What fellowship has light with darkness?

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

¹⁴ Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? ¹⁵ Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,

“I will dwell in them and walk among them;
And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
¹⁷ “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.
“And do not touch what is unclean;
And I will welcome you.
¹⁸ “And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,”
Says the Lord Almighty.

Today’s text once again deals with one of the greatest challenges we, as believers, face. We are called to love sinners and hate sin, to be in the world, but not of the world.  Paul does not say we should not interact with the world. He says we should not be bound to unbelievers, we should not partner with lawlessness or fellowship with darkness. Paul himself said:   ¹⁹ For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. ²⁰ To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; ²¹ to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. ²² To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. ²³ I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)   Like Paul, we are to relate to people where they are, but we cannot participate in sin for the sake of the gospel.        For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them;
And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

 “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you. ¹⁸ “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.  Some have mistakenly understood this to mean we are to totally isolate ourselves from the world, interacting as little as possible, becoming a community of believers who remain safely within their spiritual walls. That’s not how Jesus interacted with the world. In Luke 5:29-32, we read about Jesus response to the religious elite’s criticism of His interaction with sinners:

and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them. ³⁰ The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?” ³¹ And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Jesus says: “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  He calls us to join Him in that mission. He says: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15) Jesus, when He walked this earth, was fully God and fully man. He was uniquely able to walk in the world, loving sinners, yet hating sin. It is sin after all that cost Him the pain and anguish of the cross. Surly He did not embrace what caused Him such suffering. Neither should we.

James 4:4 says:  You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. How can we keep that in harmony with John 3:16?   “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Jesus Christ was given, He came because of God’s love. He, fully man and fully God was uniquely able to walk in the perfect balance loving sinners, and hating sin. Only in Him can we do the same. God says: “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  In John 14:11-17, Jesus explains the source of our ability to walk as He walked:

¹¹ Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. ¹² Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. ¹³ Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. ¹⁵ “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

¹⁶ I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; ¹⁷ that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

Thank You, heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit, that by the finished work of the cross you have made me a suitable dwelling place for You. That in and through Christ and the indwelling Spirit of God it is no longer I who walk in this world. You have enabled me to do the things that You did, to love sinners, yet hate sin, to walk in dark places, not to do deeds of darkness, but rather to shine Your light. I am unable in my own strength and ability, yet:  ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6)                    Thank You.  Amen