The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

2 Corinthians 6:14-18. “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.”

Businesses of all sizes and all industries take inventory at least once a year. The purposes of inventories vary, but basically they exist to tell the owners whether the business is profitable. If it is, the business may expand physically or it may share its profits with various members of that business.

In the above verses, the Apostle Paul is sharing with the Corinthian believers the pattern for a spiritual inventory. Its purpose is to simply separate believers from unbelievers in the context of partnerships. As an example, consider the

ACLU and the ACLJ. According to Wikipedia, the American Civil Liberties Union exists ‘to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in…the United States.’” The ACLJ, on the other hand, “is a … politically conservative, Christian-based social activism and watchdog for corruption organization in the United States.”

On paper, they look to be very close in many ways, but they are not! For one thing the ACLU supports abortion; the ACLJ opposes abortion. They cannot be linked together because they have opposing views on many issues.

Paul’s admonition throughout his ministry is separation. He is not teaching us merely to “stay away” from those with different opinions –otherwise, how would we win them to Christ. Rather, he is admonishing us not to be in league with those whose beliefs are separate from the Scriptures. In support of his position, Paul contrasts “righteousness with lawlessness, light with darkness, Christ with Belial (Satan), the believer with the unbeliever, and the temple of God with idols.

In verse 17, Paul admonishes believers to withdraw from all business affiliations with unbelievers. That does NOT mean that one cannot work in a business or factory that is owned by an unbeliever. It DOES mean that we are not to co-own a business or a factory with an unbeliever. If we do, we are to withdraw immediately (v. 17). Just imagine the difficulty if one owner wanted to give a portion of the profits to a Christian missionary organization and the other owner wanted to support
a terrorist group whose aim was to destroy Christian churches!

The LORD’s promise to His own is that He will be a Father to us. What do good fathers do for their children? They provide food and shelter and protection, and they shower their children with love and an example of righteous living. Withdrawing from sinful worldliness means gaining wholesomeness and righteousness. That’s a good trade indeed! And it’s one that is possible and profitable with the LORD as the Owner. Take a careful, spiritual inventory of your life today. Nothing can take provide more profit and joy than Jesus!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”