The 'doctrine Of Separation'

This thread is about the separation of believers from unbelievers: not the separation of God and sinners (need a new thread for that).

What does it mean to be separate from the world?
How do we become separate from the world?
How do Christians display their separation?
What does God expect us to do?
 
"Separation"

Old Testament Hebrew: Strong's Number 06395 // hlp // palah // paw-law' //

a primitive root; TWOT - 1772; v

AV - sever 2, separated 1, wonderfully 1, set apart 1, marvellous 1,
put a difference 1; 7

1) to be distinct, marked out, be separated, be distinguished
1a) (Niphal)
1a1) to be distinct, be separated, be distinguished
1a2) to be wonderful
1b) (Hiphil) to make separate, set apart

Genesis 25:23 And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

Leviticus 20:24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people.

Leviticus 22:2 Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me: I am the Lord.

Numbers 6:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord:

Numbers 8:14Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.

Deuteronomy 29:19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: 20 The Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven. 21 And the Lord shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law:

1 Kings 8:53 For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.

Nehemiah 9:2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.
 
"Separation"

New Testament Greek: Strong's Number 873 // aforizw // aphorizo // af-or-id'-zo //

from 575 and 3724 ; TDNT - 5:454,728; v

AV - separate 8, divide 1, sever 1; 10

1) to mark off from others by boundaries, to limit, to separate
1a) in a bad sense: to exclude as disreputable
1b) in a good sense: to appoint, set apart for some purpose


Matthew 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
 
How do we separate? Christ is the Example:

John 13:12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? 13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

See also: 1 Corinthians 10, 1 Timothy 4, 1 Peter 2

'Be doers of the Word'

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

"meek and lowly in heart" -or- "kind & humble"
 
What do we separate? EVERYTHING!

1 John 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
 
Who are you in separation?

Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
 
Are you a 'special treasure'; a 'peculiar people'?

Exodus 19:3 And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. 5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.

Malachi 3:13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? 14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? 15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. 16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. 17 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels (special treasure); and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. 18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

Deuteronomy 14:2 For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

Deuteronomy 26:18 And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;

Psalm 135:4 For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.

Titus 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

1Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
 
This thread is about the separation of believers from unbelievers: not the separation of God and sinners (need a new thread for that).

What does it mean to be separate from the world?
How do we become separate from the world?
How do Christians display their separation?
What does God expect us to do?

The parable of the wheat and tares came to mind, as does the scripture on not being unequally yoked with unbelievers. Not just in marriage, but also because non believers can be a bad influence on us and cause us to drift into the world and even backslide. This doesn't mean we aren't to be around non believers, as we're called to share the gospel with all and lead them to Christ. I recall Paul said to be all things to all people (1 Cor 9:19-23) and Jesus ate with sinners too.

We're supposed to be letting the light of Jesus shine through us, for all to see, that they want what we have. We are being perfected, as God wants us to be more like Jesus. We will never be perfect (I don't believe in sinless perfection), but we strive to be more like Jesus in this fallen world, and through trials we are perfected.

We are not of this world.. we're just passing through :)
 
This thread is about the separation of believers from unbelievers: not the separation of God and sinners (need a new thread for that).

What does it mean to be separate from the world?
How do we become separate from the world?
How do Christians display their separation?
What does God expect us to do?

Wow........DRS, you put a lot of effort into this. Good job my friend!

I would also add 2 Corth. 6:17.......
Wherefore come out from among them and be ye seperate saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you (Is. 52:11).

IMO a Christian should live a holy life that reflects the very nature of the God who saved him. A Believer should seperate him/herself from actions, people or influences that will effect him/her or cause another believer to fall.
 
Thank you gentlemen-I didn't want to go into information overload-I tried to break it up a little. But I am hoping the point comes across.

I think this subject is well overlooked in our 'churches' nowadays lending to of our wishy-washy Christianity.This subject touches every aspect of our lives-everything we do in Christ.

I think when people hear 'separation' they automatically think 'isolation' and 'seclusion'-but what would be the point of that?
 
Thank you gentlemen-I didn't want to go into information overload-I tried to break it up a little. But I am hoping the point comes across.

I think this subject is well overlooked in our 'churches' nowadays lending to of our wishy-washy Christianity.This subject touches every aspect of our lives-everything we do in Christ.

I think when people hear 'separation' they automatically think 'isolation' and 'seclusion'-but what would be the point of that?

Absolutely agreed. I think the doctrine of "Seperation" may be the most overlooked and least taught of all doctrines IMO.
 
DRS, I hope you don't mind another voice. Are you speaking different denominations or someone who does not believe in God, at all?
 
I am going to need a little more info on what you are referring to DRS.

The idea is this: in what manner is our attitude in separation? What is the intent of "separation"? Are we to be an isolated people-or simple recognizably different?

When a "Christian" walks down the street; what are the evidences that they are a believer? Should we strive to be awkwardly different?
 
The idea is this: in what manner is our attitude in separation? What is the intent of "separation"? Are we to be an isolated people-or simple recognizably different?

When a "Christian" walks down the street; what are the evidences that they are a believer? Should we strive to be awkwardly different?

Got it......thanks.

I will try to give you what I believe. IMO we as Christians do not and should not need to go out of our way to show that we are Christians. We do not need to act awkwardly different!!!

"As we walk down the street"..........we are human beings just as is everyone else. We do not have to prove anything to be a believer. BUT as we live our lives we all should be aware that as a Christian, every un-believer will be watching you to see what we do.

Now that is where the rubber meets the road. If you are not aware, I am an old fashioned believer who believes that God meant what He said and He does not need me to explain it. I expound ABSTANANCE.

To me that means I do not choose to drink alcohol. I have no need to enter a bar or liquer store. But it also means that I can and will enter a resturant that serves alcohol. I simply choose to reject what they offer in addition to the food.
That simple act shows all who are with me that I am different for a reason......Christ in me who is the hope of glory.

I can not tell you how many times I have been in such a social gathering and been asked to have a cocktail or wine. MY answer is NO thank you, I do not drink. Itis then when someone always asks..........
"Really, you don't drink".
That is when God opens the door and I can respond.........
"Correct, I do not drink because I am a Christian and the Christ who lives in doesn't like it".

You see, I did not have to go out of my way in order to be a testimony to the world. The Lord opened the door and because of obedience to Christ all I have to do is walk through the door.

I am using alcohol as an example but it would apply to any of the fleshly sins that can be committed as we walk through life.
 
How about 'separation' in our habits? The type of clothes, music, books, speech, events, friends, associations, etc... we use/have?

What about avoiding ALL 'appearance' of evil?
 
How about 'separation' in our habits? The type of clothes, music, books, speech, events, friends, associations, etc... we use/have?

What about avoiding ALL 'appearance' of evil?

WE live IN the world but we do not have to be OF the world.

Should try and avoid the things that would tend to harm spiritual us as you mentioned....yes!
 
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