Amen
So keep your place in 2 Corinthians chapter 6. We’re going to be coming back to that chapter throughout the sermon this morning.
And this morning, I’m going to talk to you about the topic. We’re in our Baptist Basic series.
We’re going to have a Sunday morning sermon section of that series this morning. So we’re going to talk about this concept of separation this morning, and you say, well, separation.
We’ve heard sermons about that before. Well, you’re going to constantly hear sermons about this because it’s one of the biggest challenges of the Christian life. So this morning I want to look at a little different aspect of separations.
The title of the sermon is the three W’S of separation.
If you look down in your Bible at verse Numbers 17, this is the verse that we constantly quote when we talk about separation and the Christian life, where it says, “Wherefore come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean, and I will receive you”.
The Bible tells us that as Christians were to be separate from the world.
But we’re gonna look at the verses before this verse Number 17. We’re gonna look at starting in verse Numbers 14 this morning and just kind of do a really deep dive into what these verses mean.
So separation.
What are we talking about?
When we say the word separation as Christians, we talk about it. We preach it.
You’re supposed to practice it in your Christian life.
What does it mean?
So the three W’s that we’re going to look at this morning is what is it?
What does separation mean from who?
Who are we supposed to separate from?
And then, of course, why?
Why does the Bible teach separation?
Why do we have to do this?
Why is it important?
Is there consequences if we don’t separate?
So Let’s look at these questions this morning. Let’s look at the what the who and the why separation. Look down at 2nd Corinthians chapter 6.
Now, like I said before, we’ve looked at verse 17 again and again and again. It’s the go to verse in the Bible for separation for the Christian. But Let’s start reading now in verse Numbers 14.
And Let’s look at the what of separation? First of all, what is separation? Look at verse 14 of 2 Corinthians chapter 6.
The Bible says, “Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship, Heath, righteousness, righteousness with unrighteousness. And what Communion hath light with darkness. And what Concord have Christ with Belle, or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement at the temple of God with idols free are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God. And they shall be my people Wherefore come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord”.
Wherefore means for this reason, because of this because
of the things I just explained to you in verse 14 through
16, come out from among them and be separate.
Say at the Lord and touch not the unclean thing.
And I will receive you, and I will be a father under you.
And you should be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
So what is separation?
What is it?
The first W.
The verse about separation starts out in the context of believers
in verse number 14, being yoked together with unbelievers.
Okay, so it says, you know, being yoked together is the opposite
of separation.
So what does yoked mean?
Yoked means joined together.
And then it actually defines it for us in the second part
of this sentence, where it says, For what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness.
So what does yoked mean?
It means join together.
And then it defines it for us again, meaning having fellowship
with. So what is separation?
Separation is the opposite of separation.
Is having fellowship with someone the opposite of.
Let me give you a modern example, hanging out with someone.
What do we do when we have fellowship here?
When we have fellowship after Church, what do we do?
We hang out, we talk.
We fellowship.
Right?
We have.
We spend time together.
We’re fellowshipping together.
So the Bible says that the the believer should not have fellowship,
should not be yoked joined in fellowship, verse 14 with the
unbeliever. So that is what it means.
Okay, that is what separation when it says be separate, that’s
what it’s talking about is having fellowship with unbelievers.
Alright, are you having little warning signs going off in
your head yet?
We’ll get to that in a minute.
But look, that’s what the Bible says here.
We’re going to look at a lot of Bible this morning.
This isn’t me just telling you something.
This is what the Bible tells you to do.
So look, that is the what the what is to not be fellowshipping
with unbelievers as a believer.
Okay, so look, everybody in this Church, the Bible is telling
you here that if you’re a believer, you should not be fellowshipping
with unbelievers.
I mean, that’s it’s not complicated.
I mean, it’s not complicated.
Okay, now what is the second W?
So the first W was pretty easy.
Okay, the second W is who.
And we already kind of touched on this, but it’s with unbelievers.
