“Equally Yoked”

Convocation

Pastoral & Laity Bible Counseling

- Bible Counseling 101
 “Equally Yoked”
Breakout Session
A Match Made in Heaven

A Better Understanding of ‘Equally Yoked’

for Pastors, Laymen, and Rank-in-file Church

- Bible Counseling 101

 Exploring Faith
• One on campus study asked students who were
‘equally yoked’ vs ‘unequally yoked’:

“…do you spend a specific amount of time in

exploring, investigating, and considering faith,
spirituality, and beliefs?”

The ‘unequally yoked’ spent an exact amount of

time less than the ‘equally yoked’ couples
identified in the double blind trial study.
-RLGNS 101
Bible Counseling
• In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27

- Bible Counseling 101

 Prayer
• A campus survey inquired of ‘equally yoked’ vs
‘unequally yoked’ student - couples:

“…do you pray, contemplate spiritual concepts,

and meditate throughout the week?”

The ‘equally yoked’ couples‘ vs ‘unequally yoked’

were more involved in prayer, contemplation,
and meditation, the survey results suggested.

-RLGNS 101
Bible Counseling
• Be perfect, therefore, as your
heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:48

- Bible Counseling 101

 Fellowship
• When campus interviews about ‘fellowship’ were
conducted - the ‘equally yoked’ couples scored
about the same as ‘unequally yoked’ couples :
“…The interview asked: do you attend events,
get-togethers, and events together? ”
The ‘equally yoked’ couples‘ vs ‘unequally yoked’
were scored and the results recorded were more
even. The interviewers choose couples ‘on
campus’ as well as those ‘off campus’ and
suggested that further studies need to be
conducted.
-RLGNS 101
Bible Counseling
 Family Identity & Roles…
Your Family role may be son or daughter …it may
be parent …or grandparent and associated with
your family’s ‘Civil Identity’ and your specific surname:
Your Surname is that specific family name passed
down-line, generation after generation, in a family
lineage from whom the origins of your surname to-the
very youngest new born. Your Middle name is a
name given by your joint parents traditionally - by inter-
marrying families to protect the family against frauds,
phoneys, and fakes out to use your reputable ‘names’ as
a tactic or strategy to profit in multicultural finance. Your
First name is a personal name given to you as a
newborn by your parents - to be used in every day
conversations - with a specific meaning – concerning the
reputation to ‘live up to’ in society.
- Bible Counseling 101
 Mentorship
• A small study on campus investigated whether
‘equally yoked’ couples or ‘unequally yoked’ both
student and community members were being
mentored:
“…do you have spiritual mentors, pastoral
teachers of discipleship, or marital role models
for your faith as a ‘couple’?”
The ‘equally yoked’ couples‘ proved to be were
more involved in working with a pastor, ministrial
leader, or marriage mentors.
-RLGNS 101
Bible Counseling
• Be ye not unequally yoked together...
II Corinthians 6:14

- Bible Counseling 101

 Prayer
• A campus survey inquired of ‘equally yoked’ vs
‘unequally yoked’ student - couples:

“…do you pray, contemplate spiritual concepts,

and meditate throughout the week?”

The ‘equally yoked’ couples‘ vs ‘unequally yoked’

were more involved in prayer, contemplation,
and meditation, the survey results suggested.

-RLGNS 101
Bible Counseling
 Social Identity
• Your Social Identity is your sense of belongingness
to a collective of identified important groups such as;

• Citizenship: a Nation, Residence: Home, Property:

Ownership, deeds, and co-ownership in Real estate,
e.g., vacation homes, office buildings, land, and may
include motor homes, RVs, cars, boats, planes, etc.,
Profession: your trade, vocation, skill, craft boards or
union, Titles: in clubs, associations, organizations, etc.,
Education: Credentials, degrees, diplomas, certifications,
documentation of schools successfully attended. Socio-
economic Class: Amount of money in bank, in stocks and
bonds investments, in bank notes and certificates.
- Intro to Social Psychology
 “Social Identities”
Example 1 Example 2
• Citizenship: • Citizenship:
Examples
U.S. Citizen Canada / Visa
• Residence: • Residence:
Seattle, WA Seattle, WA
• Ownership: • Ownership:
Owns Home Leasing
• Profession: • Profession:
Bible Teacher Pastor
• Education: • Education:
Master of Religion Doctorate Religion
• Titles: • Titles:
“Bible Teacher” “Pastor”
• Class: • Class:
Middle Class Middle Class
- Intro to Social Psychology
• Be devoted to one another in love. Honor
one another above yourselves.
Romans 12:10

- Bible Counseling 101

 Your “Civil Identity”
• Your Civil Identity is actually a unique
mosaic of your present:

Ethnicity, Political Party, Race, Color,

Religion, Disability, Sex, Sexual (Pleasure
Preference) Orientation, Marital Status,
Family Status, …etc.

