D. Scott Meadows
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (2Cor 6:14—7:1).
These words were written and first sent to the church at Corinth, but the letter was intended to be copied and passed around to the other churches of Christ, and to become part of the sacred canon and the New Testament for the instruction of all God’s people everywhere in every century. You see, the Corinthian problem is a perennial problem. To press our conscience a little more, I want to stress that the Corinthian problem is our problem. And what is that problem? In brief, it is the church’s integration with the world, and the individual Christian’s compromise, morally and spiritually, with the thoughts and ways of God’s enemies. It is siding in a thousand particulars with the fallen Adam against the risen Christ, with the spirit of the age against eternal truth and righteousness, and with the nefarious devil against the Lord of glory.
It is only natural that we should want to fit in with the crowd and be accepted by our peers. Any nonconformist, in general, is hated and considered strange, but especially when he or she stands out from others because of biblical beliefs and Christian convictions. This reality in a fallen world presents a great temptation to the church and its members in this age. We find it easier going for ourselves if we emphasize the areas of agreement with Nonchristians and tone down, or even remain silent, about our differences. That way we can stifle our own consciences and persuade ourselves that we have faith, even if it is only a very quiet and private faith, while we continue to enjoy the camaraderie and goodwill of those who loathe Christ and His gospel, the Bible and the Church. After all, we think to ourselves, how are we going to convert them if we don’t make them like us first? And how can they like us if we condemn them openly? That is how we rationalize all this.
And what begins as perhaps a well-intentioned evangelistic strategy becomes a snare for our own souls. That is because we have far too much of this corrupt world’s irreverence and unbelief and self-will and pride remaining in us, even if we are real Christians, and good ones at that. And so concealment leads to compliance, compliance to consent, consent to compromise, and compromise to capitulation. Instead of our going into all the world and preaching the gospel to every creature, the world invades the church, intimidates many who would otherwise be outspoken, and finally, to some degree, snuffs out faithful preaching and holy living. This problem is rampant throughout evangelicalism today.
But the biblical message and lifestyle should not sketched in shades of gray. We should, by our words and our deeds, paint it in bold colors with stark contrasts, because that is the full-orbed reality. The blurred spiritual and moral boundary between the church and the world always needs to become more sharp and clear. God’s glory requires this, as well as the church’s mission. We are never more pleasing to God than when we are most like Him. And likewise we are never more loving and useful toward our neighbors than when we are distinctively holy according to the biblical standard. And the uncomfortable truth is, the more we are like God the more unlike the world we will be. James rebuked his ostensibly Christian readers this way: “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (Jas 4.4). Our worldly lukewarmness sickens Christ and saps our strength to serve others for their own good.
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