New Testament in a Year
20 It is important for all people to live out faith in the circumstances they know.
The call to faith is not a call to abandon your life, family, neighborhood, and culture. We must play with the hand God deals us, not look for a new deck. He works through faith to redeem broken lives and wasted years, not to provide a change of scenery. Even in the worst circumstances, faith can change the believer from the inside.
21 Did you hear God’s voice while you were a slave? Don’t be concerned. (But if the opportunity comes to gain your freedom, then take it.) 22 For the slave who hears the Lord’s call is set free to belong to the Lord. In the same way, the so-called free person is called to become a slave of the Anointed One. 23 A high price has been paid for your freedom, so don’t devalue God’s investment by becoming a slave to people. 24 My brothers and sisters, each of you should remain in whatever external circumstances you were in when God called you.
25 Now when it comes to unmarried young women, I do not have a command from our Lord. The best I can do is to give you my advice as a trustworthy brother who knows the Lord’s mercy well. 26 Because of the challenging times we live in, I think the best plan is to stay as you are. 27 If you are married, don’t divorce. If you are single, there is no need to get married. 28 But if you decide to get married, this is not a sin; there is nothing wrong with a young woman taking a husband, but know that marriage is not easy and those who marry will face hard times. I am only trying to protect you. 29 But hear what I say, brothers and sisters: the time is short and growing shorter. So for the time remaining, even if you have wives, live with the undivided focus of those who do not have them. 30 Those who cry should live as those who have no tears. Those who rejoice should live as those who have no pleasure. Those who buy things should live as those who do not possess anything. 31 If you make use of this rebellious and broken world, live as if you have no use for it—because the form of this world is fading away.
32 My primary desire is for you to be free from the worries that plague humanity. A single man can focus on the things of the Lord and how to please the Lord, 33 but a married man has to worry about the details of the here and now and how to please his wife. 34 A married man will always have divided loyalties. The same idea is true for a young unmarried woman. She concerns herself only with the work of the Lord and how to dedicate herself entirely, body and spirit, to her Lord. On the other hand, a married woman has vast responsibilities for her family and a desire to please her husband. 35 I am not trying to give you more rules and regulations. I only want to give you advice that is fitting and helpful. I want to help you live lives of faithful devotion to the Lord without any distraction.
36 But I have this advice for every single man: If anyone thinks he is behaving badly toward his fiancée, if his desires prove to be too much for him, and if he feels they ought to marry, then he should do what he wants; it is not wrong to marry her. It is better that we let men and women in this situation do as they wish and get married. 37 If a man has no compulsion and chooses not to marry his fiancée, but commits himself to live a celibate life for the sake of following God and has the strength to live out his conviction, then he is doing a good thing. 38 So those who marry do a good thing, and they will share in a holy blessing; those who do not marry do an even better thing because they are part of an even greater blessing in the service of God.
39 A wife should stay by her husband’s side all of his life. But if he dies, she is free to marry any man she wishes as long as it is in the Lord. 40 You can likely guess that in my opinion this woman would be better off to remain single, and I think that I have this insight from God’s Spirit.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.