Expert: Marilyn - 4/22/2011

Question
QUESTION: john wrote at 2011-04-12 03:42:19
Below is a study on how a Christian should deal with unbelievers that has caused great division and strife in our family, This study says that we are to separate ourselves from them but it does not say what to do if the unbelievers is a member of our immediate family. If we are not to shun them, where does it say that in the bible in the scriptures.



Study 1



Fellowship with Unbelievers? A Study of 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

by Craig N. Johnson

Friday, December 24, 2004



This article is a specific application of a right understanding of our fellowship with God.

In previous articles I have talked about biblical fellowship. Fellowship is sharing with other believers. We share in a relationship that God has put us in. We share in a partnership - a team - that God has put us on. We share in spiritual conversation (communion). We share our material wealth and possessions to selflessly meet each others needs. We have all these things because we are believers. As believers we are part of the same family, the same body. We all share in Christ. We all have the same goal, the same responsibilities, and the same resources. The basis for our fellowship with each other is our fellowship with Christ. If we do not have fellowship with God and with Christ then we cannot have true fellowship with others. This is because we are not in a true relationship with each other. We are not on the same team as anyone else (we fight for our own team - "ME"). We have nothing to say to others - we have no true wisdom outside of Christ. We have no true humility to selflessly meet the needs of others. But, if we are 'in Christ' (i.e. saved), then we have all that we need to enjoy sweet fellowship with other believers!

So, we can have fellowship with other believers - other members of the family, but what is the believer’s attitude toward fellowship with unbelievers?

We know we have a relationship with other believers, but what do we have with unbelievers? The implication is that we have no relationship with them. We are not on the same team. This is in fact the case.

And, further, since we have no relationship with them, we should not try to ‘relate’ to them. We should not try to grow a relationship, or experience a relationship with them. We should not pursue friendship or intimacy with them.

Since we have no partnership with them, we should not consider ourselves ‘teammates’ in life. We should not ‘look for what we have in common with them’ but remember what we ‘don’t have in common with them.’

The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians to remind them of these very truths. The Corinthians had been seeking this friendship – this on-going fellowship – with unbelievers.

Paul had warned them of the danger of this in 1 Corinthians 15.33. He said,

1 Corinthians 15:33

Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

Apparently, the people did not listen. Paul had to go into much greater detail to explain to them the perspective that the believer should have about seeking fellowship with unbelievers. Look at 2 Corinthians 6.14-18.

We are looking at the biblical perspective of fellowship between believers and unbelievers. As you read on, you must remember what true, biblical fellowship is. It is not merely 'talking.' It is not eating together one time. Talking is an important part of fellowship. Eating together could also be very helpful. However, true fellowship is based on a true relationship based on Christ and a true partnership having been truly put on the Christ's team. Because we have a relationship and partnership together, we have abilities and responsibilities - fellowship. We share with each other. We have something to share:

Christ empowers us to give encourage and comfort to others with HIS truth.

Christ hears our prayers when we pray for others. We give to others when we pray for them.

We are rich in Christ - we have MUCH to share!

However, fellowship is more than just giving. It is also receiving. God put us in a relationship and partnership with other believers in order that we would receive from them. Other believers have something to share:

Christ empowers them to give encourage and comfort to us with HIS truth.

Christ hears their prayers when they pray for us. They give to us when they pray for us.

They are rich in Christ - they have MUCH to share!

As a Christian, you should be giving to believers and unbelievers (your first responsibility is to believers though - Galations 6.10). You should not be setting yourself up to recieve from unbelievers what they think you need. Unbelievers are not rich in Christ. They do not have wisdom from God. They do not have the same goals and desires. Their prayers are not heard (except of course, their prayer of repentence). They have no true understanding of what your needs are. Their words of comfort are based on selfish, sinful, prideful wisdom.

Look at how the Apostle Paul spells all this out. What is the biblical perspective of fellowship between believers and unbelievers?

The perspective is summed up in 2 principles. Here is the first one.

1. You are "ridiculously wrong" to seek fellowship with unbelievers.

Notice the word ‘ridiculously.’ As Paul goes on to explain, it is absurd to think that a believer and an unbeliever can even coexist. Certainly, to pursue fellowship for true, biblical fellowship’s sake is crazy.

However, it is not only ridiculous, it is just flat out wrong. Paul is giving a command here.

Why is it ridiculously wrong? Paul explains - It is an unequal yoke. Having read these words, the Corinthians would have most likely thought of a particular OT law.

Deuteronomy 22:10

“You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

To put an ox and a donkey together would be ridiculous and wrong. For a Jew the donkey was 'unclean' and the ox 'clean.' Besides that, the animals have two different natures. They would not work well together. It would be cruel to put them together.

So, why is fellowship with an unbeliever ridiculous and wrong?

You are complete opposites (v.14). How are you (as a Christian) an opposite from an unbeliever?

(1) You are on different teams. Paul uses a word meaning ‘partnership’ to let them know they are on two different teams. How can you work together? You have a big “R” on your jersey. You play for righteousness. The unbeliever wears a “U.” He plays for unrighteousness. You oppose each other. He wants righteousness to lose. You want unrighteousness to lose.

For people from 2 different teams to work at a friendship, they have to set aside the fact that they are on 2 different teams. Paul is saying that we need to remember that we are on different teams.

It makes sense to fellowship with your teammates. It should be natural.

Do you find it easier to make friends with unbelievers or believers? Do you appreciate them both the same? Should we ask what team you are really on?

(2) You live in different realms. Paul refers to light and darkness. These are often use to point to holiness and unholiness in daily living. Paul says in Colossians 1.13 that...

Colossians 1:13

[God] rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son

After we are brought into the kingdom of light, we walk in the light. We do not walk in the darkness.

1 John 1:5-7

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

A true Christian is characterized by walking in the light, and the believer never steps outside of the darkness. Ephesians 2.1 says that unbelievers live their whole lives in the sphere of sin. He never steps outside the ‘circle of sin.’

