Welcome to the InTouch podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, July 30th. For Christians, sharing the hope of Jesus with unsaved friends should come naturally. But how do you engage with them without being pulled into their ways? Tune in for practical pointers on living clean in a dirty world. Because the Lord God loves us so much.
He always offers us the very best that He has for life. Does it make any difference what it is, what situation, circumstance? The best is always offered by God because He's that kind of Father. And sometimes we turn down his best.
Sometimes we think we know what is best. He always knows what's best, and whatever he sends our way is always for our good.
Now, nowhere in the Bible does it say that it's easy to live a Christian life. And if someone says to you, living the Christian life is an easy situation. then they have either not read the word, I have not understood what the Christian life is all about. Because you see, We live in a world of conflict. The kingdom of God versus the kingdom of Satan.
And as a result, we live in a world that God had made so beautiful.
Now it's become a dirty world. It's morally dirty and spiritually dirty. And so what we have to ask is this. Is the world going to get better and better and cleaner and cleaner? And the answer scripturally is no.
Then the next question is this. If it's not going to get any cleaner, If it's not going to get any holier, if it's not going to get any better, How do we learn how to live clean in a dirty world?
Well, that's what I want to talk about in this passage today. Because Paul answers this question. Because the people at Carath had the same question. They had the same problem we do. They lived in a city.
in a world that was spiritually and morally dirty. But Paul has an answer for that. And I want you to turn, if you will, to 2 Corinthians chapter 6. And beginning in this 14th verse, Paul answers a number of questions here that I think probably many of us have asked and have wondered: well, what does the Word of God teach you about this? And I want to say right up front.
Listen very, very carefully so you'll not misunderstand what I'm going to say about two or three things that are very vital here. But Paul was writing to a church. In Corinth, which was a great metropolitan city. A great commercial city, very wealthy, but known most of all for its temple to Aphrodite. which had a thousand prostitutes.
In fact, Corinth was so evil and so wicked and so vile that the saying in that day was, to act like a Corinthian was to commit sexual immorality. And so Paul is writing to a people in a city such as that. And so he says, beginning in verse 14 of this sixth chapter. Do not be bound together with unbelievers, for what partnership? have righteousness and lawlessness.
Oh, what fellowship? has light with darkness. Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, who is Satan? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?
For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said. I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, come out from among their midst, and be separate, says the Lord. and do not touch what is unclean. And 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.
Chapter 7, verse 1. Therefore, Having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Now the question is how Do we live clean in a dirty world? And I don't have to tell you and wouldn't spend time talking about how dirty it is. We all know that. But how do we live godly? How do we live holy?
How do we live clean in a dirty world?
Well, Paul gives us, I believe, three steps here, three principles, three things that are so very, very important. And I want you to jot them down. I'm going to ask you about them in a few moments. But the first one is this. When we ask the question, how do we live clean in a dirty world?
The basic foundation truth is this. And that is that we as believers must recognize that our true nature is different from that of the world. We don't have the same nature that the world has, that is, the society in which we live. It's different. When you're not trusted, Jesus Christ is their personal Savior.
Christ came in their life to live. And the Bible says he gave us a new nature. Therefore, we are expected to act differently, talk differently than we did before we became a Christian. And so Paul in this passage gives us a command. Listen, if you will, what he says.
Verse 14, do not be bound. together with unbelievers. When he says don't be bound, he means don't be yoked. Don't be unevenly yoked. That is, don't be mismatched with them.
One of the first things he's referring to here is when people who are unsaved and people who are saved marry. He says, don't marry someone who is an unbeliever.
Now I know that some of you think, well, now I'm in love and I know this is God's will and I've been praying about this thing and this thing is a settled issue with me. Don't tell me I'm not to marry. I'm just going to tell you what God says and then you have to decide what you're going to do. But it's a very clear command that believers are not to be bound to, not to be yoked up with, not to be mismatched with unbelievers in the area of marriage. You say, Well, now I know a couple here and yonder.
I wouldn't doubt the fact that you know some folks who have learned how to get along. God says, Don't be bound together with unbelievers.
Now, you don't limit that to marriage because that is a principle. For example, here are two people in business. And so that scripture applies also in business. You don't link yourself up with, become a partner with someone who is not a Christian. You say, but this fellow's ethical.
He's this, he's that, or she's that, and the other. That's not the issue. The issue is God says, don't do it. Whenever God gives us a warning, God knows not only the details that we know, but He knows the future consequences of our mistakes. And so the same thing applies to business.
