“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"
”
(2 Corinthians 6:14-17).
Introduction
In a recent study we discussed the
alliance Jehoshaphat made with wicked Azariah. The Bible tells us of several
instances of unholy fellowship such as this, which unless they were curbed,
brought about the fall of good men. Maybe we have allied ourselves with the
world and those who hate the Lord. Are we forgetting that the Scriptures teach
us to “Abstain from all appearance of
evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22)?
Avoid unholy practices
“Ye adulterers and
adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James
4:4).
Adultery is the unholy practice of adulterers. No doubt James had in mind the
actual sin of adultery, but he uses the word to describe those who have
befriended the world and its godless practices and standards of living. It is
impossible to be a friend of the world and a friend of God at the same time.
Unholy practices, whatever form they take, will eventually make less and less
room for God in our lives.
Avoid unholy pleasures
“Purge out therefore the old
leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our
passover is sacrificed for us” (1
Corinthians 5:7). “Mortify therefore
your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate
affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians
3:5).
Unholy and unhealthy pleasures must be put to death. What starts as a
‘pleasure’ ends up as an addiction; and ‘addiction’ is the world’s
term for ‘bondage.’ All kinds of evil desires are included here. Does the
Christian need the so-called pleasures of drink, drugs or tobacco to make him
happy? Do not these ‘pleasures’ end up making people unhappy and unhealthy?
Avoid unholy prophets
“And what concord hath Christ
with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” (2
Corinthians 6:15). “Beware of dogs,
beware of evil workers, beware of the concision” (Philippians 3:2).
As believers we are to uphold the Holy Bible as God’s authorative word for
faith and practice. This means that we do not give the slightest heed to
heretics, false religion or foolish notions. We do not need to follow the
‘teachers’ and ‘prophets’ of our generation. We should avoid those who
speak out against the Holy Spirit and sanctification. Today’s church is more
inclined to give credence to televangelists than the written word of God.
Avoid unholy people
“But now I have written unto
you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or
covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with
such an one no not to eat” (1
Corinthians 5:11). “Now we command you,
brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from
every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he
received of us” (2 Thessalonians 3:6).
It is impossible to avoid coming into contact with unholy people. Paul is
teaching here that we should keep away from those claiming to be Christians but
are engaged in unholy practices. These are not the people we ought to be
fellowshipping with. The list offered in these verses is quite extensive, and
the sad thing is that these things are common in the church. We have no business
being amongst those who will not abide by Biblical truth, for “Be
not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians
15:33).
Avoid unholy places
“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” (2
Corinthians 6:16).
We live in an age of multi-faith, where the uniting of all religions is
promoted. There can be no unity with false religion for the Bible-believing
Christian. Those who think they can worship God alongside members of other
religions are deceiving themselves. Unholy places include pubs, clubs and
cinemas.
Conclusion
“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” (2
Corinthians 6:17).
We live in a fallen world, but we know it is impossible to avoid contact or
isolate ourselves from the things mentioned in this study. The apostle Paul
recognised that we cannot live in seclusion … “I
wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether
with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or
with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world” (1 Corinthians
5:9-10). While we have to live in this sinful world, we do not have to be part
of it … “I have given them thy word;
and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am
not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but
that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as
I am not of the world. Sanctify
them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.
As Thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into
the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be
sanctified through the truth” (John 17:14-19). It is our duty to teach and
preach the gospel to those lost in sin. Like Jesus, we can be a friend to
sinners (Luke 7:34), but we do not have to sin with them. “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save
some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).
Page created 21 January 2006