Introduction:
1. Definition: There are two kinds of separation, personal and ecclesiastical. Personal separation is that purposeful removal of oneself from all worldly philosophies and sinful activities. Ecclesiastical separation is that disciplinary measure exercised by a Christian or church against another Christian or church due to doctrinal impurity or positional compromise.
2. As we now live in an age of church history nearing the end-time apostasy foretold in the Scriptures (2 Thessalonians 2:3), this issue must consequently become an important one for us.
3. But biblical separation is not a popular doctrine today. Many regard it as a negative, critical, judgmental, unloving and unkind practice. Many others are confused about it, and wonder why it is needed at all, not being informed about the ecclesiastical movements working in the world today. One needs to have courage and conviction then both to teach biblical separation as part of the whole counsel of God, and also to put it into practice.
A. Reasons for Biblical Separation:
1. Separation from unbelief is commanded by the Lord.
Contrary to what many have thought, separation is not minor point of doctrine or a denominational distinctive. This commandment is not limited to just one passage in the Bible, but can actually be traced through the scriptures from beginning to end!
i. Abraham was commanded to separate himself from the city of Ur (Gen 12:1) which was a centre of polytheistic idolatry (Jos 24:2). Lot failed to keep his family separate from Sodom and had to pay dearly for it (Gen 13:10).
ii. At Mt Sinai the Israelites were commanded to keep themselves separate from the pagan nations (Deut 7:1-6, Exod 23:32-33, 34:11-27) so that they could bear witness to the fact that there is but one living and true God.
iii. In Canaan, the repeated compromise of the principle of separation caused Israel to backslide and apostatise, bringing God’s judgment in the form of oppression by foreign nations (Judges)
iv. Solomon’s failure to maintain separation in his marriage life eventually led him into idol worship and caused the division of his kingdom (1 Ki 11:1-8 cf. Eccl 7:26). Jehoshaphat’s compromise with Ahab led to the near-extinction of the Davidic line (2 Ki 11:1), and the infiltration of Baal worship into his kingdom.
v. Ezra and Nehemiah made strenuous efforts to implement and maintain separation among the Jewish returnees. No cooperation with unbelief was allowed in the building of the Temple and wall. Intermarriages of the Jews with foreign wives were dealt with severely.
vi. Psalm 1:1 talks about the blessedness of a separated life. Prov 4:14-15 advises God’s people to stay clear of the wicked.
vii. Daniel and his friends faced many tests of their convictions about maintaining purity of life and worship.
viii. Jesus taught separation when He was on earth (Matt 10:34; 18:15-19) and described Christians as being in the world but not of the world (John 17:14-17).
ix. The Apostle Paul separated himself from hardened unbelievers in the synagogues of Ephesus to teach the disciples in the school of Tyrannus (Acts 19:8-9).
x. The epistles abound with commands on separation: “Be not conformed to this world” (Rom 12:1-2), “Mark them . . . avoid them” (Rom 16:17), “evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Cor 15:33), “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Cor 6:14), “come out . . . be ye separate” (2 Cor 6:17), “cleanse yourselves from all filthiness” (2 Cor 7:1). “Have no fellowship with . . . but rather reprove” (Eph 5:11), “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thess 5:22), “Withdraw . . . have no company with . . . admonish” (2 Thes 3:6, 14-15), “Withdraw from . . . shun” (1 Tim 6:3-5, 2 Tim 2:16-21), “a heretick . . . former lusts . . . But be ye holy” (1 Pet 1:14-16), “Receive not those who abideth not in the doctrine of Christ” (2 John 7:11), “Earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude 3)
xi. In Rev 18:4, the Lord commanded His people to separate themselves from the harlot church with the injunctions: “Come out . . . be not partakers . . . receive not.”
Since separation is clearly commanded by God, we must obey it. “Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” (1 Sam 15:22,23)
2. Separation from unbelief is the basis of relating ourselves to a holy God.
This reason is set out in greater relief by a series of stark contrasts in 2 Cor 6:14-16:
i. Righteousness vs. Unrighteousness
ii. Light vs. Darkness
iii. Christ vs. Belial
iv. Believer vs. Infidel
v. Temple of God vs. Idols
Since God’s holiness is firmly opposed to all sin, unrighteousness, unbelief and idolatry, anyone who is not separated from these things cannot enjoy a close relationship with God. The wonderful promises He makes to those who will separate themselves (2 Cor 6:17), perfecting holiness (2 Cor 7:1) are:
i. He will dwell in them and walk in them,
ii. He will be their God and they shall be His people,
iii. He will receive them,
iv. He will be a Father unto them and they shall be His sons and daughters.
