Q&A with Pastor Chris - Can Christians be Friends with Unbelievers?

Q&A with Pastor Chris - Can Christians be Friends with Unbelievers?

Question: Dear Pastor, is it wrong for a born again Christian to hang around with old friends who are not born again?

Answer : Well, 'hang-around' is what I would like to look at more clearly. When you give your heart to Christ, you become a member of the kingdom of God. And, you become his representative, and you are expected to reach your old friends who haven’t known Jesus. So you’ve got to reach them. You have to go back to them and share the word of God with them. You’ve got to minister the word to them; you are the Lord’s representative to your old friends. The difference is, you cannot fellowship with them. See, you may move among them for the purpose of witnessing to them, but you really can’t fellowship with them anymore, because you have a new set of values. Your life has changed. Especially when you are just beginning, you have to distance yourself to a large extent, because you want to separate yourself from those influences that they have had and you also had before. Now you have a new life; you are the light. While shining the light on them and to them, you have to walk a different route. So, that’s what it’s all about. Fellowship, you cannot have with them but contacts with them, yes, you will maintain, because you seek to reach them. So, your new friendship has to be redefined or your friendship with them has to be redefined.