Are you yoked or unyoked?

Question

"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? 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. Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." -- 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 NIV

Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners, was he yoked or unyoked? (Matthew 9:10-13 NIV).

What do you think of this? Anyone with eggsperience please rise and state your case.

So many eggscellent answers! God is smiling =^D.... I'll get back to you with my choice since Y!A only allows us to choose one. Wish there was some way to share the pts or reward in the event of multiple ties. God Bless everyone!

Answer 1

I will State my Case unequivocally!!! :)

1. Don't marry unbeliever (gett'em Saved first)
2. Don't hang out with unbelievers e.g. (bars, worldly pursuits) you really shouldn't want to AnyWay, after all, your a Spiritual Person now.
3. When you do eat with "tax collectors" and "sinners" (lost people) MINISTER to them, like Jesus did!!! We are in the World, not OF IT. That means were Spiritual People who got their Spirits Recreated, we are on the Other Side (GOD's Side) and WE ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE who can HELP THE LOST to come over to GOD's Side (get Saved!).
So, right after you eat with them TELL'em Bout' JESUS.

Ditto.............
DItto...................

Answer 2

I'd like to look simply at the yoked issue and not consider being yoked with an unbeliever. It is my thought that a believer can be unequally yoked with another believer. That's why there are so many divorces in the church.

Just because someone is a believer, doesn't mean that someone is the right someone for me to be yoked with. Just because a businessman is a believer doesn't automatically mean that it is God's Will that I go into business with him.

So to be yoked or not is a matter of seeking the Father. Yes, if you choose to be yoked, then it should be with a believer. But be careful, all believers are not equal in their beliefs and in their every day practice.

Answer 3

Christ was yoked (not yolked), but not to sinners. He was yoked (bound) to God's will. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 should not keep Christians from being in the presence of unbelievers, but should warn against the Christian's efforts in things that are not in Christ.

Answer 4

If we are to marry we should be equal, as in the same believer's walk and convictions
How can two walk together unless they agree
We are yoked together with Jesus and the Holy Ghost, which destroys sin
Jesus ate with unbeliever's to win them to God
Eating and being yoked together are two different things
We can have fellowship with the unbeliever and win many souls

Peace to all

Answer 5

You have received a lot of good responses.

Genesis is the first time it was mentioned in the Bible.

Genesis 6:4

This article first appeared in the Questions & Answers column of the Christian Research Newsletter, volume 9, issue 3 (1996). For further information go to: http://www.equip.org

This column is based on questions frequently asked on the Bible Answer Man radio broadcast. In this issue of the Newsletter, Hank Hanegraaff, CRI President and host of the Bible Answer Man, addresses the question: Did fallen angels (demons) have sexual relations with the daughters of men in Genesis 6:4?

Genesis 6:1-4 is one of the most controversial passages in the Bible. As with any difficult section of Scripture, it has been open to a wide range of interpretations. The two most prevalent interpretations are: (1) Women were having sexual relations with demonic beings (literally sons of God, a term sometimes used for angels), and producing offspring who were part human, part demon. These mutants were said to be Nephilim, or heroes of old. (2) The sons of God were descendants of the godly line of Seth. Instead of remaining true to their godly heritage, they were unequally yoked with the ungodly line of Cain. Thus, civilization sank into depravity and subsequently was destroyed by the Flood.

I believe Jesus said the greatest of these [commandments] is love, as in love thy neighbor as thyself. He loved all people. I believe our mission is to plant seeds so that others might hear the word of God and be saved.

Answer 6

No, He was not yoked in that sence. Yoked would be defined as in making agreements with someone, ie: business partners, marraige, friendships; a joining in life that takes you along the same path with someone in some way. Just as two oxen are yoked together in labor; where one goes, so does the other. Jesus was not worried about being corrupted Himself by their lifestyle because He was God incarnate. The warning in the scripture mentioned was directed at those trying to follow in God's will, protecting them from things that would lesd them out of God's will for their lives.

When Jesus reached out to those people He was, however, inviting them to a new life with God. He was inviting them to yoke up with Him for an eternity, just as the invitation extends to us today. The thing to remember about God and us is that we were created to be with God for eternity. We are unique among all of creation. but, we, from the time of Adam, messed that up and could never on our own repair the damage we made. That is where Jesus came in and sacrificed Himself to pay the price for our transgressions against God, giving us a free gift of salvation to all who would receive it.

Now, your reference to Matthew 9 would be considered an outreach to the unsaved, not a oppertunity to be yoked with them. That is what Jesus requires us to do. To reach out and spread the good news (the Gospel) to all who would receive it (Matthew 28:16-20).

If you read the New Testament it is made very clear that we are to be in the world but not of the world; a light to the world. But as in James 4, if we are a friend of the world we make ourselves an enemy to God. It is because of that distinction and single mindedness that most of the world hates Christians.

Answer 7

Jesus rubbed off on the world, If we find that the world is rubbing off on us then we are in danger of be yoked to the world. Jesus was lead by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted.He was not lead of His lust (as we often are, James 1:14-15) to be tempted but went out into it to do battle with the tempter. Mature Christians who are lead by the Spirit to eat with the Tax Collectors and Sinners of today are generally called Missionaries,Evangelist,and Ministers. Babes in Christ should refrain from putting themselves in that kind of environment. While ministering to the sinner we need to be lead of the Spirit as Jesus was,and not of our own lust. We also need to consider ourselves lest we also be tempted, Galatians 6:1.

I am yoked to Christ
Unyoked to the world

Answer 8

It was priority for me that the man I married was indeed a Chrisitan, in the full sense of the word.

Zaccheus the tax collector for instance, was someone who Jesus helped that day. Zaccheus repented from his sin, this was not a matter of being unequally yoked.
The Bible says that we are in the world but not to be a part of it. Choosing Godly obedience is what is important

Answer 9

Read on.
And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those wo are sick. But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
Matt 9:11-13

Jesus was not yoked with them, he came to save them. How was He suppose to save them, if He didn't talk to them?"
This is self-explanatory.

Answer 10

For the most part, I believe this verse pertains to marriage. However, it also pertains to our relationships with others. We are in this world, but we are not to be OF this world. Jesus was unyoked. Chrisitians are to have a positive effect on those around us; NOT let the ways of the world affect us. We are called to be a light to the world, and to spread the gospel of Christ. It is impossible to win an unbeliever to Christ if you don't spend time with them; however, if their behavior starts to rub off on US, instead of the other way around, it's time to "shake the dust from your feet and move on"....