To View the Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hpDiA1mR5Dk
SHOW NOTES
Welcome to a new week of the Hope Rescue Podcast. Last week we wrapped up a four part series discussing four biblical principles for healthy relationships. This week we are starting a new short series talking about dating. Today specifically, we are discussing the concept of being “equally yoked” as the bible puts it. Keep reading or listening to hear the full conversation.
Second Corinthians 6:14-16 says, "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? 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.”
What does it mean to be yoked? The literal meaning of yoke is a wooden beam used between a pair of oxen to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs. One would normally pair two equally sized oxen together, and the yoke would allow them to accomplish double the work because they had double the strength when yoked together. In your relationship, if you are unequally yoked with your partner, you may be carrying all the slack or spending all your time trying to catch your partner up. That’s not to say that partners don’t outgrow one another, because they do, and that is okay. Come alongside your partner in that season and help bring them to speed with you. Since we are discussing dating this week, we are focused on relationships that are not yet to the stage of marriage.
Tim explains that the idea of being equally yoked in our relationships expands far beyond marriage. The verses in Second Corinthians that we discussed before are in regards to any close, binding relationships we have, whether in friendships, marriage, or business. This does not mean we should not associate with unbelievers because we absolutely should. First Corinthians 10:27 says, “If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.” We should have unbelieving friends and interact often with unbelievers. But those closest to us whom we have binding relationships with should be equally yoked with us.
Tim explains that to ensure we are equally yoked with our spouses from the beginning, we need to ask difficult questions early on. We need to be straight-forward, assertive, and kind when asking questions. It’s important to not tip-toe around important topics such as faith, family background, and finances. We can’t be afraid to ask follow-up questions about something they have shared with us, such as asking why they were previously divorced. If we are dating someone with the intention of marriage in the end, it’s incredibly important to ask hard questions before marriage, rather than in front of a marriage counselor five years later. Join us next week as we continue the conversation of dating and discuss what non-negotiables we should have set in our relationships.
REFERENCED SCRIPTURE
2 Corinthians 6:14-16 "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? 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 Corinthians 10:27 “If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.”
