"Should Christians stay away from people who aren't
Christians?"
In John 17 Jesus says a prayer for all Christians. This is what He says. "My
prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from
the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it." (John
17:16-17)
What Jesus is saying is that we shouldn't keep away from people -- we couldn't
even if we wanted too. That said, Jesus explains that we are not of the world.
In other words we do what the Bible says we should do. This is much different
than what the world says we should do.
So if people are doing things that keep us from our relationship with Jesus we
should stay away from them. If they don't keep us from Christ then we should be
friends with them. To both groups we should pray that people would see Jesus
when they see us. I have a study on how to do that. I'll send it to you.
Here is some more of what Jesus said on the subject...
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do
people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand,
and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light
shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in
heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)
In those verses Jesus is comparing a Christian to a light. We have Christ in
our lives and He is saying that we should "let our light shine" or another way
of saying it is when we are around people they should see the light of Jesus in
us and be drawn to Him. Or still another way of looking at it is this:
Everyday you represent the Living God to a dying world. Let your friends see
Him in you.
Now we have to address 2 Corinthians 6:14 which says, "Do not be yoked together
with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or
what fellowship can light have with darkness?"
Basically that verse is what I said above. If someone is keeping you from
Christ stay away from them because you relationship with people is temporary but
your relationship with Christ lasts forever.