Separation

April 29, 2007

Mike Larsen

Adult Sunday School

James 4:4

Open your Bible to James 4:4  “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”

2 Corinthians 6:14-18  

Introduction:  We have looked at Salvation, Justification by faith, the Word of God and the Church and today we will look at the concept of biblical separation.  The church is a called out group of believers.  They are called out of the world and as our verses state they are called to be separate from the world.  It is said that we are in the world but not of the world.  When a person becomes a child of God they get a new “citizenship”.  They have a new home in Glory and spiritually they are already there!  We sing the song, “This world is not my home I’m just a passing through”  Our home is in Heaven and as such we are not to cling too tightly to the things of this world.  That is one of the greatest things about being a Christian.  We have the Godly perspective on the world around us.  That allows us to not be tossed about by every wim and fad.  We can keep our boat cruising straight and safe in inclement weather because we can keep it all in perspective. 

A lost person can not really do that.  They don’t have the right perspective, so they can’t “Keep it in perspective”.   They will be much more prone to be self focused thinking about protecting themselves, or getting the other guy before he gets me, or trying to manipulate every situation to their advantage or worrying about how things will turn out, or believing every thing that they bear in the  media or at school.  Isn’t that the dog eat dog political world we live in these days?  Everybody has an angle and an agenda.  The people are duped into believing lies!

The Godly perspective also protects us from an enormous amount of personal suffering.  We end up naturally avoiding damaging circumstances in our lives.  Circumstances that wreak havoc in the lives of so many are avoided by the Christian.  That is because the Word of God exposes the dangers to us so we can avoid them.  Avoiding the dangers is only possible by acting upon what you learn from God’s word.  Most of the dangers in life are avoided in one simple statement, “Come out from among them and be ye separate.”

Our text today makes it clear that now that we have been purchased by the precious blood of the Lamb we are to separate from the world system and live a very different life.  The world will indoctrinate you with totally wrong thinking.  The world will bombard you with lie after lie about everything around you.  Because the world system is controlled by the father of lies, the Devil himself.   This constant drum beat acts as a cancer slowly conforms you into the image of the world to destroy you.  We need to guard our hearts and minds by separating ourselves from the world and filling our hearts and minds with the indoctrination of Gods word that we might not sin against God and we will be conformed into the image of Christ. That is the put off/ put on principal in the Word of God.  We put off the ways of the world and put on the ways of God.  That is the biblical separation.

Here are some examples of the world’s indoctrination of lies in our day and age we need to put off;

God is not true

God does not exist

If it feels good do it

Have it your way

You’re the judge

What’s the big deal everybody is doing it

Sex outside marriage is not a sin

There are no absolutes, Truth is relative

Get all you can

It’s only wrong if you get caught

Pursue power and recognition above all else

It doesn’t matter who you hurt as long as you get what you want

Money will make you happy

You have to keep up with the Jone’s

Be sensual so people notice you

Use your body to influence

Use your might to influence

Intimidate people to get your way

Do not expose yourself to others, stay at arms length or you may get hurt

Live together first to make sure you are compatible

Homosexuality is normal

Don’t be a Homophobe

Drugs and alcohol will satisfy

Sex is what you need

Violence in movies is what you need for excitement

Erotic entertainment will solve your problems

It doesn’t matter how you dress don’t be a prude

Take it, nobody is looking

The world owes you

Take advantage of people to get rich

Lawsuits are a good way to make a living

Children have rights above their parents

Spanking is bad for a child

Protect the self image at all cost

Don’t keep score because someone might feel as though they lost the game

Abortion is not covering up sin because there is no such thing as sin

You can worship God any way you please

There is no Hell.  God would not allow people to go there

God is love only and everybody will be accepted in Heaven

Your intentions are all that matter

There are many ways to heaven

Animals are people too

You evolved from an Ape so you can not be held responsible

Society made you the way you are so you can not be responsible

Pornography doesn’t hurt anybody

If you believe it then it becomes true

The earth is our mother

There are many gods all equal

If we all sing Cumbayah loud enough there will be world peace.

That is the world we are to come out from among and be ye separate.  Every idea man can possibly imagine is taught as fact with no foundational truth to back any of it!  When the absolute truth is removed we have complete chaos.

Obviously the main reasons we do separate are spiritual.  Such as the spirit lives in us and convicts us, we have become new persons in Christ and old things are passed away, we love Jesus and want to please Him, God promised to sanctify us and lead us to completion etc.. That is compelling enough but today I want to look at the physical “street level” sides of separation.  What does a separated life look like?

