2 Corinthians - Be Separate

Now we open the word of God and we pause to pray. Gracious Father in heaven, truly our Lord Jesus Christ is the fount of every blessing. Out of our Lord Jesus flowing the rivers of living water that flow into our lives. Thank you so much. Give us a time of understanding, a time of conviction, a time of learning, a time of dedication as we study the word.

And guide us by the Holy Spirit. We do not want to be man-taught; we want to be Spirit-taught. We want it to be in our hearts, not just in our heads. And so grant that that shall be our experience now, I pray, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and for His sake. Amen.

In love, the Apostle Paul is appealing to the believers at Corinth to get right with God. In 2 Corinthians 6, we have three appeals. In 2 Corinthians 6:1-2, reconciliation. Paul is appealing for reconciliation to God. He says some of you people there in Corinth are not walking with the Lord, and if you are not walking with the Lord, you're going to have a hard time walking with God's people. An appeal for reconciliation. I wonder if I speak to you right now and you need to be reconciled to God?

Now maybe you were saved and you've gotten away from Him; you need to come back to fellowship with Him, confess your sin. Or maybe you need to be reconciled to some believer. Paul is appealing here for reconciliation. He says we're workers together with God. You're trying to do God's will, I'm trying to do God's will; let's not pull in opposite directions.

Let's work together. Let's experience the grace of God, and may that grace not be in vain. Don't delay. Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation.

And then 2 Corinthians 6:3-10, commendation or appreciation. He says here are my credentials. Now you ought to give me commendation instead of criticizing me and slandering me and listening to all this false accusation. You ought to be commending me. You ought to be grateful that I went through all of this to come to Corinth that you people might be saved. How soon we forget the sacrifices people make for us.

And then beginning at 2 Corinthians 6:11, continuing through 2 Corinthians 7:1, there's the appeal for separation. He tells us in this section that we should be separated. We should come out. 2 Corinthians 6:17, "come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord."

This little phrase "be ye separate" means to mark off the boundaries. It means to set apart for special purposes. You know, there are some people when you mention the word separation, they instantly get nervous or they get a little bit belligerent because they think that separation is isolation.

Now separation is not isolation. Paul's not asking these people to isolate themselves. In fact, he'd already written about that in 1 Corinthians 5:9-10. "I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators, yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world," meaning unsaved people, "or with the covetous or extortioners or with idolaters, for then must ye needs go out of the world." So Paul was too smart for that. He knew that separation was not isolation.

Our Lord Jesus Christ was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and yet He was the friend of publicans and sinners. Separation is both negative and positive. Separation from that which is evil; separation unto the Lord.

Paul presents in these verses three very compelling arguments to prove that Christians ought to separate themselves from sin. Argument number one, 2 Corinthians 6:14-16, the nature of the believer. The very nature of the Christian demands that he be separate and separated from sin. 2 Corinthians 6:14, "be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers." He's talking about unsaved people now, and he's using an illustration from Deuteronomy 22:10.

In the law, Moses had told the Jews that they should not plow with an ox and an ass yoked together. That would be terrible. Two different kinds of animals. It would be agony. Nothing would get done; they'd be pulling in opposite directions. Why? They have different natures.

Is an ox worth something? Of course. Is an ass? To be sure. But they're different. Now the ass was an unclean animal; the ox was not. But to put them together was to be yoking things of different nature and things of different position. One was acceptable, one wasn't.

Therefore, he says, don't unequally yoke yourself with unbelievers. Now he doesn't apply this. He doesn't specify what these yokes are, but he expected them to apply it in their daily lives. Certainly marriage is involved here. Oh, I've heard all the arguments. In pastoral ministry, I've heard weeping young ladies say, now pastor, I know he's not a Christian, but I hope to win him after we get married. Oh no, no, it doesn't work that way.

I've heard men say, now I know this business partner of mine is not a believer, but it's going to work out. Well, now be careful. Better be careful. The unequal yoke just creates problems for everybody who's a part of the yoke. Now why? Because of the nature of the believer. Notice, we have a series of contrasts here. "For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?"

The believer is righteousness. Where'd he get that? 2 Corinthians 5:21. "For He hath made Him," Jesus, "who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." So the believer is righteousness, the unbeliever is unrighteousness. And this word "fellowship" is a commercial term. It means partnership. "What partnership has righteousness with unrighteousness?"

The nature of the believer is such that righteousness cannot be yoked together with unrighteousness. Now the yoke speaks of something permanent, something agreed upon. He's not talking about sitting next to somebody on the bus. That's not what he's talking about. He's talking about a deliberate, permanent yoking together to try to do something together. There is no fellowship, no partnership between righteousness and unrighteousness.

"And what communion," koinonia, to have in common, "hath light with darkness?" The believer is righteousness, the believer is light. The unbeliever is unrighteousness or lawlessness and darkness. Now what do darkness and light have in common? Nothing. Nothing. And what concord hath Christ with Belial? That's a name for Satan.

The name Belial means worthlessness. Can you imagine that? Jesus Christ is worth everything. He is the fairest of ten thousand. He is the sum total of all that is great and good and wonderful. In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Now you're going to yoke Him up with worthlessness, Belial, with Satan?

This word "concord" is a musical term. It's our word symphony comes from it. It means harmony, symphony. It's a musical word. The Lord Jesus Christ and Satan are not playing in the same orchestra. They are not following the same score. Satan is out to bring discord, whereas the Lord Jesus Christ brings harmony and beauty. Now there can be no harmony, no symphony between Christ and Satan.

Notice now the contrast. What is the unbeliever? Lawlessness, darkness, Satan. What is the believer? Righteousness, light, Christ. He goes on now. "Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel," that is an unbeliever? What part? Now that word "part" is a real estate term. It means what part of land?

