Bringing Holiness to Completion

1:32Dozens of volunteers worked for a couple of hours to remove layers of drywall dust, which is so fine that you may not notice it unless you rub your finger down the wall, or if you were to rub your shoulder against it, and then you see just how dirty it really was. Well, friends, today in 2 Corinthians chapter 6, we're going to be reminded that we ourselves need to be clean, not just externally, but also internally, if we're going to be used by God.

2:04If we want to have true fellowship with Him and with each other, we must be clean. And so today we're going to learn that because we are God's temple, we must joyfully pursue holiness. Well, in this section, verse 14, Paul begins with this very clear command. He says, do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Well, to rightly understand and apply this, we have to ask and answer several questions. First, what is a yoke? That's a term that we find often in Scripture.

2:41And in an agricultural society like first century Israel, it was a ready illustration that people would have easily understood. A yoke is a wooden cross piece that a farmer would fasten over the neck of one or more animals, and then that was attached to a plow or a cart. And the clear reference In 2 Corinthians 6 is to what would be called a double yoke, which you can see on the screen. This is a clear reference in this passage. This is a cross piece that joins two animals together and therefore doubles their potential output.

3:12So that's a yoke. Second question is: what does it mean to be unequally yoked? Well, if you're an animal lover, you'll be pleased to know that God loves animals too. He created them, and he forbids cruelty or mistreatment to them in any kind. If you're not an animal lover, I would remind you that the entire Old Testament sacrificial system is based on slaughtering and burning animals. Anyway, my point is that Deuteronomy 22:10 says this: You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. Now, take a look at this depiction on the screen of an ox and a donkey yoked together. This is why God forbids yoking them together.

4:02It's cruel because it just won't work. The yoke won't sit properly because the animals are different heights. They have different gaits when they walk, different levels of strength. They have completely different dispositions. Even if they pulled together, which is very unlikely, because the stubborn donkey would probably want to pull in a different direction than the ox, most of the weight, most of the burden of pulling that cart or that plow or Or whatever else is going to fall on one animal. So an unequal yoke refers to binding two different animals together with the empty hope that their differences aren't going to result in a bad outcome.

4:44The third and final question is: what does Paul mean by unbelievers? Well, the Greek word here is a pistos. That's a combination of the word pisteo, which is to believe or to have faith, and the prefix a, which means no or none. So you have a word that, when you push it together, literally means no faith or no belief. So an unbeliever then is one who has no faith or no belief in the person of Jesus Christ. This person is not a Christian. So you take everything together there at the front end of verse 14. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. And you have a command not to be bound to or tied together with a non-Christian.

5:31Now that command is not a call to retreat from the world into a monastic lifestyle. I want to remind you that the same apostle Paul, who wrote this command in chapter 14, also said this in 1 Corinthians 5. Take a look at the screen. I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. Not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.

6:02So, this verse is not a call to retreat from and isolate ourselves from non-Christians. It would be impossible to fulfill our calling to make mature disciples of all nations if we took that approach. What Paul is commanding us here is not to be bound together with unbelievers. So, we're not to enter into certain relationships, certain agreements, certain covenants with non-Christians. Why not? Well, Paul begins to explain by asking a series of rhetorical questions. These cascade on top of one another like a waterfall, dumping more and more weight onto his argument that Christians should not be bound to unbelievers.

6:47So, let's take a look at each one of these in turn. Paul says, For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Well, the Greek word translated partnership means something like a relationship involving shared purposes and activity. Can believers and unbelievers be in a relationship where they share purpose or activity? Certainly. Believers and unbelievers have many common causes together at some level, and that's totally fine. But at a foundational level, there cannot be true partnership between a believer and an unbeliever.

7:28We learn in Romans chapter 4. That through faith in Christ, we've been counted righteous. We're in the process of being made righteous like Jesus is righteous. God views us as righteous, and as Paul taught back in 1 Corinthians chapter 9, we now live under what he calls the law of Christ. And so, by God's grace, every believer is seeking to practice righteousness from that position of righteousness before God. But, friends, unbelievers have not been counted righteous.