It’s with unbelievers fellowship, friendship, a social relationship
with any unbeliever is the who.
Okay, now, do you have a Fellowship with unbelievers?
The Bible says that you shouldn’t do a live check right now
for two seconds in your mind.
Ouch.
Right.
My wife and I will have people come to us constantly telling
us about trouble or things that are going on in their lives
and things like that.
And I’m telling you, a vast percentage of it is because people
are having fellowship with unbelievers and there’s just going
to be trouble there.
There’s just going to be trouble there.
So that’s the who any unbeliever.
What does that mean?
Any unsafe person?
That’s what the Bible is saying here.
You’re like that’s pretty extreme.
But look at verse 15 and verse 16.
You you’re saying I can’t hang out with or have fellowship
or a social relationship with any unbeliever.
Like that’s pretty extreme.
Well, Let’s look at the language the Bible uses.
If you have fellowship, if you have a social relationship
with an unbeliever, this is what the Bible says that it is
like, look at verse 15.
Look, this is just the Bible.
This isn’t me.
Okay?
Verse 15.
And what Concord hath Christ with bail?
You know, bail is bias Satan.
It’s saying having fellowship, having a social relationship.
The Bible compares that if you’re a believer and you have
a social relationship with an unbeliever, it is comparing
it with Christ hanging out with Satan.
That sounds extreme.
That’s the Bible.
Look at verse 16.
And what part has either believe it with an infidel.
So basically it says Christ hanging out with Satan is like,
you hanging out with an unbeliever INF.
Infidel just means unbeliever.
That’s it.
I mean, is that hard to understand?
This is pretty simple stuff.
This is a really easy concept, folks.
Super easy concept.
But people just have a really hard time implementing it in
their life.
And we’ll get to that towards the end of the sermon.
Look at verse 16.
But wait, there’s more.
And what agreement has the temple of God with idols per year?
The temple of the living God, as God has said, I will dwell
in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people.
What?
He compares it with Christ hanging out with Satan.
I mean, can you imagine Christ hanging out with Satan in
a social relationship, fellowshipping with Satan.
And then he says, it’s like putting idols in the temple of
God. Turn to first Corinthians chapter six.
Turn to oneST Corinthians chapter six.
You say, what putting idols like false gods in the temple
of God?
That sounds pretty serious, too.
But guess what?
It fits because it says in verse 16, for Ye are the temple
of the living God.
What does that mean?
Look at oneST Corinthians chapter six and verse 19.
It fits perfectly.
The Bible says this in verse 19, oneST Corinthians chapter
six. Just 1 book back.
What know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy
Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God and you are
not your own for your bought with a price.
Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which
are God.
So look, we learn in Ephesians chapter one that when you
get saved, you become sealed by the Holy Spirit.
It’s the tool that God uses to seal your Salvation is the
Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is literally in you.
And in one Corinthians chapter six.
It says that that makes your body a temple of the Holy Spirit.
So your body is the temple of God.
The Bible says, like, that sounds pretty serious.
Look, as you hang out with unbelievers, the Bible says you
are polluting that temple.
It is making the comparison of you polluting your body, polluting
the temple of God as you hang out and have the social relationship
with unbelievers.
Look, I’m not talking about soul winning here.
I’m talking about fellowship.
I’m talking about friendship.
I’m talking about a willing social relationship with unbelievers.
The Bible says that you’re polluting this temple when you
do that.
That is the comparison that it gives, which brings us to
the final W this morning, which is the why.
Why separate the y of separation?
So we see who we’re supposed to separate from.
What is separation?
A social relationship?
Who unbelievers?
Those are pretty simple.
Those are pretty simple criteria right there.
But what is the why?
Why is this doctrine in the Bible?
Why is God so extreme and so just just absolute is a good
word for it on this doctrine.
Here’s what’s interesting.
Here’s what’s interesting as you ignore this commandment
because it’s a clear commandment in the Bible as you ignore
this commandment of separation and you continue to hang out
with unbelievers, whether that be friends, whether that be
family. Does it distinguish?
