Paul's letter to the Married, Dating and Single

1Cor 7:1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. 3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.

I Corinthians 7 is the standard for dating, marriage and related matters. Christians need look no further than this chapter to learn how to conduct themselves properly in issues of the heart and body.

The Corinthians of this church were a carnal bunch living in the midst of a corrupt culture. Similar to much of today's Christianity, the Corinthian believers were saved but merely relabeling their sins. They were dragging more of the world into the church than any other body of believers in the New Testament. They had come out of the world, but not all the way. In fact, some of their sins caused even the lost to blush.

Sexual sins tend to be some of the most insidious, destructive and disqualifying. So here, Paul addresses the mess the Corinthians were making of their lives and their church.

Corinthian society was rife with all manner of sexual sin; prostitution, fornication and adultery. Even the cultic religious practices incorporated sexual sin as an act of "worship."

Churches of our day are plagued with sin defying God's guidelines for sexual behavior. I Corinthians 7 clearly defines how Christians are to comport themselves in matters of sexual purity and fulfillment. It would do all of us good to re-acquaint ourselves with these guidelines.