Text: Selected Texts

1. Scripture
1. Separation From Unbelievers
1. Psalm 1:1
2. 2 Co. 6:14-16
1. Remember: The religious unsaved are still lost. They are darkness and of their father the devil
2. Therefore, we cannot yoke up with them even if our motive is good.
3. 2 John 7-11 is very clear on this matter
3. 2 John 7-11
1. Separate from wrong doctrine on the person of Christ
2. Many deceivers
1. Have the Christian label, but not the doctrinal goods
2. Satan has his angels of light, not darkness
3. Possible to lose what you have
1. Must contend for the faith
2. Reward can be lost
4. Whoever does not have doctrine of Christ, is not of God
1. Objective test for salvation and godliness
2. Catholic on the platform who says he has faith does not mean the same thing that I do when I say I have faith.
5. "your house"
1. probably referring to church-house of that day
2. Don’t let a denier of the faith into your fellowship
3. You are a partaker with his if you do
4. Eph. 5:11
1. "works of darkness"
1. refers to personal separation from sin
2. mainly refers to "them" (people) who are "darkness" (v. 8)
2. "acceptable to the Lord"
5. Ro. 16:17-18
1. Refers to the modernist or liberal who is the actual cause of division
2. False teachers, not orthodox contenders, who cause the divisions.
3. They start the fight and when we take them up on it, they blame us and call us cantankerous
4. Liberals didn’t build the schools, agencies, etc. They stole and gained control.
5. Liberalism, whether political or theological, not built anything worthwhile. It can only take from others.
6. V. 17 "cause divisions" cp. 1 Co. 3:16-17
6. 1 Tim. 6:3-5
1. False teachers who preach a prosperity message
2. V. 3 "doctrine which accords with holiness" False teachers who teach a anything goes message
3. False teacher who causes divisions
7. 2 Tim. 3:5
1. "form of godliness" but not real godliness
2. Turn away from pretenders
1. Live by lust (v. 6)
2. Live for prestige and knowledge (v. 7)
3. Resist God’s man and the truth (v. 8)
2. Separation From Believers
1. Rom. 14:1
1. Weakness was in "THE faith" objectively
1. Receive even those who are doctrinally wrong as long as they are correct about the person of Christ
2. Even in apostolic times there were disputable matters
3. Sound teaching with studious membership takes care of most "disputable" matters
4. Don’t have to separate unless the person is going to make an issue of it
1. You don’t have to agree with everything I preach and you don’t have to separate when you do disagree
2. If, however, the disagreement is such that it becomes an area of contention, then we separate.
2. 1 Co. 5:9-13
1. immoral "brother" that we separate from
2. Notice that judging is required
3. Sins to separate from
1. Sexual sins
2. Covetousness
3. Idolatry
4. Reviler
5. Drunkard
6. Extortioner
3. 2 Thess. 3:6-15
1. What is meant by "disorderly?"
1. Several lines: fundamentals, separation, pet doctrine
2. In the context, it refers to not working to provide for your necessities.
2. Keep the words of this epistle (v. 14)
1. Context is apostasy, not disputed doctrines
2. Don’t count him as an enemy
4. 1 Ti. 5:20
1. Elder that sins must be rebuked publicly
2. Presupposes church discipline
5. Titus 1:10-16
1. Be sound in "the faith" (doctrine)
2. False teachers
1. Insubordinate
2. Idle talkers (talk a good game, but practice is weak)
3. In it for personal gain
4. Profess God with mouth, deny in their actions
6. Tit. 3:10
1. Separate from those who cause divisions
2. Admonish them first
3. Presupposes church discipline
7. 2 Ti. 2:14-26
1. v. 21 "cleanses himself of these" refers to separating from people, not things
2. Dishonorable vessels are unsaved, not just "weak in the faith."
3. "rightly divide the word" keeps us from disputes
4. Avoid foolish disputes (v. 23)
5. Demeanor must be gentle, teaching, patient, etc.
2. Arguments For Separation
1. Holiness of God Requires It (1 Pet. 1:16)
2. Commands of God Require It (2 Co. 6:14f)
3. The Health of the Church Requires It (1 Co. 5:6-8; Gal. 5:9 Leaven)
3. Excuses For Infiltration
1. Matt. 18:38-39
1. B. Graham in Baptist Standard of Texas uses this as justification for his ecumenical evangelism
2. Jesus interprets it for us by saying that the "field" is the world, not the church as Graham suggests
1. You can’t kill non-Christians, that is the angels job
2. Verse showing the unbiblical nature of the Crusades
3. Vengeance is the Lord’s, not ours
2. Rev. 3:2
3. Acts 5:34
1. Scripture is recording what he said, not endorsing it
2. Success does not equal godliness
1. JWs
2. Romanism
3. Muslims
3. Using worldly wisdom, not Godly wisdom
4. Love them, not separate from them
1. True love demands that we not condone their error
2. Our love and obedience to God supercedes our love for man
3. Illus. I can’t say I love my wife while embracing a mistress
1. Love garden, you hate weeds
2. Love light, you hate darkness
3. Love health, you hate disease
5. Matthew 7:1f
1. Condemning hypocritical judgment and critical spirit
2. Later (v. 15-20) he gives criteria for making judgments
3. I John 4:1 "try the spirits…"
4. We are not to judge motives, but we must judge actions
6. John 17
1. Unity is a spiritual unity, not an organizational one
2. Jesus’ prayers don’t go unanswered
4. Practical Conclusions
1. Difference between unity and union
1. Illus. Two cats tied at the tail swung over a clothesline have union but not unity
2. Unity is based first on objective truth of Scripture, not the subjective experience of faith
2. Separation from unbelievers is unequivocally taught in the Bible
3. Secondary separation (separation from those who don’t separate) is a pragmatic view
1. See above for when it is proper to separate from believers
2. Illus. Boy who is approved comes to date my daughter. However, he has with him a known sex pervert. Will my daughter be going out with him? No!
3. Illus. Sitting with the wrong crowd at 49er/Falcon game