By the way, does it distinguish?
Does it say, do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers unless
you’ve known them for 20 years?
Does it say, do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers?
Unless.
Yeah, unless they’re your cousin or whatever.
No, it just says, do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers,
period. But Here’s what you’ll find.
Here’s what you’ll find, it makes no difference whether they’re
friends or family, how long you’ve known them, what your
history is with them, nothing.
As you start to grow.
Here’s what’s Super interesting as you start to grow.
We’re looking at the y of separation as you start to grow
in your Christian life.
As you start to learn the Bible as you start to implement
the Bible in your life, in your family, as you start to live
a Christian life that is pleasing to the Lord.
As you start doing those first works and preaching the gospel
to the loss.
And as you start raising your family, you start raising the
next generation.
You start raising the next generation a certain way.
Like, maybe you start homeschooling your children.
Maybe your wife stays home to raise her children.
As the Bible says, maybe you’re raising your daughters to,
you know, with the idea that they would stay home and raise
their children and teach their children at home as well.
Maybe you start doing those things that the Bible teaches.
And look at verse number 16 of Seton Corinthians, chapter
six. Here’s what you’re gonna find.
As you start doing all those things, look at verse number
16, and I want you to circle one word or underline one word
or highlight one word here.
And it says, And what agreement?
Half the Temple of God with idols.
Here’s what you’re going to find as you ignore this commandment
in the Bible.
And as you start growing in your Christian life, you’re gonna
find that you simply aren’t gonna agree with much with these
people that you’re fellowshipping with.
With these people that you’re socializing with.
You say, Okay, well, we just won’t talk about things that
we don’t agree about.
We just won’t talk about things that we don’t agree on.
You will find as you start growing in your Christian life,
you don’t have much to talk about.
This is what you’re going to find, because what agreement?
What agreement at the Temple of God with idols, what agreement
are you going to have with an Unbeliever?
And you say, Well, no, we agree on everything.
Well, then you’re not growing in your Christian life.
If you’re hanging out with unbelievers and your fellowshipping
with unbelievers and you just agree on everything and everything’s
exactly the same in your family as it is and theirs, then
you’re not growing in the Christian life.
But as you begin to grow, as you begin to grow, you will
find that you don’t agree with much.
And as you grow, you’re going to realize that what you do
agree on is become less and less and less.
So.
Look, it’s a commandment in the Bible, but it’s also a pragmatic
one. It’s a very pragmatic commandment.
Look, you’re going to find that all Commandments are this
way. We talked about it on Wednesday night with Fornication.
We talked about the commandment of again, it’s a commandment
from God.
It’s a commandment from God.
It’ll preserve the nation.
It’ll preserve the next generation by preserving the family
unit that God has ordained.
But it’s also just good for you personally.
It’s also very pragmatic, just individually, from a health
standpoint, like one Corinthian 6, as you sin against your
Senate, against your own body, if you commit for an occasion.
So these Commandments, first of all, their Commandments from
God, that should just be enough.
Okay.
But look, they’re good for you.
They’re very pragmatic.
Okay?
Separation is no different.
Separation is no different.
If you don’t separate, you know, from unbelievers, first,
it’s a commandment.
And that should always be enough.
Because many times.
Look, many times we think we know what’s good for us.
Many times we think we know what’s good for us.
But let me tell you, the Bible is never wrong.
And I’ve been wrong many times on what I thought was good
for me in my life.
And you will be wrong many times on what you think is good
for you in your life.
But God never makes mistakes.
So.
But if you ignore this one, and Here’s the why we’re going
to look at in depth on the wise of separation.
If you ignore this commandment, you know, one of 2 things
is going to happen.
The first one is this.
The first one is this, you will compromise your faith.
You will compromise your faith.
You will change.
If you are fellowshipping with unbelievers, one of 2 things
will happen.
The first thing is this, you’ll compromise.
You will Act.
