Holiness and Separation: Personal Separation
- Christians are commanded to be holy because God is holy (1 Pet 1:15–16). Since God has redeemed their bodies, every area of a believer’s life should be set apart to God (1 Cor 6:19–20).
- Christians are commanded to be separated from sin. They must not love the world system because love for God and love for the world are mutually exclusive (1 John 2:15–17; Jas 4:4). Their goal is not to be as close to the world as possible, but as much like Jesus Christ as possible (Rom 12:1–2).
Fellowship and Separation: Ecclesiastical Separation
- Bible-believing churches may not partner in spiritual activity (fellowship) with unbelievers (2 Cor 6:14–7:1). Rather, they must maintain a distance and be separate from them.
- Bible-believing churches must mark and avoid (separate from) those who teach false doctrine (Rom 16:17–18). The leadership has a special responsibility in this regard (Acts 20:28–31). Those who fellowship with false teachers will incur the same severe punishment as the false teachers themselves (2 John 10–11).
- Bible-believing churches must maintain a saved membership (Acts 2:47; 1 Cor 1:2). Local churches should be a subset of the Body of Christ, which includes all true believers, in heaven and on earth, from the Day of Pentecost until the Rapture. Believers find their fellowship in the person and work of Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3, 7), and therefore, one who does not share a relationship with Jesus Christ is necessarily excluded.
- Bible-believing churches must practice biblical church discipline of members who continue in sin even after being confronted by the church leadership (Matt 18:15–17; 1 Cor 5:1–11). They cannot continue in fellowship with the church; instead, the body must separate from them. The purpose of this separation is not punitive; rather, the hope is that the offender will realize his sinfulness and return in repentance and be restored (Gal 6:1; 1 Cor 5:5; 2 Thess 3:14–15).
- Bible-believing churches cannot partner in spiritual activity (fellowship) with disobedient brothers (2 Thess 3:6–15; 1 Cor 5:11). Since even members who knowingly persist in sin must be removed, it follows that the church cannot join in spiritual activity with those outside the local body who are disobedient. The reason this separation is necessary is to avoid confusion and contamination (Rom 16:18; 1 Cor 15:33).
Comments