Now, this is going to rub some folks the wrong way, so just get set. Neither should we belong to any organization where Christ is belittled, where he is not welcome. where he is brought down from his throne of being deity to being a teacher or something else, and where his lifestyle is strange and unwanted in that organization. We who have a new nature do not fit and ought not to be bound and yoked up in that kind of a circumstance. If what you believe about the Word of God does not match what they believe, if it is a lifestyle in opposition to what you believe and what you practice, then you need to get out.
You don't fit there because you and I were given a divine nature. We are different than what we used to be, and we're different from the world. And when Paul says, do not be bound together with unbelievers. He means exactly what he says.
Now what he does is he asks five rhetorical questions, which means a question that has the answer within itself. What I want you to do is I want you to notice these words, and then I want you to notice these questions. Look at this. There are five contrasts here, but listen to what he says. He says: look at the words, he says.
First of all, verse 14. Do not be bound or yoked together. Then he speaks about a partnership, then fellowship, then harmony, then having things in common and agreement. All of these are tight words. We're talking about things being together.
We're talking about some sense of intimacy. When he talks about in common, bound together, yoked together, partnership, fellowship, harmony, in common and agreement. Then he asked these questions. He says, Now, the reason you should not be bound together, he says, it's very logical. He says, now look at this.
He says, what partnership Has righteousness with lawlessness. That is, he says, how does lawless rebellion, how does a lawless attitude and righteousness or right conduct, how do they fit together? They don't fit together. A society is either lawless or it is righteous. Then he says, Or what um Harmony has Christ and the devil.
He says, What relationship does Christ have with Satan? They're not friends. They don't mix. They don't fellowship together because they don't match. They have two different natures.
Then, if you'll notice, he says, What does the believer have in common with the unbeliever? Different masters, different eternal values, different whole set of perspectives on life, a different whole series of principles to live by. How do they match? Paul says no the basis of that. In our practical daily living, in our relationships.
If we want to keep clean in this dirty world, we have to be careful about our relationships and about the intimacy of those relationships and how we relate and partnerships and so forth with each other. Therefore, then he says, He says, God said, I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. That is, all of us who are believers are indwelt by a holy God. And God has come to live inside of us because He has a new sense of direction and a whole new lifestyle for us. Therefore, believers are to be careful about their friends.
Now, if you look at these five questions, they encompassed all the aspects of life. And if you'll just notice, When he talks about being partners here and fellowship and harmony and being in common and agreement, what is he talking about? our whole moral behavior, our understanding of the things of God, light and darkness, the authority in our life, whether it's going to be Satan or the devil, our whole belief system here, and our worship, idols versus the temple of God.
so that those of us who are believers have a different nature. And so we think differently, we live differently. And God says we are not to be bound up together with, partnerships with, fellowship, try to harmonize with, be in common with, or in agreement that those things that are diametrically opposed to everything we believe and stand for as the children of God because it's not our nature. Our whole nature is different.
So what he's saying here is this. He's saying there is a prohibition. Against relating to things, organizations, or persons. In whom and with whom that relationship will cause us to violate the truths of God's word and contradict the very things we believe. And so Paul says he's giving them a warning here now.
The negative side of this contrast is that we are to move away from it. The other side is we are to turn toward God, the things of God.
Now think about this. I think one of the reasons a lot of Christians are not happy in their Christian life. And they're saying, you know, well, I try to live the Christian life and I don't feel very successful at it. And I read the scriptures, and sometimes I have a hard time, and sometimes I just get depressed about the whole Christian experience, and I don't think I'm living up to what God is expecting. One of the primary reasons is they're trying to straddle the fence.
That's what they're trying to do is they go to work. in the morning and they listen to the world. They sort of step over on the world's side. And they say yes to things they don't really believe, and they smile at jokes they know that are not right. And they sort of agree with ideas that deep down inside a sense static in their spirit.
They know that's not of God. And then, for example, they come home or they go to church, and then it's something totally different.
Well, you can't be happy trying to serve God while straddling the fence. And Paul was saying to these Corinthians, he said, look, you have to decide. And because we are children of God, there are just some things we can't get involved with. There are just some relationships we can't tolerate. There are just some organizations we can't be a part of because they are in opposition to the things of God.
Now, turn if you will to 2 Peter. 2 Peter chapter 1. 2 Peter chapter 1. Peter gives us, reminds us, of something very important. In the first chapter, is what he says.
Now remember we're talking about the first step, the first way we keep clean in a dirty world is we recognize that we have a nature that is different from the unbeliever. He says in verse 4 of 2 Peter chapter 1, For by these He has granted, that is these promises, He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises in order that by them you might become partakers of the what? The divine nature, so that every single child of God is indwelt by. The divine nature, that is the nature of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so, therefore, if we have a new nature, We can expect to live differently than the world is.
