Last week we looked at fellowship from 1 John 1 and saw that it is conditional on the basis of believing in the Christ who was heard, seen, and touched.

Today’s text: “14Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 16Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. 17“Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. 18“And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” ” 2 Cor. 6:14-18

Says the Lord Almighty. Bound together – literally ‘unequally yoked’
“You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.” Deuteronomy 22:10
Not with unbelievers – they will corrupt your good morals.
Not with the unrighteous – close ties with the unrighteous
Not with darkness – Christians are to come out of the darkness and be of the day.

Not with Belial – close associations with people who worship false gods engender sympathies

Who are we to be yoked together with? We are not plowing the garden, but what are we doing with other people? Applications
Marriage, certainly true.
Business partnerships.
Alliances with corrupt and immoral people.
Other religions and manmade denominations.

V16, why is it necessary to be separate from evil? Remember that last week John said he was proclaiming to the Christians what he had experienced with Jesus so that the Christians would have fellowship with him, Christ, and God. It was necessary to believe in the Jesus who could be heard, seen, experienced, and touched.

V17, “Come out from their midst.” Comes from Isaiah 52:11 is about God’s priests who “bear the vessels of the LORD”, and reminds them to have nothing to do with unclean, unholy things. Last week we had the question about how far this goes in governing our associations with the world. We said, as Paul did in 1 Cor. 5, that it didn’t mean not to be in the world and around immoral people. So what does it mean? Where is the line?
Do you see some clear areas to avoid? Have we made a clear break from the world?
1 Peter 2:11

Categories: Uncategorized