Bible verses about "celibacy" | Twentieth_Century

¹ With reference to the subjects about which you wrote to me: It would be well for a man to remain single.

¹³ No temptation has come upon you that is not common to all mankind. God will not fail you, and he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength; but, when he sends the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, so that you may have strength to endure.

¹ But the Spirit distinctly says that in later times there will be some who will fall away from the Faith, and devote their attention to misleading spirits, and to the teaching of demons, ² who will make use of the hypocrisy of lying teachers. These men's consciences are seared, ³ and they discourage marriage and enjoin abstinence from certain kinds of food; though God created these foods to be enjoyed thankfully by those who hold the Faith and have attained a full knowledge of the Truth.

² The Presiding-Officer should be a man of blameless character; a faithful husband; living a temperate, discreet, and well-ordered life; hospitable, and a skillful teacher,

⁹ by one who recognizes that laws were not made for good men, but for the lawless and disorderly, for irreligious and wicked people, for those who are irreverent and profane, for those who ill-treat their fathers or mothers, for murderers, ¹⁰ for the immoral, for people guilty of sodomy, for slave-dealers, for liars, for perjurers, and for whatever else is opposed to sound Christian teaching--

¹ Then, in my vision, I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion. With him were a hundred and forty-four thousand men, with his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. ² And I heard a sound from Heaven, 'like the sound of many waters,' and like the sound of a loud peal of thunder; the sound that I heard was like the music of harpers playing on their harps. ³ They are singing what seems to be a new song, before the throne, and before the four Creatures and the Councillors; and no one was able to learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from earth. ⁴ These are the men who never defiled themselves in their intercourse with women; they are as pure as virgins. These are the men who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were redeemed as the first-fruits of mankind for God and for the Lamb. ⁵ 'No lie was ever heard upon their lips.' They are beyond reach of blame.

²⁶ I think, then, that, in view of the time of suffering that has now come upon us, what I have already said is best-that a man should remain as he is.

² But, owing to the prevalence of immorality, I advise every man to have his own wife, and every woman her husband.

⁹ Do not you know that wrong-doers will have no share in God's Kingdom? Do not be deceived. No one who is immoral, or an idolater, or an adulterer, or licentious, or a sodomite,

¹⁰ "If that," said the disciples, "is the position of a man with regard to his wife, it is better not to marry." ¹¹ "It is not every one," replied Jesus, "who can accept this teaching, but only those who have been enabled to do so. ¹² Some men, it is true, have from birth been disabled for marriage, while others have been disabled by their fellow men, and others again have disabled themselves for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let him accept it who can."

⁷ I should wish every one to be just what I am myself. But every one has his own gift from God-one in one way, and one in another. ⁸ My advice, then, to those who are not married, and to widows, is this: It would be well for them to remain as I am myself. ⁹ But, if they cannot control themselves, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to be consumed with passion.

