[:en]SCRIPTURE: 2 CORINTHIANS 6
“As God’s fellow workers, we urge you not to receive God’s grace n vain. For He says, In the time of my favor, I heard you and in the day of salvation I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:1-2)
“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14)
PAUL’S HARDSHIPS (vs. 1-13)
Paul appealed to the Corinthian believers not to receive God’s grace in vain. He also described the hardships and blessings of a servant of God in the ministry that he encountered:
- In great endurance
- In troubles, hardships and distress
- In beatings, imprisonment and riots
- In hard work, sleepless nights and hunger
- In purity, understanding, patience and kindness
- In the Holy Spirit and in sincere love
- In truthful speech and in the power of God
- With weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left
- Through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report
- Genuine, yet regarded as impostor
- Known, yet regard as unknown
- Dying, and yet we live on
- Beaten and yet not killed
- Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing
- Poor, yet making many rich
- Having nothing, and yet possessing everything
DO NOT BE YOKED WITH UNBELIEVERS (vs. 17-18)
Paul appealed for separation from world and sin. The Corinthians were yoking themselves with unbelievers in marriage, in life and losing testimonies for Christ. He warned them to keep from the defilement of the world. The love of the world, friendship with the world and conformity to the world lost the harmony between Christ and the believer. Paul described the contrast between righteousness and wickedness, light and darkness as against believers and unbelievers. He urged believers to keep their lives clean in obedience to God’s Word. He taught Christians to separate from uncleanliness and walk in holiness.[:]