What The Bible Teaches About Separation

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...