"BE NOT DIVERSELY YOKED WITH UNBELIEVERS"
“BE NOT DIVERSELY YOKED WITH UNBELIEVERS”
In Proverbs, wisdom and folly are contrasted. You could not fancy wisdom and folly yoked together. If saints do not separate from the unconverted the result is disastrous. Separation is the witness of the power of God. If Christians only remembered what persons they are, not what they ought to be, they could not associate and be yoked with unbelievers. We have nothing in common with the world morally; its joys and interests are not ours.
If I make a companion of an unconverted man, how can we go on together? The things that are so precious to me, filling my heart with divine light, are actually repulsive to him. I am beholding the glory of the Lord and he is beholding the glory of man. There is no spiritual prosperity if there is not a break in friendship with unconverted people. God says, “Come out”. It is very important too not to be in partnership with the unconverted. I think we ought to test all our companionships by whether there is a real desire after Christ. We ought not to make companions otherwise. If I make a friend of one not the Lord’s, it is a yoke. You cannot of course break ties of relationships; you have to be prepared to part company with such.
The first division amongst brethren was between Abraham and Lot; one liked to live on the hilltop with God, and the other down on the plains. It is better to part company than to go with those in the world.
Then we should come out with dignity, “For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go out by flight; for Jehovah will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear-guard” (Isaiah 52: 12). One sometimes sees people sneak out, that is to try to avoid their old companions. No, that will not do! Tell them about it. You go out with a high hand; you go out [p. 234] with a sense that God is before you and behind you; you are not afraid of anybody, and you are not afraid of the consequences. You go out with dignity.
If we need extra care we shall get it. The daughters represent the weaker side. If there is special need there will be special care. It is well to come under the grace of it. This is parental care. We leave the resources of Egypt, but then we find God.
There is the persecution side undoubtedly, but it is all gain, for you begin to prove for the first time that God is a reality. No young believer finds his feet until he has proved God for himself. The Lord says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God ...” (Matthew 6: 33). If you are on that line you are set to prove how He can preserve and keep you. No Christian makes any progress if he does not act on the principle of verse 17. We all had links and we had to break them and come out, and made no start until we did. It is that I had to move, but God moves in [p. 235] me.
NOTES OF A READING 2 Corinthians 7: 1 - 16 “Pollution of flesh and spirit” (verse 1); both were at Corinth, flesh gross outwardly, pollution of spirit in divine things, self-confidence, vain-glory; there were gross and refined things; also pollution of spirit — anything allowed in spirit, what one entertains inwardly, anything unworthy of God is really a pollution in those who form God’s temple. The fact of being God’s temple makes the necessity of separation and holiness very great. The absence of the fear of God is the root of almost every kind of evil; there is a great lack of it today. It has almost become characteristic of the christian profession at large, “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3: 18). I suppose we have now to distinguish between righteousness and lawlessness in the christian sphere; it was not so in early days. When the apostle writes in chapter 6: 14, lawlessness was the state of the world around. Today we have to do with it within, then it was without.
Ques Do you think saints do not realise their responsibility?
CAC The secret of all is that we do not know the grace of God, we are not established in grace, and there is room for the world when the heart is not kept in grace.
Ques Does indifference indicate a want of preparedness of heart?
CAC “An honest and good heart” (Luke 8: 15) I suppose would be where the fear of God was. It is practical, there are certain things that pollute that have to be put aside; they do not always just drop off. I think God puts His finger on things that are hindrances; we may go on for years, but a time comes when God puts His finger on a thing; it may be through ministry, or prayer, and waiting on Him. God gives no more light, if light from Him is refused.
[p. 236] It is a very serious thing to refuse light from God, should it be in the character of the light which either exposes something in me, or opens up something in Him; serious consequences follow if Christians refuse light — they get left behind. J.B.S. used to say that discipline comes for correction when people want to go right — God comes in to help them. God may come in and deal with you so that you could not go on with the thing. A conscience is kept tender by always listening; if we refuse to hearken, it is surprising how quickly the conscience gets callous. Then God comes in and quickens the conscience again, as we see in this epistle; it is very encouraging to see that God can come in and restore things and put things on a footing more suitable to Himself.
