Living As You Are Called

July 28, 2024

1 Corinthians 7:17-24

¹⁷ Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. ¹⁸ Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. ¹⁹ Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. ²⁰ Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.

²¹ Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. ²² For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave.²³ You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings. ²⁴ Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.

Read 1 Corinthians 1:17-20

1. Still responding to a list of questions the Corinthians sent him, Paul now answers the question, “Do we have to convert to Judaism in order to follow Jesus?” This question exists because some followers of Jesus went around teaching that because Jesus was Jewish (ethnically and religiously), gentile followers of Jesus needed to convert to Judaism. Paul wrote the entire letter of Galatians to address this issue. Here Paul simply gives the Corinthian believers his conclusion. What is Paul’s conclusion on whether they needed to convert?
2. What is Paul’s reasoning behind his conclusion?
3. Extra credit: Read Galatians and report on what Paul says there regarding this issue.
4. In isolation, verse 20 could be very misleading. How does the context of the preceding verses help us understand what Paul is saying in verse 20?

Read 1 Corinthians 7:21-24

1. Paul takes a deeper dive on the idea of “remaining in the situation that you were when Christ called you.” Here he applies that idea to those who were slaves when they came to Christ. Does Paul passively support slavery as an institution with what he says here? Why or why not?
2. Paul suggests that in Christ, slaves become free, and free people become slaves. Discuss this idea and how it affects us in our everyday life.
3. Paul also suggests that, slave or free, followers of Jesus need to see themselves as belonging primarily to God. In practical terms, what does it mean to belong to God?
4. What behaviors, actions, or attitudes in your own life indicate that you are not living as if you belong completely and entirely to God?