Study Desk

But I'm telling you the truth, it'd be better if y'all were just single like me. It'd save you a whole lot of discomfort. But being single is a special gift from God, no more or less than the other gifts he gives.

To the rest of you, God hasn't given me anything explicit to pass on, but it's safe to say that if a cowboy who rides for the Lord has a wife who doesn't believe, he must not divorce her if she's willing to stay married.

The unbelieving husband will be looked favorably upon to an extent by God because of the believing wife. And the unbelieving wife will be looked favorably upon to an extent by God because of the believing husband. If this wasn't the case, then their kids would be like outsiders to God, but that ain't the case. God loves them and looks favorably on his kids.

But if the one who does not believe wants out, let 'em out. In this case, the believer is free and not bound by marriage anymore. Do it this way because God has called us to live in peace, not conflict.

Don't be wishing things were different for you. Don't wish you were with someone else or that you lived someplace else. Live how God has you right now.

Clipped pickles don't make a cowboy for God. Doing what the Boss says is what makes a cowboy of God.

God paid a terrible price for you, so don't tie-on to the world's ways.

All of you should stay like you were when God came for you.

Now, let's talk about your question about virgins. God hasn't told me anything specific, but he has given me mercy and wisdom that can be trusted. This is what I have to say about them.

So the fellow who marries his girlfriend, and the guy who doesn't, are both good with God.

But honestly it would be better if she just stayed single. God didn't say it, but it still is wise counsel.

The true measure of a man is in how much he loves God and how much he understands how much God loves him.

So let us answer the question about eating meat that has been sacrificed to idols once and for all. An idol is not a god because there is only one true God.

Who cares if someone says a rock or a stick is a god? You can call a horse a cow, but that don't make it true. People use the words "god" and "lord" all the time, but those are just made up words when used incorrectly.

As for us, there is only one God, and he's our Father. Everything came from him and belongs to him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ.

But listen close, food doesn't have anything to do with faith. Eating something doesn't bring you closer to God or vice versa.

This might set the weaker cowboy on a path away from God. Just because you understand the truth doesn't mean everyone else does.

The code of Moses says, "When an ox is treading grain, don't keep it from eating as it works." Are oxen worth more to God than we are?

But don't mistake what I'm saying. I ain't bragging about preaching the good news. That's what God has called me to do. I can't imagine my life any other way.

When I'm with the Gentile outsiders, I live like they do in order to show them how they too can live for Jesus. It's not about disobeying the law of God, it's about following the code of Jesus.