8:03They're not in the process of being made righteous like Christ is righteous, and they don't live under God's righteous law. Look at what 1 John 3:4 says: Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. So, a believer lives under the law of Christ, but an unbeliever lives under the law of sin. A believer and an unbeliever partnering together would be as absurd as a sheriff and an outlaw partnering together. One seeks to live righteously under the law, the other lives unrighteously outside of the law.

8:47Second question: Or what fellowship has light with darkness? The Greek word translated fellowship means something like an association. Involving close mutual relations and involvement. What is darkness? I'm speaking scientifically here, not philosophically. What is darkness? Darkness is the absence of light. The moment light waves enter into a space, then darkness disappears. They have no fellowship, there's no association or involvement. If darkness exists in a place, it is simply because light is absent. So listen to Jesus' words in John chapter 3.

9:39He says this, and this is the judgment. The light has come into the world, and people have loved darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. So to the person who would say, why can't we just have darkness and light together? Jesus would say, it's not possible. Scientifically, it's not possible, but morally and theologically, it's not possible either. You either love darkness and you hate the light, or you love the light. Light and you hate the darkness. There can be no fellowship, no close association or involvement between them.

10:39Third question: What accord has Christ with Balial? The Greek word translated accord means something like to come to an agreement with, often implying a joint decision. And specifically, this Greek word is symphoneo. Symphoneo. It's where we get our word symphony. So in a symphony, you have many different instruments all coming together, agreeing together to make a beautiful sound. Balial was the name that was commonly used in Paul's day for Satan. It meant something like worthless or destruction. And it highlights Satan's opposition to God.

11:26So what accord can there be? What agreement can there be between Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and Satan or Baleal, the Son of destruction? There is none. There can be none because they are at odds completely. Satan is trying to do everything possible to undermine the Lord's purposes and work. Fourth question. Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? Now, the Greek word translated portion is closely associated with receiving inheritance. So, you see that word portion a lot of times when you go to the Old Testament and it's talking about the different tribes of Israel receiving their portion of the promised land. This is the same word that's used when you've got the prodigal son and he goes to his father and he says, Father, give me my share of the inheritance. Give me my portion of the inheritance.

12:32Well, in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus is preaching, and he declares that the meek, that is, those who come to him in humble faith, he says the meek are going to inherit the earth. It's a wonderful reminder of what the future holds for every believer: that we get to look forward to an eternity with God, not in some ethereal, spiritual place that's not physical, but we get to look forward to God remaking all things, including the earth, which he declared was very good. We get to inherit the earth.

13:09But look at what God declares in Revelation 21, verse 8. He says, But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns. With fire and sulfur, which is the second death. So, what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? The answer is nothing. Unbelievers are not a part of the family of God, which means they're not going to inherit what we're going to inherit. Our portion is to inherit the earth. Their portion, according to Scripture, is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.

14:01Fifth and final question: What agreement has the temple of God with idols? Well, the Greek word agreement that's translated here means something like to work out a joint arrangement. Now, the temple of God has no agreement or arrangement with idols whatsoever. In the temple of God, believers are worshiping the one true God in the ways that he has prescribed. But in a pagan temple, unbelievers are worshiping a false God or false gods in ways that the one true God has forbidden.

14:47There can be no agreement between those things. And I think when you look at this text, you see the absurdity of the modern belief that all roads lead to heaven. Either there is one God, or there are many gods, or there is no God. But those things can't all be true. Either the God of the Bible is the one true God, or he is not. Either we need to be reconciled to God, or we don't. Either Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, or he isn't.

15:28It should be obvious to us that there can be no agreements between the temple of God and idols. Believers and unbelievers do not and cannot agree on the most fundamental truths because our world views are completely different. So, friends, these rhetorical questions, these five questions, reveal why we're commanded not to be unequally yoked to unbelievers. But sadly, the believers in Corinth were unequally yoked with unbelievers, and the same thing is true for so many professing Christians today.

16:06From the context of the letter, it seems that the primary way that believers in Corinth were yoked to unbelievers was in that they allowed these false teachers to come into their fellowship, to come into their church, to lead them, to teach them, to set an example for them. But it's also likely that some of them were yoked to unbelievers. In certain business partnerships, it's probable that some of them were pursuing marriage with unbelievers as well. And friends, I can tell you, in pastoral ministry, I have seen the damage that comes when believers disregard this command.

