Pastor A

Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia; today it is known as Salonica. On his second missionary journey, Paul visited this city and founded a church as is described in Acts 17:1-10. He met with opposition from unbelieving Jews there and was driven away. The situation was such that he was unable to return to Thessalonica to check up on the new church there, so he sent Timothy instead.

Timothy brought back an excellent report which thrilled Paul and moved him to write the letter we know as I Thessalonians. In I Thessalonians 1:9 Paul joyfully recalled that the Thessalonians “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” They had been guilty of worshipping gods of wood and stone. Paul presented the Gospel to them and they responded to the message by “turning to God… from idols.” This order (to / from) is no accident.

James 4:7 states, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” The emphasis in this very practical verse is also on the positive action. It is clear that resisting the devil is possible only after and, in fact, only because of submission to God.

In Exodus 33 we read of an interesting occurrence in the wilderness experience of the Israelites. “Operation Exodus” was over. The chosen people had marched two million strong out of the land of bondage In a time of crisis they had walked through the Red Sea. Now, as usual, they didn’t know what was going to happen next, so Moses asked the Lord. God answered his questions, but not in the way Moses desired. Moses wanted a road map; he wanted to know God’s will in advance. The Lord simply told him: “I’m going with you, Moses. That’s all you need to know.” Then thick-headed Moses finally began to understand and made this very important observation:

Exodus 33:16 “For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.“

What was it that “separated” the people from unbelievers? It was their identification with the Lord. It was not determined primarily by anything negative. They positively identified themselves with the true and living God and this positive separation to Him resulted in their negative separation from the world. Positive action, negative reaction.

So simple. Yet, so many fail to discover this life changing principle.

Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus solemnly told the twelve: “Ye shall drink indeed of my cup.” He was referring to the bitter cup of persecution, suffering and death. The first of the disciples to drink of that cup was James, the son of Zebedee. The early church had begun to grow remarkably when “about that time Herold the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.” Acts 12:1-2

James paid the ultimate price of true discipleship: he gave his life for the One Whose blood purchased eternal life for him. But James was not the only disciple to drink of the cup. In fact, of the eleven faithful ones of the twelve, only John lived to old age. All of the others died as martyrs. They followed the pattern of James Zebedee who set the example of the total identification with Christ.

Today, some two thousand years later, few, if any, within the United States die for their faith in Christ. In spite of this, identification with Jesus Christ should be the objective of every believer. But how is this possible? And what does it mean to “identify with Christ?” Some answers can be discovered in the Biblical doctrine of separation.

One of the most provocative words in the Christian vocabulary is “separation.” The very mention of this word is often the spark which ignites a very un-Christian argument. Ironically, disagreement betweeen Christians about “separation” usually results in only one thing: it separates them!

The Bible does not define “separation” as clearly as many Christians do. All too often, sincere, well-meaning believers have taken it upon themselves to take up where the Word of God left off; and they have created lists upon lists of things “separated Christians” do not do. This common practice has resulted in the formation of a false doctrine of separation. This “doctrine” would be perfectly acceptable were it not for one problem: it was invented by men. Colossians 2:20-23 “Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.“

This “false doctrine of separation” is a negative doctrine. The Biblical doctrine, however, is both positive and negative. A careful examination of key passages bear this out. So, over the next few days we will delve into this topic of separation using the Word as our guidebook on this topic.