¹ With reference to the subjects about which you wrote to me: It would be well for a man to remain single. ² But, owing to the prevalence of immorality, I advise every man to have his own wife, and every woman her husband. ³ A husband should give his wife her due, and a wife her husband. ⁴ It is not the wife, but the husband, who exercises power over her body; and so, too, it is not the husband, but the wife, who exercises power over his body. ⁵ Do not deprive each other of what is due-unless it is only for a time and by mutual consent, so that your minds may be free for prayer till you again live as man and wife-lest Satan should take advantage of your want of self-control and tempt you. ⁶ I say this, however, as a concession, not as a command. ⁷ I should wish every one to be just what I am myself. But every one has his own gift from God-one in one way, and one in another. ⁸ My advice, then, to those who are not married, and to widows, is this: It would be well for them to remain as I am myself. ⁹ But, if they cannot control themselves, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to be consumed with passion. ¹⁰ To those who are married my direction is-yet it is not mine, but the Master's-that a woman is not to leave her husband ¹¹ (If she has done so, let her remain as she is, or else be reconciled to her husband) and also that a man is not to divorce his wife. ¹² To all others I say-I, not the Master-If a Brother is married to a woman, who is an unbeliever but willing to live with him, he should not divorce her; ¹³ And a woman who is married to a man, who is an unbeliever but willing to live with her, should not divorce her husband. ¹⁴ For, through his wife, the husband who is an unbeliever has become associated with Christ's People; and the wife who is an unbeliever has become associated with Christ's People through our Brother whom she has married. Otherwise your children would be 'defiled,' but, as it is, they belong to Christ's People. ¹⁵ However, if the unbeliever wishes to be separated, let him be so. Under such circumstances neither the Brother nor the Sister is bound; God has called you to live in peace. ¹⁶ How can you tell, wife, whether you may not save your husband? and how can you tell, husband, whether you may not save your wife? ¹⁷ In any case, a man should continue to live in the condition which the Lord has allotted to him, and in which he was when God called him. This is the rule that I lay down in every Church. ¹⁸ Was a man already circumcised when he was called? Then he should not efface his circumcision. Has a man been called when uncircumcised? Then he should not be circumcised. ¹⁹ Circumcision is nothing; the want of it is nothing; but to keep the commands of God is everything. ²⁰ Let every one remain in that condition of life in which he was when the Call came to him. ²¹ Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let that trouble you. No, even if you are able to gain your freedom, still do your best. ²² For the man who was a slave when he was called to the master's service is the Master's freed-man; so, too, the man who was free when called is Christ's slave. ²³ You were bought, and the price was paid. Do not let yourselves become slaves to men. ²⁴ Brothers, let every one remain in the condition in which he was when he was called, in close communion with God. ²⁵ With regard to unmarried women, I have no command from the Master to give you, but I tell you my opinion, and it is that of a man whom the Master in his mercy has made worthy to be trusted. ²⁶ I think, then, that, in view of the time of suffering that has now come upon us, what I have already said is best-that a man should remain as he is. ²⁷ Are you married to a wife? Then do not seek to be separated. Are you separated from a wife? Then do not seek for a wife. ²⁸ still, if you should marry, that is not wrong; nor, if a young woman marries, is that wrong. But those who marry will have much trouble to bear, and my wish is to spare you. ²⁹ What I mean, Brothers, is this-The time is short. Meanwhile, let those who have wives live as if they had none, ³⁰ Those who are weeping as if not weeping, those who are rejoicing as if not rejoicing, those who buy as if not possessing, ³¹ And those who use the good things of the world as using them sparingly; for this world as we see it is passing away. ³² I want you to be free from anxiety. The unmarried man is anxious about the Master's Cause, desiring to please him; ³³ While the married man is anxious about worldly matters, desiring to please his wife; ³⁴ And so his interests are divided. Again, the unmarried woman, whether she is old or young, is anxious about the Master's Cause, striving to be pure both in body and in spirit, while the married woman is anxious about worldly matters, desiring to please her husband. ³⁵ I say this for your own benefit, not with any intention of putting a halter round your necks, but in order to secure for the Master seemly and constant devotion, free from all distraction. ³⁶ If, however, a father thinks that he is not acting fairly by his unmarried daughter, when she is past her youth, and if under these circumstances her marriage ought to take place, let him act as he thinks right. He is doing nothing wrong-let the marriage take place. ³⁷ On the other hand, a father, who has definitely made up his mind, and is under no compulsion, but is free to carry out his own wishes, and who has come to the decision, in his own mind, to keep his unmarried daughter at home will be doing right. ³⁸ In short, the one who consents to his daughter's marriage is doing right, and yet the other will be doing better. ³⁹ A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives; but, if the husband should pass to his rest, the widow is free to marry any one she wishes, provided he is a believer. ⁴⁰ Yet she will be happier if she remains as she is-in my opinion, for I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

¹⁸ Shun all immorality. Every other sin that men commit is something outside the body; but an immoral man sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Again, do not you know that your body is a shrine of the Holy Spirit that is within you-the Spirit which you have from God? ²⁰ Moreover, you are not your own masters; you were bought, and the price was paid. Therefore, honor God in your bodies.

³² I want you to be free from anxiety. The unmarried man is anxious about the Master's Cause, desiring to please him; ³³ While the married man is anxious about worldly matters, desiring to please his wife; ³⁴ And so his interests are divided. Again, the unmarried woman, whether she is old or young, is anxious about the Master's Cause, striving to be pure both in body and in spirit, while the married woman is anxious about worldly matters, desiring to please her husband. ³⁵ I say this for your own benefit, not with any intention of putting a halter round your necks, but in order to secure for the Master seemly and constant devotion, free from all distraction. ³⁶ If, however, a father thinks that he is not acting fairly by his unmarried daughter, when she is past her youth, and if under these circumstances her marriage ought to take place, let him act as he thinks right. He is doing nothing wrong-let the marriage take place. ³⁷ On the other hand, a father, who has definitely made up his mind, and is under no compulsion, but is free to carry out his own wishes, and who has come to the decision, in his own mind, to keep his unmarried daughter at home will be doing right. ³⁸ In short, the one who consents to his daughter's marriage is doing right, and yet the other will be doing better. ³⁹ A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives; but, if the husband should pass to his rest, the widow is free to marry any one she wishes, provided he is a believer. ⁴⁰ Yet she will be happier if she remains as she is-in my opinion, for I think that I also have the Spirit of God.