August 18, 2020
(2 Corinthians 6:14-18) Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
In our morning devotion yesterday, we talked about how the world hated the Lord Jesus Christ and we can see that same hatred toward the things of God continuing even in today’s time. Here in II Corinthians, we see the Apostle Paul warning us to come out from among the world and be separate. There should be a noticeable difference between the followers of Christ and those who are unbelievers.
When I was growing up my parents always screened my friends and there were some that they refused to let me go places with. I couldn’t understand that at the time, but now I can see that it was for my benefit. I got into enough mischief any way and probably would have gotten into much more trouble had not my parents been so concerned about who I ran around with when I was in school. All parents should be aware of the friends their children are associating with.
Over the years I’ve had the privilege to work with hundreds of children and I’ve always told them, “you are who you hang out with”. They would say I know that so and so is doing some bad things, but just because they do it doesn’t mean that I am. And I would always come back to them if you hang around long enough you will either start participating in what they’re doing or you’ll stop hanging out with them.
I think this same basic principle applies to adults as well. The Apostle Paul instructs us to not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. I’ve heard this used mostly to refer to dating and marriage and I totally agree. Christians should only date Christians and before two people enter into the marriage relationship as husband and wife, they should both be Christians. When a believer marries a non-believer, most of the time they will have serious problems down the road that will lead to an unhappy marriage.
Not only should we not be unequally yoked together in marriage, but what about in business. Many times partnerships are created where the parties are unequally yoked together which leads to problems when making decisions for the business. I’ve seen this happen many times over the years and sad to say that I’ve had to learn this lesson the hard way if you know what I mean.
Coming out from the world and being separate and not being unequally yoked together with unbelievers is a lot easier said than done. We are all human and want to be liked by others. You’ve heard the old saying, “going along to get along”. I’m one that don’t like to rock the boat or cause any conflict.
So, we need to always be cautious when developing close relationships with people. I’m not saying to shun sinners and not have anything to do with them, but I wouldn’t go with them to the bar while they are sitting there drinking and try to witness to them. I know that there are some that may disagree with that, but I believe what the Bible says. “come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing”. The more a person is around unclean things the more likely they are to get caught up into doing those things. Again, I can tell a lot about a person by just simply watching who their friends are and where they are spending their time.
Just be careful. The world and Satan are our enemies and we are no match for them without the help of the Lord. Let’s all do our best to follow this simple instruction given to us and try to live a separated life.