It is ridiculous to for light to share with darkness. Only contamination will occur – and, that is exactly what happens. Believers that insist on maintaining and cultivating friendships with unbelievers have ‘corrupted morals’ as Paul predicted in 1 Corinthians 15.33. They are believers that hide their lights under a bushel.

The unbeliever lives in a different sphere. If you are receiving from them, it is contaminated.

Pursuing fellowship with an unbeliever is ridiculously wrong because you are opposites. Here is another reason.

You could never complement each other (v.15). Paul uses the word ‘harmony’ in verse 15. The Greek work looks like ‘symphony.’ This helps us to understand what Paul is trying to tell us. In a symphony many instruments play together. They each play in order to complement another. No one joins the group if they think they can sound better alone. On the contrary, they join the symphony so that they can produce something better.

Paul says this kind of thinking when it comes to believers fellowshipping with unbelievers is ridiculous. You don’t want to help the unbeliever’s song to sound better. He needs to quit playing his song and learn another one. You don’t want to get help from an unbeliever to play your song. He has nothing to give you.

(1) You have different leaders. You are led by Christ and by His Spirit. He is led by Satan. The unbeliever lives according to the Prince of the Power of the Air (Ephesians 2.1-3). These two leaders are conducting two different orchestras. What leader/conductor are you following?

(2) You have different lives.Your lives are radically different. You have life-giving power from God. Your spiritual life is generated by Christ. We saw this in our study of John 15. There Jesus explained that only those that are genuinely attached to the true vine will experience life and growth and fruit-bearing.

While you have life-giving power from God, he is disconnected from the branch. The unbeliever has no true life. He has no power. He is in slavery to sin. He has no spiritual life. He is eternally dead.

How can a dead branch complement a living branch? He just makes it look ugly.

Pursuing fellowship with an unbeliever is ridiculously wrong because you are complete opposites. In addition to that…

You each have prior commitments (v.16).

The apostle Paul wants us to remember these prior commitments. You see, it is possible to forget that you are committed to something, and that the unbeliever is committed to anything. In fact, many might even think an unbeliever isn't committed to anything, but he is.

You are committed to God, which is a commitment to hate idols. This is the commitment to follow Christ which is a reception of the gospel.

He is committed to idols, which is a commitment to hate God. Paul reminds us that an unbeliever is committed to idols. He is loyal to the gods of pleasure, money, etc. He is always loyal to himself.

So, we have seen the first principle regarding the perpective a believer should have about fellowship with unbelievers. It is ridiculously wrong to pursue fellowship with them. Here is the second principle.

2. You are to pursue a separation from unbelievers and unto God.

We are to remain separate from unbelievers. We are to focus on those relationships, and make sure that we remain separate.

We are at the same time to be separated unto God. When we do this, the promise is that He will welcome us. When we avoid fellowship with unbelievers and seek closer fellowship with God, He will give it to us!

Conclusion

So, what does this mean? You may be thinking, what is fellowship and what is not? Here are some practical applications of Paul's words:

Do not 'partner together' with others in ministry when doctrine is played down. There are many parachurch ministries that don't require those involved in the ministry to be clear on the gospel. Because they don't require this, you will find people of many denominations that come together for the ministry. Having many denominations together is not necessarily wrong for having a 'partnership in the gospel' (fellowship), but it is when people come from certain denominations that deny the true gospel. For example, if the person believes it is okay to worship and pray (a form of worship) to someone else other than God, like Mary, that is a gospel issue! If the person agrees that you can earn God's favor by taking Mass, that is a gospel issue! Catholocism teaches both of these things. Catholocism denies the true gospel. If a person claims that 'he has never heard these things at his Catholic Church,' it is necessary to require that the person leave the church having received correct information about what his priest and church profess to believe.

Do not attempt to worship with others that deny important doctrines of the faith – the gospel. Worship conferences are becoming more popular these days. Who are you worshipping with? Are they believers? Do any profess to believe something contrary to the gospel? Do those leading in worship allow people that profess a false gospel to worship with them?

Do not seek a friendship for friendship’s sake with an unbeliever. The Bible does not forbid friendship with an unbeliever for the sake of evangelism. "Friendship evangelism" is not necessarily wrong. What is wrong, is friendship for friendship's sake. Friendship evangelism is a relationship of you giving and the other person receiving. Who is giving the advice? Who is receiving the advice? Who is cheering up who? Believer's relationships with other believers should always be for the goal of giving the gospel to the unbeliever. That does not necessarily mean that every conversation will be about the gospel, but that is always the goal. If the gospel is not your focus, what is your focus? What else would you want to give them? What else would you want to get from them? Consider every ‘fun’ time with an unbeliever to be an opportunity to share the gospel. Don’t have a 'give-take' relationship with an unbeliever. Have only a 'give' relationship.

Do not seek comfort and encouragement from an unbeliever.

Do not look for joy and satisfaction from an unbeliever.

Do not date someone unless he/she is obviously a Christian. Do not marry someone unless he/she is obviously a Christian.

If a person rejects the gospel over and over again, ask yourself why you would get together with them 'by choice' again.

Evaluate your relationships with unbelievers. If you are choosing to hang around them without the main goal of sharing the gospel with them, then you have some other goal. What is the goal? If you are trying to give them something else, what is it? Why would you give that to them instead of the gospel? Are you merely trying to help them live a comfortable life on earth without caring about their eternal state? How could you be that unloving? Don't make it look like life is okay without God. Don't make it look like eternity is not important. Set apart Christ as Lord in your heart (1 Peter 3.15).

Perhaps, you are thinking that you hang out with the person 'just for fun.' Again, why would you not be trying to share the gospel? Where is your heart for God? There is another issue with having a relationship 'just for fun.' It is natural in any relationship to share ideas, desires, goals, opinions, values, etc. Certainly, in your time of 'having fun' you are exchanging words that communicate ideas, desires,... Are you 'receiving' or 'giving?' If you are only 'giving,' then certainly you would begin with the gospel. Why would you give wisdom about politics without giving the gospel? Why try to help people be moral without the gospel? It is impossible.

Chances are pretty good that you are 'receiving' more than you think if you are not intentionally giving them the gospel.

