IT is doubtful if there ever was a time when the note of Separation needed to be sounded more than to-day. The world has become so churchy and the Church so worldly that it is hard to distinguish the one from the other. The line of demarcation has been so completely broken down that churches, where revivals once flourished, whose spiritual life was at one time deep and strong, are to-day mere social centres over which God has long ago written the word “Ichabod”—”The glory has departed.”
The only way to win others to Christ is to be different ourselves and thus attract them by something they lack. Had Abraham gone to live with Lot in Sodom his influence would have availed but little. It was when he separated himself and stood afar off on the highlands of faith with God that his intercessions secured Lot’s deliverance. Let us be separate. Let us dwell apart with God and that way, we will draw many to Christ.
Separation has always been God’s standard. Abraham had to leave his country, and his father’s home, and in complete separation, go he knew not whither. Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. So also with the Israelites. They were a peculiar people, entirely separated from the nations around about them, representing God.
Yes, separation is still the call of God. “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,” and, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (1Cor. vi 14-18). The world must be forsaken and separation maintained. Let us remember our character.
Now, the separated life means separation from:
- Worldly Pleasures.
That was the choice Moses made when he repudiated the pleasures of sin (Heb. 11:24- 26). The dance, the theatre, and the night club are not of God, but of the world. They were introduced not by spiritual leaders and saintly men, but by men of the world. The spirit of the world pervades such pleasures, and prayer and testimony in the midst of these things is out of the question. The two simply don’t go together. The people who throng such gatherings do not attend nor take part in prayer meetings, nor are they interested in the spiritual work of the Church. Hence, the time must come when the true Christian is willing to obey the clear and emphatic command: “Come out from among them, and be ye separate” (2 Corin 6:17)
- Marriage Alliances
Oh, how many have admitted that the secret of all their unhappiness in married life lay in the fact that they disobeyed God and took on the unequal yoke. God’s Word here also is very, very plain. “She is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord” (1 Cor. 7:39). “Only in the Lord.” And to marry one who is not in the Lord is to court disappointment. How can God’s blessing rest on the home when His Word has been violated? Many a young woman has had to face this problem and break her engagement; while others who have persisted in disobeying have lived to regret it beyond words to express. Nor does the plea that it is her purpose to marry in order to win, avail in the least. The girl who fails to win her future husband for Christ before marriage has but little hope of winning him after. Oh, Christian worker, don’t, don’t for your own sake, disobey the Word of God and enter the unequal yoke. It may seem hard now, but be certain of this; God has another and a far better plan for your life. To ignore His Word is dangerous. To obey it is always safe. There need be no question as to the results. Therefore, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.”
- Worldly Companions
Here again there must be a breaking away. Worldly companions will not enjoy the Christians’ prayer meeting, nor can the child of God take pleasure in their pursuits. Sooner or later the spirit of their association will dull spiritually unless a complete separation takes place. It is difficult to play with fire and not be burned. But you say: How can I give them up? Child of God, you will not have to give them up. You live a spiritual life and they will very soon give you up. They will be as uncomfortable in your presence as you will be when with them. Make friends of God’s children. And whether they be brown or yellow, black or white, you will find them far more precious and the association closer and more binding than even that of blood relations out of Christ. They will understand when the members of your own family do not. And then, too, such friendships can never be broken. Death does not separate. Make friends, therefore, of those with whom you can associate not only here but throughout Eternity.