B. Categories of Biblical Separation:
1. Separation from the World (1 Jn 2:15,16)
a. The “world” here does not mean the created world, or humanity (as in John 3:16), but the world system made by men, and under the powerful influence of Satan, the ‘prince of the power of the air’ (Eph 2:2).
b. Separation from the world involves three things in daily life:
i. Recognising the evil character of the world.
ii. Not striving for approval or fair treatment from the world.
iii. Not jeopardising our relationship with God.
c. But it does not mean isolating ourselves from society. We are the salt of the earth and have been commissioned to preach the gospel, and exert a godly influence that will draw people to the Lord.
d. The individual believer practices separation from the world by refusing to participate in worldly entertainment, pursuits, and goals, and to strive after worldly success, honour and recognition.
e. The church practices separation from the world by refusing to employ worldly methods to attract people, and increase attendance, or to use worldly philosophy to enhance its teaching and counselling programme.
2. Separation from false teachers (2 John 9-11)
a. False teachers are those who should know the truth but have deliberately made it obscure with error (2 Pet 2:1). They are often very warm and attractive, and mix the truth with some error. This makes them hard to recognise at times.
b. There are four important principles we must follow:
i. All teaching must be judged by God's Word (1 Jn 4:1).
ii. It is necessary to rebuke false teachers to deliver those who are under their influence (Jude 3,4).
iii. Love never endorses sin (1 Cor 13:6).
iv. Zeal does not always mean right doctrine (Rom 10:2)
c. This is also known as primary separation. It means that:
i. False teachers should never be invited to speak, pray nor participate in our worship services and meetings.
ii. There must be no cooperation in the Lord’s work, with those who hold to any false teaching.
iii. No support, financial or otherwise, must be given to them for their ministries.
iv. We must be careful not to take any action or say any word that might be understood as giving approval or endorsement to their views and their work.
d. In our present time, the application of this would include separation from Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, liberal, modernist, pentecostal, and charismatic teachers and churches, as well as those from any cults that deny the deity or work of Jesus Christ.
e. One important application of this principle is to refrain from any involvement in the ecumenical movement, known today as the World Council of Churches (WCC).
i. This is a fellowship of 330 Churches representing about 400 million people in more than 120 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian traditions, including Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, Anglican, and Pentecostal churches.
ii. It was inaugurated on 23rd Aug 1948, at Amsterdam to call churches to the goal of visible unity to fulfil its dream of a One World Church (“Oikoumene”). They are not seeking to unite for the purpose of winning souls, but for socio-political reasons. Eg. The WCC has declared 1997 to be the Ecumenical Year for Churches in Solidarity with the Uprooted. By this they mean that they will seek to pressurize governments to grant care and privileges to refugees and asylum seekers.
iii. The WCC has Socialist-Marxist elements in it. In 1980 the WCC supported leftist guerrillas to overthrow the democratic government of Rhodesia (now renamed Zimbabwe). The communist guerrillas were extremely brutal and even killed missionaries, and the funds for the guns and bullets they used came from Christians! But the WCC remained quite indifferent to this and said that this sacrifice of missionaries was necessary for the greater cause of liberating the nation.
iv. The WCC is dominated by Liberals. They have therefore adopted a very friendly attitude to other religions and wants to promote “inter-faith dialogue and worship.. In a document “Religious Plurality, Theological Perspectives and Affirmations” published in 1990 the WCC expressed its views that: “There are many ways to God,” that there is “goodness, truth and holiness among followers of other paths and ways than that of Jesus Christ” and that the Holy Spirit “has been at work in the life and traditions of people of living faiths [i.e. Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Jainism, and the ancient tribal religions.]”
In view of the above facts, it is very clear that any association or involvement by churches or individual believers with the World Council of Churches, would be an act of disobedience to God’s command of separation.
3. Separation from disobedient brethren (2 Thess 3:6, 14,15)
a. This is different from no.2 because doctrinal grounds are involved, but only disobedience to God’s commandments. It is actually part of the process of church discipline. Church discipline is to be applied to anyone whose sins become publicly known. Separation is the 5th degree of censure that may be applied in church discipline when the first four have not succeeded:
i. Admonition
ii. Rebuke
iii. Suspension
iv. Deposition
v. Excommunication or Separation
c. One important way in which this is to be applied, is to brethren who have disobeyed God’s commandment to separate themselves from false teachers (no.2, above). This application is known as secondary separation.
