2 Corinthians 6:15 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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2 Corinthians 6:15

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This is about opposing generals. We have moved now from righteousness and lawlessness, light and darkness, to Christ and Belial. Belial stands here for Satan, the prince of darkness. What is the apostle Paul doing? Well, he is saying, here is another thing you have to look at. If you try to mix the truth of God with darkness, you are expecting your General and your King, who is Christ, to share with Belial, the devil, who is the prince of darkness. That is unthinkable, impossible. Your General will have nothing whatever to do with that other general. Your General is King of kings and Lord of lords who is going to crush that other general, that usurper, that murderer of the souls of men. By your church joining in a denomination which is dominated by unbelief and unbelievers, you are expecting Christ and Belial to get together and to share their ownership of you, and that is so absurd. The ecumenical movement, all churches together no matter what they believe, is so absurd and so anti-Bible and anti-God.‘What concord?’ The word concord in the musical context means harmony. Can there be harmony? Can Christ and the devil sing a duet together? The very idea is monstrous. When it is applied to words concord means agreement. Can they agree together? Will they sit on the same committee? Of course not. Then what is your believing church doing in an apostate godless denomination? It is an offence to God. ‘Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?’ Our translation is on the old-fashioned side and ‘part’ here means portion. What portion hath he that believeth with an infidel? Or in more modern terms still, what wages can be shared between a believer and an infidel? We are believers and our reward is a reward of grace, which we never deserved. It is eternal life and heaven and glory. But Belial’s wages will be eternal woe and punishment and loss and death. The wages are so different. We cannot share them. Our minds are set on a heavenly reward by grace. The worldling is out for his reward now, happiness now, possessions now, satisfaction now. Of course at the end of his journey is death. What did Christ said about the Pharisees? He observed them going about the city of Jerusalem dressed in their finest robes, how splendid they looked. When they gave alms in the temple, they did it very ostentatiously so that people would notice, and Christ said these words, ‘They have their reward.’ That is what they want, the adulation or admiration of the people, something now, and they have got it, and that is all they will get. They will not have a reward in the hereafter.

Application

It is the same with all this soft rock Christian worship, where churches adopt the drums and the instruments of the whole culture of rebellion against God in order to bring it into worship. How can you mix the two? One comes from Belial, from Satan, from the prince of darkness. It started in the 60s; it is a massive movement, to employ heavy rhythm and sexual and profane words to drum into people a whole new set of anti-morals. And yet there are Christians who take it into the church, and adapt it, and write doctrinally acceptable lyrics to it. But it comes from that kingdom, from that stable, and you cannot mix the two. That so-called Christian song, that might be sung in some churches is borrowed from the world. It is written by a man who is like those Pharisees. He behaves like a rock artist. He goes round the country giving concerts and he receives an ovation. You can almost hear the words of Christ, ‘They have their reward.’ They behave just like the world, and they lap up the applause and so on. It is all wrong, dear friends. What wages do we have in common with the world?

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2 Corinthians 6:15 Commentary and Bible Study