Unbelievers - 2 Corinthians 6:15-18

6:15- - Continuing with the theme of not being “yoked together with unbelievers,” Paul continues asking, “what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” The article on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com quotes Bruce R. McConkie as teaching, “Belial is one of the names of Satan and has particular reference to the fact that he is the personification of evil and lawlessness. The literal meaning of the term is worthlessness with an especial connotation of recklessness and lawlessness.”

 

There is a very fine line when incorporating this teaching into our lives while also remembering Paul previous counsel to be everything to all men. I think it really comes down to just how involved you become in someone’s life or movement. I went to a protest yesterday that was “Pride for Black Lives Matter,” which can be a controversial topic for a lot of people. My sign said, “FREE white Mormon mom HUGS.” I did this because I wanted to show people that Christ’s teaching to love one another was alive and I wanted to do my part to help them feel that love. We get so caught up in making sure that everyone knows that we are right that we can miss out on actually do what Jesus preached, loving other people.

 

My brother made a really good point yesterday, pointing out to the paradox of how my belief in the gospel is valid but at the same time his disbelief in the gospel is valid. He used the example of climate change, comparing two people, one who says climate change is real and one who says climate change is not real. He said that both of those people cannot be right at the same time. Most issues are like this, both sides cannot be equally valid, but religion can be. It is possible for my belief in the gospel to be valid and someone’s disbelief in the gospel to be valid as well. By valid I don’t mean correct, but it is our right to each have our own respective opinions and still be treated as people.

 

No one was born on this earth with a sure, concrete knowledge of the truthfulness of the gospel, therefore, we are all just doing the best we can with what we know at the time. This life is not a linear, dot to dot, start to finish experience. This life is designed to take us from one step to the next, building line upon line, precept upon precept. So when we ask, “what does Jesus have to do with Satan?” it’s not really a question of should we avoid interactions with unbelievers, but rather at what lever of involvement should we be with them? Do we simply smile at them in the store? Sure, if you don’t know them already. Do we go to the bar and drink with them? No, that violates our beliefs. But can we go to the bar with them and NOT drink? I don’t see why not, maybe be their designated driver, sing karaoke, etc. It would have to depend on what you’re comfortable with.

 

6:16- - The word “agreement” in verse 16 is cross referenced with 1 Corinthians 10:21 which says, “ye cannot drink the cup of the lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.” The behavior discussed in this verse is much more involved than just simply being friends with someone who believes differently than you. It is acting in ways that are contrary to God’s law, and that takes you away from His table. We talked about this when Paul warned the saints about attending and participating in pagan rituals and I think that the conclusion that we came to was that it was a fine line between being involved in the community and actively participating in the ceremonies. That’s like it is for us, and we’ve talked about this, especially with the concept of attending a gay wedding. Being invited to someone’s special occasion is a big deal and supporting them in their beliefs is an important way of showing God’s love to others.

 

But here, Paul is talking about marriage level of involvement. He talks about separating themselves from the unbelievers “and touch not the unclean thing.” We know that Paul was not advocating for the Corinthian saints to move away from there, just like now we aren’t supposed to leave our homes and move to gather with other saints. So what could he possibly mean? The word “come” from verse 17 is cross referenced with D&C 25:10 where the Lord commands the early saints to “lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better.” Likewise in D&C 53:2 the Lord commands “that you shall forsake the world.” One way that that might apply to us today is not a physical change in our location, but a shift in our goals and values.

 

The IM comments on verses 16-18 saying, “Paul compared the Corinthians Saints to ‘the temple of the living God.’ He then discouraged them from entering into relationships with idol worshippers or participating in their ‘unclean’ practices. With these teachings, Paul reiterated a promise made to God’s people of old- that if they would ‘come out from among’ the wicked,’ God would dwell among them and be their God.”

 

When trying to figure out how to live by these principles taught by Paul, it’s important to remember what exactly our business is, what we are accountable for, and what we have been charged with doing. We’ve been commanded to love others, no where in that commandment is instruction to break other commandments. So if someone is living a lifestyle or holds beliefs that are contrary to the commands of God, then it is our job to retain our beliefs. But it is also our job to love them by supporting them in their beliefs, such as advocating for human rights, being kind, smiling, bearing their burdens, mourning with them, and celebrating with them.

 

We are not going to be held accountable for the choices of others, and we all know that we will all be given an equal chance to accept the gospel, which means that those we love who reject the gospel now, will be given their equal opportunity. But we will be held accountable for our treatment of those with different beliefs, and finding out what it means to be kind is an individual matter to be worked out with the Spirit because we all have different strengths and we are all at different points in our progression. But what’s important is following the Spirit’s guidance and learning to be kind. And part of that means getting over our own insecurities, just because someone disagrees with us doesn’t mean that we are wrong or that they need to recognize that they are wrong or that we can’t be friends, usually, unless they advocate for hate or violence, then it’s best to distance ourselves from them.