Christ or Belial?

 **These are some collections of thoughts and reflections in my notes during the service. Not intended for formal essays, blogs nor academic writing.


Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial[a]? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will live with them
    and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
 and they will be my people.”1 - 2 Corinthians 6:14-1

    Paul warned them about yoking with unbelievers. The majority of the entire Christendom refers to this verse as marrying with non-Christians in a modern-day era. Other translations say:

"Stop forming inappropriate relationships with unbelievers.."2 - God's Word Translation

"Do not become partners with those who do not believe.."2 - NET Bible

"Do not come into close association with unbelievers.."2 - Weymouth New Testament

    Whether starting a deeper friendship with someone else or planning to get married Paul is serious about not even considering spending the rest of one's life to those unbelievers. He goes on to say in a rhetorical fashion the difference between righteousness and wickedness. You don't have to be a religious or spiritual person to distinguish the two. All across the globe regardless of your worldview, there is such a thing as good and evil. To be more explicit, he focuses our attention on the material realm which is evident to everyone, the light and the darkness. Then, introduces his main point the difference between Christ and Belial. After that, he goes on to his starting point about the unbeliever.

    His careful progression of thoughts is logical no matter which angle you tend to look at. Whether you are struggling with this principle or not it is time for you to memorize it. In order to clarify marrying someone who is not a Christian is not a sin, but it will fail.3

    Anyone who is not of God is considered in the kingdom of the idols, there is no middle ground.  When someone says all the gods are equal and the same, they are absolutely wrong. It is either the person worships God or not. This might sound exclusive to some but "there is only one God in this world, there is only God [we] will serve, there is only one God above it all."4



Footnotes:

1 New International Version by Biblica (2011). BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%206%3A14-16&version=NIV (Accessed on Oct 23, 2011)

2 BibleHub. https://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/6-14.htm (Accessed on Oct 23, 2011)

3 Cunanan, Fer. "The Foundation of Marriage (Part 3)". Sermon at ENCM, Mississauga, ON, October 17, 2021.

4 One God by Citipointe Worship. NewReleaseToday. https://www.newreleasetoday.com/lyricsdetail.php?lyrics_id=95830 (Accssed on Oct 23, 2011)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Team Melana

Image
  There were couples in the bible who met at the well. But it's different now, like Joana and Jomel. Stories may vary in the past, present, future. If you find yourself in one, remember, “Stay pure.” Words being spoken are his ultimate talent. With passion, he preaches the message to be sent. I’m sure he will not only shower her with sweet love but also affirming words like a hug from a dove. She keeps her friends like treasures, as what the prophet says. The community is blessed for the remaining days Where can you find Proverbs 31:30 woman? I don’t know, I would ask the bridegroom how he got one. Wow! A lovely combination of gifts from father. As they use it for the kingdom, it brings them further Our God is faithful always and worthy of our praise Let’s celebrate as Team Melana starts their phase
Read more

Ajeje

Image
    Kobe Bryant started YouTube episodes called "Detail" after he retired from basketball. The channel features different NBA star players and Kobe gives his detailed analysis of every movement of the player. The idea behind the episodes is for the viewers to learn from these players especially the details that they might miss while watching them.      One of the leadership skills that I observe in the people I meet is playfulness. Do not underestimate this magical factor of playfulness in Tagalog, "kakulitan" If there is zero tolerance for you being "makulit" there is a tendency to interpret your sentences or words as "cold". "Makulit" or playfulness factor is tricky, especially in an environment where respect and formality are expected. Another element that should be considered is the "wavelength" for both the giver and receiver of the message. Whenever I send messages to certain kinds of people, it is valid and fair if they...
Read more

Happy Mother's day

Image
     Wow. Time flew so fast. I vividly imagine during the first Christmas of pandemic era where I was hosting our church Christmas party in Zoom and her beauty stood among the crowd.  I can still recall our moments together when we all wore white and went to Fish Creek and recreated the post. I remember the times where we sang and dance to the beat of Backstreet Boys at Saskatchewan. We also drove all the way to Edmonton to buy some clothes from Uniqlo.       The first precious moment that we've had was when I offered her a free coffee one time and she accepted my treat. We then took a ride and she didn't expect suddenly we were in front of the Hyundai car dealership at 130th.  I attempted to convince her to come with me and she stood her ground. You were immovable.  A year later I found out that she will be my sister. What a surprised from our God the father. It was a great gift from heaven.  The NIV version states, "Every goo...
Read more