Look at verse 12, which tells us what Jesus did for His disciples while He was here. We read, “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.”
Jesus, about to return to heaven, says in verse 15, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, BUT THAT THOU SHOULDEST KEEP THEM FROM THE EVIL.”
Our text is taken from the Lord’s prayer. Note: Many call Matt. 6:9-13, “The Lord’s Prayer,” when actually that is the model prayer Jesus included in His discourse on prayer in that chapter.
In our Lord’s prayer in John 17, Jesus prays for His followers that as they, and we, remain on earth we will be KEPT FROM THE EVIL OF THIS WORLD!
It is from that thought we get the teaching we want to preach about today - “What the Bible Teaches About Separation.
Separation has become a broad term. For example, when someone asks if you are a Bible “separationist,” you need to ask that person what kind of separation they are referring to.
The teaching of separation is dealt with in at least three general ways.
(1) Some just ignore all the teachings in the Bible that deal with separation. This is probably the most popular approach. I say this because you can go into churches across America and not hear sermons about Bible separation even though the Lord prayed that we be kept from evil.
Years ago you heard more about separation. Some of the old-line denominations stood for separation and their pastors preached on this frequently.
In fact, most of what they preached about dealt with living a life separated from the evil world. They preached against the evils of...
• Playing cards.
• Going to movie theaters.
• Dancing.
• Wearing seductive clothing.
• Wearing of jewelry that drew attention to the wearer.
You will not hear these things preached against in liberal churches today.
Most pastors of denominational churches would not think of preaching a sermon on separation from the world.
Why? Because the people do not want to be told that God expects them to live lives separated from sin. They want to be told how much God loves them and that He has prepared a place for them in heaven.
As a result, one hardly ever hears good strong Biblical sermons on separation today.
Illus: George Gallup, known for the famous Gallup polls, addressed a national seminar of Southern Baptist leaders and reported his findings of one of his polls. He said, “We find there is very little difference in ethical behavior of churchgoers and those who are not active religiously... The levels of lying, cheating, and stealing are remarkably similar in both groups. Eight out of ten Americans consider themselves Christians, yet only about half of them could identify the person Who gave the Sermon on the Mount, and fewer still could recall five of the Ten Commandments. Only two in ten said they would be willing to suffer for their faith.
Since many liberal churchgoers do not hear preaching on BIBLE SEPARATION it stands to reason their lives would not differ from the lives of those who do not go to church.
(2) Then there are the folks who carry the teaching of separation beyond what the Bible teaches. These are known as isolationists. These teach Bible separation in two ways:
• Some teach that if you do not agree with them on every point of doctrine, even if you have accepted Christ as your Savior they can not associate with you. They believe they should SEPARATE themselves from you. This is how they live out their definition of BIBLE SEPARATION.
• Then there is another group that teaches “second degree” separation. WHAT IS THAT? They teach that even though I might agree with them on every doctrinal point, if I fellowship with anyone who does not agree with them on every doctrinal point they can not fellowship with me. This is what they understand BIBLE SEPARATION to mean.
That leaves what I consider to be Bible separation.
(3) This is the belief that REGENERATION itself is a form of SEPARATION. These folks believe that Christians are in the world, but not a part of the world.
Illus: Remember the example of the ship on the ocean. That ship is on the ocean, but the ocean is not in the ship.
This is what the Bible teaches. We, citizens of heaven, are in the world, but the world is not in us.
Let us look at what God’s Word says about separation. WHAT DO WE SEE? We see the Bible teaches...
I. THE COMMAND OF SEPARATION.
Look at II Cor. 6:17. We read, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,...”
The words “come out” are translated from the Greek word, “exerchomai,” which means, “Get out.”
The Lord did not say we should take a poll and if everyone thinks it is a good idea we should come out from among those who are evil. The Lord simply commanded, “Get out!”
That is, when we accept the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we need to GET OUT of the world, we need to leave the evil of the world behind. Again, we can not get out of the world, but we can keep, with the Lord’s help, the world out of us.
Illus: We can not keep the birds from flying over our heads, but we can prevent them from building a nest in our hair.
When we become Christians we COME OUT FROM AMONG the ungodly. We recognize we do not have a thing in common with them and we do not want to be around all their filth.
Also, look at the word, “separate.” This is translated from the Greek word meaning, “Sever.”
For example, a fellow might be at work and his arm severed from his body in an accident. That is, his arm would no longer be attached to his body.
We, who once were in lock-step with the ungodly, are no longer in lock-step with them. We have been severed from the ungodly.
If you read some of the old sermons preached by Bible preachers, some of their messages may seem to border on being ridiculous! But, if you take time to look more closely you could see that those great men of God had foresight that not many have today. They could see dangers that would corrupt our lives and homes. For example...
• Some actually preached against reading newspapers. Why? They had foresight enough to see that people would be getting them in their homes and would be reading about all kinds of ungodliness which might affect them in a negative way.
• Some preached against going to movies. Why? They recognized the Hollywood crowd had no morals. They would do anything to make a dollar and those who would watch what they produced would soon be affected by it.
• Some preached against radios when they first came out. Why? They could foresee the danger of allowing our families to be exposed to all kinds of ungodliness such as the country and western songs that encourage adultery and rock and roll that encourages illicit sex.
