Using the principle Paul developed in regards to a Christian married to unbelievers, Paul expands it to other situations. Often we are in less control of our lives than we would like to imagine and frequently there are aspects of our lives which we wish were different. Rather than seeking changes, we need to learn how to live with what we have.<\/p>\n
A Jew does not need to become a Gentile, nor a Gentile to become a Jew. There is no need to change one’s physical condition or culture to live as a Christian. Circumcision was a physical sign of being under the Old Covenant (Genesis 17:10-11). But the Old Covenant has been replaced with a New Covenant (Ephesians 2:11-16). Physical circumcision has been replaced with spiritual circumcision (Colossians 2:9-14). Therefore, circumcision no longer carries any meaning (Galatians 5:6; 6:15). What is important is whether a person is keeping God’s commandments (I John 2:3-6; 3:22-24; 5:1-3). In fact, Paul elsewhere argues that to insist that Gentiles be circumcised is to deny the New Covenant (Galatians 5:1-4).<\/p>\n
God isn’t asking people to make radical changes in their relationships just because they became Christians. They will make radical changes in their personal behavior (I Peter 4:1-4), but becoming a Christian doesn’t automatically mean they leave their marriage, leave their culture, or leave their employer. Christianity doesn’t make a relationship wrong if that relationship wasn’t already wrong. We don’t live in isolation where we only have ties with Christians.<\/p>\n
So if a person becomes a Christian while a slave, he doesn’t need to leave his unbelieving master. Instead, he should use his situation to bring glory to God (Ephesians 6:5; Colossians 3:22; I Timothy 6:1; Titus 2:9; I Peter 2:18). While on earth a man might be a slave, but the truth is that he is a free man in the eyes of God (I Peter 2:15-16; John 8:36). If circumstances arise that allows a Christian to leave slavery, then he should take advantage of it. But even Christians who are not slaves here on earth are not fully free either. Christians see themselves as slaves of Christ (Romans 6:18, 22). Being untied by slavery is a preferable state, so Christians are to avoid situations that will put them into slavery.<\/p>\n
No Radical Changes Working with the Circumstance God Gave You\u00a0(I Corinthians 7:17-24) Using the principle Paul developed in regards to a Christian married to unbelievers, Paul expands it to other situations. Often we are in less control of our lives than we would like to imagine and frequently there are aspects of our lives which…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":19928,"menu_order":25,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-30443","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38591,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/liberty-a-study-of-galatians\/stand-firm-you-cannot-mix-the-old-with-the-new\/","url_meta":{"origin":30443,"position":0},"title":"Stand Firm: You Cannot Mix the Old with the New","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Stand Firm: You Cannot Mix the Old with the New Galatians 5:1-6 Christ set us free (Galatians 5:1) Christ set us free from the bondage of the Old Law so that we might remain free (John 8:32, 36). But to remain free, Christians must stand firm and not submit to\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67543,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/how-to-study-the-bible-in-depth-galatians\/assignment-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":30443,"position":1},"title":"Assignment 5","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"How to Study the Bible An In-Depth Study of the Book of Galatians Assignment Five \u27ad\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Search for contrasts in the text. Underline the contrasting ideas and place a slash between them. \u00a0 \u27ad\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A frequently repeating idea in Galatians is the word circumcision. It is used not only to represent the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56537,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/christ-in-you-a-study-of-colossians\/only-an-appearance-of-wisdom\/","url_meta":{"origin":30443,"position":2},"title":"Only an Appearance of Wisdom","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 2, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Only an Appearance of Wisdom Text: Colossians 2:8-23 Empty Philosophy - Colossians 2:8-10 Christians must be careful not to become captives of false teachings. The Greek word sulagogeo means to be kidnapped or robbed of their freedom. False teaching is described as being based on: Philosophy and empty deception -\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40048,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/liberty-a-study-of-galatians\/marks-of-service\/","url_meta":{"origin":30443,"position":3},"title":"Marks of Service","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Marks of Service Galatians 6:11-18 In My Own Hand (Galatians 6:11) Paul didn't write most of his letters personally. Instead, he dictated them and someone else served as the scribe (Romans 16:22). Paul is stating that either this letter was personally penned by him or that he is writing this\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64559,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/pauls-letter-to-the-romans\/the-sins-of-the-jews\/","url_meta":{"origin":30443,"position":4},"title":"The Sins of the Jews","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Sins of the Jews The Jews saw themselves as teachers of the truth\u00a0(Romans 2:17-20) Proving that God is impartial, Paul now focuses on the Jews. The Jews saw themselves as superior because of their birth (Galatians 2:15), their dependence on the law, their pride in their God (Deuteronomy 4:7;\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64609,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/pauls-letter-to-the-romans\/justification-part-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":30443,"position":5},"title":"Justification \u2013 Part 2","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Justification - Part 2 Is justification owed?\u00a0(Romans 4:1-8) Abraham is offered as an example to illustrate the points Paul made at the end of chapter 3. Abraham is seen as the father of Judaism, so his example would be particularly meaningful to Christians from a Jewish background. 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