To Encourage You

1 Corinthians 3:9-11 “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.”

Separation: it’s a topic often misunderstood within Christianity today.  For some, they view separation as an aspect of Christianity that means keeping as far away as possible from people that don’t think like them, look like them, or act like them.  It’s an attitude we see in some of the religious sects in Penns Valley (where I live) and beyond in which some speak another language ( literally), dress completely differently, travel by a different mode of transportation, and engage in many other customs that are foreign to most of society.  In other circles there are monasteries, where people keep largely to themselves, not mixing with other people outside of that physical location.  But is this what the Bible calls us to?  Is this what Christ expects of us? 

Well, if we read what the Holy Spirit says through the apostle Paul above, it is nothing of the sort.  Here it says that believers are not to associate with sexually immoral people – “not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world.”  And then it says that to do so would mean one would have to “go out of the world” in one way or another – which is exactly what some sects that call themselves Christians have, in effect, made a practice of.  No, believers are to “Go INTO all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15), and one can’t do that if they don’t mingle in some way with those who don’t know Christ.  We are not to avoid them, but rather we are to “go to” them.  We are to look for opportunities to befriend those who don’t think like us, for didn’t Jesus, our perfect example, “eat and drink with sinners” (Luke 5:30)? 

Believers are certainly not to engage in the sins of this world, yet, they are to befriend unbelievers, for how else can they share the gospel with them?  Indeed, Jesus told His followers to “love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:35). 

So, what is the Bible specifically talking about in the language of 1 Corinthians 3 above?  It is talking about separation from anyone “who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler.” In other words, God is telling believers that they are to keep away from those who say that they are Christians, yet live as if they are not.  The standard is much higher for those who bear the name of Jesus.  We should never expect someone who is not a Christian to act as if they are.  On the other hand, we should have a very low tolerance for those who claim to be Christians when there is every indication that they are not. We should not tolerate it in our own lives, and we should not tolerate it in the lives of others. 

You see, there’s a word for those who live like this: hypocrite.  It’s the rankest form or sin and it calls for a drastic kind of action.  In the Corinthian church, God commanded the believers to confront such sinning members of the church, and if nothing else worked, to put them out of the assembly. Church discipline is very difficult thing to do, but it is a command of God, but one that is rarely taken seriously in the church today.  As a result, there is such tolerance of sin within the church that in many cases the church is indistinguishable from the world.  In such cases the church’s light is hid under a basket, something Jesus explicitly warned us against in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:14-16).

Within the church we are to be different from the world, very different, for how can the church reach the world if it is indistinguishable from it?  At its heart, the thing that should differentiate the church from the world is a love that exceeds the love of the world.  Again, as Jesus said: “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:32-36). 

Separate from the world? Yes, but in the way the Lord has commanded.  And separate from sinners? Yes, but specifically from those who call themselves Christians yet live just like the world.  That’s the separation God has called His children to, as opposed to the separation, or lack thereof, which is so common in the church today.