Be ye not unequally yoked together.....What does that mean?

I was doing the Sabbath School this morning, and in describing how the Jews had embellished and expanded what God had said about those who were uncircumcised or unclean, I used as an a example of today, 2 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?"

And I got a reaction that I did not expect. How do you all see this verse, what is it talking about, marriage, contracts, social contacts, political groups, etc... What level of interaction are we talking about here?

Of your listed items, it would apply to marriage, contracts, and political groups. Having a social contact would not qualify as applicable because we are told to live in the world but not be of the world. We have to have contact, and people can only be taught of God through such.

Mrs. White applies the text to marriage, alliances, political questions, business relations, medical work, etc. Here is one quote where she explains the breadth of the term.



Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

Paul explained what he meant:

1. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?
2. And what communion has light with darkness?
3. And what accord has Christ with Belial?
4. Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
5. And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?

• Choose your friends wisely. They should be of the same faith and share the same moral values.
   
• Choose your alliances wisely. You may enter into alliances with others of a different faith, but for a purely wise reason. Take for example the matter of freedom of religion in politics. Even though the Church does not share the same faith as the Mosque or the Temple, nevertheless it may form an alliance with them for the sake of securing the future of religious liberty for all. The terms of the alliance must then be clearly understood be to be specifically confined to that.
   
• Finally, consider this forum. We do not all have the same perspective on any particular subject; but we do have one thing in common: our affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventist Christian denomination, an awareness of its unique contribution to theology, the divisive issues that plague the organization, its weaknesses and also its strengths.

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I like the example you gave, "a social contact would not qualify as applicable because we are told to live in the world but not be of the world." The context was we were speaking of how the Jews had formed traditions and ideas which had surpassed to the extreme or not given to them at all. There are some which have the idea that we should only be with Adventist members, and only marry or be married to other Adventist, or along those lines, and I had to deal with it quickly.

I gave the verse in Mark 7:8-9 King James Version (KJV)

8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

and 1 Corinthians 7:14 "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy."

Well, lets go to the question they posed, would you allow your young son or daughter to date or get engaged and chose to marry someone outside the church(not in a church) or a non-Adventist.

Rick, would or could the answer be different if someone is not a Christian vs. not an Adventist Christian?

Allow is strong word. There is an issue here that is outside the scope of the thread: should parents be final arbiters of who their children marry? Anyway ...

• Should an SDA marry a non-SDA? I won't advise it unless the SDA is more or less accommodating of other Christian denominations.
   
• Should a Christian marry a non-Christian? I DEFINITELY won't advise it. What has the temple of Christ to do with, for example, the mosque of Mohammed, a false prophet who denies the Divinity of OUR LORD, hmmmm?

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Good question.

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What if they do not go to any church at all, like most people now a days, is that a non Christian?

How do you see this verse then....

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Membership on a piece of paper does not a Christian make.

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers"

First, what does it mean to be "yoked together"?

If you have a field in which a herd of oxen are grazing. Some big, some small, some young, some old all mingling in the same field. They ARE NOT YOKED TOGETHER yet they are mingling together.

Yoking two oxen together, is a different matter. There is some kind of harness there that holds them together, and they need to operate together to do what ever they are yoked together to do.

So what would the text mean?
Basically, don't get into the harness (some binding contract that obligates one to accommodate oneself in large measure to another) with an unbeliever, in which you need to "pull together" in one and the same direction.

Mingling, or fellowshiping with unbelievers, etc. is not the same as "yoking oneself together".

Marriage is probably the most all encompassing "yoking together" in a lifetime commitment. When a person decides to spend their life with someone, it's imperative to their happiness that they are on the same page about what's possibly the biggest and most important aspect in their life.
And for a follower of Christ, that encompasses their whole lifestyle. Faith is not just one aspect of their life; it's something that cannot be compartmentalized for the sake of a relationship. It determines how they spend their time, what they enjoy for leisure and entertainment, what they eat, how they dress, how they raise their children, and so many other things!

