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: 14-18).
Consider with me, what bad company has done to your potentially good character. Think with me of the corruption of your soul and resultant corrosion, when you have spent time with wrong doers, people that sneak about and play under the cover of darkness; those that toy with the things of this world, that they believe with further them on the path that lays ahead.
Dear reader, the concern isn't what the worldly can do for you and I, the concern is the impact the unrighteous have in their rubbing off abilities - it is what they do to us, when we have been exposed to their wicked ways.
Have you ever been around someone that swears a lot, and not long afterward, you have gutter mouth, with cuss words imposing themselves into your thoughts, and then ushering like a filthy flow of sewer sludge, from your mouth? How about being around someone that smokes (cigarettes or weed, the substance isn't the issue), and drinks copious amounts of alcohol, or coffee, or energy drinks - do you find that you want to do as they do? Or when in company, do you have an overeating tendency, because it feels like a free for all when socializing with certain people? What happened to your discipline, your self-control, your ability to resist and say, No. Where did your resolve go, and how did the slippery slop sliding happen so quickly?
To level the playing field, I assure you, you are not the weakest most self-indulgent link in the chain of humanity. Here is what The Bible warns us as easily tempted humans:
Matthew 26:41
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
While Christians may want to honour, obey, and glorify the Lord Almighty, we live in clay cottages (a phrase I lifted from Matthew Henry), and we are breakable. Our will is fragile and easily fragmented, and for this reason, we are instructed on the ways of safeguarding our well-being. Let us compare and contrast the godly and the worldly. based on God's standards in the scripture above. that started our time together:
Heading 1 Heading 2
Believers Unbelievers
Righteous Unrighteous
Light Darkness
Christ Belial
Believer Infidel
Temple of God Idols
Dear reader, if you call yourself a Christian, you are commanded by God thusly:
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing.
The columns above simplify much for us. We either belong to the God of heaven, or the god of this world. Those that profess Christ while aliens on this plain, are promised by the Lord Almighty:
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.
I will dwell in them and walk in them
I will be their God
They shall be my people
Come out from among them, and be ye separate
Touch not the unclean thing
I will receive you
Be a Father unto you
Ye shall be my sons and daughters
The most powerful question in the scripture we are working from, for me, and perhaps for you too? is:
And what concord hath Christ with Belial?
Christian! How can it be that we mix and mingle with those that hate the Lord and expect that they can do anything good for us, ever? How can it be that we believe it is a small price to pay to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, if they promise us some kind of reward in the flesh? It is not what they can do for us, it is what they potentially can do to us.
I know a sweet little boy, several of them, but this one that I am thinking of, told me he wanted to be the Mayor, but what he really meant, was the Prime Minister of Canada. I told him, You cannot possibly be the Prime Minister because you love the Lord. Politicians lie and cheat, and throw people under the bus, to get and hold those positions. Now I know, my take on politicians is not a popular one. There are many professing Christians that put all their hope in the politicians they believe will save the day: this is not biblically sound in the least. The Jews of Jesus' day wanted him to overthrow the Romans, and cast off from the Israelites, the heavy yoke of taxation and restriction, but that is not why he came as God incarnate. He came to set us free from death, not governmental imposition!
I dare declare, there isn't a politician currently in power that is a Christ follower, and isn't it alarming to know, that many a professing Christian, takes the path carved by unbelievers, the unrighteous, men of darkness; infidels that worship money, prestige, and power, and fall head first at the feet of Belial.
You cannot love the Lord as your God, and the world equally at the very same time. It is an impossibility. You cannot put your faith in God, and believe that humanity will save itself, with the right leaders in place. It is, an impossibility. You cannot read your Bible and believe it as the Word of God, and not realize, if you truly belong to him, that your mission is one of reconciliation, not campaigning for the current big mouth that speaks vile things, cursing people, and committing mass murder before a viewing audience, by ordering war with missiles, and uttering nuclear threats, that wipe out whole populations.
God wants all to be saved. If people die in war without knowing the Lord as their Redeemer, how is it that a person can celebrated as the one that gives orders of violence and killing? How can they be considered men of integrity and decency, when so many are dying, without knowing the God of The Bible?
Can credit be given to men that live far from their victims, for pushing the red button of mass destruction? Is this, Christ like, in the least?
We humans love flexing our muscles. We the people, believe in our own abilities and strengths, and we give credence to the talkers, that have managed to make their way to the top of the devil's totem pole. It is when we are chopped down at the knees, weak and disabled, that we cry out to God to give us strength, and until then, arrogant ignorance fuels us to our own distraction and sometimes destruction.
Here I combine two strips of scripture, a question and an answer:
And what concord hath Christ with Belial?
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing.
Need I say more, Christian?
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