Topic: Off-limits For Unequal Yoke [Thursday June 16, 2016]
Text: 2 Corinthians 6:11-18
Key Verse: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).
Time magazine reported (1/22/ 95) that the earthquake in Kobe, Japan, occurred when two plates on a fault line fifteen miles offshore suddenly shifted against each other, violently lurching six to ten feet in opposite directions. The result was the worst Japanese earthquake since 1923. Thousands died. More than 46,000 buildings lay in ruins.
One-fifth of the city’s population was left instantly homeless. The destruction unleashed by those two tectonic plates depicts what happens when a Christian bonds unequally with a non-Christian. Two people committed to each other but going in different directions can only lead to trouble. From our text, Paul the apostle warned the Corinthian believers about the danger of intimate friendship with those who do not believe in Christ.
He reminded them of the uniqueness of their faith having become new creatures in Christ and the need to maintain their distinctiveness. He concluded by encouraging those who are already entangled to come out of such unequal yoke so they can be received by God as sons and daughters. Unequal yoke can exist in friendship, marriage, business or worship. While it is true that believers cannot exist as an island because of the need to spread the light of the gospel to others, it is equally clear that we don’t have to live in sin to help sinners. Believers must know the compulsion of righteous living and how to balance the need to love our neighbours.
Going all out to support, defend and join ungodly causes can cost us the friendship of God. A true believer with a godly mind must know where to draw the line in relating with people who are not saved.
Thought for the day: It makes no sense to live in sin to help sinners.
Bible Reading in one Year: Ephesians 4-6
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
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