16:52I have personally seen churches stagnate and die because they allowed unbelievers into their church and they even allowed unbelievers to lead in the church. I've seen the frustration and disappointment that comes when business partners fall apart, their partnership dissolves because they have competing values and completely different ethical standards. I've seen the crushing heartache that comes when believers date and eventually marry non-Christians. Friends, we can make excuses, we can justify our decisions in a hundred different ways, but listen to me.

17:42We cannot expect the blessing of God on our churches, on our careers, or on our relationships if we blatantly disregard His command. Are you in danger of becoming unequally yoked? Are you unequally yoked already? Friends, now is the time to make the decision to obey God. It will not be easier tomorrow or next month or next year. I urge you to decide today, don't put it off, to obey God. Being unequally yoked is disobedient to the Word of God, and it simply will not work.

18:33Let's pick up in the second half of verse 16. Paul writes, For we are the temple of the living God. As God said, I will make my dwelling among them, and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing. Then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.

19:14Now remember that Paul has just established that the temple of God has no agreement with idols. Now he follows that up with this amazing statement: for we are the temple of God. What's even more amazing is that in this verse, he's not referring to the temple complex as a whole. That Greek word is, and that's not used here. The Greek word that's used here is na'os. And na'os sometimes refers to the temple complex as a whole, but most often, it's referring to the holy of holies. It's referring to that place in the temple known as the most holy place.

20:08Now you may know that inside of the temple, the most holy place or the holy of holies, that was the most sacred space, not just in the temple, but in all of Israel. And the holy of holies, the most holy place, was separated from the holy place where the priests were by this thick curtain, this thick veil. And so one time a year, the high priest and only the high priest would enter into the most holy place, first to make atonement for his own sin, and then to offer atonement for the sins of the people on the day of atonement.

20:49He often had a cord tied around his ankle that went to a rope back underneath the curtain so that if he was struck dead by the Lord, his fellow priests could. Pull him out of there. Probably not a lot of resumes for that job. A very serious work, this was. And so, in the Holy of Holies, the High Priestess goes once a year to make atonement for sin. But remember, when Jesus died on the cross, what happened? That curtain, that thick veil separating the holy place from the most holy place, was torn in two. It was symbolic of the fact that Jesus had broken down the barrier between God and man by offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice once and for all.

21:38So God's presence on earth used to dwell in one place and one place only in the Holy of Holies. But now, where is the most holy place? It's inside of us. We are the temple of the living God. We are the Naos, the most holy place. This isn't just Paul's theology. This isn't something that he made up. This is precisely what God promised all throughout the Old Testament. And so, here at the end of verse 16, that's what he's doing. He's quoting six times from the Old Testament to prove that we are the temple of the living God and then to help us apply that truth to our lives.

22:30So he begins in Leviticus 26, where Moses records that God promised to do what? To make his dwelling among us and to walk with us. Well, if that's true, God's presence can't be confined just to the most holy place, can it? He can't walk with us if his presence is confined. Then in verse 17, he quotes Isaiah's words in chapter 52, where God commands us to go out from the midst of unbelievers, to separate ourselves from them, and to touch no unclean thing. Why would that be so important?

23:09Because we are the temple of God. And then in verses 17 and 18, he highlights God's promises for obedience. And so he quotes Exodus and then 2 Samuel and then Isaiah again, that God will welcome us and that he will be a father to us. So church, these promises, which date back all the way to when Israel was wandering through the wilderness, they are truly remarkable. God promising to dwell with us and be with us and to be our God, to welcome us and to be a father to us. Who wouldn't want that?

23:50The problem, of course, is that we do want that, but we're also tempted by everything that the world offers. And promises to us as well. We want to be yoked to God, but we're tempted to be yoked to unbelievers as well. We want the benefits of the world to come, but we don't want to have to make the hard choices to separate ourselves from everything unclean in this present world. So, friends, Jesus said that we can gain the whole world and forfeit our soul, but if we want to save our life, we have to lose it.

