Fundamentals

 July 22, 2023

“This present distress…” —1 Corinthians 7:26

I grew up in an independent Baptist church that self-identified as Fundamentalist. Far from being the stigma that such a label bears in much of the Christian world, it was a badge of honor. At Westside Baptist Church, the one thing Fundamentalist did not mean was isolationist.  The Bible was the final authority in the life of the church and those in it. If I am honest, there is still a lot of Fundamentalism in me, and I am unashamed.

Someone once said that the problem with Fundamentalists is that they’re sure of too many things. I think that’s true, but Fundamentalists are not the only ones guilty of this offense. Progressives come to mind in this regard. It is for this reason I appreciate the Biblical approach to much of what we tend to see in absolute terms. When in Acts 15 the council of Jerusalem decided that the Gentiles wouldn’t have to become circumcised in order to be Christian, their language was quite mild: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden…” (Acts 15:28). This is in stark contrast to the way some people today talk about the leading of the Holy Spirit.

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul is addressing the lax sexual ethics of the Corinthian Christians who having been converted from paganism, haven’t yet left all their old pagan practices behind. Paul is completely clear and uncompromising when it comes to sexual relationships outside of marriage, of homosexual relationships, infidelity, and pedophelia. Within marriage, he is likewise clear about how husbands and wives live out the sexual dimension of marriage.

But when he deals with those unmarried who are struggling with their sexual urges, he on the one hand encourages people to marry (“It is better to marry than burn.” 7:9), while on the other hand, understands that there are circumstances where singleness is to be preferred: “in this present distress.” In times of persecution, not having to worry about a spouse or child can be an advantage. How many who would have remained steadfast have denied their faith at the threat of harm to a wife, husband, or child? 

Paul is simply acknowledging that there are times when one course of action may be desirable, and times when a different path may be the wiser. All this means that while Christian faith is founded upon truths that we cannot abandon without denying Christ and his salvation, there are many areas of life in which God gives a freedom unavailable anywhere else. He invites us to “Come, let us reason together.” (Isaiah 1:18). 

I am grateful that there are foundational truths that anchor me to God, but also that there is a freedom in Christ that invites me to think, consider, and reason with the Holy Spirit and with other Christians. We are all better for it.