New Testament in a Year

²⁰ Each of you should stay as you were when God chose you.

²¹ Were you a slave when God chose you? Don’t let it trouble you. But if you can get your master to set you free, do it. ²² The person who was a slave when the Lord chose them is now the Lord’s free person. The one who was free when God chose them is now a slave of Christ. ²³ Christ has paid the price for you. Don’t become slaves of human beings. ²⁴ Brothers and sisters, each person is accountable to God. So each person should stay as they were when God chose them.

Advice for Those Who Are Not Married

²⁵ Now I want to say something about virgins. I have no direct command from the Lord. But I give my opinion. Because of the Lord’s mercy, I give it as one who can be trusted. ²⁶ Times are hard for you right now. So I think it’s good for a man to stay as he is. ²⁷ Are you engaged to a woman? Then don’t try to get out of it. Are you free from such a promise? Then don’t look for a wife. ²⁸ But if you do marry someone, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries someone, she has not sinned. But those who marry someone will have many troubles in this life. I want to save you from this.

²⁹ Brothers and sisters, what I mean is that the time is short. From now on, those who have a husband or wife should live as if they did not. ³⁰ Those who mourn should live as if they did not. Those who are happy should live as if they were not. Those who buy something should live as if it were not theirs to keep. ³¹ Those who use the things of the world should not become all wrapped up in them. The world as it now exists is passing away.

³² I don’t want you to have anything to worry about. A single man is concerned about the Lord’s matters. He wants to know how he can please the Lord. ³³ But a married man is concerned about the matters of this world. He wants to know how he can please his wife. ³⁴ His concerns pull him in two directions. A single woman or a virgin is concerned about the Lord’s matters. She wants to serve the Lord with both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the matters of this world. She wants to know how she can please her husband. ³⁵ I’m saying those things for your own good. I’m not trying to hold you back. I want you to be free to live in a way that is right. I want you to give yourselves completely to the Lord.

³⁶ Suppose someone is worried that he is not acting with honor toward the virgin he has promised to marry. Suppose his desires are too strong, and he feels that he should marry her. He should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. ³⁷ But suppose the man has decided not to marry the virgin. And suppose he has no compelling need to get married and can control himself. If he has made up his mind not to get married, he also does the right thing. ³⁸ So then, the man who marries the virgin does the right thing. But the man who doesn’t marry her does a better thing.

³⁹ A woman has to stay married to her husband as long as he lives. If he dies, she is free to marry anyone she wants to. But the one she marries must belong to the Lord. ⁴⁰ In my opinion, she is happier if she stays single. And I also think that I am led by the Spirit of God in saying this.