Come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:7 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? ¹⁵ Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,

“I will dwell in them and walk among them;
And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
¹⁷ “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.
“And do not touch what is unclean;
And I will welcome you.
¹⁸ “And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,”
Says the Lord Almighty.

7 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

² Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one. ³ I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. ⁴ Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction.

⁵ For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. ⁶ But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus; ⁷ and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more.

Today’s text is one which many today would prefer to eliminate or ignore. It says:  Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God.    The words that drive our culture today regarding the relationship of believers and unbelievers, the church and the world, are tolerance, acceptance and inclusion. Because Jesus was critical of the religious leaders in His day; and because He associated with the outcasts and sinners, many conclude that Jesus would prefer to be with sinners than in the church. There is a difference between associating with sinners and partnering with them in sin, between fellowshipping with those in darkness and fellowshipping with darkness.  The text says:  just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them;
And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you. “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,”
Says the Lord Almighty.    While this is quoted from the Old Testament, before Jesus, the truth it speaks did not end when Jesus came to live among us. In John 15:18-19 Jesus says:   “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. “    Jesus chose us out of the world to be different, separate from the world in the way we act, not separate so that we would not interact. Jesus chose us out of the world that we might be changed, to become like Him, holy and righteous, then, He sent us back to the world, that by our example others too might be changed. Jesus says:  “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)   We are not to partner with darkness, but rather we are to be light in the darkness. If we participate with darkness the world will not see light. If we do not associate with, interact with those in darkness, they will not see light.  

Look again at what God says:  And I will welcome you. “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.     Jesus tells a story of a son and a father in Luke 15:11-32. In the story one of the son’s of a father asks for his share of the inheritance. The father grants his request and the son goes out and wastes all that he has on selfish worldly pleasures. That son ends up with nothing and is left living and eating with pigs. He decides to return to the father, thinking he will become a servant not a son. The father though, embraces and restores him. The truth is, in the father’s eyes, he never stopped being a son. He couldn’t though receive the benefits of sonship while living with the pigs. We too are sons and daughters of God the Father. All that He has is ours. We don’t stop being His children if we live and partner with the world, but we can only receive the benefits of a child if we live with Him. The text says:  Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.      We are called to be separate, not to partner with but to be light to the darkness.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit thank You for choosing and calling me out of the world. Thank You that through Christ I am a child of God, having all the benefits of being a child of the king. Holy Spirit help me to live separate in what I do, but not in who I associate with. May I, by Your indwelling presence, be in the world but not of the world. May I love the sinner even while hating sin. May I not partner with darkness but rather shine the light of Christ in the darkness of the world.  Amen.