You will find for the sake of peace, for the sake of everyone
getting along, you will Act different around other people.
You will Act different around unbelievers than you would
around believers, you know?
Look, this is situational ethics.
We’ve talked about this before where you will Act a certain
way around a group of people.
And then you get around another group of people and you’ll
Act. Look, situational ethics are always bad.
Situational ethics are bad.
If it’s wrong, it’s wrong.
Always okay.
Acting different.
Having different standards around different groups of people
is wrong.
You say, like the way you talk, maybe you talk different
when you’re fellowshipping with unbelievers than you would
when you fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ.
You know, maybe you dress different around unbelievers than
you would with your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Look, this is all wrong.
There’s a problem here.
You’re compromising is what’s going on.
You’re compromising.
Why would Jesus before this?
Why would God before something that would drive you into
compromise? Okay, you’ll find.
And Here’s the funny thing.
You do this to make peace.
You do this to extend an olive branch to your friends or
to your family that are unbelievers so you can have peace
in those situations.
But Here’s the thing.
Here’s the thing.
As you do that, and as you compromise your faith around those
people, it’s a no win situation because you will find that
they quickly begin to think that your faith is a joke.
They quickly will realize that they will think that, you
know what?
This faith, this thing that you’re doing on Sundays or Wednesdays
or whatever it is, they’ll quickly think you don’t even believe
it. You don’t even really believe it, you know, to you, Yes,
you’re still hanging around them.
But to them, you’re a hypocrite.
It’s a no win situation.
And then when they see this, when they see this, they will
encourage you even harder to quit that faith, to quit, to
abandon that faith.
Look, it’s a terrible witness.
It is a terrible witness.
Look, they they meaning the unbelievers in your life.
The unbelievers in your life would be way better off.
And please listen to me here.
You’re like.
But I love these people.
I’ve known them for 30 years.
I’ve known them for 20 years.
They would be way better off if you ended that relationship.
You say why?
Because at least they would know that your faith is not a
joke to you.
And then maybe maybe someday they would want to know that
truth. They would want to know.
So think about that.
The first thing is that it will cause you to compromise.
The second thing is this, the second thing is this, you’re
like, I won’t compromise you’re.
Like, I’m still gonna have fellowship with these people,
and I will not compromise my faith.
Well, Here’s the thing that you’ll find you will have a completely
shallow relationship.
That’s the second thing you can’t separate.
And for the sake of getting along, you just say, Let’s just
not talk about certain things.
We just won’t talk about religion or raising kids or what’s
happening in the world or whatever.
I mean, think about the things that we talk about when we
fellowship in this Church.
What do we talk about when we fellowship in this Church?
When we sit around at night, then we sit around in the evenings
and we talk, what do we talk about?
We talk about everything.
We talk about everything that’s happening, everything that’s
going on with our kids, our families, our wives, everything
in the world.
We talk about everything.
I mean, look, you will find that if you are fellowshipping
with unbelievers and you decide we’re just going to avoid
the things that cause strife and all these things, you will
find that certain those certain things is pretty much everything
in your life.
I mean, imagine.
Imagine a relationship, a social relationship with somebody
where you can talk about nothing, because that’s where you’ll
end up.
If I’m not going to compromise, but you’ll just end up in
it’s. Basically, How’s the weather?
How’s the weather?
Good.
How’s the weather?
There.
Good.
Now what?
That’s where you end up.
It’s a pointless, but it quickly becomes a pointless relationship.
This is a pragmatic part of separation rate here.
If you don’t separate and you don’t compromise, it’s gonna
be a completely pointless relationship.
Turn to Luke chapter nine.
It makes it makes much more sense when you think about it
this way.
Why Jesus gave such harsh language and harsh advice to folks
on separation.
Look at Luke chapter nine and look at verse 59.
There’s a bunch of people here that wanted to follow Jesus.
They wanted to go with Jesus, and they wanted to go and preach
the gospel, you know, to people.
And they want to they want to be part of this whole thing.