I want to look at 3 sides to separation; Positive, practical and personal.

I. Positive Side Some people say Christianity is just a bunch of rules telling people what they can not do.  It is far from that, in fact Christianity is the ability to live life to the fullest with fullness of joy!  Being relieved of the bondage of sin is liberating and refreshing.

A. Not only from, but to Joshua 24:14-15  We not only are called to separate from the world but we are to separate to the Godly way.  Joshua said put away or separate from the false Gods and serve the True and living God.  We separate from the cheap dead false gods of this world that never satisfy and to the all powerful, all loving, caring, owner of the cattle on a 1000 hills. He always satisfies in fact if we drink of Him we will never thirst again.  AMEN!

Romans 1:1         Paul was separated unto God.  Yes, we are not separated for the sake of not being able to do things.  We are separated to God!  Nothing is more positive than that!

Yes we are separating from an inferior system to the superior perfect system

B. Not always explained, but always rewarded. 

Psalm 84:11.  ..no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.  Walking uprightly is separating from the ways of the world and walking according to Gods truth.

2 Cor 6:17-18  …and I will receive you.  What a reward!  Being a child of the loving king!

Heb 11:24-26  At the moment Moses determined he could no longer live with the Egyptians he did not fully know that his stand for right would lead him to be used of God in a great way..  He just knew he was living in compromise. 

When he led the people to separate from Egypt they did not know what would happen.  But God did protect, deliver, and ultimately reward those who remained faithful to Him.

The story of Ruth and the life of Noah etc..  God rewards in His way and in His time.

C. Not just for you, but for others

John 17:19-21  Jesus separated himself and made himself Holy so that others may come to the truth.  We do the same.  Our testimony has an effect on others. 

1 Pet 3 says to the wives with unsaved husbands, that their proper behavior may lead them to Christ. It is especially evident in your children.  Here is a statement for you, “What you do in moderation, your children will do in excess.”

Do you think your kids will save for things and pay cash if you exhibit covetousness and immediate gratification with debt?  Separate from covetousness!  Let your children see you put off the flesh.  They don’t need every new technical gadget made.

You want your kids to control their temper?  Control yours.

You want your kids to hurt themselves and say ouch or swear?  What do you say?  Separate from the conditioning of the world to swear.

Do you want your kids to worry all the time?  Separate from worry.  Bring your cares to Jesus.

Do you want honest kids?  Put off lying yourself.  Stop defending yourself and admit when you are wrong.  They know you’re wrong anyway.  You’re just adding lying and pride to it by not confessing it.

Separation from the world system of thinking and behavior benefits you and others around you.  Our witness and testimony can either help or hurt our ability to lead people to the savior.

II. Practical Side  What are the affects of separation?  What will it look like?

A. Affects the attitude

a. Gratefulness 1 Chron 29:10-14 The people were separated to God and gave tremendously and they had a grateful heart.  There will be thankfulness.  A person will acknowledge that God owns all and gives us all we have.  David said it right when he said that we only give back to God what was His already.

Do all things with Thanksgiving the scripture says.  No room for what I call “stinkin thinking”.  If we live a grateful live we will not complain.  Phil 2:14 says, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings:  With that Godly perspective we will be grateful for everything.

b. Helpfulness.  James 1:27 Service will be the result of the separated life.  An attitude of being helpful.  Now the world doesn’t teach that does it?  The world says, “What’s in it for me?”  God says how can I help others.  Put others first the Bible says.

B. Affects the Appearance 

a. Modesty 1 Tim 2:9  One area separation is noticed is the way we dress.  Modest apparel in this passage is the word “Katastole”.  It literally means a long flowing garment that is let down.  A long flowing garment would conceal a women’s body.  It is modest to not show the figure bringing attention to the body.  The worldly woman knows very well that her body gets her noticed and uses it to satisfy her need for attention and influence.  The Christian woman knows the very same thing but has her satisfaction in God and does not need the attention of men not her husband.  She also does not use the body God gave her to gain influence in the world.  She uses her body for the satisfaction of her husband only.  She is sensitive not to cause a brother to stumble with lust. 

I think of the words of a song that says, “She don’t know she is beautiful, never crossed her mind.”  I don’t think so!  She knows full well she is beautiful!  It takes less than a minute for a beautiful female to be around males to figure out she is beautiful.    The Godly woman knows that power and brings it under subjection.  So the dress for a separated woman is to be modest.