What do they share in common as an inheritance? None. Here's the believer and the unbeliever. The unbeliever is yoked with Satan; the unbeliever is in darkness; the unbeliever is wrapped up in lawlessness. Now what can a believer have in common with that? They cannot share the same real estate. They have a different inheritance altogether.

2 Corinthians 6:16, "and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?" This word "agreement" is a political term. It means to vote together. Now we are the temple of God. He goes on to tell us that. For ye, plural, not the individual believer—that's true, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, we're told that the individual believer is the temple of God—but here he's talking about the whole church. Ye, plural, "ye are the temple of the living God." You'll find this same teaching in 1 Corinthians 3.

And God hath said, "I will dwell in them," just as He dwelt in the Tabernacle and in the Temple. "And walk in them"—that's even better. "And I will be their God and they shall be my people." So God lives in us, and we are the temple of God. Now what are the unbelievers? Idols. What agreement? What vote together? We can't even vote together because we have different goals.

We have different ideas, different ideals, different purposes. Now he's talking here about spiritual things, not about political things. This word agreement means they cannot get together on anything. The very nature of the believer makes it necessary for us to be separate. If you really understand what it means to be a Christian, you will not be able to yoke yourself together with that which is outside of Jesus.

Now 2 Corinthians 6:17, he gives us a second argument to prove that we should separate ourselves from sin: the command of the Scripture. Here it is, quotation from Isaiah 52:11. "Wherefore," because of this, "come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing." "Come out." That's separation. Now we like to have friends, we like to be accepted, we don't like people to call us fanatics. But you know there are times when we just simply have to come out.

When there is sin, we cannot yoke ourselves with it. Over the years, I have been criticized for not participating in certain activities. When I was a pastor and certain things were going on in our communities and they wanted me to be a part of it to show unity, to show love. I could show no unity where there is no unity. We were walking in different directions, we were walking with different guides. How could there be unity? And so I had to come out, be separate, take a stand on it.

And they said, well this fellow Wiersbe is kind of a fanatic, you know. He doesn't believe in cooperation. Well, I believe in cooperation where we're yoked together because we belong together. I can cooperate with believers in things that are for the Lord, but it's awfully hard to cooperate with unbelievers. Now I know we cooperate with different people at different times for different purposes. If there's a snowstorm and I have to get out and help to clear away the snow, if some car is stuck in the snow and the fellow needs help, I don't ask him what church he belongs to; just as a human being I help him. But that's another matter when it comes to trying to work together on other things, spiritual.

So the command is right there. The command in Scripture says come out, be separate, that is mark off the boundaries. "Touch not the unclean thing" because you'll be defiled. You see, I hear people say well now if we work together, if we just get together and work together, we will influence them. Well, sad to say it's the other way around. They influence us. And so He commands from the Scriptures: be separate.

Then there's a third argument He presents, a very positive one: the promise of the Father. What does the Father promise? "I will receive you." He's not talking about salvation now; He's talking about a deeper experience. In this whole section Paul is quoting from the Old Testament: from Ezekiel 20 and from 2 Samuel 7, from Jeremiah 31. Paul is using Old Testament Scripture to buttress his argument. He says the Father promises, "I will receive you" into a deeper fellowship.

You know, those Christians who are yoked together with unbelievers, who try to have agreement and unity and concord with those who are of the world and of the flesh and of the devil, don't have a deep walk with God. Now I'm not saying we should run around with a revolver in our hands. What I'm saying is we should keep separate. Do like Jesus did; He was able to witness to sinners, He was able to mingle with people. You know what separation is? Separation is contact without contamination.

We can't avoid contact with all sorts of people all day long, but we aren't contaminated by it. Just like my doctor. My doctor has contact without contamination. He keeps himself separate.

So God will receive us. "I will be a Father unto you." Here's the problem. If you're going to be a friend of the world, you're going to be the enemy of God. James 4:4, "whosoever will be a friend of the world is at enmity with God." These people had gotten into the world, gotten into the flesh, and their hearts were not right with Paul because their hearts were not right with God. And he appeals to them as their spiritual father.

He had written to them in 1 Corinthians 4:15: "though you have had many instructors in Christ, you've not had many fathers." I'm your spiritual father; I begat you through the gospel. And so the father's heart of love opens wide and says, here I am pouring out my affection to you and what do I get in return? You aren't even playing fair with me. Open wide your hearts to us. Now how do you do that? Separation.

It's an appeal for separation. And he wants them to step out, to be separate, and not to walk with those who are contrary to the Lord. Now you say, does that mean salvation? No, he's talking about I cannot love you and be a father to you as long as you're out there in the world. Whosoever wills to be a friend of the world, says James 4:4, is the enemy of God. "I will be a father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." My love is there and my power is there.

Now Paul applies this. "Having therefore these promises." That's not negative. I've heard people say well separation's such a negative thing. Looks pretty positive to me. "Having therefore these promises." What promises? The promise of God's power—the Lord Almighty. The promise of God's love—I'll be a father unto you. The promise of God's fellowship—I will receive you. Trouble is, some of the saints emphasize the negative and forget the positive.

Now since we have these promises, dearly beloved. Oh, I like that. Dearly beloved. It's a matter of love. When you love somebody, you obey. Can you imagine a man being married to a woman and then as soon as the service is over running off with the bridesmaid? Why, I can't conceive of such a thing. Well, here it is.

Dearly beloved, let's do what? Let's cleanse ourselves. Get those things out of your life that don't belong. Let's cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. Some people are prodigal sons and some are elder brothers. You may not be involved in terrible worldly things, but your attitude may be worldly. The flesh and the spirit. Perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

That's what separation's all about. The promise of the Father that He'll receive us and make us like Himself. Oh, I trust you are a separated believer today, enjoying the deep fellowship of God.