Do you hang with unsaved friends?

[Mtown]

This is something I am struggling with as I have always had unsaved friends and not till last year did I fully give myself to God. Should I still hang with and talk to my unsaved friends or not? What about people who say they are Christians yet don't act accordingly? These are all fine lines to me and I don't know which way to go.

I know 2 Cor 6:14 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?

Did I just answer my own question?

[savedbygracethrufaith]

You can still "hang" with non-Christian friends and be a Christian witness and light to them but there will be times that you will need to say no to what they might choose to do. When and only if they ask why you won't join them you can explain your reasons. But if the Holy Spirit is urging you to not be with these people, heed His urging.

The verse about being unequally yoked has nothing to do with friends. It relates more to marriage and business type contracts.

[IMSAVED]

I only have casual relationships with nonchristians.I seem to be a threat to them at times.We do not have alot in common.I do not watch television,go to movies,or listen to secular radio.I feel at times that we live in two different worlds.At times I think they think I am downright weird.Rarely will I have an alcoholic drink,maybe a couple times a year.Alot of my secular friends drink ALOT.

[HikerLady]

When I became saved, my whole world-view changed. So now I just naturally gravitate toward people who are Christians. I just feel that I don't have very many things in common with some of the old friends any more. There were, however, a couple of people I felt that the Holy Spirit was telling me not to hang out with at all.
My advice would be to pray and be open to the promptings of God.

[live2love]

I hang with both saved and non-saved friends.

In the past year, I was (and still am) friends with a neighbour, who I thought was saved like his wife.

I only did 'baby/gentle witnessing' to him thinking he was already saved.

Well Praise The Lord. The seed was planted and the Holy Spirit worked within him and now he is saved. Fabulous.

Praise The Lord.

But I do agree that being with saved friends means we have a deeper bond with our shared faith.

And the Scripture passage you quoted doesn't preclude hanging with non-saved friends, IMHO. How else are they going to learn about their Messiah otherwise if we don't Witness to them?


Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth.

[Any Minute]

This is something I am struggling with as I have always had unsaved friends and not till last year did I fully give myself to God. Should I still hang with and talk to my unsaved friends or not? What about people who say they are Christians yet don't act accordingly? These are all fine lines to me and I don't know which way to go.

I know 2 Cor 6:14 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?

Did I just answer my own question?

Talk to your unsaved friends, absolutely. Through your words, actions, lifestyle,... you may be the very one who plants a seed or tends to ones already sown. Let them see Christ in you and the new man that you are in Him.

I will say from experience, I have learned that it can be difficult if you only surround yourself with those who are unsaved. They possess nothing good that can be added to your walk, usually they can only cause you to stumble, so you need to be careful as you grow in maturity. I'm one to believe that passage has more application than just speaking about marriage or business dealings, though many will disagree.

At this point in my life, I tend not to surround myself with a large circle of friends but I do have many lost family members that I am frequently around. I don't avoid them, I just try to always be aware of my witness though and avoid situations that may cause me to stumble. Many times the lost will try to bring you down, more so than you bringing them up. You'll probably find as you continue to grow in faith, they will tend to seperate from you (darkness can't fellowship with light either). I've been in many circumstances (even church) where you wouldn't even know someone was a believer in a group of people.

If your a born again believer, let that light shine no matter where you find yourself. Sometimes believers tend to hide it when around the unsaved, but that's when it really needs to shine. Time is running short, you'll have eternity with family and friends, it's just a matter of which one's will be there with you.

[IMSAVED]

I hang with both saved and non-saved friends.

In the past year, I was (and still am) friends with a neighbour, who I thought was saved like his wife.

I only did 'baby/gentle witnessing' to him thinking he was already saved.

Well Praise The Lord. The seed was planted and the Holy Spirit worked within him and now he is saved. Fabulous.

Praise The Lord.

But I do agree that being with saved friends means we have a deeper bond with our shared faith.

And the Scripture passage you quoted doesn't preclude hanging with non-saved friends, IMHO. How else are they going to learn about their Messiah otherwise if we don't Witness to them?


Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth.

You mean 2 Cor 6:14?I think it relates to friends and in marriage.

[Any Minute]

You mean 2 Cor 6:14?I think it relates to friends and in marriage.

Yup, it does.

Seperation is not from contact with evil in this world but from complicity with and conformity to it.
Often the saved become ineffective when unequally yoked.

[Shannon9602]

I have quite a few unsaved friends... Just be careful not to fall into temptation when you hang with them. I beleive that is why Paul advised us not to hang with unsaved people because of temptation to sin is great. I realized at this point that it is best that I don't hang with them too much. I beleive that is why he led me to where I am now. I know you love them and they are your friends but you have to remember when you accepted Jesus as your Savior consequences follow. Sometimes that means you will lose some friends because of your faith.

