1 Corinthians 7:27-28 – But If Thou Marry Thou Hast not sinned

But If Thou Marry Thou Hast not sinned 1 Co 7:27-28

Yes, I know many use those two passages to say they don’t have to “remain unmarried or be reconciled”. In I Corinthians 7:15 Paul never gives allowance for remarriage, nor does he say the “bond” is dissolved. He merely states that in order to walk in peace they are released to let the spouse go if it is their desire—not to fight them—they are not in bondage. The word Greek word used for “bondage” is not the same word Paul use in Romans 7:2-3 and I Corinthians 7:39 in regards to the “bond” of marriage which lasted until the death of one of the spouses.

I Cor. 7:27-28 is ONLY speaking to those who ARE free to remarry/marry (virgins, men who have never been married and widowers). Anyone who departs (divorces) is NOT free by Paul’s own words. They are to remain unmarried or be reconciled. If they marry again while their spouse is alive, they DO sin.

I know that God does do things quite contrary to human expectations time and time again. And I know that in His word (1 Corinthians 7:27-28) those that are legitimately divorced are free to remarry. AND I know that those who are repentant and seek God are forgiven completely. And I know that God does not remember the forgiven sins. Only men do that.

Concerning I Cor. 7:27-28……….verse 25 says: Now concerning the VIRGINS………

Paul has already discussed those who are married in the previous verses and now is dealing with a different group of people—–unmarried(never been married) men and women. Paul is not talking to men who have divorced their wives because he just got done telling men in verse 12 NOT to divorce their wives.

The divorce certificate does dissolve the marriage contract that is why Paul stated that if you have been loosed from a wife, if you marry – you do not sin.

Though I don’t really put much stock in “commentators”, I do find it interesting that concerning that passage (I Cor. 7:27-28), almost ALL believe this is speaking about SINGLE—-never married, or widowed (not divorced) men. Taking that viewpoint is consistent with the bulk of scripture on the divorce/remarriage issue. If Paul would have been addressing divorced men, he would have contradicted his teaching right before that one in which he states that a man is NOT to divorce his wife…………and it would also contradict Jesus’ teachings that to marry one put away (divorced) would be committing adultery. So, it WOULD be a sin to marry in such instances.

27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned.

Not speaking to divorced people here, though I know many would like to believe that. If Paul were, he just contradicted himself and also contradicted Jesus who said that to marry after a divorce WAS sin—-the sin of adultery.

25 Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. 26 I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that.

EXCELLENT translation, (name deleted). For that clears up COMPLETELY what the meaning is there. BETROTHED……………BETROTHED

NOT divorced, as many would like Paul to have meant.

You will notice that in Corinthians, Paul speaks both to the bound and then to the betrothed. If he were only speaking to the betrothed – it would not be necessary to have that same phrase repeated.

The Betrothed WERE bound…………..by Word and many times legal agreement. He was speaking both to the virgins AND they men they were betrothed to.

Interesting…nobody addresses the verses from I Cor. 7:27 and 28 If you are married, do not seek to be loosed, if you are loosed, do not seek a wife, if you do marry it is not a sin…. all you want to do is address the other verses…if what you all are saying…why are these verses there…do not tell me he was addressing virgins only…the scripture clearly is not stating that at all… seems you only address what you want to address…

Have you read all the varying translations on I Cor. 7:25-27? I would encourage you to do so. Here are some of those translations:

NIV 27Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. 28But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.

NASB 27Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you.

MSG 27Are you married? Stay married. Are you unmarried? Don’t get married. 28But there’s certainly no sin in getting married, whether you’re a virgin or not. All I am saying is that when you marry, you take on additional stress in an already stressful time, and I want to spare you if possible

AMP 27Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28But if you do marry, you do not sin [in doing so], and if a virgin marries, she does not sin [in doing so]. Yet those who marry will have physical and earthly troubles, and I would like to spare you that.

NLT 27If you have a wife, do not end the marriage. If you do not have a wife, do not get married. 28But if you do get married, it is not a sin. And if a young woman gets married, it is not a sin. However, I am trying to spare you the extra problems that come with marriage.

KJV 27Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. 28But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.

ESV 27Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman[a] marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that.

CEV 27If you are married, stay married. If you are not married, don’t try to get married. 28It isn’t wrong to marry, even if you have never been married before. But those who marry will have a lot of trouble, and I want to protect you from that.

NKJV 27Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28But even if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you.

ASV 27 Art thou bound unto a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife. 28 But shouldest thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Yet such shall have tribulation in the flesh: and I would spare you.

WE 27If you have married a wife, do not try to be free from her. If you have no wife, do not look for one. 28But, if you marry, it is not wrong. And if a woman marries, it is not wrong. People who marry will have trouble in this life. And I want to keep you out of it. Y

LT 27Hast thou been bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed; hast thou been loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. 28But and if thou mayest marry, thou didst not sin; and if the virgin may marry, she did not sin; and such shall have tribulation in the flesh: and I spare you.

Darby 27Art thou bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed; art thou free from a wife? do not seek a wife. 28But if thou shouldest also marry, thou hast not sinned; and if the virgin marry, they have not sinned: but such shall have tribulation in the flesh; but I spare you.

Wycliff 27 Thou art bound to a wife, do not thou seek unbinding; thou art unbound from a wife, do not thou seek a wife. 28 But if thou hast taken a wife, thou hast not sinned; and if a maiden is wedded, she sinned not; nevertheless such shall have tribulation of flesh. But I spare you.

I do not see one translation that speaks of the “unmarried” as a divorced man. Since we know that Paul just got done teaching that a man must not divorce his wife, we know that such a man WOULD sin if he married again, so that cannot be what Paul is speaking about. He is either dealing with single men (never married) or widowed men.

