Two Sundays ago (June 7th) the sermon topic was on singleness. We looked at examples of singleness in the Old Testament and the New Testament (see the chapter on singleness in "God, Family, and Marriage" for a great treatment on this). From there I laid out two biblical truths on singleness:
1. Singleness is a gift from God
1 Corinthians 7:7 sees both singleness and marriage as gifts given by God. To a certain extent then, singleness is a gift that all people have in their life for at least some period of time. God, being a good and perfect God, gives only good and perfect gifts (James 1:17). So we should see singleness as a good and perfect gift from God, to be used in praise of God for whatever period of time we possess this gift. This leads us to the second biblical truth.
2. Singleness is an avenue for "undivided devotion to the Lord."
1 Corinthians 7:31-35 is the passage in which we find this phrase "undivided devotion to the Lord." The idea here is of being without distraction, of focusing completely on a specific task or service. The Bible is saying then that those who are unmarried are uniquely poised to give complete attention and focus to the Lord and his mission. Singleness should be a period of time of which we take full advantage! It provides us the opportunity to serve the Lord and enjoy him at a level that is without parallel in this life.
We also considered several practical areas of application for these truths, which included the following:
1. Ministry
Singles/Unmarrieds should jump into God's mission with full force. They should afford themselves of the opportunity to do radical things when it comes to being involved in people's lives, to serving in the city and the world, to praying and reading God's word, knowing that as they devote themselves fully to the Lord they will find him faithful to fully satisfy their souls.
2. Dating and 3. Sex
Men must be real men, honest and direct and not passive Peter Pan boys, when it comes to dating relationships. They must be careful to guard the hearts of the women around them, always treating all unmarried women, including those they date, as their sisters in Christ (1 Timothy 5:1-2). Women must be careful not to idolize relationships. They must be sure that only Jesus takes the role of Lord and Savior in their life and not being a relationship. And certainly both men and women must be careful to see that all sexual or sexually related activity find its proper place within marriage, where it was especially meant for (cf 1 Thess 4:36, 1 Cor
7:2-4, 9).
4. Parenting
Single parents can also show undivided devotion to the Lord by focusing their attention on an area that is central in the Lord's mission - raising their kids to know and follow Jesus. They should gladly see this as their first and foremost ministry before God.
Ultimately, the gospel is the key background for us to understand singleness. Because of the gospel, no person is truly "single." Without Jesus, we all were enslaved to sin and thus unable to be a true, unified relationship with God or with each other. In this sense, every person, no matter their marital status, was spiritually speaking "single." The good news of the gospel is that we who were once thus apart from God and one another are now brought near to God, reconciled to him and to one another in Christ. Because of this gospel of Jesus Christ, we are all intricately connected as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. It is in fact this commitment, as one church, united in and to Jesus, that will last forever. This connectiveness is something we must continually reinforce, embrace, and express within the church.
What are your thoughts on this subject? How can we better speak of singleness and even embrace it as Christians?
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