Do you have friends who are not Christians? If you don't, why don't you? Maybe it’s because we're more comfortable with people who are like us or agree with us. We like to spend time with people who think like we think and act like we act. A supposed “biblical" reason for only spending our time with Christian friends is to avoid being corrupted by non-believers. People who think like this often use today's passage—a single verse pulled out of context—so let's listen to it and consider the implications:

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” (1 Cor. 15:33 NIV)

Sound familiar? The New Living Translation reads, "Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.” To better understand this passage and correctly apply it, you and I must understand what the Apostle Paul is talking about. This verse is part of what many call the "Resurrection Chapter" in which Paul confronts the false idea that Jesus was never physically raised from the dead. Two men, Hymenaeus and Philetus, were teaching that the resurrection of the dead had already happened and that it was spiritual, not physical. Paul said their talk was ruining those who listened, and leading people into ungodliness. The clue to correctly understanding today's passage is the phrase, "those who say such things." Paul's comment that “bad company corrupts good character” refers to those who claim to be Christians but who deny the physical resurrection and the finished work of Christ in raising us from the dead. Paul’s intent is not about avoiding people who are not following Jesus. In Romans 10:14-15, Paul writes: "But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? "And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?" Let’s face it. Part of being like Jesus and following Him, is being around people who don't yet know Him. In the Gospels we read that Jesus did a lot of that, being around people who didn’t yet know Him!

You and I can do it, too. Building friendships with people who need Jesus helps both us and them become more like Him...and that is very Good News!