I mean, it’s Jesus.
They’re like, We want to go with you.
Look at nine.
In verse 59, the Bible says, and he said unto another, Follow
me. But he said, so he says to a guy, Follow me.
And this guy says, Lord, suffer me.
He’s like, Let me first go and bury my father.
Look, this guy wants to go back home and go to his dad’s
funeral, or maybe his dad was dying and on his way.
I mean, we don’t know exactly what happened, but basically,
he wanted to go back and say goodbye.
Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead.
But they’ll go and preach the Kingdom of God.
So he says, No, instead of going backwards and doing that,
he’s like, Let the dead bury the dead and come with me and
less preach the Kingdom of God.
Look at verse 61 and another set also Ward, I will follow
you, but let me first go.
Bid them farewell, which you’re at my house.
He just wanted to go say goodbye.
And Jesus said to him, No man having he put his hand to the
plow and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.
Look, what he was doing here is he was explaining very clearly
in both of these cases.
It by wanting to go back and bury his father, wanting to
go back and say goodbye.
Look, you’re focusing on the past is what he was saying to
these two men.
He’s like, not being able to let go of the past.
Look, what was Jesus trying to get them to do?
What was Jesus?
Where were they gonna go?
They were gonna go preach the Kingdom of God.
They were gonna go preach the gospel.
They were gonna look, but they couldn’t let go.
They couldn’t do that because of the people that were around
them, the dead or back there.
Jesus said he’s like, Let’s go make some people not dead.
Instead of focusing on the dead.
He was like, Let’s go make some people not dead.
Look, by not separating, you were focusing on the past.
You are focusing.
You are not looking back.
You are not putting your hand to the plow.
You are focusing backwards is what you’re doing.
Just like Jesus explained here.
He’s like having put his hand to the plow, you know, and
looking back now, he’s not fit for the Kingdom of God.
Look, he’s not fit to preach the gospel.
So the Bible says that looking, not separating is looking
back. Turn to Second Chronicles chapter 18.
Let me just give you some closing thoughts here on separation.
The best example when I brought this up before on separation
in the Bible is is Jose Fat, a good King, a Godly man who
failed to separate, and it cost him dearly.
But Here’s one thing I want to bring up about separation.
Just a couple of closing thoughts here.
Look at Second Chronicles chapter 18 and verse number one.
The Bible says this.
It says now, Jose Fat had riches and honor and abundance
and joined affinity with Ahab.
Ahab was a wicked King, so he had fellowship with a verse
number two, in certain years he went down to Ah, to Samaria,
and Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him an abundance and for
the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go
up with him to Ramoth Gilead.
And Ahab, King of Israel, said unto Joseph, At, King of Judah,
Wilt thou go with me to Rama Gillette?
And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy
people, and we will be with the with the in the war so look,
Here’s the first thing.
I want to just give me a couple of closing thoughts.
And the first one is this and ask yourself why this is, by
the way, it’s always in fellowship with unbelievers.
When you refuse to separate or you don’t separate.
In fellowship with unbelievers, it’s always the Christian
that has to compromise.
Why is that?
It’s always the Christian that has to bend like, look, it
was Joseph at going to do what Ahab wanted to do.
Why is that?
Why didn’t they have want to go do what your host of fat
wanted to do?
But that’s not what you see in the Bible.
That’s not what you see, and that’s not how it’s going to
work with you.
It’s always going to be the Christian that has to compromise
on his standards or her standards, not the other way around.
Every single time, every single thing.
It’s never going to be everyone coming up to you and saying,
Hey, Let’s do things your way at the birthday party was not.
We won’t have alcohol there.
Everyone will dress appropriately there, you know, everyone
will speak appropriately there, you know?
Look, no, it’s always going to be you that has the bend to
their standards.
Why is that?
Because that’s what would happen if Christ had fellowship
with Satan.
That’s why Christ doesn’t have fellowship with Satan.
Because it’s always the Christian that has to bend to the
other standards.
Look at James chapter one.
