A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. 40 In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
I. Undivided decisions with dating and engagement (vv. 35-36)
• When Christ is our first-love we assume responsibility for others -
• There are no commands in the Bible for
• Prolonging engagement, like salvation, is a
• Men will bear more responsibility on Judgment Day for considering the woman’s
• Men who prolong culminating the wedding passions in a woman’s prime season are
II. Love is commensurate with our commitment (vv. 37-38)
• Love doesn’t need to be
• Perpetual dating is living like a
• Relational and sexual progression is
• Love that is real grows in
• Relationships that demonstrate
III. Counting the cost of love (vv. 39-40)
• The unmarried need to remember that love is for life with no “
• Resurrection encompasses the death of
• The criteria for any Christian dating, engagement, or marriage relationship is that both partners must be
•
• At the