Month: September 2013

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.