7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.
Verse 7 is a prohibition against joining non-believers in sexual immorality.
7 Therefore
Since the consequences of reverting back to a pagan lifestyle are so serious, it is a dangerous thing to partner with lost people.
do not be partakers [partners] with them.
The word “be” means become. The Christian is not to lapse back into his former non-Christian lifestyle, into the vices of verses three to five. The Greek conveys this idea: “Stop therefore becoming partners with unbelievers.” Ephesian believers were already joining non-Christians in their lifestyle.
Christians should not act like non-Christians. Believers should not partner with non-believers. This is not a prohibition of all contact with non-believers (1 Co 5:10). Rather, becoming a partner with unbelievers signifies one who shares their terminal values.
PRINCIPLE:
It is dangerous to identify with the lost and their lifestyle.
APPLICATION:
The issue of the Christian life is one of identity. The concern is not one of salvation but rather lifestyle. Immoral degeneracy and Christianity are not compatible. That life is not consistent with who we are.
There is a difference between being friends with non-Christians and owning their terminal values. We can fellowship with them but not their belief systems. This is a distinction that is at times difficult to distinguish, but it must be made if we are to maintain Christian values.
Christianity today faces a crisis in sexual morality. Culture has defeated many Christians in this area because the Word of God does not dominate their worldview. They have bought into a system that is opposed to Christianity. Sexual values that evangelicalism has held for many years are crumbling. Pornography has especially enslaved Christian men in its clutches. All of this is incompatible with who God is and who Christians are.