24:38So, which have you chosen? Don't answer quickly. Really consider your life. Which one of these have I chosen? Have I chosen to lose my life for Christ so that I would gain it? Or have we chosen to forfeit our soul in exchange for getting everything this world has to offer? Let's consider Paul's conclusion, which is in chapter 7, verse 1. He says, Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

25:32In this verse, Paul refers to the Corinthians as beloved. He's reminding them of his love, he's reminding them of where all of these words are coming from. This is coming from a place of love. He is not just challenging them, he's not just coming at them as someone who doesn't care about them. He's saying, I love you. Never forget that. And then, after he reminds them of his love, he gives them the motivation, the exhortation, and the aspiration that we need to pursue holiness in every area of life.

26:08So, let's start with the motivation. Look at what he says at the beginning of verse 1. Since we have these promises, God's promises provide sufficient and lasting motivation for us in our pursuit of holiness. God the Father isn't just a promise maker. There are many fathers out there who are good promise makers. But God the Father is a promise keeper. He's a good father who keeps his word to his children that he loves. And so, if God made promises but didn't keep them, or he only kept them sometimes, then eventually we would lose trust in him, we would lose motivation. For the hard and lifelong work of pursuing holiness.

27:06So, friends, as we pursue holiness, we do it with the promises of God as our motivation, that he will welcome us and that he will be a father to us. Next, we have the exhortation. Look at verse 1: Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit. Why is it so important that we cleanse ourselves as Christians? You remember taking geometry? I do. It was the only math I understood because it was mainly words and pictures.

27:54In geometry, you have to do these proofs. You remember those IFF statements, if and only if? So a shape is a square, if and only if it has four equal sides and four right angles. That's a geometric proof. Well, the way Paul writes is kind of like a geometric if and only if proof. God will dwell with us and walk with us and be our God. We will be his people. He will welcome us. He will be a father to us. But if... If and only if we separate ourselves from unbelievers and touch no unclean thing, he says, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit. Well, defilement is anything that makes us morally unclean. So that includes thoughts and words and actions.

28:54And I want you to notice the extent of the exhortation. He says, every defilement of body and spirit. Friends, what that means is there can be no sanctuary for sin in our lives. We can't have this place in our hearts or in our minds or in our schedules where sin is allowed to dwell. Look at what Paul says in Romans 13. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.

29:34So how much provision of the flesh do we make? Just a little? Just on the weekends? Just when we're alone with our devices and nobody else can see what we're doing? Paul says that we are to make no provision for the flesh. So we have the motivation. Which is the promises of God. We have the exhortation to cleanse ourselves from everything that would defile us. And then we have the aspiration. Look at the end of the verse: bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

30:19Over and over in Scripture, God commands us to be holy as He is holy. Well, why is that? Look on the screen at Hebrews chapter 12. He says, Strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled. So, friends, we must aspire to holiness because without it, we cannot rightly relate to either God or each other.

31:03We were created to live in community with God and with others, but unholiness is what prevents that from happening. You see, so many believers have cleansed themselves from the worst kinds of defilements. And a lot of us have cleansed ourselves from a lot of other defilements of spirit and body. But I think if we're honest, there are so many of us, we have these pet sins that just Continue to exist in our lives, that we continue to hold on to.

31:36We know that we shouldn't entertain those thoughts. We know we shouldn't think that way about other people, but it's become habitual in our lives. We know we shouldn't watch those shows because they're not leading us to become godlier people, but we don't want to miss out. We enjoy them, and so we keep watching them. We know that we shouldn't be going to certain websites or using social media because we can't handle it, and we think, you know, maybe it'll provide some benefit to me, but we keep going to those same places and it keeps leading us down the same dark roads again and again.

32:17Church, without holiness, we cannot see the Lord. Without holiness, we cannot rightly relate to one another, our brothers and sisters in Christ, or the unbelievers around us that we've been called to reach with the gospel. I want to remind you of Paul's words. He said, Godliness with contentment is great gain. Godliness with contentment is great gain. Seeing God is greater than seeing anything on Netflix. Intimacy with God is greater than fake intimacy. Online. Being known by the God of the universe is greater than being superficially known by hundreds of followers on social media.