Proverbs 7.  Notice verse 10.  There is an attire of a Harlot.  We all know this instinctively that there is a proper way to dress.  We need to separate from the world view of dress or in 10 years we will have nude people walking around the streets of America!  But wait a minute! Look at Isaiah 47.

Isaiah 47:1-5  We already do have naked people walking around the streets of America!  Here we see that nakedness is related to the uncovering of the thigh.  I see woman uncover a whole lot more than that don’t you.  A female is no longer a lady if she dresses that way verse 5.

My wife has a saying “neck to the knees is not to be seen”.  Now you know why, because the scripture backs it up.  Ladies teach your young girls that.  Don’t allow the world system of perverted fashion designers in New York to determine what your daughter wears.

b. Distinction Rom 12:1-2  There will be a distinction between us and the lost world in many areas of our lives.  When our thinking is changed our actions are changed.

1 Cor 11:14-15 God makes a distinction between men and women. I got to tell you I used to have long hair.  I can not have that.  This verse made it clear to me that it is against what is natural for me to have long hair.  Also it is a glory for a woman to have long hair.  God provides the woman a covering with her hair.  That is Gods perfect plan.  I am not saying how long is long and how short but the men should be noticeably different than the women.  If you look at a person from behind and can not tell which is which, there is a problem.  It should be obvious so there is no confusion.

We see in scripture that God is not a Unisex God.  “He created them male and female”  The world is aggressively feminizing men and masculinizing women.  God requires a distinction between men and women for our sakes.  Confusion reigns in a society that does not teach the people proper roles from God’s perspective.  If we get this messed up God calls us Abomination!  He hates it when we switch roles.  The prevalent issue in our times is the proper roles for men and women.  As we have stopped teaching the proper order of society, for politically correct reasons, homosexuality has been promoted as natural and even normal.  America’s children are being taught that God made people homosexual!  The Bible calls it abomination and an un-natural use of the body.  Against nature!  (Here is your reading assignment for today: Read Romans chapter 1 slowly) And yet churches actually ordain homosexual pastors. It is mind boggling to me.  Same sex marriage is the hottest issue for our society right now led by Massachusetts.  If you teach the Bible honestly you are labeled a bigot and some believe you should be charged with a hate crime.  Canada actually does that right now.  Pastors who preach against homosexuality in Canada are being prosecuted hate crimes.

So God makes a distinction between men and women.  He is not at all pleased with the role reversal and unisex mentality that permeates our culture.

Duet 22:5  Women can not wear men’s clothes and Men can not wear women’s clothes.  The people who do it are abomination!  Why?  Because it leads to confusion in the God given roles for a society.  I propose to you that our country is in confusion right now because we began to ignore verses like this about 80 years ago.  Now the fact is it’s very clear what men’s clothes are.  We all would all agree that if a man walked in here with a dress on it would be disgusting.  We would be shocked to see a man in women’s clothing.   God would see them as abomination actually.  Can we agree on that? 

Logic must be taken to the final conclusion then.

Wars drove woman to put on men’s clothes and do men’s jobs and that began the slide to where we are today.  And now I even reading these words directly from Scripture make some of you mad.  I know it does, and I understand why, but let me encourage you to search the scriptures as Dawn and I have, and then come out from among them and be ye separate.  I know it is distinctly different today but it has always been the norm in the church.  God will bless your obedience and if you have young daughters, you will see how God will blossom them into feminine young ladies as this conviction becomes theirs.  See Dawn if you want more information in this area.

No Tattoos  Lev 19:28  “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any image upon you: I am the Lord.”
Now what goes through a person’s mind today when I say it is wrong to have a tattoo?  They think, “It is my body, I will do what I want.”  And therein lies the root of the problem.  It is not your body!  Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and God determines what you do with it.

Come out from among them and be ye separate!

C. Affects Activities    There are 2 tests for your activities.

a. Is God seen in it?  Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven.

b. Is God pleased with it?  1 Cor 10:31  Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.  Is what you are doing bringing glory to God?  If not then separate from it.  That R rated movie your watching, does it please God?  Even PG13 makes me cringe.  Does your profession promote sin?  Separate from it and find a new profession.  Bars are profitable but I know I can never own one.

III. Personal side  Daniel 1:8

A. Produces confidence  

B. Produces Commitment   

C. Produces Convictions

Conclusion:  Will you live a separated life?  The more you separate from the world’s indoctrination, the more the Word of God will begin to fill your life.  If you stay attached to the world’s indoctrination, it will dilute the power of God in your life.  You will not live victoriously and confidently.  James said a double minded man is unstable in all his ways.  Get off the fence. Come out from among them and be ye separate.