And so, what Paul is saying here is. He says, don't be bound. Don't be a part of. Don't get intimately involved in these situations and circumstances and things and organizations because they don't fit who we are, and as the children of God. As the children of God, we ought to separate ourselves from them.
Now that's number one. Number two, listen to what he says. He says, develop personal relationships wisely. That's what he's implying. Look, if you will, in the 17th verse.
He says, Therefore. Come out from among their midst, and be separate, says the Lord, and do not touch what is unclean. And 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. Now, he's made a very strong statement here when he says, do not be bound together. Don't link yourself up with those things that would cause you to begin to drift.
and to begin to act like you are no longer a child of God.
Now when he says, and when I say here, develop personal relationships wisely. For the simple reason, all of us have relationships, and we'll have relationships all of our life. But the question is what kind of relationships do we develop? And what Paul is giving us here is a principle. And that is our intimate relationships.
should be with those who know our Master. who follow the principles of the Word of God because that's who we are. And to act otherwise or to link up otherwise with someone intimate in some fashion who is not a believer is to do what? Is to bring a whole different philosophy of life into your life and try to mix darkness and light. Trying to mix the principles of Satan with the principles of Christ.
Trying to mix things that don't mix and make them mix and they don't mix and they won't mix and therefore they won't work.
Now When we think in terms of that, He says, if you'll notice in this passage, verse 17, therefore, on the basis of what? On the basis of these five questions, hey, they don't mix, they don't work, don't be bound together. And besides that, God says, I'm going to walk in you, and I'm going to dwell in you, and I'll be your God, and you'll be my people. Therefore, don't try to straddle this thing and do two different things and walk two different ways. It doesn't work.
Now He says, therefore, verse 17, come out from their midst, be separate, says the Lord, and don't touch what is unclean. All three of these commands are given in the imperative, which is in the Greek a way of saying something is very urgent. He says, don't mix, don't be a part of that, come out from among these things. He said, Well, no, wait a minute. I have some friends, and we've been friends a long time, and We're intimate friends, and I don't think there's anything wrong with having a friend who's non-believer.
Neither do I. That's not what I'm saying. We're talking about relationships here. And when he says, come out from among them, Whether it is relationship, Or if God leads you to come out. Of a business or whatever it might be, and I'm saying that's between you and God.
I'm just saying, here's the principle: the principle is. If we're going to live clean in a dirty world, we have to be careful about our relationships. And you may be in something you can't get out of. God understands that, and He will show you how to bear a strong, godly influence and godly witness where you are, so that those around you that you cannot separate from, if it's that kind of situation, will sense something in you that they will want the same Christ that you have.
Now, Paul brings us back to a passage I want you to look at, if you will, in 1 Corinthians chapter 5. Go back to 1 Corinthians. And this is a very practical thing. Listen to what he says in 1 Corinthians chapter 5. Because you see, I knew in the very beginning that some of you would say, well, now he's telling us that we shouldn't have any relationship to lost people.
That's not what the Bible says, doesn't even say that. And I want you to notice something that may be a surprise to you. When Paul talks about separation in this passage, look who he's talking about.
Now, watch this. 1 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 9. He says, I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people. And I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world. Or were the covetous?
And swindlers and with idolaters, but then you would have to go out of the world. He said, I'm not telling you not to have any relationship with what kind of people? Look at this. With covetous swindlers, idolaters. You mean I can have a relationship with a swindler, an adulterer, and a covetous people?
Look in verse 11. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother. If he should be an immoral person, or covetous, or an adulterer, reviler, a drunkard, or swindler. Even eat with such a one.
Now, he knew what was going on there in Corinth.
Now, what is he saying to us? He's not saying that you and I should not have any relationship with people who are lost. I mean, wicked and as vile as the devil. Why? Because listen, you and I may be the only hope that person has for Christ.
It is a matter of not being contaminated with them, not having contact. And so that's why we have to work diligently at keeping clean in a dirty world. And these folks who say, well, you've got to join them to win them, the Bible nowhere says that.
Somebody says, well, but Paul says, I must be all things to all people in order to win some. Being all things, all people does not mean indulging in what they indulge in and acting like I believe what I don't believe. But rather understanding where they are. We're to be wise about our relationships when we walk into darkened rooms. Um darkened business, darkened organizations, whatever it may be, we are to shine.
We are to shine for the kingdom of God. But there's some things He will say to us: not that relationship, don't touch that thing, don't be a part of that. Uh Thank you for listening to Living Clean in a Dirty World. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
