Jesus vs Paul?

2 Corin 6:14-15
14 Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? 15 What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?

I'm having some trouble with this. Aren't we supposed to be living Christ-like lives? Jesus sat and ate with the sinners, so aren't we to do the same as he? I have 2 friends that believe in a "higher power", I don't want to drop them because of that.
 
It has to do with the type of relationship. Jesus ate with and taught the sinners, He did not however go into business with them, nor did He promote the notion of marrying them. You are encouraged to seek out and teach the godless whenever the opportunity presents itself, but do not be "yoked to them". In other words, a nonbelieveng spouse would harm your faith, a dishonest business partner would ruin your business, but if you keep the heathens at arms length they cannot harm you. You can't help the diseased by becoming diseased yourself.
 
I have a daughter who is always trying to help "needy" people. It sounds like what a Christian should do, doesn't it.

But I had to explain to her that somestimes we are not helping lift them up, but allowing them to drag us down.

If that be the case, then separate, we must. And that is what you need to descern. You don't need to drop them, but you need to limit your interaction with them in instances where you lower your standards to fit in or when they draw you into even the slightest thought or activity that is unbecoming a Christian.

One other thought, in general....we are to hold ourselves about reproach. Yet, we are judged by the company we keep. So when we interact with certain types of sinners, we need to take extra care so others cannot discredit us as we witness, else our ministry for Christ can become void.

Ginger
 
2 Corin 6:14-15
14 Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? 15 What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?

I'm having some trouble with this. Aren't we supposed to be living Christ-like lives? Jesus sat and ate with the sinners, so aren't we to do the same as he? I have 2 friends that believe in a "higher power", I don't want to drop them because of that.

Paul is talking about being "YOKED" (KJV) together in a permanent arrangment like marriage or a business patership or even in a church membership.

Yoked is an agriculture term used to bring together two or more animals. The Old Test, under the Law God said that the ox and the ass should not be used to plow the fields together (Yoked) because they will pull in different directions and at different times.

Paul is warning us today that as Christians, we need to be mindful of WHO we are YOKED too. In that sense I belive Glomung and Ginger are absolutly correct.

It has been be experience that it is the non-believer who winds up pulling his partner down to his level instead of the believer who pulls his partner UP TO his level. There fore, non-believers and believers should not marry or be in partner ships in business.
 
Ok, I see what each of you are saying. I really misunderstood the "yoking" part. In that case, I'm going to have to back off even further with one of my friends, he likes me more than a friend and he's a former believer. He got caught up in the scientific aspect rather than the spiritual aspect of how the world came to be. Thanks to everyone for correcting my viewpoint. :) Much appreciated!

My other friend comes from a bad home and had to move back into that home due to unfortunate events. She tried to move out on her own, but can't find a place to live because she's a young mother. I don't know how to help her as I have debt to pay back otherwise I'd be right there helping her and her daughter out. I have invited her to church every Sunday since it gets her out of that environment even just for a little while. I even want to buy her and her daughter a Bible, but am afraid of what her family would do or say to hurt them. :( I feel so helpless and don't know what to do...



 
Is she coming to church? If yes, present the Bible to her there. She doesn't necessarily have to take it home until "the coast is clear." Take perhaps 20 minutes to go over certain scriptures with her. See if you can get someone you would trust with your life to watch the child during that time period, if she isn't old enough to sit still. Pray with her before and after the session, nothing elaborate, just sincere. Invite the Holy Spirit to pray through you. Tell her about John 14:6, John 3:16-17, John 3:3, Romans 10:8-13, Ephesians 2:8-9. Make your time together a regular feature of Sunday.

I agree that you should back off from the one friendship. Tell him to read 1 John 1:9. Write it inside one of those cards that doesn't have a "message." Hand it to him, tell him goodbye. Tell him that you will pray for him. Don't ask him to call you when he says that he has confessed 1 John 1:9. That could be subterfuge. Just leave it "up in the air." If he really does get back into the fold, he'll be sharing his joy without being asked.

God bless you abundantly as you continue in prayer, and thanksgiving for the One who loves you beyond measure.
 
She's coming to church about twice a month. She's told me she doesn't like church and I can actually feel a part of her recoil inside when I invite her, I also feel the other part of her is curious. Saige, her daughter, loves church and interacting with the other kids as she doesn't get enough of that. In fact, she has her going to Bible classes which really makes me happy and feel like they've got hope! As for getting someone to watch Saige, there's no problem with that :D

Thanks for the scriptures, Dok. It helps for starters :oops: Why didn't you mention Matthew? Just curious :)
 
I agree that you should back off from the one friendship. Tell him to read 1 John 1:9. Write it inside one of those cards that doesn't have a "message." Hand it to him, tell him goodbye. Tell him that you will pray for him. Don't ask him to call you when he says that he has confessed 1 John 1:9. That could be subterfuge. Just leave it "up in the air." If he really does get back into the fold, he'll be sharing his joy without being asked.

God bless you abundantly as you continue in prayer, and thanksgiving for the One who loves you beyond measure.
Thanks for the advice. For a while now I've been saying to everyone I know that if I'm ever to love someone (marriage, which I can't see myself getting into anyway), I want a Christian boyfriend/fiance/husband. He asks me why and I explain I can't handle the differences in beliefs, it ultimately tears us apart as a couple, and NO one gets away with making fun or mocking my Father (yep, the Big Guy upstairs).

Thanks again for listening to my rants. :)
 
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