Yes, the teaching is not to divorce…but no where does it say NOT to remarry… Here it says, it is not a sin to marry…

Who would it not be a sin to marry? The widower and the single person who is never married. We know this for sure, don’t we? However, you say scripture does not speak about remarriage being sinful after a divorce? How can you say such a thing? Jesus most definitely taught to marry another person after a divorcing the ONE He joined you to, is committing adultery. Paul taught that a person who marries another while their spouse lives, commits adultery (Rom. 7:2-3). He again reaffirmed the law of marriage in I Cor. 7:39—saying that DEATH severed the bond freeing the one left to marry again—without sin.

I have not ignored anything you have shown me in scripture. I have gone and read. I have gone and listened to anyone thaty ou have mentioned and anyone else has mentioned to me here at FL forums. All the scripture translations that were put up a few post back…all say the same thing…how do you square it with what you are saying… “If you are married, do not seek a divorce, if you are divorced, do not seek a wife, yet if you marry it is not a sin.”

Wow, now it is very clear to me that you want to see what you want to see. NONE of the translations use the word “divorced”, but you do. Why?

And you would only want me to see what you would want me to see???? Do you live by the word on a daily basis? Are you living a sinless life? ARe you on your knees immediately after committing a sin? If not, and you die before you confess, will you inherit the kingdom? Will God allow sin into heaven…if we die having committed sins and have not confessed them to him…is it to late to confess when we are in front of him…or do we have to confess that here? Or is it grace that saves us…and if we sin and die with that sin…has it been covered???? Splitting hairs again???

As for your use of “divorce” in re-quoting scripture, yes, I do take issue with that because that word is not used in any translation I have ever seen, so you using it says much as far as your present mindset and unwillingness to really look into that passage and compare it to the many that discount your rendering of it. But, each of us can do with scripture as we please………for now. Will God allow sin into heaven? No. Will He allow those who have committed sins into heaven? Yes—–because that is the price Jesus paid for those who are His. The question then remains—-who are His? Do His continue in their sins once saved and once a sin has been revealed as such? It appears that Jesus Himself says, “no”………..Matthew 7:21-23—-those who continue to break His laws/work iniquity, they will be told to “depart from me”. Some of us care enough to exhort those considering departing from Jesus’ commands to reconsider. Blessings……..

The reasons allowed for divorce are for unfaithfulness, abuse, and abandonment. If you’ve been divorced due to these issues you are released. if you are married do not seek to be loosed, if you are loosed do not seek a wife, if you marry you do not sin.

If a woman does depart, she is to remain unmarried or reconciled to her husband. I Corinthians 7:10-11. There is NO provision to remarry in such cases. Such remarriages would be adultery in the Lord’s sight. Paul makes it very clear that this is a command from the Lord. In light of this very CLEARLY worded command, I think it nullifies the belief that after a divorce from one the Lord joined them to, they are free. Paul says (from the Lord), they are NOT free.

1Co 7:26 I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. 1Co 7:27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 1Co 7:28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. Please note the wording in bold. Right together. If one is free (divorced) from a wife and marries he has not sinned. I would call that a pretty big “hint. “

If Paul would have meant “divorced”, then he would be contradicting himself and he would be contradicting Jesus’ teachings that state adultery occurs AFTER a divorce takes place should one marry again. So it WOULD be sin to marry. Paul is speaking about UNMARRIED men (those who have never been married). He has already discussed those who are separated in the earlier passages. He has now moved on to those men and women who have NEVER been married (or possibly widowers). Have you ever done a thorough study on all the different translations of this passage. It is quite interesting……..and it is interesting to note that NONE I have found reference the “loosed” as a divorced man—to the contrary.

See for yourself:

YLT 27Hast thou been bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed; hast thou been loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. 28But and if thou mayest marry, thou didst not sin; and if the virgin may marry, she did not sin; and such shall have tribulation in the flesh: and I spare you.

You cannot be “released” if you are not bound previously. As to God saying different things to different people, every person is different and every relationship is unique. ONLY GOD can say which passage applies in any given situation. Even though they may look very similar to us, God sees more than we can. If you try to tie God down to your intrepretation, you reduce His soverignty, His personhood, His free will.

It is not “tying God down and reducing His sovereignty”. God says that to marry one divorced is adultery–To HIM— and Paul teaches that only death dissolves what HE joins together (not divorce(Rom. 7:2-3)—–and remember, he even gives the scenerio of an adulterous wife). Jesus teaches that when He joins a couple in marriage, they are NO LONGER two, but one. So, if one is hoping to justify remarriage, while they have a living spouse, based upon I Cor. 7:27, they will have a hard time showing how that is really what Paul was teaching there based upon Jesus’ teachings to the contrary as well as Paul’s own words on the issue. Did you look at all the translations I posted? You say that one has to be “bound” previously in order to be released. NONE of them say the “released” is in regards to the those who divorced their covenant spouse. It doesn’t speak to the divorced at all. All of the translations either say “are you UNMARRIED……………if you do not have a wife………….are you loosed from a wife…………….” None of them say, are you “divorced” from a wife.

Paul uses the word “loosed” Greek for G3089 ,”from” a wife… meaning the wife was still living, and to be loosed in the first place the divorce in order to be loosed has to be proven as sexual immorality, and not for any reason.

“loosed” means nothing of the sort. That is YOUR insertion of what you believe it means based upon your interpretation which allows people with living spouses to be joined with others. I do not read I Corinthians 7:27 that way and though I don’t care about “popular” opinion, most all of the commentaries I’ve read on that passage believe Paul is speaking about NEVER been married men or widowers, NOT the divorced as you assume.