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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman Unequally
Yoked In
1965, at the age of 14, our Sunday-school teacher quoted 2 Corinthians
6:14 from his King James Bible to us. "Be ye not unequally
yoked with unbelievers", he read. I asked him "what does
that mean". He answered by saying "white people must not
marry black people". As young as I was, I questioned that. The
literary context of this verse is not about marriage.
It is possible that marriage could be an example of unequalled
yoking, although there are some reasons for why a Christian would marry a non-Christian. I say
"possible" because, for example, a marriage partner was not
always a matter of one's choice in Paul's day. A Christian might be
forced to marry a non-Christian for many reasons. In that case Paul
advised the Christian not to divorce in the hope that the unbelieving
spouse would find Jesus (1 Corinthians 7:13 - 14). If that becomes
unworkable and the unbeliever desires divorce, let it be so because God
has called us to a life of peace (1 Corinthians 7:15).
Paul's
letters to the Corinthians suggest he had other forms of yoking in mind,
not just marriage, and that due to Greco/Roman cultural influences in
their lives. This is the context to be considered as we try to
understand what not being unequally yoked means.
The
worship of multiple gods penetrated every aspect of life in Paul's day.
It could not be avoided. Separation of polytheistic religion and
culture was unheard of. If, for example, you worked in a trade you
would be yoked to a guild and its god whom you were expected to worship at
ceremonial meals involving sexualized entertainment by naked men and
women. How should a Christian deal with that since his income
depended on this guild? If
you needed money to expand your trade you would borrow it from someone
with whom you would enter a patron-client relationship, not only with him
but with his god. You weren't considered his slave but you were
yoked sufficiently to him that he demanded your full allegiance. How
should a Christian deal with that since his income depended on his patron?
Although
quite flawed, we in the West have inherited some form of Biblical thought.
Ungodly religious yoking doesn't penetrate life as in Paul's day, but 1
Corinthians 6:14 still demands our attention. I admit there are grey
areas that make it difficult to know where to draw the 1 Corinthians 6:14
line, but that doesn't mean we ignore its command. I
don't think Paul was talking about membership in our trade unions which
doesn't force a member to worship a god who offers prostitutes for one's
enjoyment. I don't think he was talking about having non-Christian
friends, watching decent movies at a theatre, or joining Muslims to serve
food to the poor. I
think Paul was talking about things like the Chrislam Movement where
Christians and Muslims are yoked in worship believing they serve the same
God. I think he was talking about today's politicized churches that
are yoked with a certain politician whereby they exchange their Jesus
identity with the politician's identity.
Our
verb "yoked" here is translated from the Greek present, active
participle "herterozygeo". This verb doesn't suggest an
acquaintance or a friendship. It suggests an intimate fusing
together of opposites where the opposites exchange their personal
distinctiveness for a new corporate distinctiveness. It's like the
cross-breeding of animals. Paul
warned against the fusing of "righteousness with wickedness"
(verse 14) "Christ with Belail" (verse 15) and "the There
is a 1 Corinthians 6:14 line to be drawn that has nothing to do with white
people marrying black people. It has everything to do with
Christians and church yoking with ungodliness whereby our godly,
Jesus-like identity is lost.
Postscript For
my theology on marriage and divorce you can purchase my book
"Divorce, Remarriage and God's Original Intention" found on all
Amazon sites.
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