-Bible Counseling 101

Liberal Arts
 “Civil Identity”

- Ethnicity: - Ethnicity:
- Politics: - Politics:
- RELIGION: - RELIGION :
- Race: - Race:
- Color: - Color:
- Age: - Age:
- Sex: character personality - Sex:
- Sex preference: - Sex preference:
- Marital status: - Marital status:

‘de facto’ (in fact, in reality)

-RLGN 101
-BIBLE COUNSELING
 “Civil Identity1” “Civil Identity2”
Beliefs Beliefs
- Ethnicity: - Ethnicity:
- Politics: - Politics:
- Religion: - Religion:
- Race: - Race:
- Color: - Color:
- Age: - Age:
- Sex: Female - Sex: Male
- Sexual - Sexual
(pleasure (pleasure
preference) preference)
Orientation: Orientation:
- Marital - Marital
status: status:
“Civil Identity” is actually a unique mosaic of one’s present:
Ethnicity, Political Party, Race, Color, Religion, Disability, Sex, Sexual -Bible Counseling 101
(Pleasure Preference) Orientation, Marital Status, Family Status, ….. Liberal Arts
Keep God’s Commandments
• And you shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all
your mind, and with all your strength: this is the
first commandment.
• And the second is like, namely this, You shall
love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other
commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:30-31

- Bible Counseling 101

• Do everything in love.
1 Corinthians 16:14

- Bible Counseling 101

• In the same way, you husbands must give honor
to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding
as you live together. She may be weaker than you
are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift....
1 Peter 3:7

- Bible Counseling 101

• Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck, write them
on the tablet of your heart.
Proverbs 3:3

- Bible Counseling 101

• And above all these things put on charity,
which is the bond of perfectness.
Colossians 3:14

- Bible Counseling 101

 “Personal Identity”
…is the sum of your social identity, civil identity, family identity and…

• Your ‘Personality’ is • Your ‘Character’ is the

just how your capability actual way your seen by
is manifested in the your peers as having
way you personally: the capacity of just how
observe, uphold, and you personally and
promote what is right, actively: fight against-
such as-
• Crime/infractions of the
• Law abidingness, law,
• Morality/ abiding in • Immorality/violating
social mores, and social mores, and
• Heartfulness/emotional • Infatuation/lust.
stability.
-Bible Counseling 101
Liberal Arts
• Have you not read that He who made them at the
beginning… …the two shall become one ...
So then, they are no longer two but one...
Therefore what God has joined together,
let not man separate.
Matthew 19:4-6

- Bible Counseling 101

• For the wife does not have authority over her
own body, but the husband does. Likewise the
husband does not have authority over his own
body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one
another I Corinthians 7:3-5

- Bible Counseling 101

“Be ye not unequally yoked…”
II Corinthians 6:14

Bible Reference: The Layman’s Parallel Bible

Copyright: 1997 - Used by Permission
…about Religious Liberty
I Corinthians 10:23

Bible Reference: The Layman’s Parallel Bible

Copyright: 1997 - Used by Permission
 Some “Suggested” Schools
• Liberty U., Lee U., Houghton Coll., Southern Adventist U., Johnson U.,
California Lutheran U., Northland Coll., Milligan Coll., Coll. of the Ozarks,
Cedarville U., Anderson U., Samford U., Bryan Coll., Corban U., Hendrix Coll.,
Southwestern U., Centre Coll., Bethel Coll., Central Coll., Eastern U., Belmont
U., Luther Coll., Eastern Mennonite U., Southern Methodist U., Macalester
Coll., Muhlenberg Coll., Gustavus Adolphus Coll., George Fox U.,
Southeastern U., Emory U., St. Olaf Coll., Hope Coll., Roberts Wesleyan Coll.,
Concordia U., NE, DePauw U., Whitworth U., Lafayette Coll., Wittenberg U.,
Taylor U., Abilene Christian U., Sewanee-U.of the South, Valparaiso U., Texas
Christian U., Ohio Wesleyan U., Franklin Coll., Ouachita Baptist U., U. of
Mobile, Gordon Coll., Covenant Coll., California Baptist U., Millsaps Coll.,,
Goshen Coll., Allegheny Coll., Union U., Westmont Coll., Union U., Westmont
Coll., Waynesburg U., Biola U., Wheaton Coll., Regent U., Presbyterian Coll.,
Baylor U., Davidson Coll., Rhodes Coll., Transylvania U., Pepperdine U.,
Wofford Coll., Oklahoma Baptist U., Indiana Wesleyan U., Trinity U., Asbury
U., Hanover Coll., Chapman U., Messiah Coll., Nebraska Wesleyan U., Illinois
Coll., Augustana Coll. – SD, Point Loma Nazarene U., Erskine Coll., Augsburg
Coll., Calvin Coll., Azusa Pacific U., Concordia Coll., U. of Evansville, North
Central Coll., Vanguard U. of SoCal, Seattle Pacific U., Oklahoma Christian
U., Patrick Henry Coll., Albion Coll., LeTourneau U., Oral Roberts U., John
Brown U., Oklahoma City U., Wartburg Coll., Alma Coll., U. of Tulsa, Grove
City Coll., Belhaven U., American U.

Liberal Arts Schools

 “Open Bible” Exam
1. To your own understanding, what does
the Holy Bible really mean to be ‘Equally
Yoked’ and give a true life example.
2. Why does ‘Equally Yoked’ mean to have
a special focus on religious beliefs
and Spirituality?
3. Just how free are people to believe in
Holy Bible injunctions or doctrine that
guide couples in a plan of Salvation?
-Bible Counseling 101
Liberal Arts