What Do We Do When We Find Ourselves Unequally Yoked?

What do we do when we find ourselves unequally yoked? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. Well, hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. This is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day.

1-833-843-2673. Now, we're always open to questions about doctrine, theology, what's going on in your church, or maybe some type of persecution you're running into in your Christian walk. You can also post your question on our social media sites. And of course, you can always email us your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to Dave, who is calling in from New York. Dave, what's your question for Adriel? Yeah, hi, can you hear me? Hey Dave, I can hear you. Hi, I have a question, a two-part question, Pastor, that I know a lot of your listeners are going to be extremely interested in your answer to this one.

It's very important that I get this out the right way, so please be patient with me on this, okay? I know it's not a sin to be tempted, and I know that Jesus was tempted, and when we are tempted and we have that initial split-second thought that comes to our mind, if we do things the way God would want us to do them, like a lot of times I'll come right out loud and recite Scripture out loud. I mean, Jesus used the word of God when he was tempted in the wilderness, and I'll come right out and say, that's not who I am, I'm a child of God, and I'll say, Heavenly Father, your word says, submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. So my question is, when we have those split-second thoughts, we have a choice. If we do it the right way, and we submit to God and give it to him, my question is, first of all, those split-second thoughts, if Jesus felt everything we felt and was tempted as we are, number one, did he experience those split-second thoughts? Now, a really quick passage before you answer this, that's why every day I read Psalm 119, which talks about hidden faults, presumptuous sins, because we never know, we sin every day and we don't realize it. So I know there's no condemnation for those who believe in Christ Jesus, the Lord is on our side, but the enemy will come along and say, oh, you did something wrong.

Now, so let me finish this up. If we do it the right way and give it to God, and one of my favorite pastors besides you, Pastor, is Charles Stanley. He used to say, we can go to the throne of grace and speak the word of God boldly.

Dave, let me just say here, one, I think you're totally right, that the answer to this question is a really important answer. And believe it or not, when we're talking about the way in which Jesus experienced temptation, was he even able to sin? We're getting into a question that's been debated by theologians for thousands of years.

This is a question about the peckability of Christ. Was Christ impeccable? That is, unable to sin? Or was he able to sin? He just never did.

Now, it's clear that he never did. We're told in Hebrews 4, verse 15, For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. And so, here's what I'll say. Jesus is impeccable. The word of God, the eternal word of the Father, was incapable of sinning.

Why? Because he's the second person of the Holy Trinity. But he assumed humanity so that he might experience temptation. That temptation came from without, from the outside.

You know, you think of the evil one there in the wilderness. But at no point did he have any inclination personally, internally, to sin. There were no sinful desires within him because he was sinless.

And so, we'd want to say, I mean, it depends on, you know, you said that split second thought. Well, if it's an ungodly thought, an evil desire, and sometimes that's what it is for us, isn't it? You know, we're faced with the temptation, and within us, we have those sinful desires beginning to rise up. Jesus never had any of that.

Because he's God. He's the eternal word of the Father, and yet he still experienced temptation. Those temptations that came from without, he resisted them, though, for us and for our salvation. And so, really important that we understand this, and really understanding the sinlessness of our Lord Jesus Christ and how that relates to his atoning work for us as believers. And we praise God for that, truly. Dave, thank you, and may God bless you and continue to enable you and strengthen you and each and every one of us in that fight against temptation. God bless.

Well said. You know, Adriel, one of the things we often talk about on this program is the importance of solid doctrine, solid theology. And that's just an example, I think, and we do get a lot of calls, people confused about, well, did Jesus experience this? Was he fully God?

Was he fully man? We need to really get those things straight, because they are foundational to our faith. Yeah, absolutely. And sometimes people think, well, you're splitting hairs talking about Christology and theology. We don't need theology. We need just to love God and to follow him. Well, yeah, we do need to love God and to follow him, but we need to know who God is and what he's done for us. And the reason we dig deep into the word of God, into the study of God, which, I mean, that's what theology is, is because it helps us grow in our walk with the Lord and adore God as we get to know him better. And so we should never dismiss or just sort of, you know, think, oh, theology and, you know, talking about these things, Christology, could Jesus have sinned?

