The Yoke of Marriage

Good morning, welcome to NHCC. Please open your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 6.

What is holiness and why is it important?

Isaiah 6- Why do they yell cry out about the holiness of God?

1 Peter 1:15-16 “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Hebrews 12:14- “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”

To be a follower of Jesus is to strive for God’s holiness.

Striving- this does not come easily.

To run swiftly in pursuit of something. Don’t we feel this with holiness? That it is often just beyond our reach, and that we’ve never fully grasped it.

The question is, are we running?

Called to be separate as God is separate.

Opposite of worldliness. Rather than seeking to fit in with the pursuits of the world, we aim to stick out.

We value holiness over happiness.

Read 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1- “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”

Pray.

Difficult subject this morning. Let’s make sure it is aimed in the right direction and with the right intentions.

Tends to be some confusion surrounding our text. Not primarily about marriage.

1 Corinthians 7:39- “A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.”

Extremely pertinent text. Take some time understanding what Paul is communicating to his audience.

Much broader than marriage.

Exploring 2 Corinthians.

Why was it written?

1 Corinthians. Then 2 Corinthians.

I desired to visit you but I didn’t.

People stepping in and causing disunity by creating a distrust of Paul.

He is unimpressive, not a great speaker, and he has misled you in promising to come and visit you. He is a flake.

2 Corinthians 1:1- Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother...

Who are these who bring charges against me?

Explains why he didn’t come (end of chapter 1, beginning of chapter 2)- I didn’t want to cause you even more pain in a painful visit.

This largely explains the content of the entire book of 2 Corinthians. So how does our text fit into this?

Exploring 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1.

Is Paul saying that we should disassociate completely from all non-believers? What has darkness to do with light? Surely not.

John 17:15-18- “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”

1 Corinthians 5:9-11- I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.

What does it mean to be yoked to something?

We are yoked in the relationships in which we are working toward a common cause, likely the most intimate of relationships of which we are a part.

2 Corinthians- the church relationship.

Closest of friendships.

Business partners.

Marriage.

Here, Paul is speaking in the context of the local, gathered church. Do not be yoked together for the work of the gospel with those who are not working in the same direction.

What has light to do with darkness? What does the temple (the body of Christ in true worship of God) have to do with idols (fake worship of a fake god)?

Stop becoming yoked together with something that will drag you away from the purpose of your work.

How does our text apply to marriage?

Marriage is perhaps the primary, or supreme, example of being yoked to another.

Especially given what we have covered so far in Genesis 2. This is what marriage was created for.

What happens when a Christian is unequally yoked to a non-believer?

Your spouse will never understand you.

Loneliness.

Either God or your spouse will be moved to the periphery of your life.

A word for those who are unequally yoked.

What encouragement for those who are unequally yoked in marriage?

Pray for your spouse. Morning, noon and night. Always plead with God for the soul of your spouse.

This is a calling to the church as well.

Resist the urge to change your spouse, to fix your spouse, to judge your spouse, or to leave your spouse. You are responsible for your faith and your faith alone.

But your faith will drive you to present Jesus to your spouse in every possible circumstance.

You will likely be the primary witness of the gospel for your spouse.

Your attitude, your actions, your words, will reveal who you are and Whom you love.

Keep God as the core of who you are. Avoid the dual temptations to flee your marriage or to make your spouse the core.

A vision for your marriage ought to be to keep God at the core of your life and little by little to nudge your spouse in the direction of that core.

We return to where we started. The easiest thing in the world to do is ignore the warnings from God Himself through the apostle Paul. But what price are we paying in doing so?

2 Corinthians 7:1- Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

Be holy as I am holy. Strive for holiness. May all of your conduct be holy. Is this our aim? May a seeking of the things of God, rather than the things of this world, guide even the decision in who is right for us to marry.

Let’s pray.