The apostle does not seem to have the thought of perfection this side of glory; there is such a thing as entire sanctification though; the apostle prayed that the whole spirit, soul and body may be “preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5: 23). A saint needs conversion very often, a turn round. God allows many a thing to arise to exercise His people generally. All the trouble at Corinth, and the necessity of dealing with evil, was quite abnormal, but all for their spiritual profit.
God intended they should be exercised by it, that they might come into exercise before God. It is very much the same amongst Christians today. The occasion of sorrow and trial is the voice of the Lord, not by chance or the folly of believers, but we ought to hear the Lord’s voice. The Lord has a voice in it. It is only by walking with God that we grow in holiness; it is then very serious that when things arise God means to teach us something; we may have been going on carelessly and run up against some block in the road. We need to be exercised about things. The exercise passed through at Corinth resulted in their understanding the character of God’s house, and their behaviour in that house, more than they ever did before. So that when evil [p. 237] comes into the assembly it is not all unmixed evil. God uses it for the instruction of His saints.
Rem The cover of the tabernacle was badger skins to repel evil.
CAC Yes, it is very much what salt is a figure of; it is that savour of God that preserves from the corrupting influences of evil, and what enables one to cut off a right hand, or pluck out a right eye if found to be an offence. The Holy Spirit is a Holy Spirit, we must ever remember that. The moment evil touches the soul, it is a very blessed thing if there is self-judgment at once, it does not then go any further.
How the apostle lets himself out is very lovely. He exposes his own weakness to them; he tells them he regretted writing that letter to them. It was really the love of Christ in the apostle. It is very edifying to see it in that light — the love of Christ in a vessel characterised by weakness. He was so distressed, that he had no rest in his spirit. It is never happy when saints have to be grieved, and it is no pleasure to the Lord, but a necessity that they should be grieved according to God. The thought of a breach between him and the saints was intolerable, and it should be today if there is any affection for the people of God.
[p. 238] SUMMARY OF A READING 2 Corinthians 8: 1 - 24 The subject of giving occupies such a large place because it is the practical exhibition of the truth of the one body. It was of great satisfaction to the apostle that the Gentiles ministered to the poor Jews — it showed a practical binding together. He had besought them not to receive the grace of God in vain, and had said also, “Corinthians, our heart is expanded ..., let your heart also expand itself” (chapter 6: 11, 13), and now he could speak of the grace that had shown itself in a very practical way. It is the character of God coming out in the saints. God’s character is that of a giver. If you can become poor even in money to the enriching of others it seems to me it is on the line of what God is and of what Christ is (see verse 9). That makes the subject important.
God is bringing out His own testimony in men “for glory to God by us” (chapter 1: 20); and there is a circle where divine affections can have their outflow; the saints were not to be narrowed up to themselves, but to widen out to other saints — the wide circle of Christ’s interests. There are two sides of expansion. First, separation from what is outside, and then, inside, the outflow of grace and liberality. I do not think the apostle was anxious as to himself; even with the Philippians, he desired that fruit might abound to their account. The two things that characterise the saints are separation from the world which rejected Christ, and then their love for one another; they are bound together in holy love. Separation in itself would be a poor, cold thing; there must be these exercises of divine affections. We need to have the practical character of christianity before us, for we are in danger of being theoretical. This is a remarkable bringing together of things in verse 2: trial of affliction, abundance of joy, deep poverty, riches of liberality; you [p. 239] could scarcely have a mixture of greater contrasts. In early days, the light of God’s grace was in every heart; there was the simplicity of fellowship and all was brought into the assembly. They brought their money and “laid it at the feet of the apostles”. The widow’s offering of two mites surpassed even the offerings of Solomon. The tendency of many things is to dry us up and to make us suspicious. We have to guard against it. The widespread character of evil tends to make us suspicious, and we have to mind that that sort of feeling does not have the upper hand with us. The basic thing for us is that we should hold everything as the Lord’s. These Macedonians first gave themselves to the Lord and in doing so they gave everything. We give and the Lord accepts, “according to what he may have”. He knows what we have and accepts the gift accordingly.
It is not God’s mind that among His people there should be some rolling in wealth while others are starving in poverty, but that there might be equality (verse 14). In verse 9 Paul gives a tremendous incentive, and ends (chapter 9: 15) with “Thanks be to God for his unspeakable free gift”. It is a question with him of behaving as divine Persons had behaved.