It was difficult to cheer for the 49ers with Falcon fans everywhere. It was difficult to stand up on the subway and say you were for the 49ers with a train full of Falcon fans.

4. Protective hedge to prevent us from going down the wrong path
1. Illus. Stagecoach rider contest to see who could come down the mountain the best. The slow man who stayed as far from the edge as possible won the job.
2. I’d rather run with the fundamental crowd because it is safer.
1. Evangelicals have and always will have a tendency to compromise biblical positions
1. Inerrancy
2. Dobson: Creationism
3. Graham: Ecumenical evangelism
4. Personal Separation from Believers is Different from Ecclesiastical Separation from Believers
1. John R. Rice quotes

"I assure you that secondary separation is not taught in the bible." P. 199

"I can fellowship with some who fellowships with some they ought not to fellowship with." P. 182

"Since there is not clear-cut Bible teaching on the question, secondary separation is a manufactured doctrine that leads to great confusion." P. 228

"The main thing is to win souls. I could make allowance for one who talked in tongues and won souls better than for one who did not talk in tongues and did not win souls." P. 248

2. Distinction between ecclesiastical and personal separation
1. There are those who I can fellowship with on an individual level that I might not be able to endorse on a church level
1. Charismatics are saved, born-again and personally I can fellowship and rejoice with them.
2. On a church level I can’t endorse their doctrine.
3. Tongues have been very divisive to churches
2. Personal fellowship is broader than corporate union
1. On a personal level I can fellowship with any person who is saved and believes the right things about the person of Christ and the Bible. He may be wrong on baptism, church polity, eschatology, tongues, etc. but he is a brother
2. On a church level, I by definition limit myself to the doctrinal position of that church. I make a distinction.
3. On a parachurch level, I need to consider not only their doctrinal position, but how my involvement will affect my testimony and position with others. Will it cause confusion, error, etc.?
4. On an inter-church level, I need to consider what cooperation will do to the direction, purpose, and program of the church. Some cooperative efforts could confuse members as to our doctrinal position. Some may confuse them as to what we expect in the areas of behavior. Safe avenue is to fellowship on a church level with like-minded congregations. It is not that other congregations are not saved, it is just that the direction they are going is not the same as ours.
1. Will God be honored in this endeavor?
2. Am I encouraging someone else to continue in disobedience?
3. Will my cooperation give the impression that I condone a lackadaisical attitude toward sound doctrine or sound living?
4. What effects will it have on my long range goals, vision, and purposes?
5. I cannot be a part of an organization that has liberalism in it
1. SBC
2. Promise Keepers
6. We must earnestly contend for the faith, not just believe the faith