The second point I want to close with is this not separating?
Look, not separating is being double minded.
Look at James chapter one.
In verse eight, James chapter one and verse eight.
The Bible says a double minded man is unstable in all his
ways. Look, not separating is being double minded.
What?
Back at two Corinthians chapter six, you’d say why?
You say why?
Look at second Corinthians chapter six in verse 15, where
the Bible says, And what Concord as Christ with Christ with
Bell? Or what part has he that believeth with an infidel?
So this is again comparing Christ with hanging out with Satan.
Now turn to First Kings chapter 18.
Having Concord with Satan be Wile.
First Kings chapter 18.
But God is our God of the Bible that we serve that we believe
in, that we worship is a God of absolutes.
He’s not a God of Gray zones.
Look at First Kings chapter 18 in verse 21, 1 Kings chapter
18 and verse 21.
So the point I’m trying to make is not separating as being
double minded.
You say, prove it.
Look at one St Kings chapter 18 in Elijah, look at verse
21. And Elijah came up to all the people and said, How long
Haulcy between two opinions?
If the Lord be God, follow him.
But if bail, then follow him and the people answered him,
not a word.
Look, Elijah here said, Hey, make up your mind.
He said, You can’t have it.
He’s like you can’t have it both ways.
You can’t have it both ways.
With God.
He’s like, make up your mind.
He’s like, pick one.
If Bale is God, serve him.
If God of the Bible is God, follow him.
He says, this is ultimately why this is ultimately y right.
Here why the consequences of separating are so severe.
This is why.
Because this is what it means.
Look, Josa fat himself.
He not only almost died personally, but he ruined the next
two generations of his family as children.
Married the wrong people.
And why do you say that is because it’s a betrayal to God.
That’s why.
Because it’s a betrayal to God.
Imagine.
Look, imagine guys.
Imagine your wife sometimes.
Imagine having a wife where sometimes she just wants to have
nothing to do with you, where sometimes, you know, your wife
just doesn’t want to hang out with you.
She doesn’t want a Fellowship with you.
She doesn’t want to be around you.
But then when she needs something like, Let’s say she needs
she needs money.
Or Let’s say she needs help.
Or Let’s say, Let’s just say she’s just bored.
She has nothing else to do at that time.
Then she wants to hang around you and the kids.
I mean, think about how offended you would be.
Think about how offended that you would be if you had a wife
that acted that way.
Well, do you know that in the Bible, the God compares his
relationship with us as a marriage again and again and again.
In the Bible, imagine having a spouse wise.
Imagine a husband who just didn’t want to have much to do
with you.
He just didn’t want to be around you.
He didn’t want to be around you and the kids.
He’s out hanging out with his friends constantly.
He’s just constantly doing things without you and the family.
And then if you ever get some downtime or there’s just, like,
nobody that’s calling him at that time, then he’s like, Okay,
do you want to do something?
Imagine how offended you would be if that was your spouse.
Turn to James chapter four.
Look, I want my wife to be only interested in me always,
no matter what.
Turn to James chapter four.
Look, you want a spouse.
Women want a husband who’s just interested in them and wants
to be around them all the time and is just only interested
in them.
Men want the same thing you say, but I just I just want to
keep peace.
I just want to keep peace with the people.
I want to live this Christian life, but I just want to keep
peace with the people that I work with.
I want to keep peace with the people in my family.
I want to just keep peace.
Look at James chapter four.
I’ll get verse number four.
The Bible says he adulterers and adulterous is funny how
it uses that term.
There no, he not.
It uses the term of a man or a woman who’s committing adultery
on their spouse.
More extreme languages know you not.
That friendship of the world is enmity with God, whosoever
therefore will be a friend of the world is is the enemy of
God. What an an enmity means hostility.
So if you’re going to be like, you know what?
We’re going to just keep these relationships with unbelievers,
and we’re going to still go to these things that have all
these unbelievers there, and we’re still going to do these
things. Then the Bible says that you have hostility towards
God. The Bible says that you’re being hostile towards the
Lord. That’s not what I mean.
