Our theme for this month: “Being a virtuous person”
Our Bible verse for today: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?” 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Avoid unholy alliances”
2 Corinthians 6:14-15 gives us an important Biblical principle that is an essential part of living a virtuous Christian life, but which needs to be understood and applied in context. Historically some Christians have attempted to apply this passage in an extreme way by withdrawing from society and attempting to avoid all contact with unbelievers. This is how in previous ages they ended up with hermits living in caves in the desert and believing that doing so was somehow making them more holy.
But that’s not what Paul meant. In 1 Corinthians 5:10 he even explained that believers are not to withdraw from all contact with unbelievers. Likewise in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus gave us His famous analogy of believers being “salt and light” – in the world, among unbelievers.
What Paul did mean in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 is that we are not to form intimate close relationships with unbelievers. Most commonly this is applied to marriage. Christians are not to enter into marriage with non-Christians. The reason is that your faith is the very core of who you are as a person. If two people are not in synch spiritually then they are out of synch at the very core of who they are as individuals. And also, rather than the Christian having a positive influence on the non-Christian and leading that person to faith in Christ, it usually ends up being the other way around – the non-Christian spouse leads the Christian spouse away from the Lord.
This passage also applies to things like business partnerships, and any other kind of close relationship which would cause you to depend on the character and virtuousness of the other person. Do not form those kinds of alliances with unbelievers.
In another passage, 1 Corinthians 15:33, Paul cautioned us, “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.” In other words, be careful who you associate with because in time we tend to become like those we associate with. If you are entering into alliances with people of disreputable character, over time they will have a bad influence on you and the alliance will become an unholy one.
An important aspect of being a virtuous person is being very selective about who you associate with, especially when it comes to forming partnerships and close alliances. Don’t enter into unholy alliances.
Oak Hill Baptist Church