Come out from Among Them and be Separate

Come out from Among Them and be Separate

 

We are leaving our church – the church where we belonged and the church that took us in as one of their own.  After many long years, with great sadness we are leaving our comfortable secure place - our ministries and our friends – and our beloved close- knit group! – Leaving and going out hopefully to find another church.

 

 We are the judgmental bad guys. No one understands why we are leaving, and some are hurt and angry and feel that we are rejecting them. We never wanted to do that. Many nights I have tossed and turned - unable to sleep.  Leaving is a hard thing to do! 

 

But we are leaving because our church has an extremely liberal view of Scripture. Our small group no longer wants any Bible study.  Many in our church believe that most of the Old Testament is made up of mythical stories.  And many don’t believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins.  Or that we even have sin that needs to be forgiven!  Some are militant about this!  We cannot live in the faithlessness that has been stirred up. God is calling us to leave.  And we must obey.

 

Throughout the Bible and down through the ages, God calls His people to come out and be separate from the world and not live the way the secular person lives. God commanded Israel to only worship Him.  To never worship idols or foreign gods.  Ancient Israel was the only nation in the known world that did not worship idols.  They were the odd balls.

 

 It was difficult being the only people who couldn’t have these popular idols.  Many of the Jewish people wanted what they couldn’t have.  They wanted to do what they were forbidden by God to do. Down through the ages, even though they knew God’s command, they were still being tempted to do what everyone else was doing – to worship and sacrifice to idols.  Are we like them today?  Are we tempted to do what everyone else is doing, even when Scripture tells us that it is wrong?   

 

Farmers from other nations would tell the Israelite farmers that when they sacrificed to their idols, in return they would get back a better crop.  And then the Israelite farmer would wonder if perhaps he could grow better crops with the help of those idols. These idols were like big good luck charms that would supposedly help the worshippers get what they wanted.

 

Often an Israelite farmer would go up in the hills – (called the “high places” in Scripture) and build a secret altar for an idol and sacrifice to it.  Throughout the Old Testament there are many Bible passages where God is expressing His anger because the kings of Israel were not tearing down these “high places” where foreign gods were being worshipped.  Here, from the Old Testament is one of God’s many calls to ancient Israel: “Make confession to the Lord God of your fathers and do His will: separate yourselves from the peoples around you”. (Ezra 10:11)

    

Throughout antiquity God was constantly warning the Israelites to separate themselves from the other nations and worship only Him.  To love and be faithful to only Him. To trust only Him for their crops and their lives.  And He calls us to do the same – to tear down our “high places” where we build altars to the secret sins or idols in our lives – the idols that come between us and our God.  God’s message to His people down through all time is the same – He want all our trust and all our love.    

 

And even though we are not being tempted to worship idols like God’s people were in the ancient world, we Christians are to separate ourselves from practices (or idols) in our modern culture that keep us further from God. Our life should look different from the secular person’s life because we are different.  We are being led by the Holy Spirit and we belong to Christ.

 

God calls the Christian to: “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.  I will be your Father, and you shall be My sons and daughters., says the Lord Almighty.”  (2 Corinthians 6:17-18) There are practices that are “unclean” for Christians that perhaps a non-Christian would find acceptable.  

 

The Bible says that the Christian is to be humble, loving, and trusting God and always forgiving.  We are to take care of our families and be faithful to one another. Obey and love God and His laws.  Study the Bible and give to the poor and needy.  Not covet or want what others have. Worship and pray to God our Father.  And love and trust Him.  And obey His Word.  We can only do all these things through the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

And we Christians are commanded to get rid of any influence that compromises our relationship with God. The Christian is to live differently from the carnal person.  The Scriptures say: “All that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world.  (1 John 2:16)  A spiritual battle between good and evil is being fought right here around us.   

 

The Christian is to turn away from any tendency to be controlled by money.  The Scriptures say: “No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and Money.”  (Luke 16:13) Our heavenly Father does not want material things to control us.  He promises to provide for us.

 

The first commandment of the Ten Commandments is “You shall have no other gods before Me.”  (Exodus 20:3) God calls the Christian to put Him first.  When we put God first, we don’t have room for many of the things that the secular person chases after.

 

 The secular person often is trying to craft the best life possible for himself or herself.  He wants to do life his way. To do that he may go after money, sex and power in a different way than the Christian would.  The secular person doesn’t want to give up any of her control or put away any of her idols. She wants it all.  She wants it her way. 

 

 A Christian’s life is very different.  He is trying to give up his life to Christ.  In return he finds a joy and peace he never knew before. (Matthew 10:39) He no longer even owns his own life; he is learning to give it up to Christ.  Scripture says; “you are not your own, you are bought with a price” (the price is Jesus’ blood) (1^st Corinthians 6:20)

 

A Christian is called to give up her life to Christ, to get rid of her secret idols, confess all her sins and to tear down all her “high places.”  God wants all of you.  Are you willing to give Him everything?

 touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.  I will be your Father, and you shall be My sons and daughters., says the Lord Almighty.”  (2 Corinthians 6:17-18) There are practices that are “unclean” for Christians that perhaps a non-Christian would find acceptable.  

 

The Bible says that the Christian is to be humble, loving, and trusting God and always forgiving.  We are to take care of our families and be faithful to one another. Obey and love God and His laws.  Study the Bible and give to the poor and needy.  Not covet or want what others have. Worship and pray to God our Father.  And love and trust Him.  And obey His Word.  We can only do all these things through the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

And we Christians are commanded to get rid of any influence that compromises our relationship with God. The Christian is to live differently from the carnal person.  The Scriptures say: “All that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world.  (1 John 2:16)  A spiritual battle between good and evil is being fought right here around us.   

 

The Christian is to turn away from any tendency to be controlled by money.  The Scriptures say: “No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and Money.”  (Luke 16:13) Our heavenly Father does not want material things to control us.  He promises to provide for us.

 

The first commandment of the Ten Commandments is “You shall have no other gods before Me.”  (Exodus 20:3) God calls the Christian to put Him first.  When we put God first, we don’t have room for many of the things that the secular person chases after.

 

 The secular person often is trying to craft the best life possible for himself or herself.  He wants to do life his way. To do that he may go after money, sex and power in a different way than the Christian would.  The secular person doesn’t want to give up any of her control or put away any of her idols. She wants it all.  She wants it her way. 

 

 A Christian’s life is very different.  He is trying to give up his life to Christ.  In return he finds a joy and peace he never knew before. (Matthew 10:39) He no longer even owns his own life; he is learning to give it up to Christ.  Scripture says; “you are not your own, you are bought with a price” (the price is Jesus’ blood) (1^st Corinthians 6:20)

 

A Christian is called to give up her life to Christ, to get rid of her secret idols, confess all her sins and to tear down all her “high places.”  God wants all of you.  Are you willing to give Him everything?

  

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