1 Corinthians 15:33: Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

Proverbs 28.23: He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.

Proverbs 14.7: Stay away from a foolish man, for you will not find knowledge on his lips.

Proverbs 27.6: The kisses of an enemy may be profuse, but faithful are the wounds of a friend.

One final question for you if you really enjoy 'having fun' with an unbeliever (or unbelievers): What do you find so attractive? What do you find in the unbeliever that you need so much? What does he find that you can't find in an believer?

1 John 2.15-17: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not fromt he Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

It is ridiculously wrong to pursue fellowship (give-take relationships) with unbelievers. You are instead to pursue a separation from them and a separation unto God















Additional scriptures :



9 I wrote unto you in my epistle to have no company with fornicators; 10 not at all meaning with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world: 11 but as it is, I wrote unto you not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no, not to eat. 12 For what have I to do with judging them that are without? Do not ye judge them that are within? 13 But them that are without God judgeth. Put away the wicked man from among yourselves.

1 Cor 5:9-13 (ASV)



26 If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:26 (ASV)



18 If the world hateth you, ye know that it hath hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. John 15:18-19 (ASV)

1 But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; 5 holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power therefore. From these also turn away. 6 For of these are they that creep into houses, and take captive silly women laden with sins, led away by divers lusts, 7 ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2 Tim 3:1-7 (ASV)



5 I hate the assembly of evil-doers, And will not sit with the wicked.

Psalms 26:4-5 (ASV)



9 but shun foolish questionings, and genealogies, and strifes, and fightings about law; for they are unprofitable and vain. 10 A factious man after a first and second admonition refuse; 11 knowing that such a one is perverted, and sinneth, being self-condemned.

Titus 3:9-11 (ASV)



51 Think ye that I am come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52 for there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 They shall be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against her mother; mother in law against her daughter in law, and daughter in law against her mother in law.

Luke 12:51-53 (ASV)



33 Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals.

1 Cor 15:33 (ASV)



15 To the pure all things are pure: but to them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 They profess that they know God; but by their works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Titus 1:15-16 (ASV)



3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that perish: 4 in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them.

2 Cor 4:3-4 (ASV)



6 And he said unto me, They are come to pass. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.

Rev 21:6-8 (ASV)



25 Jesus said in answer, I have said it and you have no belief: the works which I do in my Father's name, these give witness about me. 26 But you have no belief because you are not of my sheep. 27 My sheep give ear to my voice, and I have knowledge of them, and they come after me: 28 And I give them eternal life; they will never come to destruction, and no one will ever take them out of my hand. 29 That which my Father has given to me has more value than all; and no one is able to take anything out of the Father's hand.

John 10:25-29 (BBE)



Study 2



SHOULD BELIEVERS HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH UNBELIEVERS OR EVEN LESS MATURE BELIEVERS?

I) INTRODUCTION:

Objectors to God's word which commands a believer not to have fellowship with unbelievers ask, 'How can a Christian properly witness to an unbelieving world if they don't fellowship with them in order to 'earn a hearing' or 'win their confidence.' But this implies spending a considerable amount of time with them, and not contradicting their worldly ways by word and even conforming and agreeing with those ways so as not to offend them. In this way, the believer compromises his own walk with Jesus Christ, subjecting himself to continual temptation. No such 'sacrifice' was condoned by God for the sake of the gospel, rather, efforts such as these contaminated the witness of the individual and focused the message from the Word of God to the questionable behavior of the compromising believer.

God's Word indicates, instead, for the believer to avoid temptation and pray so as not to fall into it, (Mt 26:41). There is constant temptation when one is associating oneself with worldly people. Furthermore, how can a Christian claim to have fellowship with God and unbelievers at the same time?

II) DO NOT HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH THE WORLD

A) [Compare 2 John 7-11]:

(v. 7) "Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.

(v. 8) Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.

(v. 9) Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God;

[i.e., does not have fellowship with Him. Although they are saved and eternally secure, (Eph 1:13-14), they do not have God with respect to having fellowship with Him]

whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

(v. 10) If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him.

(v. 11) Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work."

B) [Eph 5:3-4]:

And consider that Ephesians chapter 5 teaches that a believer should not behave like the world:

(v. 3) "But do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you, as is proper among saints;

(v. 4) And there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks."

Can a believer avoid being around such improper behavior when among unbelievers? How can a believer have fellowship amongst those who do such things and not succumb or at least be associated with such unacceptable behaviors?

C) [Eph 5:11]:

Furthermore, Ephesians chapter 5 goes on to command the believer to have nothing to do with worldly ways - which clearly means, 'Don't associate with others that do these things':

"And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them.."

And how long will it take for unbelievers and carnal Christians to shun the fellowship of a believer who does not agree with their lifestyle and by his example shows it. If a believer does not spew out of his mouth the same ungodly wisdom that unbelievers do, he will be singled out very quickly and ostracized. Even by taking a stand that Christ is the only way to heaven, or that homosexuality and abortion are wrong, or that getting drunk is not appropriate behavior for a believer, or that coarse, suggestive or obscene language is unacceptable - all of these stands that the ambassador of Jesus Christ must make will be enough to get him 'kicked out' of fellowship with unbelievers.

Anyone who has experienced being an active witness for Jesus Christ will tell you that the window of opportunity to present the gospel and other truths from God's Word is usually very brief. One does not need to win the favor of an unbeliever. It's the Holy Spirit's job to get that unbeliever's attention not ours. One just needs to provide an immediate answer from God's Word for whatever subject is being brought up.

D) [Compare Pr 22:24-25]:

(v. 24) "Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered,

(v. 25) or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared."

So those who act like the world, even fellow believers, we are not to make friends with.

E) [Compare 1 Cor 15:33]:

"Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.' "

E) [2 Cor 6:14-17]:

Finally, compare 2 Cor 6:14-17 which commands the believer outright not to have fellowship with unbelievers:

(v. 14) "Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?

(v. 15) Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

(v. 16) Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,

'I will dwell in them and walk among them;

And I will be their God, and they shall be My people'.

