INITIATION:
Last week we studied from Paul’s first letter or epistle to the Corinthians. Today’s lesson comes from his second letter to the same Corinthian brethren. Among other things, Paul was concerned, in this letter, with the kind of friends the Corinthian brethren were having. Paul wanted these believers to be very careful and wise in choosing their friends. This was because he knew that the kind of friends a person keeps will influence the way that person thinks or behaves.
You will do well to remember how Samson’s life ended just because he chose a sinful Philistine woman to be his friend. The sad result of that friendship was that Samson lost the power God gave him for the work he came to do.
Friendship can either help or hurt us. It is said, “show me your friend and I will tell you the kind of person you are.”
BIBLE PASSAGE:
2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 7:1
SUBJECT:
WATCH THE COMPANY YOU KEEP
KEY VERSE:
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14, NIV).
AIM:
To help the child realise that those with whom we associate influence us for good or for evil.
FOCUS :
During and after the lesson, each child will show that he or she understands the lesson by being able to:
- Describe some of the things our friends tell us to do that are unchristian.
- Identify some of the characteristics of a true friend.
- Say why God wants us to stop being friends with unbelievers.
MAIN LESSON DISCOURSE:
1. PAUL’S SPECIAL INSTRUCTION (2 Corinthians 6: 14a and 17a):
God warns us through Paul not to make friends with unbelievers and bad children. For it is easy for people to become like their friends. That is why Paul gave the Corinthians the command or instruction in today’s lesson. The command is the memory verse of this week. It says that we should not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
A yoke is a wooden frame that is placed on a group of oxen that are used to work in a farm. The yoke helps the oxen work together in cultivating the ground. It helps them move in the same direction so that the fields will be ploughed in nice, straight rows. Also, the yoke keeps the oxen from using all their energy to pull against each other, and this makes the work easier. The owner of the animals gets better work from them because of the yoke.
While Christians are under God’s control, unbelievers are under Satan’s control. Therefore the two of them work for two different masters. So if a Christian and an unbeliever come together as close friends, there will be problem.
Some people reason that the only way to win unbelievers to Christ is to make friends with them. This is not true. We must understand that we do not have the power to change sinners. Our part is to preach to them, pray for them, live exemplary lives and allow God to draw them into himself. But we should not be so close to them that they become our best friends. It will be like one touching charcoal and expecting not to be stained.
In the first part of verse 17, Paul told the Corinthians to come out from among unbelievers and be separate. They should not touch any unclean thing.
*2. THE REASONS GIVEN (2 Corinthians 6:14b - 16a):
Paul gave the Corinthians reasons why they should not be tied to unbelievers in this section. First of all, as children of God, the Corinthian believers had been made righteous in Christ. Their faith in Christ had made God to forgive their sins. But the unbelievers were unrighteous and still lived in sin. A righteous person is light and also the temple of God, while the unrighteous person is darkness and also the temple of idols. So two of them cannot walk and work together. The way of life, goals, and values of children of God are different from those of people who do not know Jesus. Such people go to places and do things that don’t glorify God while believers go to where children of God gather and do things that please God.
3. REWARD PROMISED (2 Cor 6:16b, 17b - 18; 7:1):
In this section, we shall see what Paul said would be the reward of believers who refuse to yoke themselves together with unbelievers. In the second part of verse 16, God promised that He will live in us if we do not join ourselves with unbelievers in friendship. He also said He will walk with us and be our God, and we will be His people.
When we come out from among unbelievers, God will be our Father indeed. It is only then, that we can truly be called His sons and daughters. He will prove to us that He is the Almighty God. Since God has made these promises to us, let us come out of the company that will make us live in sin. The best friend to have is the Lord Jesus Christ who so loved us that He died for us. Other people we can make friends with are Christians who are also friends of Jesus Christ.
APPLICATION
The story is about a little boy that began to go to school. He made friends with a group of bad boys that will always leave school to go and smoke in the town. This boy’s name was Tunde.
Tunde had been a good boy at home. He followed the instruction of his parents and Sunday school teacher. But as he became friends with those boys that usually went to town to smoke, he began to change. This was because they made fun of him and said he was not a “man” when he told them that he wouldn't smoke. They said that if he was a man, he would be smoking with them, finally, these boys made Tunde to begin to smoke. They later began to steal and do other bad things that didn’t glorify God. Tunde who used to be a good boy began to smoke and steal because he joined bad friends.
But one day, the pastor preached that people who do bad things need to receive Jesus Christ as their Saviour. Tunde gave his life to Jesus that day. He stopped following the bad boys and being friends with them. Rather, he made friends with other Christians.
DAILY BIBLE DOSE:
Mon: Trust God at All Times - Psalm 62:8
Tue: Offer Your Body as Sacrifice - Romans 12:1
Wed: Do not Conform to the World’s Pattern - Romans 12:2
Thu: Evil Communications Corrupt Good Manners - 1 Cor. 15:33
Fri: You Belong to God - 1 Peter 2:9
Sat: Submit to Men’s Authority 1 Peter 2:13
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