Connections

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty."

(2 Corinthians 6:14-18 ESV)

As we come to faith in Christ, and even after we’ve trusted in him for many years, many of us maintain an unhealthy connection with the world around us. We continue to derive our primary fellowship, not from our brothers and sisters in Christ, but from the world. And we continue to do so in spite of the differences between us.



This often acts as a hindrance in our life of faith. The non-believers, with whom we are bound, pull us away from the Lord and the blessings he provides. They tempt us and lure us into the beliefs and practices of the world.



We often take the above passage to speak to marriage. But, while it certainly applies to marriage, the context is much broader. And we are told plainly that we’re not to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever.



Now, this isn’t saying that we have to cut ourselves off from the world completely. Nor does it mean that we must completely cut ourselves off from unbelievers. In that case, it would be difficult to reach out to the lost and to make disciples.



However, we are not to be joined together with unbelievers. We’re not to be mismatched or bound together with them. We’re not to have the same connection with them that we have with the church.



Paul’s reason for this is clear. We have nothing in common with them. Just as light and darkness have nothing in common, just as Christ and Satan have nothing in common, and just as righteousness and lawlessness have nothing in common, neither do we have anything in common with an unbeliever.



We’ve been called by God to be separate from them. We’ve been called to be holy. We’ve been called to be the sons and daughters of God.



While we must ensure that this isn’t taken to far, our primary relationships are to be with fellow believers. This includes our marriage partner. But it also includes our primary friendships, our business partnerships, and so on. We are to seek the encouragement of those who are like us, who are distinct from the world, and who will build us in faith.