2 Corinthians 6:14-18: Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
As Christians we represent the church on three levels: (1) the Body of Christ, which is all churches, all denominations and congregations; (2) the local church; (3) and as people we are His temples. Therefore, we don’t only represent the church to this world – that would be too superficial – we are also the church and the blood of the church runs through our veins.
When you give your life to Christ, you get the seed of the church inside you and it is your responsibility to cultivate it. The Bible says: “Therefore go and make disciples…” Matthew 28:19; “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth…” Genesis 1:28. It is your responsibility to grow and be perfect.
If you want to be holy, you need to be careful in building partnerships with unbelievers. Paul says: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers”. Some Christians prefer doing business with unbelievers, because – they say – unbelievers usually are more responsible. However, you have to look at the inside values, not only on the outward ‘first-sight’ characteristics. Today your partner comes in time to a meeting, and in a month he will run away with your money. There should be limitations in all you do with unbelievers. Also when we talk about unbelievers, we are not just talking about those that don’t go to church and don’t know God, but also those who may be in the church but behave like unbelievers.
Learn to build the right relationships. You can be around unbelievers, but the Bible says you must not be unequally yoked with them. Why? Because it is easier to pull someone down from a high level of their standards, than to pull someone up. When you are in a partnership with someone, whose standards are low, it is likely that you will be pulled down to the world’s standards.
For example, the world thinks that pre-marital sex is a normal thing as well as divorce, disobedience to parents, smoking and drinking. Though, they agree that some of these things are not entirely positive, but they are allowed because they are legal. But we live by the Bible, which says that pre-marital sex is sin, that you shall have only one wife or husband, that children must obey their parents; and that we are the temple of the Lord and we have no right to defile it by smoking, drinking or sinning! As Christians we are the light of this world and we take the church with us, wherever we go.
Let us be wise and watch who we build our partnerships with. If you see that you do not seem to be managing a relationship the Christian way, then make a firm decision to break it.
I pray that the Lord would open our eyes to every single relationship and partnership we have in our lives and help us make the right decisions to never be unequally yoked with unbelievers!
Compiled by Maureen Makoshi and Kate Popova
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Kyiv, Ukraine