(v. 17) Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate, says the LORD.

And do not touch what is unclean;

And I will welcome you.

(v. 18) And I will be a Father to you.

and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,

'Says the LORD Almighty.' "

The NIV and the KJV translate "do not be bound together" as "Do not be equally yoked" which is more accurate a picture of what it means to be in fellowship with another:

Fellowship is pictured thus as 2 plow animals yoked together in close proximity, dependent upon one another and with one direction and purpose. This is not possible for the faithful believer if he is yoked with an unbeliever, carnal or immature believer.

F) [Compare Jas 4:4]:

"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."

III) DO NOT HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH BELIEVERS WHO ARE CARNAL

A) [1 Cor 5:9-13]:

(v. 9) "I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people -

(v. 10) not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.

[Notice that Paul does not have unbelievers in view but believers who are immoral whom a fellow believer must not associate with. For a believer must still be in this world to witness for Christ. On the other hand, believers who are immoral are such that one must not associate with them for believers are held to a much higher standard than unbelievers]:

(v. 11) But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater of a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such man do not even eat.

(v. 12) What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?

(v. 13) God will judge those outside. 'Expel the wicked man from among you.' "

[Ref. Dt 17:7; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21, 24; 24:7]

So a believer must also not be yoked with an believer who is carnal.

B) [2 Thes 3:6-]:

(v. 6) "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.

Notice that believers are to avoid fellowship with fellow believers who are idle from living according to godly teaching, i.e., they are carnal.

ANSWER: Dear John;

A marriage is the most intimate relationship and the foundation of the family. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 7:12-17, “...If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.”

I would assume that the married person, since he or she is to remain married to the unbelieving spouse, is not to cease making love to the spouse or to cease talking to the spouse or fixing his or her dinner or mowing the lawn for him or her or changing the oil in the car. I would assume Paul intends for the believing spouse to live with the husband or wife behaving as a loving spouse should behave! Otherwise, why would he tell them to stay together, to live in peace? It would be better to divorce if one plans to shun the unbelieving spouse! Paul mentions children...children would be the result of making love...clearly he intends for the believing spouse to continue behaving as a loving spouse to the unbelieving husband or wife! And Paul says that both the children and the unbelieving spouse are made “holy” because of the believing spouse. Wouldn’t this then apply to your situation?

Peter gives tips on how to win an unbelieving spouse: I Peter 3:1-7, “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the Word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives...Husbands in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”

A believing wife can win over an unbelieving husband by modeling Christ, by allowing the love and beauty of Christ to shine through her for her husband to see: copying Jesus! Since Peter used the phrase “in the same way,” he implies that the husband can have the same effect on an unbelieving wife by behaving in a respectful manner toward her. The phrasing “heirs with you of the gracious gift of life” implies loving kindness and attentiveness, seeing the wife, even if she be an unbeliever as a beloved companion in this journey of years in marriage.

Paul writes in Ephesians 5:1, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

What is your purpose in this life? Is your purpose only to remain pure, untainted by the world? Or is your purpose in life to win as many souls as possible for the Lord? If winning souls is your purpose, then copy Jesus!

“Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so He went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

"When the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, He said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would know who is touching Him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner.”

"Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

"“Tell me, Teacher,” he said.

"“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

"Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”

"“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

"Then He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Luke 7:36-48.

The Pharisees were adamant on purity. Jesus’ story about the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:30-37, is an example of how intent they were on keeping themselves pure. In this story, a priest, who saw the man wounded by the side of the road, passed on the other side. Priests were not to touch corpses or even to walk upon the graves of the dead; it was possible that the wounded man was dead. If this were the case, then the priest would have been unclean and unable to fulfill his duties in the temple until he had observed the time of separation and the rules to become clean again. This would have been a severe crimp in his style. Rather than take the risk, the priest left the man for dead. The Levite also passed on the other side for similar reasons.

Jesus chose the Samaritan as the hero of the story because Samaritans were half-breeds. As far as the Jews were concerned, Samaritans were worse than Gentiles because they represented a time in Jewish history when foreign powers had the boot on their necks, had taken many of them captive and attempted to leave them with no homeland at all by sending settlers into their lands. Jews who were left behind, mostly the lower classes, the working poor, married these Gentile intruders. The Samaritans were descendants of these unfortunate Jews, half-breeds, the worst kind of human. For the Jew, racial purity is as important as spiritual purity because for them the two types were almost inseparable. Samaritans were forbidden to worship in the Jewish temple and were thus forced to worship on a mountaintop within their territory--another mark against them making them even more impure because their religious practices were not correct.

Yet, Jesus makes the Samaritan the hero, not because he was pure in all the ways men counted important, but because he loved. He loved enough to tend to the man’s wounds, take him to a place of refuge and pay for his care.

In John 4 we read the story of the woman at the well. Jesus asked her to give Him a drink. She was floored. She said, “You’re a Jew, how can you ask me for a drink?” Jews wouldn’t take any gifts or any services from Samaritans, better to hire a Gentile for a job than a Samaritan! Never mind ASKING for a drink! Yet Jesus asked her for a drink. She was understandably a bit suspicious, maybe He had bad motives, like to trap her into doing something forbidden then punish her for it. (This was a common practice, as evidenced by the story of the woman caught in adultery, John 7) But Jesus takes a completely different tack. Jesus gives this woman, this unclean whore of a woman, something He had never given anybody, not even His disciples before: He explained Who He is, Why He came to earth and What was in it for humanity! What an amazing gift of love! And to an impure, sinful, half-breed Samaritan!

Jesus stayed two days in her town. Two days with the most despicable people on the planet, as far as the Jews were concerned. By rights, Jesus should have shunned them all, they didn’t worship properly, they lacked proper birth credentials, they were sinners, and impure. The woman at the well was even bad by Samaritan standards!

