I was wondering whether you could shed some light on something for me. Although I know that we all sin many times and it is the grace of God that is our only hope, I have become concerned lately by the lives of Christians in my church. There is a tremendous amount of gossip and backbiting. People have parties where the wine flows freely, and although the Lord has no objection to people drinking, I feel that being drunk and telling ‘suggestive’ and rude jokes is dishonoring his name. I was under the impression that our changed lives should be our greatest witness. These people work hard for the Lord, doing many good works throughout the church, so why do I feel so uneasy about their behavior? Am I becoming judgmental and legalistic?

Does unequally yoked in the bible pertain to only marriage? Could or does unequally yoked also pertain to a business partnership of a believer and an unbeliever?

Re: 2 Corinthians 13:1-10. I hope all is well and could you please explain what Paul meant by “I will not spare them– since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me.”…. and…. “that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.”

What exactly was Paul able to do in his authority? And do we also have this authority in Christ as Paul did? And how severe could he be with this authority? I realize that in part it has to do with the people sinning, but it appears that Paul has reached the boiling point of “no more grace for you, now it’s the power of God time”. This passage for some odd reason reminds me of Clark Kent turning into Superman!