Q & A: What does Reverend Deal say this week!
‘Be kind to the unbeliever’
Question: Sister G. Hanna wants to know: what does it mean to be “unequally yoked”?
Answer: To be ‘unequally yoked’ is a phrase that comes from 2nd Corinthians 6:14: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?” This verse is focusing on the spiritual relationship that the saved has with the unsaved. Scripture has shown us that thru-out time God has put forth an enormous effort to separate the righteous from the unrighteous and to divide the good from the bad. To be ‘unequally yoked’ characterizes many phases in our daily lives. Marriages, friendships, businesses, and even our churches display the negative effects of being ‘unequally yoked’. If you are not doing the things of God you’re doing the things of the devil. Stay strong for righteousness. Stop justifying the fact that the unbelievers are not saved. Sayings such as: (a) well, it’s alright to get drunk now and then, he deserves it; (b) the reason why she cheated because he wasn’t being a good husband at home, (c) he doesn’t have to go to church to go to heaven- let him get ready for the Sunday football game, etc.
Paul is the author of the book of Corinthians. During Paul’s day the city of Corinth was the sin center of the Roman Empire. The city was known as “Vanity Fair.” A Temple was built for the Greek goddess Aphrodite. In the Temple there were 1000 priestesses to minister for worship. Those 1000 so-called priestesses were actually prostitutes. Sex was the religion at Corinth. The city of Corinth reminds me of our city today. So, Paul, being a spokesman for God, had to explain to the church in Corinth not to mingle with the unsaved.
The mission for the saved is to spread the goodness and the grace of God. We should be kind to the unbeliever. Chances are that you exhibited the same behavior or worse than the ones you are looking down on. 2nd Timothy 2:24-26 sums it up: And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient. In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will’.
Reverend Dr. David Deal is the senior pastor at Every Christian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Reverend Deal can be reached at the Westside Gazette, 545 NW Seventh Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Fla 33311, or by email at David.Deal55@gmail.com