The woman who wept over Jesus’ feet and doused them with perfume and wiped them with her hair committed an intimate act of love. Only someone who felt a close connection to Him would do such a thing! I don’t think even a wife would do such a thing to her beloved husband in the presence of anybody, even their closest friends! This act was committed by a person who had spent time with Jesus; someone who felt so close to Him, so deeply in love and loved by Him because of His Grace toward her, that she would enter the house of a man whom she knew hated her in order to show her love for the Lord. It was Jesus’ love, His grace (unmerited favor), that won this woman so whole-heartedly, so utterly to His side. As He explained to the Pharisee, this woman had been forgiven much, therefore she loved with her whole being. This would have never happened if His purpose had been purity as the Pharisees defined it because the Pharisees spent all their time judging, condemning and shunning people like her.

Jesus asked the Pharisee, a man who, since he was called a Pharisee, was believed to have kept the law, who knew the law inside and out; a man who was pure in all his habits, never ate anything unclean, paid his tithes precisely and willingly; kept the commandments, even the ones the Pharisees added themselves...Jesus asked this man a question, “Who loves more, the one who has been forgiven little or the one who has been forgiven much?”

Study the Pharisees, look at how they come to think of themselves in juxtaposition to the rest of humanity, even Jesus, our Lord! They called Him a son of satan. They said He did miracles by Beelzebub, they said He was a spawn of Beelzebub. Beelzebub means literally “lord of dung,” Matthew 12. What a hideous insult to the Creator of All Things, the Lord of Love! Yet, this Jesus was not pure enough for them. He associated with sinners, allowed a sinful woman to touch Him! They thought of Jesus as so lacking in purity and righteousness that they called Him "lord of dung!"

The Pharisee movement, which began many, many years earlier, was a noble one. It called for Jews to adopt purity and adherence to the Law as their objective. Since the Jews at the time had fallen away from God, the Pharisee movement initially brought renewal. But what began as noble enterprise had become by Jesus’ day a group of spiritually dead, hateful, legalistic, arrogant, judgmental, spiteful, vain and condemning bunch. Jesus called them “white washed tombs” and “brood of vipers.” The Pharisees, who viewed purity and adherence to the Law as their primary purpose as men of God...these men were the only group Jesus ever condemned. He never condemned the prostitutes, the tax collectors...the unbelievers; He never shunned them. For that matter, though He preached against them, Jesus didn’t shun the Pharisees either. If one approached Him for a discussion, He discussed whatever they wanted to discuss with them. If they proved intent on violence, Jesus simply disappeared in plain sight, walking away through the crowds. He would not allow Himself to suffer violence until the Day.

In another parable Jesus told the story of a man who owed a king a lot of money. The debtor begged and pleaded with the king for mercy and was granted mercy, then he went out and yelled at another man who owed him money, even had the man thrown in prison for his debt, Matthew 18:23-35. For one debtor to be forgiven and then turn around and fail to forgive another debtor is very bad behavior. It is arrogant, vain, self-righteous and hateful. We must not make such a mistake by shunning others we see as somehow lesser, more sinful, less fit than ourselves. We owe a huge debt to the Lord. He did not shun us or send us away even when we were corrupt, nasty debtors...what could possibly give us the right to act in such a manner to another sinner who desperately needs mercy too?

Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you were in your unbelieving relative’s shoes, how would you want to be treated? If the person you are speaking of is a child, what would be the manner in which your parents might win you to the Lord? By shunning you or by loving you? Some people find it difficult to place themselves in another’s shoes. Can you picture yourself shunned by your parents because you did not believe the same way as they do? Would you want to adopt their beliefs if they shunned you? For me, it is the love of Jesus which drew me to Him, not His power to destroy me. I was already dead before I knew of Him, I was already damned; I was already shunned! And I knew it was nothing more than I deserved, but He didn’t damn me or shun me or destroy me, instead He loved me. His unmerited favor is what binds me to Him utterly and totally so that, like the woman who anointed His feet with perfume, I would give Him my all.

Later in Ephesians Paul wrote, “Fathers do not exasperate your children...” chapter 6, verse 4. In Colossians he wrote, “Fathers do not embitter your children or they will become discouraged.” If the person you speak of is a child, if a father shuns his child, won’t he or she become discouraged? If I were a shunned child, I would. And it would probably manifest in sullenness, sarcasm and bitter remarks, as well as sneaky disobedience and little acts that I knew would displease my parents. And if I were a teenager all of these would be practiced with even greater zeal. Rejection either brings out the absolute worst in a person or the person will retreat into a pit of depression into the depths of hell on earth where the devil has opportunity to twist him even more. Especially a father's rejection, because our earthly fathers portray for us what our Heavenly Father is like. This is why a marriage consists of a man and a woman--together the two of them are the image of God to their children, their extended families and the world. If an earthly father rejects his own child, it is very, very hard for the child to believe that God will receive him! Many such children never find the Lord at all, others have dysfunctional relationship with the Father as a result and never achieve the greatness God pictures in His mind when He plans our lives.

Just as the Heavenly Father sent His Son in search of you, just as the Son gave up His cushy position in Heaven to become a Man walking in the dust of the earth, knowing thirst and the pain this human body can bring to the one living within it when starved, beaten and finally crucified, you should be willing to give up whatever it takes to copy the Lord in all things, including loving your child enough to do whatever it takes to win that child for the Lord. Shunning the child will not work! Jesus never applied that method and it would be unwise for us to try it. His way is the right way!

Is purity a higher calling than love? Your household is full of strife, which is a sign that the enemy is at work and purity, though you long to pursue it, is also absent. Love would end this strife. Jesus said, (verse quoted from memory), “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself, the entire Law and prophets are summed up in these.” For Jesus, Love is all that matters; love makes the impure pure, love automatically fulfills every law. Peter said, “Love covers a multitude of sins,” I Peter 4:8. In my mind this means that love fixes all the problems.

It was an old saw several years ago, but I ask you, If Jesus were the Head of your household, which indeed, He actually is, What would He do? How would He handle this situation where a family member is not a believer? Given the examples above and the many from the Gospels, what would He do? When you know that answer, copy His example and the Lord will bless you and your family.

Sincerely,

Marilyn


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: who are the people Paul says to separate from, all of the above supporting scriptures, how can you refute them and disregard them,  I would like it to be the way you say but it would be disobedient to God. All those scriptures support 1 thing.

