Be Separate

This morning we are going to talk about "Coming out from among them and being separate". If you ask most Christians today if they are separate from the world they will answer "of course!", but are they? Being separate from the world is different that giving up a few worldly things. Coming out from among the world is much larger and more complex that most people realize. Paul speaks to this when he is writing to the Corinthians about being the Temple of the Living God.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18

¹⁴ Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? ¹⁵ What accord has Christ with Belial^a? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
¹⁷ Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate^b from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
¹⁸ and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.” (Paul quotes from Leviticus 26:11-12, Isaiah 52:11-12, and Jeremiah 31:9)

^aBelial :: "The worthless one" :: Paul refers to Satan as the embodiment of wickedness.

^b Separates :: Strong's 873 :: lit. "to mark off by boundaries or limits"

Paul is telling us that we are not to be a part of the world. But what does this mean?

Most people when asked would say that they don't go out and get drunk or cheat on their spouses, or other sins. But Paul is not talking about sins, but about partnerships!

As the Greek show us in Note "b", we are to have boundaries, or limits, in our interactions with the world. This is not "refraining from doing" but more at "refraining from partnering". Let's look at some of the things the Apostle instructs us on.

Paul asks the question "what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness"? This is the central question that should be dictating the partnerships that Christians have.

If you are unmarried, then you should only marry another believer. You should be looking for a Godly husband or wife that will desire to serve the Lord with you and support you in your God-given ministry. Don't become "unequally yoked" with a unbeliever. We are the Temple of God, and unbelievers, with an unregenerate spirit, are the temple of the world and Satan. However, if you are married to an unbeliever, you are to stay with them unless they leave. (1 Corinthians 7:12-16)

But what about business partnerships? I'm not talking about a job, but about going into a partnership. Should a Christian business person go into a partnership with a non-believer? Absolutely no! Do not partner with those who do not serve the Lord. You and your partner will have different goals and methods of business. If you can easily partner with a non-believer in business, then some scrutiny of your Christian Life is in order. The Christian business person should be looking to honor God and promote Jesus Christ in all they do; this should be their first concern, while the non-believer will not care about these things. If your first concern is making money, and you partner with a non-believer who is good at making money, you have already lost your way!

And what about our Churches? Too many modern Christian churches partner with other faiths or with organizations that do not follow the teachings of Christ and the Apostles. No matter how good the works of some organization, if the are not dedicated Christians, or if they are part of a religion that has "new revelations" (Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons) the we are to stay away from any partnership with them! Be very careful who your church supports in their ministry or missionary work. Ensure that music groups and charitable organizations are Godly in that they are based on the Bible and run by Christians.

And what about sports? Is your child part of a team that is managed by and coached by non-believers? You and your child are seeking success through sports by joining with unbelievers. If you consider God, how Jesus would act, and what the Apostles taught, is sports even really important? If you are a Christian, why is your child even in a Public School and not in a Christian School?

Oh the partnerships you are forming with Satan, and the way you are teaching you kids to do the same! Which is more important? Your child's eternal security and working for the Lord or playing sports with a really good, non-believing team?

So many Christians are choosing so badly; they constantly form partnerships with non-believers to get ahead in life.

A partnership with a non-believer is a partnership with Satan!

Think about that one for a while; every time you partner with a non-believer you are partnering with Satan. Come out and be separate.

In everything we do in our lives we are to always put God first! When you think about who to date or marry, who to get into business with, where to send your kids to school or camp, your kids college, and EVERY little thing that you must partner with someone on, choose the believer, not the unbeliever. And so what if your kid doesn't get the exposure that helps them become a NFL star?

Is that what the Christian life is really about? No! If your kid is more interested in going to school where they can become a sports star than becoming a minister or missionary, you have failed in your raising of that child!

God tells us through the Apostle Paul that we are to go out from among the sinners and unbelievers and be separate. Why? Because He dwells with us!

Think about it! God is dwelling in you, you are the Temple of the Most High God, you are a son or a daughter to Him, yet you drag Him into partnerships with His enemy, Satan!

Not only are we to go out from among them, but we are not to touch their unclean things. In the New Testament Paul states that all the "unclean" things of the Old Testament, such as questionable meat, is okay to eat. So what are the unclean things? (1 Corinthians 8:1-13)

These are the things that have a root in the worldly system and with Satan. The unclean things are all the things that we enjoy that are not of God. They are the partnerships with others that bring us worldly things. They are the desires for riches, beauty, recognition and the others traits the world admires. Better we be thought well of in Heaven and hated here, then to be loved here and hated in Heaven!

Just because you live in a Christian area, or go to Church, or take Communion does not mean you are separate from the world. You must choose to not partner with the Devil's henchmen; you must choose to always put God first. You must always remember that whatever you do and wherever you go, you are the Temple of the Most High God, and wherever you go you are taking the Most High God, and whomever you partner with, you are bringing them into a partnership with the Most High God's Temple!

Only partner with those who God will partner with also!