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. (2 Corinthians 6:14-18 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Because some members of the church in Corinth were ignoring Paul and developing a dangerous attachment with false teachers, he felt the need to remind them of how certain things in life cannot be mixed. In no way was he encouraging the Corinthians to isolate themselves from unbelievers — we live in this world and cannot avoid people of other beliefs — but he was encouraging them to hold true to their own beliefs and refuse to allow others’ values and behavior to rub off on them. If anyone ignores this advice, one or the other, or both, will end up with values and behavior that have been diluted.
Belial is a Hebrew name for Satan and only appears once in the New Testament — this passage. It means: evil, wicked, and destroyer. How could the Lord Jesus Christ have anything to do with Belial? Jesus is the total opposite of all that Belial stands for. But the same goes for anyone who has a strong faith in God… how can they want to marry people who hate God, or be good friends with people who spend the whole night in a bar, or enjoy hanging around with negative, depressed people. If we put up with these things it only shows how weak our commitment to God is.
God encourages us to come out from among them and be separate… don’t touch any unclean thing… be sons and daughters to Me. The number one thing in our lives should be our relationship with God — everything else should come second. Our relationship with Him should be so important that we are ready to sacrifice anything to keep it pure and strong. When we are around people who do not believe like we do, we shouldn’t act like they have the plague — because we were just like them not so long ago — but should be examples, and should refuse to compromise on our faith or beliefs, yet do it in a manner that is appealing to people that do not yet have the faith that we have.
Let’s belong to God, but at the same time let’s not be a turn-off to the lost and needy.
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