Living by the Word of God - Psalms 119:1-88 and I Corinthians 7:20-40
Psalm 119 is a wonderful admonition to follow the commands and principles of the Word of God. It is told from the perspective of a person who has studied the Word and has sought to live by the Word. There is no hint that the psalmist was simply learning the commands of God as an academic exercise. On the contrary, he was walking with God through the joys and trials of life by applying His Word in each situation. In fact, it seems that the writer of this psalm had more than his share of problems with unrighteous people, and he let God's Word guide him in those situations. The reality is that we come to know God better and better as we digest His Word. Then, the more we know Him, the more we know what to do in any particular circumstance, because we come to know what He would do Himself. That is why knowing the Word and living out the Word is so important. It is all about knowing God and living for Him.
I Corinthians 7 ends with two examples of questions that were posed to Paul by the Christians at Corinth. In some cases Paul could site Old Testament passages to answer questions, but sometimes there was no direct teaching on that subject. Paul had no Scripture that directly answered these questions, so he had to rely on the Spirit to show him the truth based on the Word of God. Paul was inspired to write these answers down for us, so we know that they are the truth of God. However, the same principle applies for us today. Many times we have to confront a situation for which there is no direct command of Scripture. We must go by what we know of God and His Word. That is how God wants it to be, because he wants us to live by our relationship with Him and not by simply following laws. Therefore, Paul told the believers in Corinth not to seek to change their position in life, because they were saved, but to live for Jesus in whatever situation they found themselves. Then, he told the fathers that it was fine for their daughters not to get married, if they could serve the Lord better as a single person, and if they had the gift of celibacy. In fact, Paul tells everyone that being single has advantages when it comes to serving the Lord, so they should not think that God wants everyone to be married. In both cases, Paul was telling them to go against the prevailing opinion of the day, because God looked at it another way. We will find the same thing to be true as we seek to live by God's Word.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalm 119:89-176 and I Corinthians 8.
I Corinthians 7 ends with two examples of questions that were posed to Paul by the Christians at Corinth. In some cases Paul could site Old Testament passages to answer questions, but sometimes there was no direct teaching on that subject. Paul had no Scripture that directly answered these questions, so he had to rely on the Spirit to show him the truth based on the Word of God. Paul was inspired to write these answers down for us, so we know that they are the truth of God. However, the same principle applies for us today. Many times we have to confront a situation for which there is no direct command of Scripture. We must go by what we know of God and His Word. That is how God wants it to be, because he wants us to live by our relationship with Him and not by simply following laws. Therefore, Paul told the believers in Corinth not to seek to change their position in life, because they were saved, but to live for Jesus in whatever situation they found themselves. Then, he told the fathers that it was fine for their daughters not to get married, if they could serve the Lord better as a single person, and if they had the gift of celibacy. In fact, Paul tells everyone that being single has advantages when it comes to serving the Lord, so they should not think that God wants everyone to be married. In both cases, Paul was telling them to go against the prevailing opinion of the day, because God looked at it another way. We will find the same thing to be true as we seek to live by God's Word.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalm 119:89-176 and I Corinthians 8.