What Is Separation Part 2

There is no promise belonging to the covenant of grace that does not have influence to excite the Christian to duty. In studying the passage dealing with the subject of separation (II Cor. 6:11-18), Paul could not stop until he said, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (II Cor. 7:1 NASB). Inward separation results in outward separation. The Christian lives in the sphere of the world by a life that comes from a higher sphere. Christ said to His disciples, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18, 19 NASB). A distinction needs to be made here. Notice “I chose you out of the world.” That is Divine election, but it does not refer to the same thing as Ephesians 1:4. There is a distinction between God’s choice of His own—those given to Christ before the foundation of the world—called eternal election (Eph. 1:4), and the choice Christ refers to in speaking to His disciples in John 15:18-19. Here He is speaking of the world of time. The world was not in existence when God chose us in Christ. This choice of Christ’s own in time out of the world system is because of the eternal choice of us. There are a number of references in the New Testament that do not refer to eternal election, but to God’s actual pulling out, regenerating, and giving life to those that He gave to Christ eternally before the foundation of the world.

Separation is an unchanging principle. God’s people must not only avoid sin, but also the causes and occasions of sin. Separation is to the ministry of the word of God what sanitation and sterilization are to surgery. Both Jeremiah and Paul had intense affection for the heritage of Jehovah. They were both Jews. Jeremiah said, “Oh, that my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people! O that I had in the desert A wayfarers’ lodging place; That I might leave my people, And go from them! For all of them are adulterers, An assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongue like their bow; Lies and not truth prevail in the land; For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know Me, declares the Lord” (Jer. 9:1-3 NASB). Paul had a similar experience with national Israel. “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom. 10:1-4 NASB). The faithfulness of both Jeremiah and Paul demanded that they both walk apart from Israel as they testified against them.

There is a great lesson in Jeremiah’s prayer and God’s answer in Jeremiah 15:15-21—“Thou who knowest, O LORD, Remember me, take notice of me, And take vengeance for me on my persecutors. Do not, in view of Thy patience, take me away; Know that for Thy sake I endure reproach. Thy words were found and I ate them, And Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts. I did not sit in the circle of merrymakers, Nor did I exult. Because of Thy hand upon me I sat alone, For Thou didst fill me with indignation. Why has my pain been perpetual And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Wilt Thou indeed be to me like a deceptive stream With water that is unreliable? Therefore, thus says the LORD, If you return, then I will restore you—Before me you will stand; And if you extract the precious from the worthless, You will become My spokesman. They for their part may turn to you, But as for you, you must not turn to them. Then I will make you to this people A fortified wall of bronze; And though they fight against you, They will not prevail over you; For I am with you to save you And deliver you, declares the LORD. So I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, And I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent” (NASB). Paul had similar experiences subsequent to Christ’s first advent. (See Acts 17; 22; 24; II Cor. 10; 11; II Tim. 4.)

God never endorsed His servants during Biblical times to stay in an unscriptural system in order to teach some. It is not necessary to become affiliated with carnal, religious institutions in order to either preach or serve. This refutes an error that has been perpetuated by the prince of deceivers himself. Christians have no business being a part of such institutions. Which is more important, full obedience to God or a larger sphere of service to man? For the Christian, there will be either a limited message if he compromises or a limited fellowship if he does not compromise. In every age, God has called His people to a life of separation— 1. God told Abraham to get out of his country and from his people (Gen. 12). 2. God told Israel to get out of Egypt (Ex. 12-14). 3. John the Baptist was separated from organized Judaism (Matt. 3; 14). 4. Christ led His sheep out of Judaism (John 10). 5. Peter told the converts at Pentecost to “Be saved from this perverse generation” (Acts 2:40). 6. The writer of Hebrews said, “…let us go out to Him outside the camp” (Heb. 13:13 NASB). 7. The call of God shall go forth saying, “Come out of her [religious Babylon—a world church made up of everything you can think of] my people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not receive of her plagues” (Rev. 18:4 NASB). (See Rom. 16:17; II Thess. 3:14; I Tim. 6:3-5; II Tim. 2:14-21; 3:5; II John 9-11.)

Inward separation results in outward separation. God does not lead His people into false institutions with the idea of winning some to Christ. It is never right to do wrong in order to do what one thinks is right. Paul said, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete” (II Cor. 10:3-6 NASB).

The ability to think is man’s great distinction. Thought is the instrument of man’s work. Thought determines the man. Thought arrests the attention, awakens the feeling, inflames the passions, subdues the desires, and commands action. Therefore, thoughts unled will be to a man what winds and waves are to a sailboat without a rudder—a driving and destructive force. The Christian desires to have his thoughts brought into captivity “to the obedience of Christ.”

