Time To Break Up
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."
2 Cor 6:14-16 NIV
Time To Break Up
(2 Cor. 6:14-18)
Intro:
A. When we lived in Wisconsin, we had members who owned a pig farm. Now let me just say that a pig farm has its own odor. Let me also tell you that every member of the family has a job on the farm. Someone’s job is to clean up the pig pen and the waste of the pigs. Let’s just suppose that it was my job to clean up the pig pen, the first thing I have to do is not get the tools, but to get dressed. I go to my closet and I pick out … a tuxedo! I get dressed to clean the pig pen in a tux. Right now, most of you are shaking your head. Who would do that?! No one would clean a pig pen in a tux.
B. I 100% agree. Why is that so obvious to each of us? A tuxedo was not intended to be used as clothing for cleaning messy things. Its intended use was to be worn at formal occasions. We get that. That’s simple.
C. Paul has been teaching the Christians in Corinth about the greatness of the Christian life and the plea we ended with last was “be reconciled to God!” Paul continued that thought by helping us know what a life reconciled to God looks like and acts like. He then forcefully says, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.” That phrase has been interpreted to say that Christians should not marry an unbeliever. While that is a good idea, I don’t believe the text speaks about marriage in the verse. So what is Paul talking about? What’s the point he wants to make?
I. Things That Don’t Go Together
A. I started with the illustration of wearing a tuxedo to clean a pig pen, and just as obvious as that was, Paul wants to make some obvious things that don’t belong together. Just listen to what Paul says (READ 2 Cor. 6:14-16a).
B. Paul’s point is things that are so obviously opposite of each other cannot work in together for the intended purpose. He uses five words that all have a similar meaning. He simply pushes the same point in different illustrations.
C. Righteousness/Wickedness, Light/Darkness, Christ/Belial, Believer/Unbeliever, Temple of God/Idols. Paul’s point – it’s time to break up. It’s time for Christians to realize they cannot partner with sin and not expect to get dirty. Paul simply states (2 Cor. 16b), “For we are the temple of the living God.” Do you understand that?
D. Who are you? You are more than just the person you introduce yourself as to a stranger. You are more than how you identify as. Those things do not define you. Don’t get trapped into saying, “I’m a married, white man who preaches at a church and enjoys certain hobbies.” I am THE Temple of God.
E. Answer this question in your head: How important was the physical temple to the Jewish people? That’s not difficult. It was their religious epicenter. It was the place in which they felt closest to God. Even in the days of Jesus, when the Ark of the Covenant was not in the Holy of Holies but lost somewhere at the time of the exile, the temple was their greatest religious symbol. Now, ask yourself, what does Paul mean, in this list of things that cannot be in union when he says, “YOU are the temple of the living God?”
F. The answer is 2 Cor 6:16c, “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." Paul then puts together verses from the prophets in poetic form (READ vs 17-18).
G. The point is simple. What does it mean to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever? It means that I need to live in the holiness of God not the sickness of sin. I need to separate myself from the things that take me away from relationship with God and grab hold of the things that help me to draw near to God.
II. It’s Time To Break Up
A. I want to challenge us to take a look at what Paul is teaching. He reminds us that we are the temple and then quickly quotes God say, “separate yourself from them.”
B. Both of my girls had boyfriends in high school. Oh the drama that would ensue when the break up came. Most of the time my girls were the ones to initiate the break up. They knew the relationship was unhealthy or that the young man was simply not right for them. My point is, it was not that they didn’t know they needed to break up, it was that breaking up was still an emotionally difficult thing to do.
C. Yes, that pales in comparison, but think about how difficult it is for you to break a habit that you know is not spiritually healthy for you. You have already convinced yourself that this habit is bad; that is harmful for your spiritual growth and maybe harmful in other relationships you have in your life. Does that make quitting easy? For most people it doesn’t. They struggle, because there are parts of that bad habit that they liked; parts that brought them momentary joy. Paul says come out from them and be separated.
D. As the temple of the living God, I have to so careful what I partner with. Paul has already written this church and told them, “Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Cor. 15:33)
Conclusion:
A. I want to conclude with a different picture. Paul draws on the imagery of a yoke. A yoke is what brings to animals together for a certain task. Generally, when a farmer wanted to train an ox for the work of pulling something, he would yoke that younger, less experienced ox with an older ox that knows exactly what to do. At first, it’s difficult for the younger ox. He doesn’t like the yoke and doesn’t like the work, but as he learns from the experienced ox, the task becomes easier.
B. Listen to this: Matt. 11:28-30. Jesus invites you to yoke with him. He wants to teach you, guide you, and help you learn how to live. He wants to make your load a little easier and he can help us to see how light our part is as he does most of the work. We live in training, yoked equally with Jesus. Will you come to him? Will you learn from him? It’s the best yoke you will ever bear.
Because of Jesus,
Jeffrey Dillinger, minister