“Beyond Opinions” 5-5-24

Overview

Beyond Opinions

God does not speak in opinions. He did not suggest to Adam and Eve that perhaps a certain tree might be best avoided, nor did He recommend that Moses consider leaving Egypt. From Genesis forward, God speaks with command, with authority, with "thus says the Lord." That observation gives shape to a question that often raises eyebrows in 1 Corinthians 7:10-16, where Paul appears to distinguish between what "the Lord" says and what "I" say. Is Paul merely sharing his two cents?

In chapters 7–11, Paul is answering questions submitted by the Corinthian church. On the subject of marriage and divorce, he first addresses believing couples (v. 10), saying, "not I, but the Lord"—drawing directly on Jesus' teaching in Matthew 19. Scripture permits divorce in two narrow circumstances: adultery, and what has been called malicious desertion (physical abandonment, abuse, or a hardened refusal to reconcile—sin that breaks the bond of marriage). When the question shifts to mixed marriages—where one spouse believes and the other does not, as with Timothy's mother and her Greek husband—Paul writes, "I, not the Lord" (v. 12). His counsel: if the unbelieving spouse consents to live with the believer, the believer should not seek divorce.

Paul is not offering personal opinion. He is acknowledging that Jesus did not address this specific case during His earthly ministry, and then he speaks under the inspiration of the Spirit. Peter himself classes Paul's letters with "the other Scriptures" 2 Peter 3:15-16, and "no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation" 2 Peter 1:20-21. Paul himself says he speaks "in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit" 1 Corinthians 2:13, and at the close of this very chapter adds, "I think that I too have the Spirit of God" 1 Corinthians 7:40. All of God's Word is God's Word. There is no asterisk in Scripture marking off "Paul's opinion."

That truth is profoundly comforting in a world awash in opinions, where feelings are too easily deified and personal preferences treated as truth. We are tempted to do the same with God—elevating our thoughts about Him above His revealed Word. But Scripture stands as the inerrant, infallible standard that judges our feelings rather than the other way around. And where we have failed in this—where we have placed our opinions above God's Word—the cross of Christ has covered that sin too. By His grace, the Lord moves His people beyond opinion to conviction, beyond "I think" to "thus says the Lord." Biblically grounded conviction carries weight that mere opinion never can. Ancient words, ever true—trust all of it.

Transcript

Would you open up your Bible's please for our time and gods word today to first Corinthians 3s

the seventh chapter. 8s

First Corinthians chapter seven, if you're using a few edition of Holy Scripture, you're 10s

going to find that in the New Testament, page 149, first Corinthians chapter seven. 15s

If you ever noticed that God does not speak in opinion language. 23s

For example, God did not turn to Adam and Eve and say, 31s

my two cents? 39s

I wouldn't eat of that particular tree. 42s

Just my opinion. 46s

No, what did he do? 48s

He said, you can eat of every tree of the garden, save one. 50s

You don't eat from this tree. 54s

God didn't turn to Moses and said, my recommendation is you leave quickly from Egypt. 58s

That's what I would recommend. 67s

No, God said, it's time to go. 70s

Go. 73s

God doesn't turn to us and say, I know you have a lot of options. 74s

No, you've got a lot of options. 80s

If I were you, this is what I would do. 82s

Just an opinion. 87s

No, God doesn't speak in opinion. 89s

God speaks in command. 94s

God speaks with authority. 96s

God speaks with imperatives. 98s

God speaks with thus safe the Lord. 101s

That's where our text for study this morning. 108s

It can raise some eyebrows, can't it? 112s

Because is Paul giving an opinion here in opinion? 116s

As one looks at chapter 7 to 11 in 1 Corinthians, what you have is the apostle Paul responding to questions that he had received from the church. 129s

Look when they please. 142s

So chapter 7 verse 1. 143s

He writes, now, concerning the matters about which you wrote. 147s

So the church at Corinth has submitted questions to Paul. 153s

Paul receives the questions and now Paul is going to address the questions. 158s

In our section for study today, Paul is dealing with the topic of marriage. 163s

And specifically here, he's dealing with divorce. 170s

Look when they please. 174s

At verse 10. 176s

To the married, I give this command, not I, but the Lord. 178s

That the wife should not separate from her husband. 184s

But if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. 187s

And that the husband should not divorce his wife. 195s

We see in scripture that there are two biblically permissible doors then that open with regard to the possibility of divorce. 201s

