"Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Can two walk together, except they be agreed?"
Amos 3:1-3
God had a special covenant relationship with the nation of Israel, but they repeatedly turned away from following Him despite His goodness to them. The people of the surrounding lands drew their hearts away. Their desire to be liked and accepted by their neighbors overwhelmed their desire to be true to God. So they began to worship other gods and abandoned their moral values. As a result, they no longer agreed with God and could not walk with Him.
It has been said, “Most men change their fellowship before they change their doctrine.” We need to be extremely careful of who we allow to influence our thinking and our actions. Today we often hear people call for unity, but without regard to truth. That is a recipe for disaster. Charles Spurgeon said, “Truth alone must determine our alignments. Truth comes before unity, because unity without truth is hazardous. Our Lord's prayer for His disciples in John 17 must be read in its full context. Look at verse 17: 'Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.' Only those sanctified through the Word can be one in Christ. To teach otherwise is to betray the gospel.”
Those with whom we walk will influence us to become increasingly like them over time. This is a natural process, and no one is exempt from it. Just as a sick person infects someone who is well rather than the other way around, our walk will be pulled away from God if we associate with those who are not committed to following Him.
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