Unequally yoked?

[CoilyFields]

"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God" (2 Corinthians 6:14-16).


So I read this passage this morning in my devotions and it sparked a question in me. I have always heard this scripture applied to marriage, but does it apply to other areas of our lives? The bolded words stood out to me. Does this passage apply our;

Friendships? BFF's or casual friends?

Business? Of course I would service unbelievers but what about becoming business partners with them?

Family? Close with your heathen cousin?

I have friends who I grew up with, one is an agnostic, one is Muslim, and the other is Lutheran. We were best friends since age 6. Though I don't live in the same state as them anymore, we still keep in touch and hang out when I visit. I never examined this group to see if it was somehow me being "unequally yoked".

Now, by default, all my friends are saved (by default because I met them at the church I joined when I moved out of state). And almost all of my family is saved. So though it's not necessarily an issue for me personally, it makes me wonder.

What do you ladies believe? How do you apply this scripture to your lives?

 

[Kurlee]

Paul was talking about ministry in this section and if you cross reference with 1 Corinthians (5 and 7) he is not advocating for us to isolate ourselves from nonbelievers. Many use/apply it to marriage, friendships and the like or use it to justify such separations, but I don't think that's necessarily warranted. Also, when we say unbelievers, what are we talking about? Agnostic and Christian? People in different Christian denominations like a Baptist and a Pentecostal? A Christian and a Muslim?

 

[felic1]

If you never associate with unbelievers, how can they be witnessed to? We need to inteact to let our light shine. I have friends that I see sometimes but I think their consecration is not as good as mine. I have not cut off any of my friends. Perhaps, unsaved people might not be part of our most intimate inner circle. A business partner might want to do something illegal if they are not like us. What characteristics must a person have if we can be highly social and daily companions? What do we have in common with unsaved people that we spend most of the time in their presence?

 

[zora]

Well, I'm struggling with an unbeliever husband. I knew he was an unbeliever before I married him, but I somehow believed he would convert. I still hold out that hope, but now with small children involved, it's becoming harder to deal with.

OP, sorry if I hijacked thread. I know you wanted to focus to be outside of marriage.

 

[Kurlee]

Well, I'm struggling with an unbeliever husband. I knew he was an unbeliever before I married him, but I somehow believed he would convert. I still hold out that hope, but now with small children involved, it's becoming harder to deal with.

OP, sorry if I hijacked thread. I know you wanted to focus to be outside of marriage.

Is he a complete unbeliever or just a different denomination or religion?

 

[CoilyFields]

Paul was talking about ministry in this section and if you cross reference with 1 Corinthians (5 and 7) he is not advocating for us to isolate ourselves from nonbelievers. Many use/apply it to marriage, friendships and the like or use it to justify such separations, but I don't think that's necessarily warranted. Also, when we say unbelievers, what are we talking about? Agnostic and Christian? People in different Christian denominations like a Baptist and a Pentecostal? A Christian and a Muslim?

Kurlee

Can you explain the bolded? I'm not sure what you mean when you say unequally yoked in ministry.

I always consider an unbeliever a person who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, regardless of denomination.

 

[CoilyFields]

If you never associate with unbelievers, how can they be witnessed to? We need to inteact to let our light shine. I have friends that I see sometimes but I think their consecration is not as good as mine. I have not cut off any of my friends. Perhaps, unsaved people might not be part of our most intimate inner circle. A business partner might want to do something illegal if they are not like us. What characteristics must a person have if we can be highly social and daily companions? What do we have in common with unsaved people that we spend most of the time in their presence?

I definately agree with the first bolded.

My question was more addressing your last sentences. Is having an unsaved bff wrong? Because their are plenty of good people who are unsaved and their are plenty of saved people who I would NEVER associate with as friends. So should salvation be the deciding factor in who I'm close to?

 

[CoilyFields]

Well, I'm struggling with an unbeliever husband. I knew he was an unbeliever before I married him, but I somehow believed he would convert. I still hold out that hope, but now with small children involved, it's becoming harder to deal with.

OP, sorry if I hijacked thread. I know you wanted to focus to be outside of marriage.

I pray that he comes to believe and accept Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior!