33:14Godliness with contentment is great gain, and so it comes down to faith. It comes down to faith in God's promises. What do we really believe about them? If we believe that these promises are true, that if we cleanse ourselves, then He's going to welcome us and be a father to us, then friends, we can joyfully pursue holiness in the fear of God. After studying this passage today, maybe you realize that you've never really thought of God as being that holy, that set apart. For so many people, and maybe this is you as well, you kind of picture God as this old man in the sky who sort of winks at sin.

34:09God reveals Himself in Scripture as holy, holy, holy. He is completely perfect in every way and set apart from us in every way. You may have thought of Him as different than that, but that is how He reveals Himself. There's no way for us to relate rightly to God unless. Unless we can become righteous ourselves, because he's righteous. But thankfully, that's exactly what Jesus has done for us in the gospel. And we read just two weeks ago in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21: For our sake, God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

35:03Jesus lived the perfectly righteous life that we were called to live. He never unequally yoked himself to sin or to sinners. And then he offered himself up. He became sin for us. He credited his righteousness to us. And on the third day, Jesus rose from the grave, victorious over sin and death. And now all who place their faith in him are justified, were declared righteous, and were forgiven. Because you see, friends, God cannot overlook our sin. And you know what? You wouldn't want him to anyway.

35:48Because if God overlooks our sin, he's not a just and righteous judge. And that's what all of us are longing for. We're longing for a just and righteous judge. To bring righteousness to this broken world where we see so much injustice, where we perpetuate so much injustice to others, and we receive so much injustice ourselves. That's what we want. We want God to be a righteous judge, and he is. But that means that we can't stand before him unless Jesus stands in our place and becomes sin for us so that we can become the righteousness of God. And so, I urge you this morning to receive him by faith today.

36:37If you've already received the grace of God by faith, then I want to remind you this morning that holiness has never really been in style. I remember a few years ago reading a biography of William Wilberforce, who was an English politician who became a Christian and then worked to abolish slavery in England. Well, after Wilberforce became a follower of Christ, his friends and his family began referring to him as an enthusiast. That was like a super derogatory term.

37:10An enthusiast was somebody who basically took their faith too seriously. So his wealthy, influential friends, they didn't really have a problem with him calling himself a Christian. They didn't have a problem with him going to church. They just didn't want his beliefs being brought into everyday life. They didn't want him. Bringing his beliefs into politics. They didn't want him bringing his beliefs into the fashionable clubs that they all belonged to. And, church, that same attitude still persists today.

37:44Many of us have friends and family that look at us as enthusiasts. They might use a more derogatory term, but that's what they're thinking. And it's all because we're actually trying to put our faith into practice in everyday life. But that whole thing was the turning point for me because I realized that either Christianity was true and therefore it required everything my whole life or it was false and therefore it wasn't worth another second of my time.

38:25Why would anyone dabble in religion? We're talking about God, we're talking about eternity, we're talking about things of infinite importance. Either it's true or it's false. And if it's true, and we believe that it is true, then it demands everything. It demands that we joyfully bring holiness to completion out of love for a perfectly holy God. And so I just remind you of the words to that famous hymn. Love, so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

39:14Let's pray, O Father. Once again, as we encounter you in your word today, we are reminded of your infinite holiness. We're reminded once again that you are perfect in every way, and we fall so far short. There would be nothing to do except despair. What are we going to do? Are we going to attend church and think that's somehow going to make up for our sin? Are we going to do some good works and hope that those outweigh our thousands and thousands of sins?

40:18There would be nothing except despair if it weren't for the gospel of Jesus Christ. God, we are so thankful. That word seems insufficient this morning. We are blown away. We are in awe that you would send your only begotten Son to stand in our place, to become sin, even though he knew no sin, so that through faith in him we could become the righteousness of God. Father, I pray that you would move in hearts this morning and that you would bring people to saving faith in Jesus Christ.

41:00And God, I pray that you would help those of us who are already following Jesus to embrace the truth that it is never going to be cool to pursue holiness, it is never going to be smiled at by the world. We are never going to be congratulated for separating ourselves and cleansing ourselves and pursuing righteousness, but it honors you. And it means that we can enjoy fellowship with you and fellowship with each other. And so, God, we pray, make us a holy people.

41:36In Christ's name, amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.