2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 (HCSB)
Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? And what agreement does God’s sanctuary have with idols? For we are the sanctuary of the living God, as God said:
I will dwell among them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be My people.
Therefore, come out from among them
and be separate, says the Lord;
do not touch any unclean thing,
and I will welcome you.
I will be a Father to you,
and you will be sons and daughters to Me,
says the Lord Almighty.
Therefore, dear friends, since we have such promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, completing our sanctification in the fear of God.
Verse 14, the first verse of this section, often gets taken out of its proper context, which is the entire section. Paul is not talking specifically about marriage or business dealings, as this verse is often interpreted to address. Instead, he is warning the Corinthians against compromising with the world and its anti-God leanings in every area of life. Indeed, the final verse of this section provides the other “bookend“ for the cautions in the first verse, and helps to define them.
God’s people, the Christians, are supposed to live pure, holy lives, and to steer clear of anything that would cause us to compromise with paganism, idolatry, or any other sinful attitude or actions. Our lives are designed to bear powerful witness to the reality of the kingdom of God on earth, and we ourselves are to be pure channels through which God’s light can shine and through whom the Holy Spirit can work wonders.
This call to come out and be separate from the world is not a call to monasticism, a retreat from the world out of fear that temptations will overwhelm us. Jesus did not hide Himself from the world, and His people cannot accomplish what God has called us to do unless we are actively engaged with the people of the world, who are our mission, our very reason for existing in the world.
Instead, Jesus called His people to be in the world but not of the world (John 17:15-19). This requires that we steer clear of compromise with the world’s standards. From a practical standpoint, that means avoiding not only idol worship, but also worldly actions, activities, pastimes, and entertainments which serve to draw us away from whole-hearted devotion to God and whole-hearted commitment to our mission of saving the lost and helping them to become mature disciples.
Many Christians want God to do a purifying work in their hearts but continue to engage in the works and activities of the world while they wait. But Paul points out that powerful, concentrated effort is needed on the part of those wanting to be purified. Each person must take an active role in their own sanctification, purifying themselves from every compromise, every habit, every single thing that contaminates body or spirit. Without that active work in our own lives, God’s purification efforts will simply be like pouring clean water into a pitcher filled with mold and dirt. The clean water is instantly fouled, and all the effort at purification will be worth nothing.
Father, I do know some Christians who continue to be involved in habits, activities, and entertainments that break down their bodies, fill their imaginations with ungodly images, and push them away from You, building a wall of worldliness between them and Your holiness. And then they wonder why living a holy life is so hard, and why You don’t help them more. They pray for You to clean them up, all the while allowing these external involvements to continue to pour the raw sewage of compromise and sin into their hearts unimpeded. Lord, help us to clearly see any places that our compromises with the world, our acceptance of sin and impurity in our lives, is blocking Your influence and Your impact in our hearts. Help us to truly repent of anything like that which we find, and to truly turn away from it, so that You can then work in our hearts to make us genuinely holy, just like You want us to be. Amen.
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