“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” – 2 Corinthians 6:14

This is a hard teaching to process! As followers of Jesus, we’re called to be in the world, yet not of the world. We’re called to cultivate friendships with those who don’t know Christ, but also be on guard as to how deep that friendship goes so that it doesn’t steer us off the path of following Jesus.

Why is this even an issue? Because followers of Jesus are new creation, the righteousness of God. As such, we’re called to avoid becoming yoked with (attached to in a way that joins our direction, journey, and fate like two farm animals) old creation that hasn’t yet become the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

So what would constitute an unequal yoking? Any sort of binding association, partnership, or relationship that would, over time, tend to result in a substantial clash of values, ethics, dreams, vision, goals, or worldview. An unequal yoking could be a long-term business partnership. It could be a deep personal relationship (including, but not limited to, marriage). It could be an organizational membership. It could describe a church’s entanglement with secular groups, organizations, or politics. Anything where the two parties are committed to traveling together through life over a long period of time, even as their fundamentally different natures should be driving them apart.

History is clear that unequal yoking between children of the world and children of God doesn’t produce greater righteousness, but less. It doesn’t produce more fruit for God’s Kingdom, it produces less. It doesn’t produce spiritual growth and strength, it produces weakness. While this teaching may offend our 21st century sensibilities, we defy it at our own peril!

“And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” – 2 Corinthians 5:15

Jesus died for you. You. You! He died on a cross for your sins and was raised back to life on the third day so that by God’s grace, through faith in Him, you become new creation (verse 17). You are reconciled to the God Who loves you (verse 18). Christ’s righteousness is credited to you and you become the righteousness of God (verse 21).

Because Christ did this for you, it isn’t about you. It’s not. Not anymore! If you’ve put your faith in Jesus Christ and received the extraordinary blessings and benefits of a life united with His, it’s not about you. Not any longer. It’s about Jesus.

For everyone raised to new life in Christ, we can’t be living for ourselves any longer. It’s not about us. Our life, our purpose, our passion, our mission can’t be about us. It must be about Him. We’ve been raised to live for Him. We’ve been made new to love Him, share Him, proclaim Him, serve Him. We’ve been raised to become His hands and feet, caring for the poor and those in need, loving the unlovable, sharing hope with the hopeless, speaking life to the spiritually dead. We must no longer live for our kingdoms and empires, but exclusively, 100% for His Kingdom. May His Kingdom come and His will be done!

“He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?”
– Micah 6:8

Just prior to this famous verse, the prophet rhetorically asks whether God desires ritual devotion, excellent offerings, or extravagant sacrifices. No!!! God desires justice, kindness, and a humble, ongoing relationship with Him.

God desires for His people to do justice. Not simply to think about justice, but to do it. Not to dismiss justice, but to pursue it. We’re called to action, not mere contemplation or hollow words. Subsequent verses make clear what doing justice looks like: fair dealings with those who are poor, powerless, vulnerable, and ripe for exploitation. God’s people must be concerned for those with less prominence, power, and privilege in whatever society we inhabit. Justice isn’t a political agenda, it’s God’s agenda.

God desires for His people to love kindness. Kindness. Like what God demonstrated through His Son Jesus, who set down His heavenly glory to enter our broken world, to love and teach those who hungered for the Lord before sacrificing Himself on a cross for our sins. Kindness. A deep concern for others, even in an age of extreme callousness, cruelty, and contempt for others (I’m speaking of our time, not Micah’s). Kindness isn’t weakness, it’s Christlikeness.

God desires for His people to walk humbly with Him. To submit to Him. To follow Him. To accept His authority over every aspect of our lives. To accept His authority, even on those matters we want to hold onto ourselves. To walk in humility, knowing that we are sinners saved by grace, not modern day Pharisees saving ourselves by form and ritual. To show that humility to both the Lord and all those around us. Humility isn’t optional, it’s required.

You know what is good. Will you do it?

“I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.”
– Psalm 104:33-34

As we consider singing praise to God as long as we live, we must surely realize that our life won’t always be pleasant or easy. “As long as I live” includes times of health and times of illness. Times of strength and times of weakness. Times when the world goes our way and times when nothing seems to go our way. Times of love and times of loneliness. Seasons of success and seasons of failure. Nonetheless, like the psalmist, we too can sing to the Lord as long as we live. How?

By rejoicing “in” the Lord, not merely for or to Him. The psalmist isn’t merely rejoicing for the Lord or for what the Lord has done or given. Those are good and important things for which we should rejoice and give thanks. Nonetheless, our outward circumstances and material blessings shouldn’t be the primary cause of our rejoicing. Our greatest source of joy must be that we are in the Lord!

As followers of Jesus, Christ is in us and we are in Him. We are united with Him. He Who suffered all things for our redemption promises that He is with us always. He will neither leave us nor forsake us. In Christ, God calls us beloved child and friend. We call Him Father and know that He is the perfect Father. He welcomes us before Him. He listens to us. He loves us. He forgives us. This is how and why we sing to the Lord as long as we live and why we can and should praise Him for however long we draw breath. May our meditations please Him. “Rejoice in the Lord always, again, I will say, rejoice!”

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” – 2 Corinthians 3:18

The new life we enjoy in Jesus Christ is meant to be a life of ongoing transformation. Once we believe in Jesus, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit Who guarantees our salvation. The Spirit, in turn, desires to work a wondrous transformation within us from whatever we once were into being like Jesus Himself.

This is a process, a journey of a thousand miles. With each step, we are to grow in God’s glory. With each step, we are to “put off” a bit more of our old nature and “put on” more of Jesus. With each passing day, week, month, and year, we should more fully speak the words of Jesus, think the thoughts of Jesus, and do the actions of Jesus as we demonstrate yet more of the Fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

If that describes your life, praise God! If that doesn’t describe your life, then realize this is neither a passive process nor an automatic one. Though salvation is guaranteed through faith in Christ, we must actively cooperate with the Spirit to grow in Christlikeness, experience transformation, and more richly see God’s glory in our lives. We have work to do in pursuing the holiness, character, and person of Christ each day.

We must be people of frequent worship (public and private) and of life in the Word (reading, studying, meditating on, and memorizing Scripture). We must be people of prayer, walking and talking with God. We must be people in deep community with others who are walking the path of transformation. We must be people who serve the Lord diligently. We must be people who share our hope in Christ. What God desires and does in us is glorious. Please, please, please don’t let anything hold you back from experiencing that!!!