 

[Kurlee]

This guy explains it better than I can.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYGsegNsq0E

What I took from it when I consider the context before and after it, is that there shouldn't be a mixing of nonbelievers and believers in (delivering) ministry. Most of 2 Corinthians is talking to the church of Corinth about how to go about delivering the new covenant and in many cases he is instructive. For example, if we look at 2 Corinthians 2:17, Paul says: "unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God." He is instructing the them not to exploit the church and God's word for profit (how relevant to today!).

In each chapter he is addressing different issues like idolatry (6) reconciliation (5), the greatness of the new covenant (3). He even gets into generosity, which some may argue is a teaching against the legalism of tithes (strict 10%).

Whenever I read the letters, I am impressed that it uses critique of the early church to be instructive to us, since after the death and resurrection of Christ, many were confused as to what they were to do and tried to mix the old and new covenants, as well as pagan practices. Paul was trying to untangle that confusion. I liken the letters to case studies.

Could this teaching be applied to marriage and relationships? I guess so, but I wouldn't consider it a hard and fast rule. I have friends from all backgrounds and faiths and my interactions with them have allowed me to grow and vice versa. Of course our values need to be in line, but would I not not befriend someone because they're Catholic and I'm not? Naw, I think that's absurd and kind of Pharasaical.

 

[blessedandfavoured]

I definately agree with the first bolded.

My question was more addressing your last sentences. Is having an unsaved bff wrong? Because their are plenty of good people who are unsaved and their are plenty of saved people who I would NEVER associate with as friends. So should salvation be the deciding factor in who I'm close to?

Hi CoilyFields, regarding the section in bold: I don't think that having unsaved friends is wrong. There's somewhere that Apostle Paul even says that to avoid unsaved people, you would have to leave the world. I think that this passage is saying we should not enter into contracts or covenants with unsaved people. They don't hold themselves accountable to the living God as Christians (ought to) do.

Yes, there are unsaved people who are nice (there are no good people, Jesus makes that clear), but ultimately they are not living for God, and consciously or otherwise, they might end up influencing us not to live for God either. Look at King Solomon. Like it or not, if you aren't for Christ, you are against Him (Matthew 12:30), and as Christians, we should be seeking a closer walk with God and looking to be more like Him. I guess we need to ask ourselves if our relationships are helping us or the other person do just that.

Finally, whilst this passage might not be specifically about marriage, I've heard it said that if you marry an unbeliever (someone who does not have Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour), you have the devil as your father-in-law. Food for thought... Have a blessed day!

 

[Iwanthealthyhair67]

If you never associate with unbelievers, how can they be witnessed to? We need to inteact to let our light shine. I have friends that I see sometimes but I think their consecration is not as good as mine. I have not cut off any of my friends. Perhaps, unsaved people might not be part of our most intimate inner circle. A business partner might want to do something illegal if they are not like us. What characteristics must a person have if we can be highly social and daily companions? What do we have in common with unsaved people that we spend most of the time in their presence?

I didn't cut off any of my friends either but there was definitely a falling away...I found that we no longer had anything left in common.

I tried the get togethers and it was the same old, same old, lots of drinking and cursing, same conversations and situations that no saved person should be around my light was drowning in their darkness so eventually I stop going and they stop calling. Now almost 10 years later, when I run into them I'm happy to see them but they are all still doing what they did.

I don't think that God wants us to not interact or communicate with our unsaved friends or not interact with unsaved people but there should be a separation from them.

 

[Iwanthealthyhair67]

I don't think that that scripture is limited to marriage ...but getting married to an unbeliever or unsaved person will definitely result in some marital problems that can best be avoided ....

 

[Iwanthealthyhair67]

praying for the salvation of your husband.

Well, I'm struggling with an unbeliever husband. I knew he was an unbeliever before I married him, but I somehow believed he would convert. I still hold out that hope, but now with small children involved, it's becoming harder to deal with.

OP, sorry if I hijacked thread. I know you wanted to focus to be outside of marriage.

 

[felic1]

I have some unsaved friends. I do not spend a lot of time with this one female friend. We talk every week or so and get together occasionally. Our work schedules conflict to we do not go out much. I go out to dinner but I do not go to clubs. She really does not understand why I do not go to clubs.My other unsaved friends are phone friends as well.

 

[JaneBond007]

It's talking about unholy influences on your faith and the need to guard yourself so that you do no emulate their errors. Jesus ate at the tables of many a sinner but with compassion.