Paul also said, “For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding” (II Cor. 10:12 NASB). So balloon-like is the soul when it is filled with earthly vanities, it swells with pride. The apostle concluded II Corinthians 10 by saying, “but HE WHO BOASTS, LET HIM BOAST IN THE LORD. For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends” (II Cor. 10:17, 18 NASB). Paul was not anxious for a number of converts he could count as his own. His chief concern was for those whom he could present as chaste virgins to Christ (II Cor. 11:1-4). To the true minister, Jesus Christ is sufficient for the chosen sinner’s every need— 1. Christ is the Way. Without Him, men are like Cain who was a murderer and vagabond. 2. Christ is the Truth. Without Him, men are liars, like the devil. 3. Christ is the Life. Without Him, men are dead in trespasses and sins. 4. Christ is the Light. Without Him, men are in darkness because they are darkness. 5. Christ is the Vine. Without Him, men are withered branches prepared for the fire. 6. Christ is the Resurrection. Without Him, men cannot be raised from spiritual death, but they will stand before the Great White Throne judgment. 7. Christ is the Alpha and Omega. Without Him, as the Author and Finisher of their faith, men will not experience the beginning of good nor the end of misery.

Paul used the term “bound together”—unequally yoked or mismatched —in II Corinthians 6:14 to introduce his strong teaching on the subject of separation. The Greek verb heterozugeo is used by Paul only in this verse. It is a compound verb made up of heteros, an adjective meaning other, another, different, foreign, or strange. The verb stem is zugeo, to be unequally yoked or to be mismatched. This unusual compound word has a cognate form in the law which forbids the breeding of hybrid animals. The Lord spoke to Moses, “You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together” (Lev. 19:19 NASB). God established a good, physical order in the world. Therefore, it is not to be disfigured by mixing the species. It is another form of that law which forbids the yoking of an ox and an ass together (Deut. 22:10).

The common application of “Do not be bound together with unbelievers” is used when discussing the marriage of Christians with non-Christians. However, the text, in the light of the immediate context, is not to be confused by the association of its different kinds. Christians are to have no compromising connection with anything in the world which is alien to God. The Christian can try to be as loving and conciliatory as possible without compromise, but as long as the world remains “in the power of the evil one” (I John 5:19), he cannot maintain any integrity without a continual attitude of unbroken protest. There will always be people and things to which the Christian has to say, “No!” Furthermore, the Christian must not be driven out, but he must voluntarily break away from all ties that do not honor God. There is an unequal yoke between sheep and goats. The line of demarcation is broad and conspicuous because it is between (1) righteousness and unrighteousness, (2) light and darkness, (3) Christ and Satan, (4) faith and infidelity, and (5) the Temple of God and the temple of idols. These five things are mentioned in the light of II Corinthians 6:14-7:1.

The remaining verses of II Corinthians 6 continue to emphasize the subject of separation which is the fruit of grace. Grace not only saves (vv. 4-10), but it grows (vv. 11-13) and separates (vv. 14-7:1). God chose the elect to be holy. “Just as He [God the Father] chose us in Him [God the Son] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:4-6 NASB).

Imperfect Christians are admonished to cleanse themselves “…from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (II Cor. 7:1 NASB). Paul is not dealing with position, but he is referring to condition. Position is the work of the sovereign God in grace (Heb. 10:10-14). No one can perfect what is already perfected. Nothing can be added to or nothing can be taken from that which is perfected before God. However, when it comes to the filthiness of the flesh and spirit, the Christian is faced with the imperfection of his condition before God. The believer who understands his justification before God, and views his life against the backdrop of Divine grace, will gain a deeper knowledge of his own sinfulness.

“Perfecting holiness in the fear of God” is not the same as “And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground…” (Matt. 25:25 NASB). The man in the parable who had received one talent said, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed” (Matt. 25:24 NASB). A person’s thinking colors his living, and his living manifests his character.

The man in the parable was afraid of God, and he brought nothing to perfection. Paul sought to perfect holiness in the fear of God. Is it the same thing “to be afraid of God” and “to fear God”? No. The man in the parable thought God was “a hard man.” All the man in the parable could think about was God’s severity. Is God severe? No. Is severity an element of His character? Yes. The man was afraid because of sin. On the other hand, Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…” (Gal. 2:20 NASB). Was Paul afraid of God? No. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. The fear of God is the God-begotten fear of sin. “I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me” (Jer. 32:40 NASB). The unfailing test of a true believer is the fact he is always aiming after higher attainments in the Christian life.

Conversion is genuine when one hates sin from the heart. It is not that he hates some sin, but he hates all sin. “…Whatever is not from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23 NASB). If our hatred is the result of Divine grace, we hate all evil—in ourselves first, and then in others. True hatred hates all evil in a just proportion. There can be no God-likeness in us unless we love what God loves and hate what God hates. Two things contrary to each other cannot be loved at the same time. Perfecting holiness in reverential fear is not wanting to displease God. This is not a slavish fear that says, “You are hard, God.” God is not severe, but severity is part of God’s character. He is severe with everything that He hates.