There's two. 214s

One is if adultery has been committed. 216s

The other is what is called malicious desertion, malicious desertion. 221s

Where sin has broken the bond of marriage. 229s

It can occur literally through physical desertion or other examples of it. 237s

Emotional abuse. 244s

Physical abuse. 247s

Sin here that makes it impossible to live in a way that is not possible. 252s

We have to move together the refusal to reconcile all examples of malicious desertion. 256s

So two then biblical reasons we see that opens the door to the possibility of divorce, adultery and malicious desertion. 267s

Now notice how Paul preface his response here to one of the questions. 279s

Verse 10. 284s

To the married, I give this command not I but the Lord. 288s

He's drawing then on Jesus' teaching with regard specifically in Matthew 19 here to adultery as being grounds for possible divorce. 295s

He's drawing on Matthew 19. 312s

That's why he says not I but the Lord. 316s

The question then shifts. 324s

The question then from the church at Corinth asked the question well. 327s

What about those in which one person in the relationship is married and the is is a believer and the other person is not. 332s

What about those situations where one person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord and the other person does not. 346s

What about that situation is divorce possible in that situation. 353s

Is he not everyone is like Lydia in Holy Scripture. 363s

Lydia was converted or whole family was converted and they were all baptized. 368s

Not everyone is like the Philippian jailer. 373s

The whole family including the jailer was baptized not everyone is like stifonus in Scripture. 377s

Worst to find us in his whole family were baptized. 386s

They all became believers together. 391s

Because you see as the gospel started to make inroads into Gentile territory, 396s

what you would have were times when either the husband or the wife was converted but not the other. 402s

Timothy's mother is the perfect example of that. 417s

Timothy's mother became a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. 420s

Her husband did not. 425s

Her husband was a Greek non-believer. 427s

So they were married and all of a sudden. 431s

Timothy's mother becomes a follower of Jesus Christ. 435s

But her husband does not. 440s

So the church of Corinth then says, 441s

What about those situations? 445s

Is divorce permissible then in those situations? 450s

Paul answers. 457s

Verse 12, a little ways in. 460s

If any believer has a wife who's an unbeliever and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. 464s

And if any woman has a husband who's an unbeliever and he consents to live with her, 472s

she should not divorce him. 478s

But now notice how Paul preface the answer. 483s

Verse 12, to the rest, I say, I catch the words. 491s

I and not the Lord. 499s

Notice the difference there? 505s

In verse 10, where he's drawing on Matthew 19, on the question, he says, 507s

Not I, but the Lord. 511s

And all of a sudden with this question here that comes up. 514s

He responds by saying to the rest, I say, I and not the Lord. 519s

So is Paul giving his opinion here? 530s

Should there be a little asterisk next to this section here, in which it's marked Paul's opinion? 536s

Is Paul then saying, Well, here's my two cents on it. 546s

I, not the Lord. 553s

You see, that's why this text winds up in the series on hard sayings. 558s

Because if Paul is giving his opinion here, then what other portions of Scripture 565s

authored by Paul? 572s

What other portions of Scripture is Paul just giving his? 576s

Opinion. 581s

And how then do we fair it out of what is authoritative and what is opinion? 585s

Second Peter, the first chapter, it says this, no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation. 599s

Because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. 612s

That then is applied to Paul. 626s

Second Peter, chapter three, verse 15, it says, Peter writes, 631s

So also RB Loved, Brother Paul, wrote to you according to the wisdom given him. 637s

Speaking of this, as he does in all his letters, then I love this next phrase. 644s

There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, 650s

as they do, I catch this. 657s

As they do the other Scriptures, what's that saying in? 660s

That Paul's writings then are considered here as Scripture. 672s

Scripture. 682s

We read in 1 Corinthians 2, we read and we speak of these things Paul says, in words not taught by human wisdom, 685s

but taught by the Spirit. 697s

In fact, right after the section here, in chapter 7, right after he gets done talking about this section with 701s

regard to divorce and marriage. 710s

Right after that, he says, and I think that I too have the spirit of God. 714s

That communicates to us. 725s

That that is all from the Holy Spirit. 727s

There's no indication where Paul is saying, this is authoritative from God, and this is just my two cents. 729s