• Some preached against televisions when they came out. Why? Because many could foresee the problem of having them in our homes and allowing the Hollywood crowd to fill our homes with cursing, adultery, lying, cheating, stealing, etc.
• Some preached against the danger of women leaving the home to go out into the workplace. Why? They could foresee that when mom left the home the children would not have anyone to take care of them, and mom would be in the position of facing temptations she would not have if she had stayed home.
When you recognize all the problems that these things have caused in our society, we realize those preachers preaching against them had foresight and people would have been wise to have taken heed and left many of those things alone.
We have so-called Christians today who will sit in front of their televisions and watch the filth on the HBO, and Movie channels and think nothing of it.
WHAT ARE THEY doing there? GOD SAID THAT CHRISTIANS SHOULD GET OUT OF THERE!
Illus: The urgency is the same as it should be for a man who is about to walk into a cave where dynamite is planted. Everyone is hollering, “GET OUT OF THERE,” because they recognize the danger he is placing himself in.
1. Don’t you know if you sit there and watch the stuff broadcast on most stations it will eventually wreck your marriage! GET OUT OF THE WORLD!
2. Don’t you know if your children are exposed to Sodom long enough they will be corrupted by Sodom? GET OUT OF THE WORLD!
3. Today many who claim to be Christians will go to movie theaters and watch movies filled with cursing, adultery, lying, cheating, nudity, etc. WHAT ARE THEY DOING THERE?
These same ones wonder why they are not satisfied in their homes, or in their marriages. They wonder why they are loosing their children to sin, and why they do not have the joy of the Lord in their hearts.
It is all because God has commanded them to come out from among the sinful world and they refuse to obey God.
When it comes to BIBLE SEPARATION we have to consider, it is not an OPTION; it is a COMMAND FROM ALMIGHTY GOD!
Also, as we look into the scriptures to study BIBLE SEPARATION, we see...
II. THE CAUTION OF SEPARATION.
DO YOU KNOW WHY THE LORD TOLD US TO COME OUT FROM AMONG THE WORLD?
We must LEAVE THE WORLD, because often the lost world will not LEAVE US!
Illus: Have you ever made the mistake of feeding a stray cat? If you have, you know you have made a friend that will follow you wherever you go, and the only way you can get rid of that cat is to walk off and leave him. HE IS NOT GOING TO LEAVE YOU!
God cautions us that the only way you and I are going to keep the world out of our lives is to COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM! It is something we have to do ourselves.
Listen, if we do not separate ourselves from the world it will destroy our testimony.
Illus: Remember the story of the Christian girl who decided she wanted to go to a school dance. She was dancing like the rest of the girls and she decided to witness to the fellow she was dancing with. She asked him if he was a Christian. He replied, “Of course not, if I was I wouldn’t be here, would I?”
If we are going to hang out with the lost world, we are going to loose our testimony. For example,
• If I keep hanging around football games, you may assume I like football.
• If I keep hanging around baseball games, you are going to assume I like baseball.
• If I keep hanging around the fishermen and fish with them, you are likely to assume I like fishing.
• If I keep hanging around children, you are going to assume I like children.
Likewise, if I keep hanging around with ungodly people, you are going to assume I like ungodliness!
No Christian can maintain a strong testimony and hang out with the lost world.
Illus: Spurgeon said, “If I had a brother who had been murdered, what would you think of me if I...daily consorted with the assassin who drove the dagger into my brother’s heart; surely I too must be an accomplice in the crime. Sin murdered Christ. Will you be a friend to it? Sin pierced the heart of the incarnate God. Can you love sin?
Conclusion/Summary:
Uncle Bud Robinson, the well-known Holiness preacher was taken by friends to New York, and shown around the city. That night, in his prayers, he said, “Lord, I thank You for letting me see all the sights of New York, and I thank You most of all that I didn’t see a thing that I wanted!”
In our text for this sermon the Lord prayed that we not be conformed to this world. Also He tells us how we can keep from being drawn into the net of worldliness.
Look at verse 17. We read, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
If we are going to be set aside for the master’s use, the only way we can protect ourselves from allowing the world to penetrate our lives is to STAY IN THE WORD OF GOD!
Illus: A young Christian man was testifying. He said that when he was pondering on accepting the Lord after hearing a fiery Bible sermon, the devil began to say to him, “If you do this, you will have to leave all your friends!” Well, he knew the Bible said the devil was a liar. He took a stand for what the Bible teaches. He discovered the devil is a liar. He did not have to leave the sinner friends. Once he took a stand for Christ, they left him.
Show me a professing Christian who is not into the Word of God daily and I will show you a Christian being contaminated by the world.
Illus: Erwin Lutzer said, “...I sometimes get this question put to me, concerning certain worldly amusements. ‘May I do so-and-so?’ I am very sorry whenever anyone asks me that question because it shows that there is something wrong, or it would not be raised at all. If a person’s conscience lets him say, ‘Well, I can go to A,’ he will very soon go on to B. C. D. E. and through all the letters of the alphabet...” (Erwin Lutzer, Pastor to Pastor, p. 76)
I. THE COMMAND OF SEPARATION
II. THE CAUTION OF SEPARATION
