1 Corinthians 7:24 Brothers, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God. The text teaches — I. THAT MEN ARE FOUND IN VARIOUS CONDITIONS OF LIFE. Some are free men, some are slaves, &c. This variety — 1. Affords scope for benevolent activity. If all men were in precisely identical worldly conditions, there would be manifestly no sphere for it. 2. Creates a bond of social unity. Gratitude is one of the strongest social ties, and hence the relation between the giver and the receiver, the helper and the helped, is generally close, tender, and strong. Were all men in exactly the same condition, there would be a spirit of reckless independency, and a state of social disorder. 3. Invests society with social charms. Variety is one of the charms of existence. II. THAT SOME OF THE CONDITIONS OF LIFE ARE OF DIVINE APPOINTMENT. Of some this cannot be said. People are found in — 1. Matrimonial relations which God has not appointed. Two people are brought together for life whose instincts, temperaments, habits, are antagonistic. 2. Ecclesiastical positions which God has not appointed. 3. Commercial engagements which God has not appointed. Those who turn the ores of the earth into implements of destruction, and distil the fruits of the earth into liquids that drown the reason, ruin the health, and destroy the morals of a community, are not "called" to their sphere. III. THAT IN EVERY CONDITION OF LIFE MEN SHOULD PRACTISE GODLINESS. What is it to "abide with God"? It means constancy of supreme love and obedience to Him, and of devotion to His cause. Godliness is — 1. Binding in all conditions of life. As much so in the market as in the chamber or the temple. God is every- where, and your relation to Him remains intact in all circumstances. 2. Possible. Let no man say his conditions are such that he cannot be religious. If they really are, he must come out of them. If lawful, God knows them, and will help you in them. (D. Thomas, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.WEB: Brothers, let each man, in whatever condition he was called, stay in that condition with God. |
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