Could he not have sinned? You know, why are we getting into it? Well, it's important that we get into it. And it relates to, as you said, Bill, our own salvation, and that's why we talk about it on the broadcast.

Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Our phone lines are open. We'll be taking your calls for the next 20 minutes or so if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Theology, you name it, give us a call.

Even if you have some doubts about the Christian faith, maybe you consider yourself to be an atheist or an agnostic. Hey, we'd love to take your calls and your questions as well. Here's the number, 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to John calling in from St. Louis. John, what's your question for Adriel?

Yeah, I always get a question there. Someone in the Bible says that the rebellion will occur and then the end will come. Is that preceding the Antichrist's return or is that also including people's hearts getting cold and rebelling against God? And another thing is, with all these false prophets and false Christs out here, is it more keenly where to be reading the Bible, more to know what's going on, or just depending on what the news outlets are saying? I'm just saying, there's so many people claiming to be Christs out here, how do you know which is the actual one, which is the real, you know, the fake, you know, the false Christs versus the apostolic Christs in the church, okay? John, so you asked about the great apostasy that's described in various places in the New Testament, Paul writing to the Thessalonians, for example. I see that as taking place contemporaneously, that is at the same time with the revelation of the Antichrist, this figure at the very end of history, who Jesus is going to slay with the breath of his mouth, as Paul tells the Thessalonians.

And so that's the answer to that question. And with regard to, you know, the second question, what do we need to be doing as Christians? How do we guard against that great deception? Well, first and foremost, I would say it's not by trying to chase after all these false Christs in terms of, you know, trying to understand them and, you know, figure out who is the Antichrist, spend our time and our days, you know, studying that. What we need to be studying is the Word of God. We need to be meditating on God's Word and growing in it. We need to be growing in fellowship with other believers. We need to be attached to a local church, a worshiping community.

You know, Peter says that the evil one goes around like a roaring lion seeking to devour us. And if we're isolated, if we're separated from the flock, not a part of a local church, we make ourselves easy prey. And so meditating on God's Word, being immersed in Christian fellowship, being a part of a local church where we're accountable, those are all, you know, what we're called to do as Christians at all times. And especially, like the author of the Hebrews says in Hebrews chapter 10, as the day draws near, as the day of judgment draws near, we need to make sure that we're not forsaking the assembling of ourselves with one another as the body of Christ.

And so that's what we need to be doing. God bless you, John. You know, the last thing you said there is so key because we have a large number of Christians these days that say it's just between me and God. I don't really need to go to church. The church is not that important. But boy, it sounds like what you're saying, Adriel, is in these last days. It's more critical than ever to be involved in Christian fellowship.

One hundred percent. I mean, that's always been critical for our growth and sanctification. But I'm just referencing what the author of the Hebrews said there in Hebrews chapter 10. As you see the day approaching, don't forsake the assembling of yourselves with each other, with one another. And so, yeah, we desperately need it as Christians. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

We'd love to hear from you. If you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, you name it, we would love to talk to you. Here's the number. It's 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. You can also leave us a voicemail at that number anytime.

Let's go to Doug calling in from Kansas. Doug, what's your question for Adriel? Hi, I've got a question regarding a friend that has a husband that passed away, and she says that he's still in the grave, and she wishes that he was in heaven already. And I said, absent from the body, present from the Lord, and I didn't know which scripture that was, but it kind of offended her because she was sure that he's still in the grave.

