COME OUT
2 Corinthians 6:11-18 (KJV)
O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.
Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.
Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
It is particularly important, in this morning’s lesson, that we are fully aware of this overarching theme in 2 Corinthians against a particular segment within the church who has opposed the ministry of the Apostle Paul.
Paul clearly contrasted the two in,
2 Corinthians 3:1-6 (KJV)
Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?
Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
They had challenged his leadership, calling for a letter of recommendation to prove Paul’s apostleship.
He immediately went to the contrast between their kind of Christianity and the kind he preached and practiced.
In chapter six now, he has expressed his desire to serve God in such a manner that the ministry for God “be not blamed” and has demonstrated how he had done that:
· In these
· By these and
· As these
Verses 11-12, “The problem you are having in church is not because of me. I have only loved you and helped you.”
Now look at 2 Corinthians 6:13-17 (KJV)
Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
He is saying to them, “I am asking you to care for me like I have cared for you, and separate from those who are causing this trouble.
If you are yoked together in your church with people who are at odds with your man of God, you are unequally yoked.
We use this passage in all sorts of applications:
· The marriage of a lost person to a saved person
· The marriage of two persons of different faiths
· The business partnership of a lost person and a Christian
And the crazy thing is, we are more likely to obey any one of those applications than we are to the one that actually fits the context.
Notice with me,
*I. HIS ARGUMENT
2 Corinthians 6:14-16 (KJV)
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
It is critical that we recognize the illustrative nature of this entire passage or else we are in danger of seeing it as a sort of works for salvation.
If you have some sort of yoke, or agreement with a lost person, you are not going to lose your relationship with God.
You just won’t be in sweet fellowship with Him.
The word “unbelievers” by the way, according to Thayer’s Dictionary, is one that means, “unfaithful, faithless, not to be trusted.”
He might be a professing Christian, and in the context, I think he probably is.
But he doesn’t believe the same things Paul preached and that the church was founded upon.
And if he doesn’t agree with the teaching of the church, he cannot be trusted in the church.
· He may be saved, but he doesn’t believe the same things
· He may be saved, but in this context he works unrighteousness
· He may be saved but he is in darkness
· He may be saved but he serves Belial
· He may be saved, but he is an infidel in the church (not faithful to its teachings)
· He may be saved but he is taking part in idolatry of self over the welfare of the church as a body.
Notice then
*II. HIS APPLICATION
2 Corinthians 6:17 (KJV)
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
The passage in context is very clear.
We have to break fellowship with those who oppose the teaching of the church.
“And touch not the unclean thing.”
The concept of touch is figurative.
So is the concept of uncleanness.
The position of those opposed to the Apostle’s preaching was, in his estimation, unclean.
It must be avoided.
It’s interesting and bit ironic.
Paul’s adversaries were Judaizers, people who believed you could not be right with God unless you obeyed all the Old Testament Law.
Now the Apostle Paul uses the very Old Testament Law[1] to warn the Christians in the church of Corinth not to touch (have anything to do with) these Judaizers.
And then notice
*III. HIS ADVANTAGE
2 Corinthians 6:17b-18 (KJV)
and I will receive you,
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
There is an unmistakable benefit to obeying the Apostle’s instructions to avoid these people who would not walk according to the doctrines he taught.[2]
A. Good fellowship with God
and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you
The point isn’t that, if you do not separate you will not be saved.
The point is that, if you do not separate, you will not have the fellowship with God you could have.
B. Good fellowship with the brethren
and ye shall be my sons and daughters
The point isn’t that, if you do not separate you will not be His son or daughter.
The point is that, if you do not separate, you will not have the closeness of fellowship with the brethren you might have had.
It goes back to, 2 Corinthians 6:12 (KJV)
Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.
The thing holding them back from a close and pleasant walk with the Lord is their yoke with those who refused to accept the things Paul taught.
[1] Leviticus 7:19 (KJV)
And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof.
[2] Romans 16:17-18 (KJV)
Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
Philippians 3:17-19 (KJV)
Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)