To be yoked with someone who has taken a lifestyle road that is highly different, as to what is important and what are the goals of life, simply results in a highly stressful relationship not conducive to happiness. Marriage only works when compromise is practiced, but when compromise means giving up that which is the most important (our faith walk with Christ) it is dangerous!!!

Now -- if one finds themselves in an unequal marriage, the Bible recommends staying with the unbelieving spouse, but NOT giving up one's (faith walk with Christ).

So the Biblical recommendation is - do not get into an unequal yoked relationship, avoid it, don't marry thinking you can change the other person and make them more like yourself.

More often than not, it's the believer that compromises and slips into apostasy.
But if you find yourself in an unequal relationship, make God first, and in God's strength be a loving spouse to your mate.

True, but at least you have a place to start...

Well, the young ladies (and young men) are finding it difficult to find someone as most people don't go to church any more.

What would you say then to them, don't marry and stay single. That's a hard road especially with all the traps that Satan sets up for young people.

That is part of the problem. The church is not a building we go to, it is the people. I rarely find any value in sermons. Sabbath School where there is exchange of ideas is the most rewarding. But in our formalism of today, when the bell rings, we have to stop. That is not how it should be.

Is it ethical to be happy?
Mt 10:34 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.

But do you recommend they marry anyway someone who doesn't believe the way they do and be unhappy the rest of their lives?

That is, so it's bad thing to do, but do it anyway because they are 'the only one left'.

We'll meet enough "swords" without binding ourselves to someone antagonistic to our beliefs and planting the sword habitually into the home. What a blessing when the two marriage partners support and encourage each other in the walk of faith! It is indeed important!

Send them where they are more likely to meet someone suitable.
Our colleges have been humorously called "marriage markets", and yes, basically it's one of the best places to find someone! (Though, as always when choosing a life partner, great care must be taken for not all who attend our colleges are believers, or suitable marriage partners)

Other places to meet more possible partners are -- camp meetings, youth rallies, maranatha projects, mission projects; anywhere where active believers come together.

It is true that finding someone to whom one is attracted, who is also genuinely committed to Christ, is not an easy task. But it is not impossible.
The person looking, also needs to cultivate and display the characteristics in his/her own life, which they hope to find in another.

If you read chapter nine in "Adventist Home" I don't think you could, in good conscience, tell them to marry an unbeliever. It does seem better to remain single, rather than, in full knowledge, place a lifetime yoke upon themselves with an unbeliever --

Yes, but there is also this:

Ecclesiastes 9:9
"Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun."

Yes, if we were all rich and could afford the tutition...


"Southern Adventist University/Undergraduate tuition and fees
20,650 USD
2015–16"

I am sure it has not gone down since then, and that is more than what most people make at minimum wage.


Florida/Minimum wage
8.25 USD per hour
Jan 1, 2018

"The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour and the Florida state minimum wage is $8.25 per hour. The law states that whichever is the higher applies to employers in that state.

Florida is one of the states that has a minimum wage rule and ensures that their employers pay it. There are five states that do not. Tennessee, South Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi do not.

The minimum wage in Florida means that a full-time worker can expect to earn the following sums as a minimum before tax. These assume a 40-hour working week:
$330.00 per working week
$1,430.00 per month
$17,160.00 per annum"


https://goodcalculators.com/us-minimum-wage-calculator/florida/
© 2015-2018 goodcalculators.com

That was just one option out of several given --
the principle was -- go where active believers come together, if you want to find a life partner that is an active believer.
Going to camp meeting doesn't cost thousands. Nor does volunteering in a Maranatha project, as long as it's not on the other side of the world, cost that much.

During evangelistic "impact the city" meetings, youth are organized in teams to do door to door work. It doesn't cost much to join.

And now Adventist internet education is becoming more and more available. One nice part is the planned "get-togethers" of all the "homeschool" students at regular interval's. I've seen some of the strongest friendships established this way.

If a person really desires to find someone that believes as they do they need to make a little bit of an effort, not just grab what's readily available simply because it's all that's available in their immediate area.

It will make a difference for the REST OF THEIR LIVES!!!!

Very good counsel, didn't look at those avenues. I will use that when I talk to the young people. But the heart can be tricky as you know.....