What partnership have righteousness and lawlessness?

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:7 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

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.

7 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

² Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one. ³ I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. ⁴ Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction.

⁵ For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. ⁶ But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus; ⁷ and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more.

When Jesus was here, He was known to associate and fellowship with outcasts and sinners. Many people today use that as a way to justify their own association with sinners. In today’s text Paul says:  Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?  Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?  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.  “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And 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.   So, do Paul’s words and exhortation contradict Jesus example? Does what Jesus did contradict what God said? Of course not. Jesus Himself when asked about His association with sinners, in Luke 5:32 says:  "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."  In 1 Corinthians 5:9-12 Paul says:   I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one.For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?   It is important that we make the distinction between association and being bound together. If we are bound to unbelievers, we become bound to the consequences of their sin. If we accept, tolerate and embrace their sin, we embrace the very thing that has them bound.

1 John 2:15-16 says:  Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.  So, again does this contradict what Jesus says in John 3:16?  “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  Again, the answer is of course not. The love for the world that Jesus speaks about is the love that was demonstrated on the cross; the love that was for the forgiveness of and the redemption from sin. The love of the world that John speaks of, is to love sinful the ways of the world. Some people today say that it is cliché to say that we should love the sinner, but hate the sin. In truth though, as difficult as it is for us to separate the sin from the sinner, that is what we are called to do. Do you suppose that God does not hate the very thing that cost Him the life of His Son? Do you think that Jesus Himself, who suffered the anguish of the cross, does not hate the sin that caused Him that pain? On the cross, Jesus said: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”  (Luke 23:34)   Those who knowingly choose sin over the forgiveness and redemption of the cross, despise the love of God. We should not be bound to those who despise God. Nor should we be bound to the sin that binds them. Jesus embraced the suffering of the cross so that we could be free from sin. By His sacrifice, He redeemed sinners, not sin. If we cannot separate sinners from sin, it indicates that we judge them as beyond the power of the cross to redeem them.  In Matthew 7:1-2 Jesus says:  “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”

Look again at what the text says:  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.  “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.  Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.   In Matthew 5:13-20 Jesus says:  “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;  nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.  For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.  Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Our association with the world, is to be that we would shine the light and represent the righteousness of Christ to the world. God has not and will not change His mind about sin. Like Jesus, may we not embrace or be bound to sin, but rather may we believe that sinners can repent and be redeemed from their sin.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit, may I, like You, separate the love of the cross; the love for the world from the love for the world. May I love sinners, seeing then as those who can be redeemed, while I hate the sin that binds them. Amen.