Answer
Hello John;

The concept of separation in the Bible refers to two kinds:

1) to be separate from whatever is contrary to the Mind of God
2) to be separate unto God

The principle isn't that we should shun unbelievers or drive the unsaved away, but that we are to hold our moral behavior pure. And from that basis love our neighbors both near and far. For it is by love that we model Christ for the world and draw the unsaved to Him.

Separation from evil is separation in desire, motive and deed from the way the world conducts itself. The world, in this case, being world system which is run by satan. We are not to hold ourselves separate from contact with the unsaved, but separate from joining with them in their sinning and separate in that we conform ourselves to the likeness of Christ and not to the likeness of some celebrity or fad etc.. Also, separation needs a healthy relationship with the Holy Spirit and a thorough knowledge of Scripture so that we may keep ourselves safe from false teachers. Then, as we hold ourselves pure to God, we will enjoy unhindered communion with the Father and fruitful service.

Here, as in everything involving the Christian Way, Jesus is our example! He was "holy, blameless, pure and set apart from sinners," Hebrews 13:13-15. Yet He attended dinners in sinners' homes and hosted sinners in His own home where the friends of the paralyzed man took apart His roof. He revealed His true identity and purpose for the first time to a sinful Samaritan woman at the well, then stayed in her town for two days, John 4. He invited Himself to dine in sinners' homes (Zacchaeus). In fact, Jesus spent so much time with sinners that the Pharisees judged Him as having defiled Himself and having lost His pure character, Luke 7:39.

Jesus, set apart to holiness, blameless and pure, kept time with sinners, always doing His best to reveal the Father's consuming desire that they might come to Him and become His children. This too, is our calling. The name "Christian" means "little Christ," because the early believers were so like Him. Oh that we could so resemble Jesus that the name "Christian" might instantly evoke a picture of Jesus. O that we could be so much like Jesus that sinners are drawn to the Father by our love! John13:34 & 35. Would that more of us took this calling seriously and loved half as well!

Your study cited Luke 14:26. Jesus Himself illustrated what He taught here in Matthew 12:47-50. In this passage, Jesus demonstrated how He would not be diverted from His mission, even by his own mother and brothers. Jesus exemplified the principle that we must be separate unto God, not deterred from our mission by any distractions. Yet, it is clear, Jesus did not “hate” His mother as we would think of the meaning of “hate.” On the cross, in His most awful hour, He turned to the Apostle John and asked him to take care of His mother. Thus we deduce that the term “hate” is not hate in the sense that we think of today, but in the sense that even parents and siblings come second to God’s purpose for our lives.

Your study cited Luke 12:51-53. Certainly Jesus came to bring division. He spoke of this elsewhere...the weed seeds with the grain seeds which are separated during harvest, the sheep and the goats... The separation He brings is the one that is made when a person answers Jesus’ question: "Who do you say that I am?" The entire book of Revelation is the story of the time when God will have that answer from every human being on the planet and human beings are separated either to God or from God based on their answer to this question. This passage has nothing to do with loving or rejecting unbelievers, but everything to do with each person's answer to the only question that really matters: "Who do you say that I am?"

Your study cited I Corinthians 5:9-13. Verse 1 states, "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: a man has his father's wife." Paul says in verse 9, "I have written to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people--not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world." Paul is not advocating believers have nothing to do with unbelievers, he clearly says, "not at all meaning the people of this world...in that case you would have to leave this world." In this passage he's talking about striving for purity within the church.

This body of believers thought themselves noteworthy because of their tolerance in "love" toward a person who was sleeping with his father's wife. The body of believers did not try to bring him around to the right path or anything like that, they were including this man in their congregation without requiring change and proud of it! Given these circumstances, Paul says, kick the guy out. In this case, because the situation was so blatant and emblematic of a deeply troubled body of believers who seem barely capable of discerning moral behavior from immoral behavior, "love" required the man be kicked out. Otherwise, because if they were to "love" him by including him without addressing his sin, he would be shielded from the consequences of his sin and not repent, but instead, think himself satisfactory. Further, unless this church took the extreme measure of kicking the guy out, they would never come to see their own personal, individual purity as important.

It takes careful discernment to decide whether your present body of believers is sanctioning a person's sin as these people were doing, or whether your body of believers is trying to grow and develop into ever-increasing levels of purity in Christ by lovingly edifying and correcting one another. If you are going to have a body of believers who are utterly pure, there will be no body at all! What is at issue here are the intentions, goals and purposes of the body. For example, we see this playing out today in churches that advocate ordination of homosexuals. These churches would fit right into the type Paul is talking to here in Corinthians! They are sanctioning immoral behavior rather than addressing it as sinful and working to bring themselves and others into right standing with Christ.

Jesus speaks of the weed seeds (tares) growing with the wheat, Matthew 13:24–30; 36–4, and the goats running with the sheep. The church is not going to be utterly pure. It’s not possible while we reside in our imperfect earthly bodies with our inevitable moments of spiritual blindness and defeats by simple human mistake or any number of flaws and faulty reasonings. Further, every believer has parts of him that are not pure, just as wheat has chaff, the unusable parts of the wheat seed, Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17. Even some who seem to be true followers are not, Matthew 7:21–23. We cannot, and it is not our place, to cast out everybody who doesn't match our criteria for purity. If we set out to do this, who can remain? None of us are utterly pure. Only Jesus is utterly pure.

The church is inhabited by people who are at different points in their walk with the Lord. I was challenged a few years ago when I felt myself better than someone else because someone had praised my Bible knowledge. I looked down on a lady whose Bible knowledge was weak. But, when a challenge came to faith, I failed and the lady with weak Bible knowledge did not. Why? Because she whole heartedly and utterly trusted God while, despite my knowledge, I had doubt. It is a mistake to try to judge one another, segregating one another based on some human criteria; that is a duty belonging only to the Lord. If we try, we will find ourselves overtaken by pride because in truth, we cannot claim ourselves better than any other human being. We can only claim ourselves saved by Jesus’ Blood and Grace.

