"14 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? 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 ‘‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."
Friends in Christ,
“Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.” “Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.” “Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.” Those seem like strange laws don’t they? No, they are not examples of some misguided regulations proposed by an out of control government agency. Those commands are listed among the laws that God gave to the Israelites through Moses. You can find them written in Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
Why do you suppose the LORD gave those commandments to his people? Was he concerned about how they would look if they wore clothes made out of a combination of wool and linen? Was there some good reason for farmers not to mix crops in a field? And what was wrong with an ox and a donkey pulling a plow together?
The LORD wanted his Old Testament people to learn a spiritual lesson from those laws. By not weaving wool and linen together, and from not mixing seeds in a field, and from not plowing with an ox and donkey yoked together, his people would be reminded that they should not mix with the unbelieving people in the nations around them.
God wanted to keep his people separate from everyone else. He wanted this to happen so that the Israelites would not be led away from Him. The pagan peoples around Israel lived contrary to God’s will. Their disobedience to God’s commandments was detestable and disgusting in God’s sight. And God knew that if his people mingled with those pagans they would soon be living and acting the same way.
But God did more than just tell His people to separate themselves from unbelievers. He formed a bond of love with them. He declared that they belonged to Him and He to them. With that declaration came all kinds of promises. God swore that he would live among his people, provide for them, protect them, and prosper them. Those promises were to supply the motivation for God’s people to obey His commandments and remain separate from the nations around them.
In the Word of God that we will consider in our time together we are given a current application of God’s daily reminder to his Old Testament people that they shouldn’t mix with unbelievers and that they should live a holy life. Listen as I read 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 (Read text.) Through these verses let’s answer this question:
“HOW CAN WE LIVE AS GOD’S CHILDREN?”
I. By living a separate life
II. By living a holy life
Living as a child of God was especially challenging in the city of Corinth. Since it was filled with temptations and immorality of every kind the Christians who called that city home were under unrelenting pressure to sin. How would they live the life of a believer under those circumstances? These verses supplied the answer to that question.
I.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.” It seems clear that the apostle was referring back to the Old Testament laws that forbid the yoking of two different animals together. Any former Jews who were members of the Christian church at Corinth would have immediately picked up on Paul’s point. A child of God lives a life separated from sin. But the Gentiles at Corinth could also have caught the implication of Paul’s words. They would have known what a yoke was. They could also have understood how impractical it would be for a farmer to yoke together to different kinds of animals. If they walked at different speeds and behaved differently the farmer would have nothing but trouble using them.
To make the lesson clear about Christians living lives separated from sin and from those who would pull them away from Christ Paul went on to ask five questions. “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? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? ” With the reading of each of those questions the Corinthians must have realized more and more clearly the mistake they had been making. Had they toyed with temptations? Had they fooled themselves by thinking that flirtation with sin was okay? Were they trying to be Christians and still live like pagans? Yes. They were guilty of the things Paul listed. They had put their faith and salvation in jeopardy by being yoked together with the unbelieving world.
So what were the Corinthians to do? There was one answer. “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.” A more literal translation of this verse would be, “Stop being yoked together with unbelievers.” The Christians in Corinth needed to make some changes. To live as God’s children they needed to live separate lives. Once they were brought to faith they had nothing in common with unbelievers. They were to have no fellowship with the darkness of sin. There could be no harmony between them and those opposed to Christ. They were as different as fish and birds.
Before we look at the practical challenges these verses present to us let’s apply these five questions to our lives. “For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?” Have we been fooled into thinking that we can receive the righteousness that God has given us and still wallow in the wickedness of the world? “Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” Jesus called us the light of the world. Are we piercing the darkness or have we mixed our light with the darkness of sin and become only dark shadows of what God has called us to be? “What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?” Have we tried to call a truce with Satan and forgotten that we should be at war with him? “What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?” “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?” Do you see what we have done?
Friends, we have failed our Savior. Think of the wickedness we let into our lives through our television sets. Think of the fellowship we have formed with darkness through the movies we watch. It has been said that what a person laughs at says a lot about his or her character. Do we laugh right along with all the popular jokes about sexual immorality? Have we gotten cozy and comfortable with those who worship in the temples of greed and selfishness? Consider how the loose attitudes of our society toward marriage and divorce have affected us. Think about how we have allowed the devil to blur our vision about what is right and wrong.