Do you have an answer for that? Because I thought on the cross Jesus told him, you'll be with me today in paradise. And I've always heard that thrown around, absent from the body, isn't with the Lord, but maybe I'm showing my biblical ignorance, but I couldn't quote her the scripture. No, you're absolutely correct, and the text that you were referring to is in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 6, so we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

Now, we were just talking about the importance of sound doctrine and theology, and this is where the rubber meets the road. Here is a dear sister who is mourning the death of her husband, and wishes that he was in heaven, but thinks that maybe at the resurrection that's when he'll be in heaven. There are some who have argued for a kind of soul sleep, you know, you die and then it's like you're asleep until the final judgment, until the resurrection. But it seems to me like all of the evidence in the New Testament points in the other direction, which is to say that we, when we die, our bodies go down into the grave, but the souls of believers are immediately perfected in holiness, and they enter into glory, where they're in the presence of the Lord in heaven, together with the angels worshiping, with all the saints, that is all those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ, and are there around God's throne in heaven worshiping him. That's the picture that we're given in places like Hebrews chapter 12, where the author of the Hebrews describes what's taking place in heaven right now. He says in worship we're coming before the heavenly Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, before a myriad of angels, saints and angels, you know, in festal attire, the assembly of the firstborn, I mean the people of God in Revelation, in the book of Revelation, John has visions of heaven, and who's there? It's the believers, those who have been martyred even, who have died for their faith in Jesus Christ, and they are worshiping the Lord, crying out to him. Paul in Philippians chapter 1, here's another good text to go to, he's writing to the Philippians, and you know, he's going back and forth, he's saying, you know, for me to live is Christ, to die is gain, but I'm unsure about what to do, you know, to continue on in the flesh, that's profitable for you, Paul tells the Philippian church, but to depart and be with Christ, that's far better, and so he envisioned, you know, he knew when I die, I'm going to go and be with Jesus. It wasn't, you know, I'm just not going to be conscious for a long period of time until the final judgment, it was, when I die, my spirit, my soul is going to be in the presence of the Lord, and that's far better than anything I've ever experienced, and you already brought up that text in Luke's gospel, where Jesus says to the thief on the cross, today, today, you're going to be with me in paradise. And so look, if you're a Christian, or if you have someone who you love who's died and they were in Christ, you can rest assured that they are in the presence of the Lord Jesus right now, worshipping him that they've been perfected in holiness, that they are in heaven, and that one day, right, you know, all of us who are in Christ are going to be united together, and beyond that, we're going to experience the resurrection of the dead, the last day, the final judgment, where our bodies are going to be glorified and restored, and the whole world is going to be renewed, that new creation that John sees, that John pictures at the very end of the book of Revelation, and so you can take her to that text in the gospel of Luke, with Jesus, you know, speaking to the thief on the cross, you can take her to that text in 2 Corinthians 5, verses 6 and 7, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, you can take her to that passage in Philippians 1, where the Apostle Paul says, you know, I know that if I die, I'm going to depart and be with Christ, there are so many passages you can go to, and I hope that as you continue to pray for and encourage the sister, that she's encouraged, knowing that her husband is with Jesus. God bless. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

We'd love to hear from you. If you've got a question about the Bible, maybe a passage of scripture that's always kind of confounded you, and you'd like some clarification on it, or maybe a doctrinal or theological issue that concerns you, give us a call. Here's the number, 833-THE-CORE.

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There are many of them, and again, they are excellent. Well, we do receive voicemails here at the CORE. You can call us 24 hours a day and leave your question on our voicemail system at 833-THE-CORE.

Here's a voicemail that came in from one of our listeners named Diane in Nebraska. I'm wanting to know about being unequally yoked. This is something that my mother always taught me growing up in a Christian home, and now I just need to know what we can do when we find ourselves unequally yoked.

I've been in prayer and in thought, and I'm just needing a little bit more guidance if I could please. Okay, Diane, so that language comes from 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 14 where Paul said, Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness?

Or what fellowship has light with darkness? He continues, What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?

What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, as God said, I will make My dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, go out from their midst and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing.