It doesn’t matter that’s what you’re doing.
It doesn’t matter what you think.
You mean, it doesn’t matter how you feel, it’s what you’re
doing. But you’re not keeping peace.
You’re keeping peace with the world, but you’re having hostility
towards God.
It’s a little different when you think about it that way,
isn’t it?
And that.
Look, that is why God judges it so severely is because you’re
literally being hostile towards God.
That’s why Jesus said, you must let all that stuff go.
Look, folks, not look, Here’s the thing, folks.
Not every Christian will follow Christ.
We know that we see people out sole winning all the time.
They’re saved.
They’re just not doing anything in their life.
Not every Christian will follow Christ.
I guess you could say most Christians today are as wrapped
up in the world as unbelievers.
But the Bible says, if you want to follow Christ, if you
want to follow Christ, you’ll find these people out in the
world. They look just like the world.
They’re in the same sins.
They’re the same standards.
They’re the same everything.
They look the same exactly the same.
But if you don’t want that to be you, if you actually want
to follow Jesus, then separation needs to happen because
it’s it’s one way or the other.
There’s no Gray zone with God.
So look, what is fellowship is friendship.
The who is, you know, unbelievers.
The why it’s n mini towards God.
It’s double minded.
And that’s why there will be severe consequences.
And look, Josaphat, he didn’t even live to see all the consequences.
So think about that, too.
He didn’t even live to see the consequences.
That happened a hundred years down the road or 50 years down
the road turned to loop chapter 12.
And let me just close here.
Look at Luke, chapter 12.
This is why the consequences are so severe, folks, because
God looks at it as adultery.
God looks at it as hostility.
It’s doubleminded.
It’s gonna cause you to be unstable.
And if you have situational ethics going on in your life,
you’re like, Oh, I’m gonna address this way around these.
First of all, how confusing must that be?
I mean, how stressful must that be?
But if you’re just going to have these different standards,
every single place you go depending on who you hang out with.
Look, it’s going to cause you to be unstable everywhere,
and it will have severe consequences.
Look at Luke chapter 12.
In verse 53, you say, You know what?
I agree.
I’m going to follow the Bible here.
I’m going to do what this says.
I’m not going to have fellowship with unbelievers anymore
in my life.
Look at Luke 12 and verse 53.
The Bible says this, The Father shall be divided against
the Son and the Son against the Father and the mother against
the daughter and the daughter against the mother and the
mother in law against her daughter in law.
In the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Now, it’s interesting because back in verse 51, Jesus is
saying, suppose Ye that I come to give peace on Earth, I
tell you nay, but rather division.
So we’re taught today.
We’re taught today in Church.
And Christianity today teaches that Jesus is all about peace
and love and prosperity.
It’s all about peace and love and prosperity.
It’s all about just loving everybody no matter what.
But that’s not what it says.
In verse 51, he says, I come to bring division.
That’s like the opposite of what Christianity today is teaching.
He’s like, I’m coming to divide.
But if you go to some Church that teaches that just love
everything all the time, no matter what, there’s going to
be no division ever on anything.
This is where you get the Christians that look exactly like
the world.
You get the Christians that are wrapped up in the same thing.
That’s why those churches don’t.
They don’t talk about sin.
They don’t teach about sin because they don’t want to divide
anybody. They don’t want cause.
Look, breaching against Finn is gonna divide people.
You know, if you say that, you know there can’t be fornicators
in this Church and you follow first Corinthians chapter five,
the Bible say, I mean, look, that’s going to cause division.
If you run a biblical Church, it’s going to cause division.
Jesus didn’t come to bring peace.
I didn’t click.
The peace that Jesus brings is peace between us.
And God is taking away the wrath of God against us, as were
clothed in his righteousness.
That’s the peace that Jesus brings.
But he’s talking here about, I didn’t come to bring peace
on Earth.
Earth meeting amongst men.