Leave it to say, we are all at different levels in every possible aspect of our walks with the Lord. We will never be utterly and totally pure until we are with the Lord in Heaven. To kick out those we feel are less pure than ourselves oversteps our boundaries utterly and defeats the purpose of being a body. The purpose of being a body of believers is to edify and help one another find the correct way in love. We must look to working together toward purity, edifying one another and being very careful who we seek to cast out. As in the church in Corinth, as in the church that desires to ordain homosexuals, complicity between the body of believers and the sinner has to be demonstrated, then and only then kicking someone out may be warranted.

Your study cites I Corinthians 15:33. The author has interpreted this to mean that believers must not associate with anyone but the most pure and equal fellow believer. Certainly a person may interpret it this way, if he so chooses. It is especially easy to do this if the reader takes the verse out of the context in which it was written. However, if a person interprets it standing alone without its context, it would run counter to the example of Christ who associated with sinners continually, or even Paul, who as mentioned above, said that to stop associating with sinners would mean “leaving this world.” Therefore, a different interpretation is in order. The “bad company” Paul is speaking of here must be defined by the context of the entire passage. The “bad company” are those who earlier in the chapter said that there is no resurrection from the dead, verse 12. Indeed, the bulk of chapter 15 contains review of Paul’s fundamental teachings and verse 32 is still speaking in that vein. Thus, the correct interpretation of I Corinthians 15:33 is this: people who adhere to beliefs opposed to the truth will corrupt good character, if said people entertain, or keep “company,” with their untruthful ideas. Paul admonishes the Corinthians to stop “sinning” or missing the mark on truth; not to be “ignorant of God,” verse 34. This concept is in keeping with the first principle stated at the beginning of this post: be separate from anything which is contrary to the mind of God.

Your study cited II Corinthians 6:14-18. The only reason a person would yoke two animals together would be to complete a task. Ideally, a person should not marry an unbeliever--the two would be yoked together to complete a task, the task being marriage. In my previous post I discussed the passages in Paul’s letters where he gives advice for believers who are married to unbelievers for the occasion when a person becomes a believer after he or she is married. That passage from Paul addressed your issue, as did Peter’s instructions on how to win an unbelieving husband or wife. For an illustration of how this works in real life I share the following anecdote.

We have an acquaintance who rents his donkey to persons who are having a hard time with their bulls or steers. Especially persons who are trying to raise show animals which must be tame enough to respond to a child’s lead. The renters will have the offending bull or steer penned up and our friend will come with his donkey. He will go into the pen and yoke the donkey to the other animal. Then, he will turn the pair out into the pasture. At first it looks like the steer will have his way and continue in his misbehavior. The steer will drag the donkey out into the far reaches of the field, out of sight, and the pair will not be seen for days, even weeks, but eventually the donkey will bring the other animal back to the pen, now tame and willing to co-operate. This is because this well trained donkey, completely stubborn and patient in his training, never gives up on his efforts to make the other animal behave. This is what Peter and Paul are talking about in their advice for what persons should do when they find themselves saved while married to sinners. And the force which produces the conversion is to copy Jesus, to let Him shine through to the sinner day in and day out, consistently, stubbornly, always in love, because that is how Jesus did it.

The classification of a donkey as unclean only refers to its meat. If it were truly unclean in all possible ways, as a buzzard is unclean, then Jesus would never have ridden a donkey into Jerusalem during His triumphal entry. What significance, besides fulfillment of prophecy, does it have for Jesus, the King, to ride a donkey into Jerusalem only a week before His crucifixion? Something about the nature of a well trained donkey and its power to change even animals that are larger and meaner than itself all because of its adherence to its training, I think. Further, the donkey was a symbol of peace, it was always employed in peaceful labor; the horse was associated with making war. So, because He came in peace, to purchase our peace, Jesus rode a donkey, the favored beast of burden even among nobility because of its sure-footedness. And Jesus, our sure-footed Master, also bears our burdens.

In this passage, II Corinthians 6:14-18, Paul is talking about people who aren’t already married or already yoked to complete some task. A person can be yoked in business also--two yoked together for a specific task. Unless associating with an unbeliever involves completing a task, then this passage does not apply to associating with unbelievers at all. Jesus associated with unbelievers all the time, though He was never yoked together with unbelievers for a job.

However, a pair of animals are usually unequally yoked! One of the animals is chosen for leadership qualities and strength, the other is chosen for its ability to take the other animal’s lead and work along side it. This is the ideal pair of animals because when two leaders are yoked together both are trying to do their own thing and nothing gets done. Johnson attempts to argue that mature believers should not associate with baby Christians. How a baby Christian will become a mature believer without a mature Christian yoked to him, I fail to comprehend. Jesus tells us to take up His yoke and promises that His yoke is light, Matthew 11:30. Well, His yoke is light because He’s the leader and He’s doing all the work! We just have to co-operate with Him and big things happen! We are to copy His methods; we are to be like Him. This being the case, mature Christians need to come alongside baby Christians and be yoked with them so that they will learn and grow under their leadership, just as we need to be yoked with the Lord.

Your study cites II Thessalonians 3:6. Paul says to keep away from people who are “idle.” Later, in verses 11-13 he defines what he means about idleness, “We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.” We are to keep away from busybodies. This would be people who have no occupation to interest them so they’re meddling in other people’s affairs and gossiping.

But Paul admonishes these people to find beneficial employment, in which case, were they to do this, they would then cease being idle busybodies and become useful persons. So this is not necessarily a permanent condition and our keeping our distance from them may not need to be a permanent behavior. We should not judge against persons who appear idle because we do not know all their circumstances, but we should keep a safe distance from busybodies. Part of what a busybody or a gossip needs are willing ears to listen and if we’re not listening because we’re not there to hear, we don’t aid and abet their bad behavior.

