Throughout its pages the bible emphasizes with forceful clarity the need for God’s people to be holy. But, why is this admonition so important? What is it about holiness that causes God to look at it so seriously? Second Corinthians 6:14-7:1 is a classic passage that answers this question in four points.
First, there is an admonition. Paul said, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Cor. 6:14). “Be ye not” is a present imperative, and to be “unequally yoked together” is to be brought under the control or power of another. So, literally, the idea is “You must not be in the practice of allowing yourself to be brought under the power of unbelievers.” This kind of imperative should not be strange to us because God has always required His people to maintain separation between themselves and the world. For example, the children of Israel were to keep their cattle and their seed separate (Lev. 19:19). They were not to marry the Canaanites (Deut. 7:2-3), nor were they permitted to plow with an ox and a donkey together (Deut. 22:10). All of God’s commandments to the Israelites served to teach them what holiness was and how important it was to maintain it (c.f. Lev. 11:44-45). The same principle applies to us today. We must not allow ourselves to be brought under the power of the world because in doing so we will sacrifice our holiness (1 Cor. 15:33; Col. 2:8; Jas. 4:4). Instead of allowing ourselves to be brought under the world’s power, God wants us to bring the world under His power (Matt. 5:13-16; 2 Cor. 3:18; 10:5).
Second, there is an explanation. There are five rhetorical contrasts presented in 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 that drive home the admonition that was previously given. Righteousness and unrighteousness can have no fellowship because one leads us to God and the other leads us away from Him (Rom. 6:16). Light and darkness can have no communion because the light exposes the darkness for what it is (John 3:19-21). There is no harmony to be found between Christ and Belial (lit. worthlessness) because one gives life and the other takes it away (John 8:44; 10:10). A Christian has nothing in common with a non-Christian because one lives a life governed by the will of Christ, and the other live a life in rebellion to it (Rom. 8:5-11). An idol has no place in the temple of God because God, and God alone is worthy of worship (Ex. 20:3). Why is this significant? “For ye are the temple of the living God.” God does not dwell in a physical temple, He dwells in a spiritual temple—the church (Eph. 2:21-22). Fellowship with that which is unholy violates the sanctity of God’s dwelling place.
Third, there is motivation. Paul referenced Exodus 29:45 and Leviticus 26:12 when he wrote, “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” (2 Cor. 6:16). God does not require holiness of His people because He wants us to be miserable. Quite the contrary, He requires holiness for our own good (c.f. Deut. 6:24-25). God desires a relationship with His creation. He wants to bless us, provide for us, and ultimately have us with Him in Heaven for eternity (Eph. 1:3; Heb. 13:5; etc.). He desires this so much that He allowed His only Son to shed His blood to make it possible (1 John 2:2). What greater motivation to godly living could there be? If we seriously meditate on all of the blessings that God provides those who are holy, how could we quibble over God’s requirements for it?
Finally, there is action. Based on the fact that holiness can have nothing to do with un-holiness, and that God has promised to bless those who are holy, Paul wrote, “wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate…” (2 Cor. 6:17-7:1). The injunction is imperative—you must come out from among them! Peter put it this way, Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Pet. 1:13) Because of the great salvation, the blessings promised to the people of God, it is incumbent upon us to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1). One writer indicated that Paul is talking about “aggressive and progressive holiness; not a sudden attainment but a continuous process.” Becoming more and more holy as each day goes by must be at the forefront of every heart. As Paul wrote, Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:13- 14)
May we immerse ourselves with the business of being holy.
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