Christian Separation
 

by David J. Stewart

"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." —James 4:4


The Bible is NOT vague on the matter of separation from the world. God's children are commanded in the Bible to be SEPARATED from the world. In what way should we be separated from the world?

  1. We are to be separated in our beliefs. The heathen have their own system of beliefs. As believers, we should meditate in the Bible day and night as David did in Psalm 1:2. We must not fall into the foolish sayings, beliefs, and inferior values of the Godless world. 

    Such statements as "Only the strong survive" or "You deserve a break today" or "If it feels good, do it!" surely are not based upon the Bible, but rather humanism. We all deserve to burn in Hell, nothing better. We are to rely upon the Lord's strength and not our own. God is looking for a few weak men (2nd Corinthians 12:10). The Apostle Paul said he was strong when he was weak, because his weakness caused him to rely upon God more.  We must obey the Bible, whether it feels good or not. We must constantly be on guard against adopting worldly quotes and reasoning into our mind. Since we have a tendency to repeat what we hear, we must analyze everything we hear using the Bible as our measuring stick. Carnal thinking is completely backwards from the Bible. As Christians, we need to seek the truth, asking God's Spirit to guide us.
     

  2. We are to be separated in our lifestyles. We should not go to taverns, nightclubs, and other heathen establishments. No Christian should ever spend a dime at Disney World, most of their movies are no better than Hollywood's vomit. We should not support sinful things produced by the Godless world. We are surrounded by Satan. Television is Hellivision. TV is very bad nowadays. I really hate television. The technology is not sinful, but the way mankind uses it certainly is. Technology simply allows mankind to go further down the road he was already traveling on... and it's the road to Hell. 

    Here's a song that my pastor taught us to sing...

     

    (Sang to the tune of, "If You're Happy and You Know It")

    Oh be careful little feet where you go,

    Oh be careful little feet where you go,

    For the Father up above is looking down in love,

    Oh be careful little feet where you go.

     

    Oh be careful little eyes what you see,

    Oh be careful little eyes what you see,

    For the Father up above is looking down in love,

    Oh be careful little eyes what you see.

     

    Oh be careful little ears what you hear,

    Oh be careful little ears what you hear,

    For the Father up above is looking down in love,

    Oh be careful little ears what you hear.

     

    And so on...

  3. We are to separated in our fellowship. Christians should have little dealings with those who sin openly other than ministering the Gospel to them. We should never be unkind or mean to anyone, rather we should always be loving and kind. The Bible commands us to be blameless and harmless as believers, not rendering evil for evil.

"That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." —Philippians 2:15

We should be wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. The Apostle Paul warns us about having intimate dealings with covetous and scornful people (1st Corinthians 5:11). We are not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers or heathen believers (2nd Corinthians 6:14). Christians should associate with other God-fearing believers who are living an upright life for Jesus. No Christian should ever become a Freemason, which is a Satanic organization. 

Christians should decline invitations to join non-Christian groups which will draw us away from the Lord and holy living. The Church is the organization which Jesus founded, so let's support our local New Testament churches. Promise Keepers is a heathen organization, Catholic friendly (ecumenical), and draws much money away from churches. No surrogate organization can replace the Church. Jesus may have been a Friend of sinners, but He certainly was not a companion of those living in sin. Jesus ministered to the people and talked with them openly; whereas the religious Pharisees looked down upon them, condemning them, and refusing to even associate with them. This is not what the Bible is teaching.

  1. We are to be separated in our conversation. From listening to many professed Christians, you'd never know that they were a Christian. I have always been saddened in the workplace when I hear a professed "Christian" take God's name in vain (or anyone for that matter). I used to work for a boss who claimed to be a Christian. I heard him curse loudly in God's name one day in the main office in front of everyone. I am not judging him at all... we are all sinners. My point is that we are the only Jesus that someone may know. If we are worldly, others may miss Heaven because of our tarnished testimony. We should be very careful what we say. God tells us to "season" our words with grace (i.e., look for opportunities to include God in our conversations). Sadly, many people look for opportunities to make sexual innuendos because their mind is continually in the gutter. This should not be the testimony of a child of God. If nothing else, keep your mouth shut.
     

  2. We are to be separated from the world in marriage. If you marry an unsaved person, then you will have the Devil for a father-in-law. God forbids us from marrying an unsaved person. Love may be blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener. Be careful who you marry, make sure that they love God more than you. Make sure you love them. Would you be willingly to care for that person in a wheel-chair for the rest of your life? God's love is unconditional.
     

  3. We are to be separated from the world in music. The same boss I mentioned above came strutting in the door one day at work, listening to some heathen "Christian" rock. He asked me to listen to it. It certainly didn't sound very Christian. The average believer is very immature in the Lord. I can sadly say that I have only met a small handful of truly mature Christians in my life. Listen folks, there ain't no such animal as "Christian rock." All "rock" is straight from Hell. Any music that glorifies sin is evil. Country music and divorce go hand-in-hand. Do you know what you get when you play a Country song backwards? You get your job back, your wife back, your home back, your truck back, your dog back, et cetera.

"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you" —2nd Corinthians 6:17