Preached in Everett, Washington (7-24-09)

Dan and I are honored to have been asked to preach for you this weekend. We were so glad to spend time and work

with you last Summer and are hoping that our efforts this weekend will be profitable for you and will bring glory to our Father in Heaven. The idea that you had for us to focus on 2 Corinthians 6:14 is very unique. Studying for our lessons has helped both of us and I believe the topics are very appropriate for our times.

Webster’s definitions of a yoke:

(1) A wooden bar or frame by which two draft animals are joined together at the heads or neck for working together. (2) A frame fitted to a person’s shoulders to carry a load in two equal portions. (3) To become joined or linked.

Tonight we want to start our series with “Unequally Yoked: DEFINED” and then the following lessons will focus on various applications of the teaching of 2 Corinthians 6:14. To capture the entire context I would like to read 2 Corinthians 6:11-7:1. Does this mean unequally yoked:

• Racially (John 4:6-9, 27, 34-42)
• Socially (Galatians 2:11-17)
• Economically (James 2:1-13)
• By Gender (Galatians 3:26-29)
• Nationally-Nicolas was a Gentile who became a proselyte and then became a Christian (Acts 6:5)

None of these relationships or differences among people is what the Bible means when it talks of being “Unequally Yoked”. Man tries to apply “Unequally Yoked” in areas God never intended. In Corinth there were people of all different backgrounds, but the yoking Paul was concerned with only had to do with Christians being yoked to non-Christians unequally! Yoked in a manner where the Christian would be more influenced by the non-Christian. Notice 2 Corinthians 6:14-16. Christians are not to be yoked in this manner.

• Righteousness not YOKED to lawlessness
• Light not YOKED to darkness
• Christ not YOKED to Belial
• Believer not YOKED to unbeliever
• Temple of God not YOKED to idols

Why does Paul say not to be unequally yoked to lawlessness, darkness, Belial, unbelievers, and idols? Notice verse 16: “Because you (we) are the temple of the living God.” You see God cannot be a partaker in anything evil and His children cannot be partakers of anything evil either (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:15-20).

When you think about it, where can you find a more diverse group of people than in a congregation of the Lord? What are we yoked together by? Not by our backgrounds, our hobbies, our work, our schooling, the color of our hair, etc. What yokes us together is our common belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:9-17)!

The Bible says that without Christ we are slaves of sin. By obeying Christ we can be changed from a slave of sin to a slave of righteousness (Romans 6:17-18, 22-23).

Put on the yoke of Jesus tonight (Matthew 11:28-30). His yoke is custom made for you and will fit you perfectly (Luke 9:23, Romans 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 10:13).

Believe in Him, confess that He is the Son of God, repent (about face forward march) of your sins, and be baptized to wash away your sins (Romans 6:3-7).

Then you can live this life yoked together with Christians who help each other to obey the Master on our journey to Heaven (Ephesians 5:18-21)!

Maybe you are a Christian and have been unequally yoked to something or someone in this world that you should not be yoked to. Maybe you once embraced the yoke that Jesus placed on you and now you no longer want to bear it. Why not repent of those things and be restored to the Lord and His people tonight? If we can help you please come forward while we stand and sing.