Thank you, my dear friend, and I agree with you 100% that the Christian must distance him/herself from every form of evil, and this is best for our spiritual growth and as well, our testimony. With family members, this can be a fine line to walk, and it must be committed to much prayer. We do have some familial responsibilities and attachments due to our birth ties, such as looking after sick family members, or taking care of those without means, managing family estate matters, and demonstrating the respect that we owe to parents (1 Timothy 5:8; Exodus 20:12). Therefore, total separation from or withdrawal of all contact with family members might not always be the best solution. I do feel that with family members, we might want to maintain a good enough relationship so that we can share the Gospel thus bringing our family members to Christ.  We always want to see our loved ones become true believers and thus be saved. But having said this, there is quite a difference in purpose and in action between a family relationship devoted to the sharing of the Gospel and salvation and jumping in whole hog with sinful family activities and practices.

So, let’s take a look at the Bible verses that I believe you might be referring to for insight into God’s mind for the believer with an unbelieving family member(s). In II Corinthians 6:14-17 we read: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God…Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” I believe that if you look at Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, you’ll see all kinds of issues with ungodliness and false teachings in the local church. The separation therefore that I believe that Paul is talking about here certainly has to do with the damage that can result in the lives and testimonies of believers to bad doctrine and ungodly practices, and for sure, with the influence of unbelievers. God’s instruction to His people is to “Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean…” as we see in Isaiah 52:11. And there can be no doubt that exposure to sinful behavior will have a negative effect on the heart of a believer, so your concerns are truly warranted (1 Corinthians 15:33).

Now, what does being “unequally yoked” mean for the Christian? William MacDonald in his Bible Commentary on II Corinthians 6:14 says: “The connection between verses 13 and 14 is this: Paul has told the saints to be open in their affections toward him. Now he explains that one way to do this is to separate from all forms of sin and unrighteousness. Doubtless he is thinking, in part, of false teachers who had invaded the assembly at Corinth.”  My dear friend, when I think about being unequally yoked, I generally think about marriage to unbelievers, or business partnerships with unbelievers. I’m sure that the thought does also apply to family relationships in some ways, but I will say that being a blood relative is not a yoke that we can personally avoid, though we certainly can distance ourselves from sinful language, behaviors, doctrine, or practices, and so we should. Again, I must stress that this, like all relationship questions, should be a matter of much prayer and searching of the Scriptures, and we definitely do not want to enter into sinful practices or behaviors; if we can distance ourselves from such, it might be well to maintain enough of the expected family relationship that lends itself to showing the love of Christ Jesus and the Gospel.  (SF)  (602.5)