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1 Corinthians 7:25-40 "Now concerning virgins I have no..." KJV - Online Bible Study

Daily Bible Reading fromBibleStudyTools.com

July 20, 2011 - King James Version

1 Corinthians 7:25-40

²⁵ Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. ²⁶ I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be . ²⁷ Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed . Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. ²⁸ But and if thou marry , thou hast not sinned ; and if a virgin marry , she hath not sinned . Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you. ²⁹ But this I say , brethren, the time is short : it remaineth , that both they that have wives be as though they had none; ³⁰ And they that weep , as though they wept not; and they that rejoice , as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy , as though they possessed not; ³¹ And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away . ³² But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: ³³ But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. ³⁴ There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. ³⁵ And this I speak for your own profit ; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction. ³⁶ But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age , and need so require , let him do what he will , he sinneth not: let them marry . ³⁷ Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well. ³⁸ So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better. ³⁹ The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth ; but if her husband be dead , she is at liberty to be married to whom she will ; only in the Lord. ⁴⁰ But she is happier if she so abide , after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.

1 Kings 21:1-29

¹ And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ² And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying , Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. ³ And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. ⁴ And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said , I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. ⁵ But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread? ⁶ And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered , I will not give thee my vineyard. ⁷ And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise , and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry : I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. ⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. ⁹ And she wrote in the letters, saying , Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: ¹⁰ And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying , Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out , and stone him, that he may die . ¹¹ And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. ¹² They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. ¹³ And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying , Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died . ¹⁴ Then they sent to Jezebel, saying , Naboth is stoned , and is dead . ¹⁵ And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned , and was dead , that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise , take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead . ¹⁶ And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead , that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. ¹⁷ And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying , ¹⁸ Arise , go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. ¹⁹ And thou shalt speak unto him, saying , Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed , and also taken possession ? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying , Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. ²⁰ And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy ? And he answered , I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD. ²¹ Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, ²² And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger , and made Israel to sin . ²³ And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying , The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. ²⁴ Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat ; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat . ²⁵ But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up . ²⁶ And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. ²⁷ And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted , and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. ²⁸ And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying , ²⁹ Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

Amos 5:1-27

¹ Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel. ² The virgin of Israel is fallen ; she shall no more rise : she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up . ³ For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel. ⁴ For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live : ⁵ But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity , and Bethel shall come to nought. ⁶ Seek the LORD, and ye shall live ; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel. ⁷ Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, ⁸ Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name: ⁹ That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress. ¹⁰ They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. ¹¹ Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. ¹² For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. ¹³ Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time. ¹⁴ Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live : and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken . ¹⁵ Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. ¹⁶ Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing. ¹⁷ And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD. ¹⁸ Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. ¹⁹ As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. ²⁰ Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it? ²¹ I hate , I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. ²² Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. ²³ Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. ²⁴ But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. ²⁵ Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? ²⁶ But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. ²⁷ Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.