[Any Minute]

Mtown- Here is a great thread to read over if you haven't already, the post deals specifically with the scripture you posted.
http://rr-bb.com/showthread.php?1459...for-Separation

[Acts5:41]

I witness a lot to the unsaved.

We have some friends who are living immoral lifestyles. We don't condone them. The guy living the immoral lifestyle kept borrowing money from my husband. My husband realized "I am paying for this guy's prostitutes" (that, and the guy was VERY slow about paying us back), and refused to loan him any more money. We don't hang with him much, but when we do we are witnessing. It won't surprise you to hear I gave him a Bible, and pray for him daily.

When we're with the unreached, we are witnessing, and we do that a lot. Today my husband witnessed to 5 different drivers.

I do enjoy hanging out with saved people, just because I can turn off the evangelism for a while.

[IMSAVED]

I have quite a few unsaved friends... Just be careful not to fall into temptation when you hang with them. I beleive that is why Paul advised us not to hang with unsaved people because of temptation to sin is great. I realized at this point that it is best that I don't hang with them too much. I beleive that is why he led me to where I am now. I know you love them and they are your friends but you have to remember when you accepted Jesus as your Savior consequences follow. Sometimes that means you will lose some friends because of your faith.

I agree.

[Trance]

Jesus hung around the heathens, and in fact was condemned for it, by the religious leaders

[IMSAVED]

Jesus hung around the heathens, and in fact was condemned for it, by the religious leaders

Yes,but He is Jesus.

[Trance]

Yes,but He is Jesus.

So you're saying we shouldn't socalize with anybody other than Christians? I have several friends who are un-saved. Am I supposed to just say 'I can't be your friend, because you're not like I am'

I mean the more militant non-belivers accuse us of behaving just like that... is this really the message we want to portray. If our goal is to try and be more Christ-like, are we achieving that goal, if we shut out those who many not share our beliefs?

If you love those who only love you, then what is the value of love? For even killers can love.

Just a thought.

[Shannon9602]

So you're saying we shouldn't socalize with anybody other than Christians? Would good is it if you only show God's love for those who are Saved?

No Jesus is perfect and cannot be tempted to sin. However, we are not perfect and temptation does take a hold of us, not Jesus.

[Shannon9602]

So you're saying we shouldn't socalize with anybody other than Christians? I have several friendsa who are un-saved. Am I supposed to just say 'I can't be your friend, because you're not like I am

I mean the more militant non-belivers accuse us of behaving just like that... is this really the message we want to portray

I think you can be friends with those who are unsaved however you do need to becareful and may need to draw the line. I have backslid for that very same reason you just mentioned.

[IMSAVED]

No Jesus is perfect and cannot be tempted to sin. However, we are not perfect and temptation does take a hold of us, not Jesus.

Well said.

[Luminary]

Talk to your unsaved friends, absolutely. Through your words, actions, lifestyle,... you may be the very one who plants a seed or tends to ones already sown. Let them see Christ in you and the new man that you are in Him.

I will say from experience, I have learned that it can be difficult if you only surround yourself with those who are unsaved. They possess nothing good that can be added to your walk, usually they can only cause you to stumble, so you need to be careful as you grow in maturity. I'm one to believe that passage has more application than just speaking about marriage or business dealings, though many will disagree.

At this point in my life, I tend not to surround myself with a large circle of friends but I do have many lost family members that I am frequently around. I don't avoid them, I just try to always be aware of my witness though and avoid situations that may cause me to stumble. Many times the lost will try to bring you down, more so than you bringing them up. You'll probably find as you continue to grow in faith, they will tend to seperate from you (darkness can't fellowship with light either). I've been in many circumstances (even church) where you wouldn't even know someone was a believer in a group of people.

If your a born again believer, let that light shine no matter where you find yourself. Sometimes believers tend to hide it when around the unsaved, but that's when it really needs to shine. Time is running short, you'll have eternity with family and friends, it's just a matter of which one's will be there with you.

Very much this. I have several friends that are unsaved and yet I still spend time with them. I just be who I am, even if that makes them uncomfortable from time to time.

[kjlistrom]

So you're saying we shouldn't socalize with anybody other than Christians? I have several friends who are un-saved. Am I supposed to just say 'I can't be your friend, because you're not like I am'

I didn't read that in any of the posts. I am not sure where you see this at. I can't imagine hanging with my old friends as they drink whiskey and talk filth as I did with them at one time.

I mean the more militant non-believers accuse us of behaving just like that... is this really the message we want to portray. If our goal is to try and be more Christ-like, are we achieving that goal, if we shut out those who many not share our beliefs?

Instead of you hanging with them, try asking them to hang with you, like at church or a home Bible study.

If you love those who only love you, then what is the value of love? For even killers can love.

That's what I am saying, love them by inviting them to church or love them enough to start up a Saturday night Bible study at your home and lovingly invite them to come.

Just a thought.