Sunday, September 30, 2012

Ye are the temple . . .

Hey there, Saints & Lights! I know many of us have shed some bitter tears over the state of the modern-day church as we hear or experience 'wickedness in high places', a lack of love, or a perverting of the Gospel message by some in pursuit of riches and fame. And while this is certainly a cause for prayer and much prayer, I'm beginning to learn that it is not a cause for despair. Insincerity in the church-house was going on in Paul's time (2 Corinthians 2:17), and I dare say it may be going on until the end of time. So it doesn't appear that it's something the Lord wants us to stress over. That's why He lets believers in on the real deal--He's not building a church-house, but a spiritual house upon the rock of our faith. "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:5) So He cautions us in 2 Corinthians 6:14a, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers . . . ."
Now, we've heard this verse spouted as it relates to marriage, and surely, it has valuable implications there. But, interestingly enough, this verse follows a lengthy appeal that Paul was making, calling for steadfastness among believers in the Corinthian church. He follows it up in verse 16b by saying, ". . . 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." Now, this is Good News! This says that each believer is the temple of the living God, not the church-house as we know it; not the collection of folk that gather on Sunday morning, or Wednesday evening, or whenever. Each believer, not the building or the group, is the temple. We don't have to wait for 'the church to get right' to rejoice. We, each of us who believe, can rejoice and be exceedingly glad, now; because I am, you are, the temple of the living God! The church-house, the church organization, may go up and down the scale, but our salvation, our joy, our rejoicing, our praise is from and to the Lord--alone!
Unfortunately, everybody at the church-house is not a temple (not a believer), and we are admonished not to be yoked together with them. Walk among them, yes; even Jesus did the same. But be yoked with unbelievers, no. Our Lord said, "For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." (Matthew 12:50)  And what is the will of the Father? For an answer, Jesus said, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent." (John 6:29)  In other words, the will of God the Father is that we believe on God the Son. And those who do not are unbelievers, even if they do good things. (Matthew 7:23) But Jesus made it clear, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:35)
Jesus gives his disciples a heart of love that wants to reach out and bring everybody in. And that's great! But He doesn't want us to be burdened down by being 'yoked' to people who don't believe. So He let's us off the hook, by saying, "A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject." (Titus 3:10) And, again, Jesus told his disciples there does come a time when we must 'shake the dust off our feet'. (Matthew 10:14) Even when it is very difficult for us to do so for compassion sake, there comes a time when we must do so, for obedience sake, for peace sake.  We can walk among them, pray for them, have associations with them, but we cannot be 'yoked together' with them--those who don't believe what we believe. It is so obvious, yet sometimes so easily overlooked:  Life and death, light and darkness cannot agree--or come together as one.

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