Gospel of Mark Chapter Fifteen
Commentary by Pastor Ron Beckham
Audio Sermon – Mark 15
The Cross
I worked in a court system for fourteen years and saw justice done sometimes, but some who were guilty went free with a warning because the evidence was insufficient, and occasionally it was later found that an innocent person had been condemned. In Verse 1 we see the most Innocent Person in the history of mankind being bound, led away and delivered to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. Our God, the King of all humanity was on trial for His life.
Governor Pilate was personally involved because this trial involved the “Pax Romana,” the Roman peace that Pilate had vowed to protect on taking his management position within the Province of Judea. Pilate, who had heard the charges brought by the Jewish leaders, no doubt accusing Jesus of political offenses against the Roman government, asked Jesus directly in Verse 2, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus calmly replied, “It is as you say.”
In Verse 3 the chief priests continued to accuse Jesus, but “He answered nothing.” In Verses 4-5, we find Governor Pilate, who had observed many defendants in a multitude of capital trials, asking Jesus in a shocked manner, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You! But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.” At this point the typical defendant Pilate had seen over the years would have been weeping, denying his guilt, or if he was a sociopath, lying effectively, but Jesus did none of it. He was dignified, calm and quiet.
Pilate was thinking fast. His wife sent word about an upsetting “dream,” warning him to “Have nothing to do with that just Man” (Matthew 27:19), and he was worried. In Verse 6 he was recalling hopefully the custom of releasing a prisoner to the Jews, “whomever they requested.”
In Verses 7-8, we are shown another prisoner “named Barabbas,” who had committed murder in a recent rebellion and was on trial for his own life. The multitude of Jews who were watching and listening carefully, “began to ask (Pilate) to release a prisoner according to the custom.”
Pilate answered in Verses 9-11, hoping that Jesus could be released - “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” he shouted those words, knowing that “the chief priests had handed (Jesus) over because of envy.” But the chief priests had been going through the crowd, persuading them to shout for the murderer Barabbas instead of Jesus. And by the time Pilate called out to them again in Verse 12, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” they replied with one loud voice in Verse 13: “Crucify Him!”
Pilate had become convinced that Jesus was innocent, which He was, and Pilate shouted in Verse 14, “What evil has He done?” But they yelled all the more, “Crucify Him!” Pilate was what we call a “pragmatist,” and he still had hopes that one day he might become Caesar of the Empire. He wanted the crowd to be pacified and for that reason, in Verse 15, he “released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.” It’s important to note here that this was not some kind of out-of-control event, but it all was carefully orchestrated from eternity – The sins of all mankind were being “laid on Him” (Isaiah 53:6).
The “Praetorium” where Jesus was taken in Verse 16, was the official residence of the Roman governor “and they called together the whole garrison," numbering hundreds of soldiers. In Verses 17-19 the soldiers mocked Jesus by placing a purple cloak, a symbol of royalty, around His shoulders. And they also jammed “thorns” onto His head, a reminder of God’s curse on humanity in Genesis 3:18. He was surrounded by laughter that accompanied the derisive shout, “Hail, King of the Jews!” This was all prophesied by David in the context of Psalm 22:7, when he said, “All those who see Me laugh Me to scorn." They hit Him on the head, spat on our Lord, and bowed before Him in false, mocking “worship.” Many have said, “if only I could see God…” but here were our representatives, mocking and spitting on the King of Glory.
Jesus did not scream, cry, curse or otherwise entertain these cruel men; He merely submitted and endured. The soldiers were not amused and so in Verse 20 they “took the purple (robe) off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and (immediately) led Him out to crucify Him.” Jesus fell under the weight of the cross and the soldiers in Verse 21 “compelled… Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross." The human author Mark knew their names, suggesting that the three men named in this verse would later become followers of Jesus after His resurrection. "Cyrene," by the way, was a city in North Africa.
In Verse 22, Jesus was taken out of Jerusalem to a place called “Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.” In Verse 23 He was given “wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.” Verses 24-26 describe His crucifixion, which was at nine in the morning. He had only His clothing and the soldiers “divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.” Hundreds of years before, David prophesied about this incident in Psalm 22:18 - “They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” It was customary to inscribe the person’s crime on the top of the cross. His said, “The King of the Jews,” which He was and is.
Verses 27-28 reveal that “robbers” were crucified with Him, “one on His right and the other on His left,” fulfilling Isaiah 53:12's words - “And He was numbered with the transgressors.” We know from Luke 23:39-43, that one of those robbers, after observing Jesus, believed in Him.
Can you imagine being in intense pain, both from the agony of crucifixion and the greater agony of dying for our sins, and at the same time being laughed at and mocked by chief priests, scribes and others, as seen in Verses 29-32? “Come down” they sneered. “He saved others, Himself He cannot save,” they smirked. If He had actually descended from the cross as they demanded that He do in Verse 32, they still would not have believed because their hearts were hardened toward God.
It was the “sixth hour” in Verse 33, but suddenly that noontime was like the intense darkness of night which settled over the whole vicinity around Jerusalem for three intense hours, 'til 3 PM (“the ninth hour”). At that time, Jesus cried out loudly in Verse 34, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?... “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” which were the exact words of Psalm 22:1. Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought Jesus was “calling for Elijah!” the man that the prophet Malachi had said would appear before the “dreadful day of the Lord” (Malachi 4:5).
Somebody in Verse 36 “ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, ‘Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.” But at that moment in Verse 37, Jesus “cried out with a loud voice, ”Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit” (Luke 23:46) and He “breathed His last.” He was not unconscious, He was truly dead.
Then in Verse 38, the large “veil of the temple(which was several inches thick) was torn in two from top to bottom." In Verse 39, “the centurion, who stood opposite (Jesus), saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last. He said, ‘Truly this Man was the Son of God!’ ” Indeed He was (and is). Certain women were watching, as seen in Verses 40-41, including Mary Magdalene and another Mary. There was haste in what was now done “because it was the… the day before the Sabbath," and in Verses 43-46, we find “Joseph of Arimathea,” a member of the Sanhedrin, bravely going “to Pilate… for the body of Jesus." Pilate was surprised that Jesus had died so quickly and asked the centurion about it, learning that Jesus “had been dead for some time.” He gave the body to Joseph, who “bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him... And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.” In Verse 47 we learn that the two Mary’s “observed where He was laid.”
Father, it is terrible to read about this murder of the Son of God, but on another level we rejoice, for we understand that He died to set us free. Thank You, Jesus, that You died for our sins, my sins. We believe in You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Friday Study Ministries
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org
www.FridayStudy.org
Write to: Ron@FridayStudy.org

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