IDENTITY SWITCH?
1 Corinthians 7:18-23 NKJV
18 Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. 20 Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. 21 Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. 22 For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord's freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ's slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.
For some reason, Paul has to address people looking to swap out their natural identities. Some of the Jewish people who were circumcised were completely abandoning their Jewish heritage. And some Gentile believers became circumcised. I am not sure why anyone would opt into circumcision, but maybe they believed it would give them some advantage. And maybe some Jewish believers bought into the idea that being a Gentile was an advantage. Paul clarified both positions by writing that obeying God was much more important than circumcision or uncircumcision.
Paul's directive to the church was to stay where you were when God called you. He even spoke to slaves, telling them not to be worried about being a slave. Now, if they can be made free by all means, take advantage of that. Paul was not advocating slavery, but he did share a nugget that had to be revolutionary for that day.
If you come to the Lord while a slave, you are considered a free man by the Lord. You are no one's slave in Christ. And if you come to the Lord while free, you are Christ's slave. You belong to the Lord. This is congruent with what Paul wrote in chapter six when he spoke of being bought and not being your own. The idea of belonging to someone doesn't always sit well with free Americans, but Paul is talking about our spiritual condition. Belonging to God is a powerful place to be, not a place of bondage.
In the ancient culture Paul was writing in, people could opt to be slaves. They would join themselves to a wealthier person for safety and just to be able to eat. Survival was much more difficult in that day. But now Paul speaks to that practice. Because believers were bought at a price by the blood of Christ, they were not to voluntarily become slaves of men. This seems to be a rather unusual kernel of truth right in the middle of a chapter on marriage. Paul was really dealing with some serious issues in the Corinthian church.
APPLICATION
So, how do we approach a passage like this today? We don't live in a slavery environment. The first thing is we don't have to adopt a Jewish culture if we are not Jewish. Becoming more Jewish does not give us any advantage. And we must remember that we belong to the Lord. We are not slaves of anyone on earth; we serve Christ. So, we are not slaves to people's acceptance or approval. That may be a bit of a stretch, but it can still apply. We belong to the Lord. He is first in our lives and obeying Him is our top priority.