It’s like I didn’t come to get peace on Earth amongst all
you people down there.
He’s like, This message is gonna divide people.
It’s gonna divide.
And then he gets to the most, the most, the most strongest
bonds that you could possibly have a father against the Son.
I think about.
I think about that myself.
And I’m so thankful that this will never be me.
I’m so thankful that my sons are saved.
I’m so thankful that I’ve raised two sons and a daughter
who have grown up to love and serve the Lord because, you
know, what?
Verse 53 will never be me.
It’ll never be me.
That should be OK.
But you know what, folks?
That’s looking forward, that’s looking forward, not back.
That’s something that you can change.
But you know what you have to do in order to make sure verse
53 never happens.
You have to separate.
You have to separate.
If you never want that to happen to you in verse 53, you
must separate or it’s going to happen to you.
The odds are that the next generation is going to be ugly.
Look at Josaphat was one of the best Kings in the Old Testament,
and it happened to him.
You think it’s an accident that God puts this stuff in the
Bible? You think about a father being divided against his
own son for the sake of Jesus.
Happens all the time, but that’s the consequences.
And so, look, let me just say another thing about verse 53.
This goes to show you that if you do separate, if you do
separate, I mean, a father being divided against his own
son. Think about that, Dads.
Think about your sons and being separated against them.
You’re just like, what could ever make that happen?
What could ever make that happen?
Well, nothing for you, because, you know, you’re safe.
But Here’s the thing.
Here’s the thing.
As you separate, there are going to be people that don’t
like it, and they’re going to be people that don’t like it.
To an extreme, people that really don’t like it, you say,
well, I don’t have any people.
Well, maybe you haven’t separated.
So you really have to decide in your life.
Do I want enmity with the Earth, or do I want Amity with
God? Easy choice for me?
Who do I want and hit you with?
You can’t have it both ways.
It’s just like Elijah said, pick one.
He said pick one.
Look, this concept of separation, folks, is so simple.
Do I want to make the world an enemy and that world, maybe
people that you’ve known for a very long time.
It may be people that you are related to.
Do you want enmity with that, or do you want enmity with
God? And do you want the consequences that come along with
that? You really have to think about that.
You really have to think about that, Dad’s.
You are the ones that need to think about it the most because
you are driving that ship of your family through the world.
You are navigating your family through this.
Look, it’s a mess.
It’s a mess.
I can’t believe a bad is getting.
I can’t believe it.
I can’t even begin to tell you what’s coming next.
I mean, I can’t begin to even think about what six months
will bring.
I mean, things that I never thought would have been possible.
You can’t go to Church anymore.
Things that I never would have been thought possible in America.
I mean, have happened in the last year.
I mean, what in the world?
It’s ugly.
It’s bad.
There’s perverse everywhere.
My wife was telling me she’s like, there’s people walking
around you’re like they crawled out of hell, and they’re
just walking all over the place.
You know?
I mean, it’s bad men.
You have to navigate your family through this mess.
And I mean, you just have to, like, it’s a simple doctor.
And you just got to do it because the Bible says it.
Thank you.
And then you know what?
Then you have a chance.
It’s possible.
It’s possible to raise Godly children today in this mess.
How is it possible?
Follow what the Bible says.
It’s meanit’s possible to have a Church that preaches the
Bible that runs properly, that protects children.
It’s possible.
And by God, we’re gonna do it here.
All these things are possible.
But you can’t pick and choose what’s in this book and what
you’re going to do.
You can’t pick and choose because I don’t want to offend
anybody. I mean, give me a break.
I mean, you say you’re a strong Christian man and you’re
worried about offending people because you don’t want to
do something that the Bible says.
I mean, mind exploded.
What am I doing here?
What am I doing here?
Separation Super simple.
This is Doctrine 101 right here.
Baptist basics.
Practice it.
Practice it.
And look, you will not regret it.
Anything that’s in the Bible.
If you do it, God’s right.
You’re wrong with power heads and have order.