Then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty. Oftentimes we apply this text in the context of dating relationships, and I think that's what you're getting at, Diane, being in a relationship with someone who doesn't share your faith or your commitment with Christ. And that can put an individual in a really difficult position, obviously, because you care about this person. You're already in a relationship. If you're not married, then my advice would be you can't progress the relationship. Remember, we're called to marry in the Lord, and so if someone is not in the Lord, then I don't think as Christians we're permitted, according to scripture, to just go through and say, well, let's do this anyway. No, that goes against what the Apostle Paul says in places like 1 Corinthians 7 and elsewhere. I would say, if you're realizing, as you grow in the Lord, if you recognize, okay, this relationship is actually drawing me away from Christ.

We are unequally yoked, and it's leading to tension and all these other things. As difficult as it is, I would say, pulling back from the relationship. That doesn't mean you can't still have a friendship, but recognizing that your relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important thing.

And especially when we're thinking about romantic relationships, that should be the most important thing for us as well. You know, is this person someone who is going to help me continue to grow in my relationship with Christ, who's going to encourage that, or are they leading me astray from Jesus? Are they drawing me away from my faith in God? That's certainly not something that God wants for you.

And it sounds like maybe that's something that you recognize, that you see now, that you're experiencing, but it's just really hard to cut that off or to make that decision. And oftentimes, Diane, Jesus calls us to do things that are indeed hard and difficult. And so I would just pray for you that, one, God would give you boldness, God would give you the ability to communicate with love and clarity about how your faith is the most important thing, and how ultimately you want to be with someone who's going to encourage that. And obviously for this other person, you want them to know and love Jesus too, but not getting the car before the horse, not saying, well, let's just do this, and then maybe you'll come along to Jesus later or after the fact. No, I would say pulling back and praying for this other person, continuing to have a friendship if that's possible, but saying, I can't continue to pursue this relationship in the way that we've been pursuing it, because I need to follow the Lord in this, and that is the priority in my life.

And I want you to know and love Jesus. If you want to come to church with me, great, that's wonderful, but it sounds to me like you know what you need to do, and so I just want to pray that the Lord would give you grace and wisdom, and I also want to pray for this person that you're with, that you're unequally yoked with, that God would give them sensitivity and openness to his gospel, that he would see that Jesus is the most important thing. Father, we lift Diane up to you as she recognizes, Lord, that she is in a difficult situation, and that she's in a relationship where she's unequally yoked. I ask Lord Jesus that you would be with her. Lord, I pray that you would give her just the courage to follow you, no matter what that means, and to offer everything up to you, even this relationship, if it's drawing her away from you, if it's adding tension, Lord, that she would offer that up to you and entrust this other individual, the person that she's with, entrust him to you, that you would open his heart, Lord Jesus, that he would be open to the gospel, that he would turn to you and embrace faith and receive the grace that you have. But I just pray, Lord, that you would be with my sister and help her and give her the courage and the wisdom to do what she needs to do in this situation. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. We will be praying for you, Diane. As Adriel said, those are tough situations, but you definitely want to follow the Lord and what he would want for your life. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to JP calling in from St. Louis, Missouri. JP, what's your question for Adriel? Hi, Adriel. I'm a regular listener and I thank you for your ministry and I'm a regular listener and I'm going to have to support you guys.

You do a lot of good. But my question is, I have two questions at this time, but the first one is some things in the Bible, of course, is hard to understand to get your head around. One is that time, the factor of time. There won't be months or days or weeks in heaven, I guess, from what I understand.

So time and space will be different. Do you understand that? Oh, but the second thing, the one I really want to know is that when God created Adam and Eve and created the world and stuff, he knew before he even made them that he was going to build it, have this garden for them, he was going to give them free choice, and that they were going to fall. And so all this was going to happen.

He knew in advance. JP, one, thank you for your encouragement and for your support. Let me just say, we're wrapping up here, but what I'll do tomorrow is open up the broadcast with your two questions because I think they're great questions and so please tune in tomorrow and we'll tackle those two questions at the very beginning of our broadcast. Thanks and God bless. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-The-CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.