Day 751 of 1000
I was thinking of a verse that I wanted to read, but did not know where to find it so I googled it. The verse is II Corinthians 6:17. It says:
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,…
The whole context seems to run from verse 14 through the end of the chapter. Here is the whole thing:
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? 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. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
I was thinking about what one should do with respect to people who claim to be believers, but advocate for things that are clearly not scriptural such as remarriage after divorce1, abortion2, and homosexual behavior3. I was not thinking so much about these behaviors, rather, I was thinking about what I should tell my children. They asked me what is the right repsonse toward people who claim they have the same worldview and belief system as us while overtly advocating for things God hates and calls abomination.
When I googled the verse, it took me to a place that showed only that one verse. I wanted to see the whole thing so I googled the chapter. But, I inadvertantly googled Corinthians 6 (I not II). I figured it out pretty quickly, but before I did I read the first part of the chapter. It was amazingly apropo:
Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
That was very interesting and made me think of some additional verses in Matthew 18:
Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
This all gave me pause. I have always been the type to try not to make waves, but when one’s kids are involved it is often necessary to say something and probably take a firm stand. After attempting to get through the scriptural process and at least a plurality and probably a majority are still at odds with what you believe is true and right, then what? The kids really do need an answer, and a good parent owes it to them. I think the time is coming when more and more parents will face this.
1. The words of Jesus in Mark 10:11-12.
2. The phrase “conceived and bore” is used repeatedly (see Genesis 4:1,17) and the individual has the same identity before as after birth. “In sin my mother conceived me,” the repentant psalmist says in Psalm 51:7. The same word is used for the child before and after birth (Brephos, that is, “infant,” is used in Luke 1:41 and Luke 18:15.) God knows the preborn child. “You knit me in my mother’s womb . . . nor was my frame unknown to you when I was made in secret” (Psalm 139:13,15). God also helps and calls the preborn child. “You have been my guide since I was first formed . . . from my mother’s womb you are my God” (Psalm 22:10-11). “God… from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through his grace” (St. Paul to the Galatians 1:15). (Cited from this webpage)
3. Old Testament: Leviticus 20:13. New Testament: Romans 1:26-27.
This is a tough one, Ken. Especially when it is someone close to you that is being drawn to something clearly stated in scripture be wrong. I have been through the experience of taking a right stand with the wrong spirit and now dealing with the aftermath of that. Be careful. I followed my human nature instead of Christ’s nature. Boy, was that a mistake. I should have taken the approach that Christ took with “sinners and publicans” in that he reached out to them in love and kindness, he even dined with them. But He also never wavered from what is right and made a clear stand. The spirit of our proclamation is every bit as important as the “law” we proclaim. I have often wished that life was more like grade school and we could just call for a “Do Over!” when we need it.
I know Gene. This is a tough one. By nature, I tend to try to keep the peace and am pretty uncomfortable making waves, especially in a one-on-one situation. “Hate the sin, but love the sinner” sounds a little trite sometimes, but is very much my position on all these kinds of things. What might be a little different in this situation is that the people over whom I have influence and need to exercise authority are not in rebellion or even questioning what is right or wrong. We have worked hard to help them understand why we believe what we believe and that love is the number one thing. The challenge is to know how to handle this sort of thing when the ones who take these positions are the ones who hold the positions of authority and should be exercising right influences. It is kind of backward, if you know what I mean and it is very painful to have to explain that we need to love, respect, and obey those who are in authority over us under these circumstances. It would be interesting to get your thoughts on that.
I think you are exactly right on the law and grace thing and I would like some “do overs”, too.
A few thoughts come to mind. We are instructed to subjected to our “froward” masters. David demonstrated that beautifully with his attitude toward Saul, recognizing that God was allowing Saul to be in authority over him. It sounds like Naaman was planning on being graceful in how he would handle having to escort the king into the temple of Rimmon. Ester demonstrates how to gracefully let those who are determined to be in opposition to what is right have enough “rope to hang themselves.” Abagail shows how to ask for mercy on behalf of those who are making foolish choices even when they are in authority over us like Nabal was over her. It is interesting the actions in each situation speak louder than what was said. Maybe that is the best approach. At the same time, Ezekiel was told the gravity of being a watchman in chapter 33. I have some responsibility there also with regard to whom I am responsible to protect. I would love to have the wisdom to know what to speak and when to be silent. But I need to always live an example. Easy to say…..
Very, very good advise Gene. My thoughts are that even Jesus recognized the place of the priesthood in Israel. It is the scripture I use when I talk to the kids. Jesus and the apostles did not hesitate to call things wrong when they were wrong, but he respected God’s established order and acted lovingly toward all even though that manifested itself in very different ways. I also realize that we are nobody–farmer, logger kids from an Oregon backwater. I am not in authority over anyone but my family. I think your advise is very good for us to follow. The scripture is from Matthew 23:2-3:
Thanks for taking the time to respond to this.
We heard so helpfully about this at Boring. It was mentioned that these are not new issues, and what we need to do is set them in order in our lives(have a firm conviction). There were many other helpful things shared, but this is the one thing we can do, and help those closest to us with.
Thanks for that Lenore. I think that is a great admonition for me. The kids were saying all this was addressed at Mountain Ranch a couple of years back, too. God is forgiving and extends grace, but has been very clear on things that are important to Him. Standing firm in that, as you suggested, has to be a big encouragement to others.