d. In our present time, the application of secondary separation would include Bible-believing Christians or bodies that cooperate with Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, liberal, modernist, Pentecostal, and charismatic teachers and churches, or that are involved with the World Council of Churches. This is the stance taken by individuals, institutions, organisations and churches that are Neo-Evangelical:
i. Neo-Evangelicalism started in 1947 at Fuller Seminary as a break away from Fundamentalism. Desiring to have a softer and more positive approach, and to make a more friendly and favourable impression on other groups, this group broke away and thought that they could accomplish more for Christ with this new approach. In 1994, they took a significant step of disobedience by becoming co-signatories with Roman Catholics in the “Evangelicals and Catholics Together” pact.
ii. Today, they include most Protestant churches that are neither Liberal nor Fundamental, and parachurch organisations like Campus Crusade for Christ, Navigators, Varsity Christian Fellowship, Scripture Union, Operation Mobilisation, and Youth with a Mission.
iii. They espouse an attitude of toleration instead of separation. The Neo-Evangelical says, “No one has the monopoly of all truths. Let us therefore not be too harsh on those who cannot agree with us. Sometimes we may be wrong… let us be more tolerant with those who seem to misunderstand the Scriptures and be more kind to those who distort them.”
iv. They recommend a strategy of infiltration and dialogue instead of confrontation. It is claimed by them that the best way to make the gospel known is to hide your identity and keep quiet about your views, in order to get a ready entrance into the unbelievers camp, and then when you are in, and have gained their acceptance, present the truth in a very subtle, inoffensive manner that will not hurt feelings or stir up unpleasant reactions.
v. They place great emphasis on scholarship. This has become an obsession with New Evangelicals in order to gain accreditation with the government. To appear to be more scholarly New Evangelical theologians and writers will give equal time to all non-biblical and biblical views surrounding an issue, and leave the reader or hearer to evaluate for himself the merits and demerits of each and then choose the position he feels is right, or form his own view if he is not satisfied with those presented.
vi. They are known for organising huge nation-wide gospel campaigns with full publicity and mobilisation of all churches. In Singapore we had seen a few such campaigns like the “I Found It! Campaign” in the 70’s and the Luis Palau Crusade. But these campaigns are inclusivistic, which means that all churches are invited to participate in them, including Liberal and Roman Catholic churches. And when there are converts at such campaigns, they are divided for follow up among all the participating churches. Some will therefore end up in apostate churches.
e. In the light of the persistent disobedience of influential Neo-Evangelical leaders like Billy Graham, and J.I. Packer despite repeated admonition and rebuke from fundamentalists, the principle of secondary separation must be applied to them. This means that we must not actively participate in any evangelistic campaigns associated with them (e.g. A.D. 2000 Evangelism), nor support ministries and institutions that are closely affiliated to them.
f. However, not every member of a Neo-evangelical church, institution or organisation instantly becomes an object of separation. The following are five suggested modes of applying the command:
i. Teaching those who are not aware of the principle. Believers must first be taught that compromise with doctrinal error and unbelief constitutes the sin of disobedience to the commandment of primary separation as given in the scriptures. If he had been involved with those who teach error and unbelief, out of ignorance, then separating from him is not justified. But the most important duty, that cannot be neglected, is to inform him from the Scriptures about the principle.
ii. Reasoning from the Scriptures with those who are aware of the issues, but who are not convinced that the principle has biblical authority. Some do not practice separation because they have not come to the same conclusions about the Bible’s teaching on separation as we have. They are not deliberately disobeying the Scriptures. We need to explain our reasons as objectively as we can, to win the unconvinced over to what we believe is the only biblical position on the issue.
iii. Admonishing those who have compromised the principle. When a believer understands the issues of separation and is fully convinced of their biblical authority then he becomes responsible for responding to them. But, if in a moment of spiritual weakness, he now compromises the commandment of primary separation, then separation from him is still not justified. Before that, He needs to be confronted with his error of violating a commandment he already knows.
iv. Separating from those who refuse to act on the principle. If he responds to this confrontation with a repentant spirit, and acts upon the commandment of primary separation, then separation will not be necessary. But if he responds with a rebellious spirit and defends his error, in spite of knowing the scriptural teaching on primary separation, then it becomes necessary to show disapproval by separating from him.
v. Restoring those who are willing to act on the principle. When separation has caused its desired result, there must be restoration. The onus lies on the offender to prove that he is no longer worthy of separation. He must cease to defend his error, and act upon the commandment of primary separation. Once it is evident that he is no longer compromising with doctrinal error and unbelief, steps must be taken to incorporate him into fellowship.
References used:
Jeffrey Khoo, The Theology of the Westminster Standards, Singapore: FEBC Press, 1997.
Bob Phee, Lecture Notes on Systematic Theology, FEBC.