Your study cites II Timothy 3:1-7. Paul is speaking of a specific type of person who “having a form of godliness” are faux Christians, not unbelievers. These faux believers are definitely someone a godly believer should not be yoked with; someone to avoid. Sometimes these faux believers attain high positions in churches as pastors or leaders. Their objective is power. They may have originally been called by God to positions of leadership, but they become giddy with power, either forgetting or casting aside Christ. They are “lovers of themselves, lovers of money etc.” verse 2. And when their sins are full-blown, they are exposed and fall with a mighty crash, hurting those who trusted them and making a blot on Christianity as a whole in the eyes of the unbelieving world. The qualifying phrase “having a form of godliness” indicates this passage as applying to faux Christians, it does not apply to unbelievers.

Your study cites Titus 3:9-11. Interestingly enough a similar passage was used recently during a church conference where the liberal wing of the denomination wanted to silence the conservative wing by bashing them on the head with the command not to argue about the Word. Unless love is the primary force at work in a congregation, it is far too easy to take passages like these and become self-righteous, haughty, judgmental Pharisees who lord over everyone else. Paul says to “warn a divisive person once, and then warn him again,” verse 10. This would be the primary qualifier: is the person to be shunned divisive. Divisiveness and back-biting and strife are all works of the enemy and can only be combated with love. “A soft answer turns away wrath,” Proverbs 15:1. It is far too easy to think of oneself as better than someone else and become such a person as described here while “warning” another person who was originally the offender! Then, here the congregation goes into strife, hatred and quarreling over trivial matters. Only with our eyes fixed on Christ, copying Him can we avoid such a fate.

Your study cites I John 1:5-7. When a person visits Carlsbad Caverns he can take a special tour of the more delicate rooms guided by a park ranger. During the course of this tour the ranger will ask everyone to be seated in a large cavern room on the benches, then he turns out all the lights. The place is fully dark in a way that anybody above ground cannot experience because even in the darkest night the stars still shine and give faint illumination. The park ranger turns on his flashlight and suddenly the whole room is illuminated. Above ground there is no equivalent in contrast. Suddenly, after the eyes have struggled with complete and total darkness, one flashlight provides sufficient light to do whatever is needed. One can even imagine reading a large print book in that light. In former times, before Christians decided that they should not have anything to do with dirty politics and thereby let the devil take it all together, park rangers used to lead the visitors in singing “Rock of Ages” and gave a brief sermon on how our Lord dispels all darkness and we, in our feeble attempts to obey and follow Him, can dispel a vast amount of darkness, even our halting efforts!

Darkness does not overwhelm light, in fact the opposite is true! God is Light! He cannot be defeated by darkness! He dispels it! He destroys it! There is no sharing because the darkness flees in the light. Believers who associate with unbelievers are not hiding their light under a bushel! They are shining it into the darkness and dispelling it! Why should we fear when our King, the King of the Universe is Light and all powerful? Why should we fear darkness and flee from it when we are in the Light! To flee from darkness or to hide away somewhere is to cover our light. But the author of your study flips the intended meaning. He says that hiding away from darkness is shining our light and shining our light into darkness is covering it under a bushel. Are we not to dispel darkness? Are we not to drive evil away by Christ’s love and by His Light? If we are hiding somewhere far from evil, we are having no effect upon it at all.

Even the Lord Jesus’ ministry team was not as pure as your study advocates a body of believers should be. Jesus kept Judas beside Him, though I’m certain He knew full well that, as John reports, Judas was embezzling funds from His purse, John 12:6. You may argue that He kept Judas on His team for the purpose of betraying Him. But if this is the case, you still do not have grounds to say that you can kick anyone out of your fellowship! Jesus Himself said that the weeds (tares) must grow up with the wheat and they will be separated at harvest time, Matthew 13:24-30. He practiced what He preached. For the apostles, in a sense, Jesus’ arrest by the high priest’s troops was a sort of harvest time since this incident separated the wheat from the tares.

But look at Peter. Peter failed the Lord Jesus, denying Him three times after publicly swearing that he would follow Him to the death, John 13:36-38. How is Peter different from Judas in practical terms? Besides the fact that Peter didn’t take any money for his nefarious deed, the only difference is Peter understood Jesus’ love. It was Jesus’ love, not just for Peter, but for all the poor sinners He touched in the course of His ministry, that led Peter to repentance. Judas never got it. Though Peter failed, utterly and horribly, the Lord never cast Peter out. Instead, He reminded him of his purpose, “feed My sheep,” John 21:15-17. Jesus edified him, prayed for all of them and never gave up on them though they were thick-headed, vain and sometimes outright silly.

What would the author of your study do with a man like Peter? Shouldn’t Peter have been ostracized, excluded, shunned, sent into outer darkness? I challenge you to ask the Lord how following the directions included in this study will save lost souls, feed any sheep or love anyone into the Kingdom.

The only command the Lord Jesus gave us was this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.” If you were this family member who does not believe in the Lord and you were the one being shunned, would this shunning result in your salvation? What’s more important, your supposed purity, which is actually dirty rags in the sight of God except for the covering of Jesus’ Blood, or the salvation of this person you should love more than any average Joe just walking down the street? Seriously, do you think God is so feeble that He cannot shield your mind and heart and keep you pure as you do your duty and love this family member?

We are to model ourselves after Christ who did only what the Father commanded and said only what the Father told Him to say, John 5:19. In order to be like Jesus, a person must study Him. This study advocates behaviors contrary to what Jesus modeled and interprets Scripture contrary to what Jesus taught. The interpretations in this study also run counter to what Paul, Peter and John taught. This study begins with wrong assumptions and concludes with wrong instruction. You are worried about obedience…who are you worried about obeying, Craig N. Johnson or Jesus? Have you recently read any of the Gospels from beginning to the end? Have you ever considered what it would take to love as Christ loved? Of all the human beings who’ve ever walked this planet, the God/Man Jesus has won far more souls than Craig N. Johnson can ever hope to win. Rather than studying Craig N. Johnson, you should study Jesus. If Mr. Craig N. Johnson is your pastor, I beg you to find a church where Jesus is Lord and His Way is preached.

“To love means to love that which is unlovable; or it is no virtue at all.” G.K. Chesterton

Sincerely,

Marilyn