Come Out from Among Them and Be Separate - Part 1

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts.

Morse Corner is a non -denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist

D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's Word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message.

All right, the title of this morning's message is Do Not Be Unequally Yoked. Do not be unequally yoked.

What does that mean? Well, first let's start with what is a yoke.

A yoke is basically a wooden cross piece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and then attached to a plow or a cart that they would pull.

So if you think of two oxen being joined together, their necks would be locked together in this yoke.

So that means they would have to walk in the same direction. The yoke causes them to walk side by side, at which point

I am reminded of what the scripture says in Amos chapter 3 verse 3. It says, can two walk together unless they are in agreement.

So when a believer becomes yoked together with an unbeliever, what happens?

The believer starts going where the unbeliever goes. The believer starts agreeing with what the unbeliever says.

They start acting in a way that the unbeliever acts. And what does the

Lord say in verse 17 of 2nd Corinthians chapter 6? Come out from among them and be separate, saith the

Lord. So we're going to break this message down into three parts. Being unequally yoked, we're going to look at how this may be done.

Then we will look at why this should not be done. And of course, this has implications not only for what we're talking about here in church, but it has implications for marriage, for business partnerships, and even to a degree, even for friendships.

But let's start with the immediate context, which is religious fellowship.

Paul begins in verse 11. He says, O Corinthians, we have spoken openly to you.

Our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.

Now, in return for the same, I speak as do children, you also be open.

So what's Paul talking about here? And we've discussed how the Apostle had such great love for the church that he founded.

Paul views them. He views the Corinthians. See, when he says, I speak to you as children, that's not an insult.

He's saying, you're like my children. You're like my spiritual children in the faith.

He's saying, my heart is open to you. Open up to me. Open up to us and what we're trying to say.

And I think it's important to remember how this letter of 2nd Corinthians begins. In chapter 1,

Paul talks about me and Timothy, Paul and Timothy, writing to the church of God, which is at Corinth with all the saints, right?

With all the saints. Why is that significant? Well, what is a saint, right? The world has done a lot to confuse what a saint is, but a saint, basically, it's a synonym for a

Christian. A Christian is a saint. A saint is a Christian. So, the saints are the

Christians in Corinth. And the idea of what a saint is, it does speak to a purity of heart.

That's true. But a saint is one who is set apart. Okay, that's the that's the primary meaning there.

A saint is one who is set apart. They are different. They are what? Separate.

They are separate. So, Paul and Timothy, they open up that way in chapter 1.

And now, once again, they are pleading with the church. Be open. Listen to us.

We love you. We're not telling you this to beat up on you or to put you down. We love you. Please listen to what we have to say.

And what does Paul say? Verse 14, 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? Which is just another name for Satan.

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. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them.

I will be their God and they shall be my people. Now, turn to Exodus chapter 20.

Exodus chapter 20. And do you remember what the

Lord said about himself when he was talking to Moses when he gave the ten commandments?

He says to Moses, for I, the

Lord your God, am a jealous God.

You hear the word jealous or jealousy usually has a negative connotation to it.

Well, it can't be negative across the board because what does God say about himself? I, the

Lord your God, am a jealous God. And he says that within the context of idolatry.

And of course Paul tells the Corinthians, what agreement has the temple of God with idols? Look at Exodus 20 verses 4 and 5.

The Lord speaking. He says, you shall not make for yourself a carved image of any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.

You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the

Lord your God, am what? A jealous God. Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations.

And don't miss this part of those who hate me. Of those who hate me.

One thing the Lord does not appreciate, to say the least, is divided loyalty among his people.

And again, just that word jealousy, it brings all sorts of things to mind. Usually it'll bring a relationship between a man and a woman, right?

So jealousy can be in relationships, marriages, when a spouse or significant other is flirtatious towards members of the opposite sex.

Or God forbid there is infidelity that provokes what? Jealousy.

And the act of infidelity is a hateful act.

As opposed to faithfulness, which is a display of love.

So we're gonna see in a moment in the Ten Commandments, it's not just a list of thou shalt not or something that condemns.

God is teaching about what love is in the commandments. So what's the point here?

Spiritually speaking, when God sees his people being unfaithful, having associations with idolatry in false religion, that makes

God jealous. We just read that. Alright, now turn back to 2nd

Corinthians chapter 6. See we had to establish that because if I just said, you know,

God is a jealous God, a few people might not believe me. Well I don't think God is like that.

Well we just read it in the Scripture. So what are

Paul and Timothy calling for in 2nd Corinthians chapter 6? They're calling for religious separation.

Okay, that's a message that needs to be preached in more churches today. Religious separation.

Now what do we see? We see an antichrist agenda of bringing everybody together.

And it sounds good bringing people together. Paul's calling for religious separation.

See it goes against the grain of what the world is saying, does it not? Verse 17, therefore.

And therefore, okay, why is that there? Paul's saying, based on everything I just said, do not be unequally yoked.

And Paul here is going to quote from the Old Testament Scriptures. So we see that this is a principle that most certainly still applies.

Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the

Lord. Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. And I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the

Lord Almighty. Now turn, if you would, to Matthew chapter 22.

Matthew 22. So going back to the

Ten Commandments and thinking about the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments not only show us what sin is, the

Ten Commandments show us something about love as well.

That's not usually what people think of when they think of the Ten Commandments. But it most certainly shows us something about love.

The Ten Commandments tell us how to show our love for God. Right?

We say have faith in God, love God. How do I do that? How do

I have love for God? How do I show my love for God? See, we love God when we worship

God. When we refuse to bow down and serve idols, showing our faithfulness to the

Lord, that's how we show our love for Him. When we keep His name holy and we do not use

His name in vain, that's how we show our love for God. To keep a day set aside for Him to keep it holy.

See, if somebody says, well I love God, but I don't gather to worship God. I use

His name in vain. I ignore all of the commandments given. On what basis can they really claim to love the

Lord? Likewise, if you say you love your neighbor, I love my neighbor.

Now it's true I lie to him, and I steal from him, and I commit adultery with his spouse, and I want to kill him, but I love him.

Nobody would buy that. It is the same for God. Do you remember how

Jesus summarized the Ten Commandments? Matthew 22, look at verse 35.

Then one of them, a question, testing

Him and saying, Teacher, which is the great commandment of the law?

And Jesus said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

So what is this? This is a summary of the law, the summary of the

Ten Commandments. Love God, love your neighbor as yourself. It's a summary of the commandments. So the first half, if you think about it, the first half of the

Ten Commandments deal with man's relationship to God. Have no other gods before me.

Do not take the Lord's name in vain. Keep the Sabbath holy. So the first half of the commandments deal with man's relationship to God.

The second half of the commandments deal with man's relationships with his fellow man.

So to show your love for God and neighbor is not to have a warm, fuzzy feeling about them.

Now you might have that too, and that's okay. But that's not really how you show your love for a neighbor.

You show your love for God and show your love for neighbor by doing them no harm, whether it's outward in the flesh or even if it's inward in your heart.

So with all of that said, it is clear that Paul was seeing something, maybe many things, in the

Corinthian church that were not honoring to God and that were probably not helpful to their relationships either.

In his previous letter, you remember how Paul talked about those who are eating meat sacrificed to idols.

And in this letter, Paul is expressing his concerns about church members who are giving an ear to the doctrine of the false teachers.

And all of this amounts to doing what? The Christians in Corinth, they were flirting with the world.