NOTES: |
Sabbath, May 21, 2011 - "Unscriptural Alliances (part 1)"
2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
The Lord's injunction, "Be ye not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers," refers not only to the marriage of Christians
with the ungodly, but to all alliances in which the parties are brought into
intimate association, and in which there is need of harmony in spirit and
action. . . . {Evangelism 617.4}
While this scripture has especial
reference to marriage with unbelievers, it also covers all grounds of
alliance with the world....This means that the children of God are in no
case to be contaminated with the spirit of the world, to receive its evil
suggestions, nor to come under its influence. Be afraid of uniting
with the world in secret societies, or of being bound in bundles with
them. Be afraid of communicating to the world that which concerns the cause
of God; for they would have no sympathy with those who love the truth of
God. "Be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive
you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and my daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty." Review
and Herald, July 31, 1894 par. 3
The commands I have quoted are not the word of man, but
of God. Though the companion of your choice were in all other respects
worthy (which he is not), yet he has not accepted the truth for this time; he
is an unbeliever, and you are forbidden of heaven to unite
yourself with him. You cannot, without peril to your soul, disregard this
divine injunction. {Letters to Young
Lovers pg. 87 par .3}
The word fellowship
means participation, partnership. God employs the strongest figures to show
that there should be no union between worldly parties and those who are seeking
the righteousness of Christ. What communion can there be between light and
darkness, truth and unrighteousness? -- None whatever. Light represents
righteousness; darkness, error, sin, unrighteousness. {Fundamentals of Christian Education 476.1}
Marriage between believers and unbelievers is forbidden
by God. Those who are ruled by
passion and impulse will have a bitter harvest to reap in this life, and their
course may result in the loss of their souls.
{Fundamentals of Christian Education 500.2}
The great crime in the marriages of the days of Noah was
that the sons of God formed alliances with the daughters of men. Those who
professed to acknowledge and revere God associated with those who were corrupt
of heart; and without discrimination they married whom they would. {Message to Young People pg.456 par.1}
It is a dangerous thing to form a worldly alliance.
Satan well knows that the hour which witnesses the marriages of many young men
and women closes the history of their religious experience and usefulness. For
a time they may make an effort to live a Christian life, but all their
strivings are made against a steady influence in the opposite direction. Once
they felt it a privilege to speak of their joy and hope; but soon they become
unwilling to make this a subject of conversation, knowing that the one with
whom they have linked their destiny takes no interest in these things. Thus
Satan insidiously weaves about them a web of skepticism, and faith in the
precious truth dies out of the heart. {Messages
to Young People 453.4}
In the New Testament
are similar prohibitions concerning the marriage of Christians with the
ungodly. "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for
what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?" {Letters to Young Lovers 87.2}
The Lord expressly
has forbidden His people to marry with unbelievers. God knows what is
best for the soul's eternal interest and for their present good. I warn you off
from this forbidden ground. {LYL
84.1}
Deuteronomy 7:3-4 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.
Nehemiah 13:27 Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives?
Ezra 10:2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, [one] of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.
2.
Business - Others who are well
acquainted with the Bible evidences that the seventh day is the Sabbath, enter
into partnership with men who have no respect for God's holy day. A
Sabbathkeeper cannot allow men in his employ, paid by his money, to work on the
Sabbath. If, for the sake of gain, he allows the business in which he has an
interest to be carried on the Sabbath by his unbelieving partner, he is equally
guilty with the unbeliever; and it is his duty to dissolve the relation,
however much he may lose by so doing. Men may think they cannot afford to obey
God, but they cannot afford to disobey Him. Those who are careless in their
observance of the Sabbath will suffer great loss.-- Review and Herald, March
18, 1884. {Evangelism 245.2}
Numbers 23:20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.
Some who claim to be giving allegiance to the law of Jehovah have even gone so far in Sabbath desecration as to unite in partnership with those who have no respect for the Sabbath. The professed Sabbath-keeper may cease his own labors on the Sabbath, but his partner continues the work. How must angels look upon this partnership, as the Sabbath observer kneels reverently before God in the house of worship, while those with whom he is united in business continue their labor just the same as on any other day! How does Heaven look upon the noise and confusion, the sound of the mechanic's ax and hammer, which ascends instead of thanksgiving, as if in defiance of his injunctions! Can the Lord regard as guiltless the man who thus unites with transgressors? {Review and Herald, November 13, 1888 par. 9SDRAsia.org