COME OUT WORLDLY INFLUENCE AND BE SEPARATED UNTO GOD
SCRIPTURE:
“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 17 Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” 18 And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2Corinthians 6:14—18)
OBSERVATION:
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. This is a commandment. It doesn’t mean that we can avoid those who do not believe in Christ in our lives. Otherwise, we all have to exit this earth so that we won’t be in contact with unbelievers. But it says, DO NOT YOKED TOGETHER. To be yoked together is to do and to live exactly like those who do not know Christ.
A yoke is a wooden crosspiece fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plow or cart they are pulling so they can pull together in the same direction. Paul made a clear distinction with his word choices here. It contrasts what an unbeliever and a believer are like.
- UNBELIEVER…Wickedness…Darkness…Belongs to Belial…Temple of idols.
- BELIEVER…Righteousness…Light…Belongs to Christ…Temple of God.
Paul also used descriptive words like…Have in common…Fellowship…Harmony…and Agreement to contrast the differences. We are the temple of God, which is a strong statement to remind us of who we are. Knowing these contrasts must help us choose right. God and idols cannot be in my life at the same time. God declares that we are his temple and that he lives and walks with us.
We are called to a COME-OUT and be SEPARATED in life from that fellowship with idols. There should be nothing in COMMON with idols, no fellowship, no harmony, and no agreement at all from idol worshippers. We are not to participate in what they are doing. We are not to TOUCH any of the same things that unbelievers love to value and worship. The apostle Paul gave strong and powerful reasons why we should not touch or participate in an unbeliever’s lifestyle. Because GOD SAID:
- I will LIVE and WALK among them
- I will BE their God
- They will BE my people
- I will BE a FATHER to you
- You will BE my sons and daughters.
It is clear to me today that God wants me to know who He is in my life and who I am to Him. It is also being made clear to me that God WILL NOT RECEIVE me if I want to participate and allow myself to live like an unbeliever. God wants to be my God, to live with me, to walk with me, to have him as my God, to be a Father to me and for me to his son. God takes this relationship with me very seriously.
APPLICATION:
How often do I take for granted the passionate heart that God my Father has toward me? I am reminded again to prioritize my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I will continue to remove things that I idolize in my life so I may know God’s heart for me. I will continue to set myself to hear him daily, whether by reading his word, listening to his word, or journaling his word daily. I will continue to be sensitive to the whispering of the Holy Spirit’s voice to help guide me and lead me to things that I need to come out of and be separated from.
PRAYER:
Jesus, I ask that you forgive me of things that I idolized and are not pleasing to you. Please help me to hear your voice daily. Thank you for making the Father’s love known to me. Thank you for always being in my life. Thank you that you constantly pursued me with your kindness and love. I commit my life to you daily for your purpose. Amen.