And what do our adulterous affairs with sin say to Christ our bridegroom? James 4:4 tells us clearly, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” We can’t have it both ways. To live as God’s children we must live our lives separated from sin and from unrepentant sinners. “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers,” our text says. This command calls us to clean house. We must break the ties that bind us to sin. Everything that enters our eyes and ears must be measured in this way. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8) We need to put that passage up next to our radio dial, and our television screen, and our computer monitor. And all our friendships must be measured in the light of 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’”
With the idea in mind of living a life separated from sin I have a question for you. Does God provide us with a daily reminder that we shouldn’t mix with those who live contrary to his will and break his commands? Of course we are free to wear clothes made out of wool and linen. We are not prohibited from mixing the seeds in our gardens. And if we wanted to we could yoke an ox and donkey together. But God does give us a daily reminder of the fact that we are to live a life separated from sin. Please turn to page twelve in the front part of the hymnal. Toward the bottom of the page let’s read about the daily reminder we have of the separate life we are to live. “Baptism means that the sinful nature in us should be drowned by daily sorrow and repentance, and that all its evil deeds and desires be put to death. It also means that a new person should daily arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” We are baptized children of God. We have nothing in common with unbelievers, with sin, and with Satan. Since we have been washed clean we won’t go back to the dirt and mud of sinful living.
II.
But living as a child of God—living a separate life—isn’t easy or natural for us. How will we do it? And what will our life look like? Go back to the order of Holy Baptism. Hear the gospel proclaimed in it. “But Jesus took away our sin by giving his life on the cross. At our baptism he clothes us with his righteousness and gives us a new life. Our sinful nature need not control us any longer.” And also hear the words spoken after a person is baptized. They are on page fourteen in the front part of the hymnal. “The Almighty God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—has forgiven all your sins. By your baptism, you are born again and made a dear child of your Father in heaven. May God strengthen you to live in your baptismal grace all the days of your life. Peace be with you.” To live as a child of God means to live a holy life. But that life is worked in us through God’s undeserved love for us. When we come back to his promises we are empowered to say “no” to sin and “yes” to holiness.
Returning to these verses from 2 Corinthians we see that that is exactly what the Apostle Paul encouraged the Corinthians to do. To live as children of God they were to live a holy life. But that holy life could only come from God’s power and out of His promises to them. “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.’ ‘Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’ ‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’” God had made the Corinthian Christians his children. How could they not live holy lives? “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” Because of what God had done for them and what God promised them the Christians at Corinth would naturally strive to live a holy life.
But is it really that easy? Do the words and promises of God that made us God’s children actually enable us to live a holy life? If we say they don’t and can’t we are calling God a liar. Every time we consider what God has made us, done for us, and called us to be we are empowered to live a holy life. Titus 2:11-12 says, the “grace of God that brings salvation…teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives…” In Romans 8:9 we are reminded, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.” Yes, the very fact that we are children of God and the promises that come with that status cause us to live a holy life.
Perhaps you made some New Year’s resolutions this year. Maybe you wanted to eat right and exercise. Or you decided to rope in your spending, or kick a bad habit. How well are you keeping your resolutions? Sadly the statistics say that most people fail at make the changes they promised themselves. They quickly fall back into their old habits. So what is the key to real changes in life? A person needs willpower and commitment. Sometimes personal growth will help a person change. One other component that can increase a person’s chances at keeping a resolution is the support of friends and family.
Now for a moment let’s consider our every day resolution to live a holy life. All that we need comes from Christ. Philippians 4:13 reminds us, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Can we live the holy life of one of God’s children? Yes, we can! 2 Corinthians 9:8 gives us this assurance, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” We also said that personal growth might help a person keep a resolution to change. Spiritual growth will always enable us to change sinful behavior into saintly behavior. As we grow in faith we won’t want to sin. And we said that a person is more likely to change his or her life with the support of others. As we gather for worship and Bible study with our fellow Christians we are encouraged to live a holy life as God’s child. Hebrews 10:24 says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” As we grow closer to God we will become more like him. We will hate what he hates and love what he loves. We will live the holy life of God’s children.
Martin Luther correctly identified Christians as people who are saints and sinners at the same time. On the one hand God looks at us as if we had never sinned. Through faith in Jesus we are clothed with complete perfection and holiness. But we also have a sinful nature that challenges us every day to soil that holiness with sin. In light of the Christian’s dual nature Luther always pointed people to daily sorrow over sin and daily assurance of forgiveness. Through the promises in the Gospel the Christian is reminded that he or she belongs to God. The power and motivation to live a holy life come out of those promises.
How can we live as God’s children? It means living a separate life. We must separate ourselves from those would separate us from Christ. Every friendship has to be weighed in the balance of us being a child of God. We also must separate ourselves from anything that would drag us away from Christ. What we listen to and what we watch must not be joining us to sin. And to live as one of God’s children we also live a holy life. We purify our lives and strive for perfection because of God’s love for us. He has made us his children and empowered us to live for Him. May we live as His children. Living a separate life. Living a holy life. Amen.
