When the apostle Paul told Christians they ought not be yoked with unbelievers, he was only talking to unlikeable people. Winsome people should fraternize freely with wicked people and woo them into the Kingdom. God tells us not to love the world but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t fall in love with worldly people.

A good apologist knows that it may take years of flattery and emotional manipulation to wear down a lost person. Stubborn unbelievers may be able to resist the Holy Spirit alone but the Holy Spirit AND a loving Christian friend is an unbeatable team.

That’s why declaring our faith sometimes requires ignoring God’s mandate against fellowship with evil. How are we supposed to love our neighbor unless we meet them where they are? How can we convert our unbelieving spouses to Christianity if we never marry unbelievers? We must become all things to all people! To the prideful, we become proud. To the lawless mocker, we become profane. We disobey God in order to win the disobedient.

Christians must do the work of loving Darkness for as long as it takes until the Darkness finally flees in terror from our relentless acceptance and affirmation. We must not discourage evil doers but pray that through our friendship, they’ll sense our disapproval and turn to Jesus.

Love over verses! A little bit of disobedience is justified if it inspires one person to live in obedience to God.

(2 Corinthians 6:14) 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? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?