There's none of that in Holy Scripture. 736s

So what's the point? 742s

When Paul makes the distinction between, what the Lord says, and this is what I'm saying, all he's saying is, 746s

when it comes to that question with regard to, will what about when one person believes and the other person doesn't it? 762s

All he's saying is, Jesus never specifically addressed it. 772s

He never specifically addressed it. 781s

He then goes on though, not to give his opinion, but he says what he has been given to say by the Lord on the subject. 785s

All of it is authoritative. 802s

All of it. 808s

All of God's word is God's word. 810s

And isn't that comforting? 819s

For that means we bow before the authority of God's word. 823s

Paul wasn't giving his opinion. 834s

He was simply saying, the Lord didn't specifically address that, but he's still writing under the authority of what the Lord gives him to say. 839s

That's so comforting, isn't it? 859s

Because we live in a world that is awash in opinions, awash in it. 862s

How many times have you used or have you heard the phrase, where the person will say, well, 877s

that's just my opinion. 885s

And that can lead to some frustrating conversations, can't it? 893s

Where a person said, well, well, that's just my opinion. 899s

And you say, well, why is that your opinion? 904s

To which the response comes, well, that's just how I feel. 909s

To which one asks, then, well, why do you feel that way? 917s

It's because I think it's true. 923s

Why do you think it's true? 928s

Because that's just how I feel. 932s

Because you see so many opinions are just born out of our own feeling, 936s

our own preferences or our own thoughts. 947s

Where opinions are offered. 956s

But our own thoughts are simply deified, 961s

or our own feelings are automatically given the status of truth. 967s

Beloved, we can be tempted to do the same thing with God. 978s

The same thing. 984s

We can be so tempted to have our own opinions, our own thoughts, 986s

our own feelings with regard to God elevated to the status of truth. 993s

How comforting it is to know that we have a standard whereby it judges our feelings. 1006s

It judges our thoughts. 1015s

And that standard is the inherent and infallible word of God. 1017s

In a different, it contains no errors, infallible. 1022s

It is incapable of error. 1025s

How comforting to know that we're not the source he, 1027s

here of evaluation. 1033s

But the scripture is the source that evaluates the thoughts that we hold. 1038s

How comforting to know of God's gracious word for us. 1047s

That the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross and bore all of our sin, 1055s

including our sin, of sometimes elevating our own feelings, 1060s

and our own thoughts about God, above the word. 1070s

And that sin too has been paid for through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1078s

My first call, my first call there was a preschool, 1094s

and for some reason, the kids had trouble distinguishing between Bible and my last name. 1101s

And so I'd walked down the hall and I'd say, 1117s

Hi, kids, and they'd say, hi, Pastor Bible. 1119s

I'd come into do chapel, and the preschool teachers would say, 1124s

Pastor Bible is here now to give us a message, 1128s

and they'd say, good morning, Pastor Bible. 1132s

And the teachers would try and correct them, 1137s

and I would try and correct them. 1139s

It was always, always, Pastor Bible, always. 1143s

There are worse things to be called in life, right? 1151s

And so there comes a moment where you just say, 1156s

it's just gonna stick. 1160s

It's just gonna stick. 1162s

God links each one of us to his word. 1167s

Each one of us. 1174s

I love how Stephen Lawson, when he writes about leadership, 1176s

I love how he puts it, 1182s

that biblically-based leadership is not, 1185s

is not sending out a survey. 1189s

It's not just taking a poll, 1193s

but biblically-based leadership is beyond that. 1197s

I love it when he says, 1203s

that a biblically-based leader doesn't give opinions. 1207s

They share convictions. 1216s

And that's what God does for us. 1220s

He moves us beyond the sharing of opinions 1224s

to be a people of conviction rooted upon the word of God. 1230s

He frees us then. 1243s

He frees us to be a people that say, 1247s

thus say if the Lord, he frees us. 1250s

He frees us from the bondage of saying, 1257s

well, well, I think to this is what God thinks, 1260s

and this is what God says. 1266s

He moves us by his grace from opinion to conviction. 1269s

Because it's the conviction rooted in God's word 1283s

that has gravitas. 1291s

It's conviction rooted in God's word 1296s

that that's a word to listen to. 1302s

Beyond opinions to conviction. 1310s

And so we sing in this world where air we roam, 1322s

ancient words will guide us home. 1332s

Ancient words ever true, 1336s

changing me, changing you, 1339s

trust it, all of it. 1348s