Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: II Cor. 6:24 – 7:1       

June 2,  2024

Message: “Be Ye Separate!”    

by Pastor George Gnade

Intro.: 1. In Psalm 1: 1, David wrote: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord!”

a. I would suggest that II Cor. 6: 24 - 7:1 was written in the same spirit. It is written to warn Christians of the influence of the world upon our thoughts and actions. 

b. If you listen to their ideas and receive counsel from them, or if you stand up with those who defend behavior the Bible clearly says is wrong, or if you spend time with people who scoff at what the Bible says, you may lose the blessing of simply “delighting” in what God says.

2. Therefore Paul wrote: “Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers.” 

A.  This verse certainly could be applied to marriage.

1. Paul addressed it in I Cor. 7. Sometimes a person becomes a Christian after he/she got married and discovers it isn’t going to work. If your mate goes on the attack and makes life impossible, Paul said it is OK to let him/her go.

a. But if he/she truly loves you and allows you to love and worship the Lord, then it is good to stay with him/her in hopes of winning your spouse to the Lord. It also enables you to have an influence on your children.

c. Of course sometimes a young person who is still immature simply marries the wrong person. In that case, the same principles apply. God will give wisdom to those who truly want His will.

2. While divorce is not something we should seek, it is something that may become unavoidable. This is why Paul warns us of the danger of committing ourselves to individuals who do not believer in the Lord and hold ideas contrary to God’s word. 

3. Often it simply begins with bad choices. In I Cor. 5, Paul deals with a man who married his father’s wife. This was clearly wrong. It led to discord in the church. With Paul’s help, the situation was corrected, the man was forgiven, and the church was restored to peace. 

a. In response, in II Cor. 7: 10, Paul wrote: “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regrets. But worldly sorrow brings death.”

b. When Peter denied Jesus at His trial, Peter was convicted, wanted to get right with the Lord, and was soon  restored by Jesus Himself as the leader of the apostles. That is how godly sorrow works.

c. In contrast, Judas was warned by Jesus at the Passover feast, but he carried out his plan anyway. After he saw what happened, he was filled with worldly sorrow.  His solution was suicide. Sadly that happens way too often. Seeking help from Jesus can avoid that.

4. Paul was thrilled the man who got involved with his father’s wife came to repentance and restoration. But if you noticed, II Cor. 7: 10 went far beyond marriages that get into trouble.

B. The call to be separate is much broader.

1.  In II Cor. 6:16-17, Paul wrote: “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? We are the temple of the living God.  As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them and I will be their God and they will be my people.’  Therefore, come out from among them and be separate… Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”’

a. So no matter what we do or where we are, we must always remind ourselves who we are. If you are a Christian and the Holy Spirit lives in you, then you are to live in a godly way.  The same truth applies to the church. Together we make up the temple of the Lord. 

b. In I Peter 2:9, Peter writes: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”(KJV). 

2. “Peculiar” in the Greek language means “different in a good way.” It means to be set apart for God so people know you are different from the world. 

a. It comes down to the question: “Who is influencing whom?”  The world wants us to accept them as they are. God wants us to lead them to repentance. Therefore, they need to see from our lives that we are different. 

b. The Greek word for “church” is “ecclesia.” It means “to be called out” of the world to worship Christ in a holy way. That is exactly what it says in II Cor. 6: 17.  “There-fore, come out from them and be separate.” May God help us to live in such a way that people will know we are different in a good way, asking for grace to live the way Christ has called us to live. 

C. Finally, in II Cor. 7:1, Paul writes: “Since we have these promises, dear children, let us purify ourselves….out of reverence for God.”

1. What promises is he referring to? Writers of the N.T. constantly quote the O.T., just as we quote from both now that the Bible has been completed. In II Cor. 6: 14-18, Paul quotes from six different passage from the O.T.;  these are the promises he is referring to. 

a. Vs. 16 is based on Jer. 32:38 and Ezekiel 37:27 where it says: “I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 

b. Vs. 17 is based on Is. 52: 11 where it says: “Depart, Depart! Touch no unclean thing. Come out from it and be pure.”

c. In vs. 17, it also speaks of being “received or accepted” by the Lord like a fragrant offering. This comes from Ezekiel 20: 43.

d. Vs. 18 says: “I will be a Father to you…”  This comes from passages like II Sam. 7:14.

e. Vs. 18 continues: “And you will be my sons and daughters.” This is based on Hagai 1: 10 where it says: “in the very place where it was said to them: ‘You are not my people,’ they shall be called sons (and daughters) of the living God.”

2. These promises were all made to Israel but are now applied to Christians. Why? Because all who believe like Abraham are in Christ considered to be the spiritual offspring of Abraham (Gal. 3:8-9).  Therefore, the promises given above are all ours through Jesus. 

3. But just as Israel was called to separate themselves from the ways of the world, so we who have placed our hope in Christ are to do likewise. Otherwise problems will develop.

In conclusion: 1. The church of Christ throughout the world is under extreme pressure to become more and more like the world. That is certainly true in America.

2. But we who love the Lord are called over and over again to “not be conformed to the world, but to be transformed by renewing our minds so that we may prove how good and acceptable and perfect the will of God is.” 

3. This is an ongoing process that will only come to completion when Jesus comes again.  Having been given the righteousness of God as a free gift in Christ, we must never go back and treat sin as acceptable behavior. 

4. Living a life of repentance and faith helps us to continue on God’s path, enjoying Him as our Father, knowing we have been received by Him through Christ as His beloved children. We should never take this privilege  for granted.