By Pastor Timothy Adkins
God’s people should indeed take their stand
together for what is right. That’s a
good thing. But God’s people standing in
partnership or alliance with those who believe a false gospel is wrong. The Word of God flatly forbids it. Sound reason surely affirms the wisdom of
God’s Word in this case.
With whom may gospel-believing Christians stand? With God’s people. Who are His people? What makes someone to be His child? God’s people are reconciled to Him by grace
through faith in Jesus who died and rose again—saved by grace alone, through
faith alone, in Jesus alone. Redeemed
sinners repent and find new life believing in Christ. We become His children by the free grace of
adoption. So, God’s people standing together
means people who believe the gospel standing together with others who also
believe the gospel!
A gospel-believer does not need to be a great
theologian or a powerful intellectual to perceive that some alliances are forbidden
by God’s Word as “unequal yokes.” Our
apostle writes, “Do not be bound
together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and
lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or
what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with
idols?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16 NASB) Christians should stand together for what is
right and good and against what is wrong and evil. But nothing of real value is gained by any
alliance with those who love not our Lord Jesus Christ.
Without flinching many professing Christians will stand
side-by-side with virtually anyone who agrees with them about some contemporary
political issue—a coalition, even ongoing union for the sake of united
action. It seems not to matter that their
allies in the all-important cultural
struggle are idolaters who believe and proclaim “another gospel” and abide
under the “anathema” of God (Galatians 1).
What seems most important is to get more voters registered and to defeat
this one and get that one elected.
Truly, some gains are not worth what it costs to achieve them. The Day of Judgment will reveal this to any
child of God who doubts it now.
An evangelical Christian cannot stand alongside a
Roman Catholic or a theological liberal; they boldly disobey the gospel. By definition the grace, whereby sinners
are justified, is only the pure and free favor of God received only by faith in
Jesus Christ—Catholicism preaches another, different, false gospel and
anathematizes those of us who simply and sweetly trust in Jesus and in His
finished redemption. The biblical gospel
stands on the reality of Jesus’ resurrection—Liberalism knowingly chuckles at a
now-living Christ with nail-prints in His hands and a scar in His side, exalted
now and seated in His Father’s throne.
Gospel-believers must not stand allied with those
who deny the gospel. No true good will
ever come of it. If a person’s faith or
life disqualifies him from membership in a gospel-believing church, why would we
want to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him at some political rally or anywhere
else? “Do not be unequally yoked
together with unbelievers” is God’s Word and it is not a recommendation. Unity with those who believe a false gospel and
preach a false gospel is disobedience to God.
We deceive ourselves to think that we may do evil that good may come; to
say that disobedience to God is not evil is more evil still. –TSA
