Separation

One thing I have learned after inheriting a church building that is over thirty-five years old: don’t change something until you get an idea of why it was there. Sometimes, when I investigate why something was put up, I find it to be a matter of tradition, preference, or taking a shortcut (and okay to remove, improve, or replace). Other times, I discover that there was a reason something was put together the way it was; and I have no business trying to change it without compromising the entire structure of our building.

In life and ministry it is no different.

This important passage in the book of Ephesians reminds us of what we are, and admonishes us to live accordingly. It says that we are “light in the Lord” (remember Matthew 5:14–16), and tells us to live like it! Just as there is a great difference between light and darkness, Ephesians 5 teaches there should be a vast difference between the way Christians live and the way unsaved people live.

It seems there is a good amount of talk these days about people “collaborating.” Both collaboration and cooperation are legitimate and good words. To collaborate means to “co-labor, or to labor together.” To cooperate means “to operate together.”

When I was growing up in the 70s, the watchword among independent Baptists was separation. And with good reason. Many of my mentors were men who had come out of denominations that denied the inerrancy of Scripture, miracles of the Bible, and even the virgin birth of Christ.

In nearly fifty years of pastoral ministry, I’ve heard many arguments against the separatist position, particularly ecclesiastical separation. I am now seventy-one and have been a separatist by conviction all my adult life. Recently, I paused to reflect on why I hold the convictions I do. Let me share five reasons.

Several years ago, I preached at a church about forty-five minutes away from where I pastor. The folks there learned that I was to preach at another church in the area.

“Standards,” or guidelines, that provide for biblically based decision making are the subject of much dispute both within and without fundamentalism. The reasons for this are myriad, but among them is a condemning spirit by those who hold standards different than our own, the abuse of adding to what the Word of God requires, and a failure to agree on what and where a particular standard should be.

In the tenth chapter of the book of Second Kings, we find a fascinating story of how the Lord used Jehu to slay the descendants of, and those loyal to, wicked King Ahab. In the process, Jehu met a man named Jonadab—a man who shared a zeal for the Lord and the heart of Jehu for ridding the land of any residue of King Ahab’s wicked reign. Together, they slew many wicked men and were used of God to fulfill His purposes.

One Saturday afternoon after soulwinning, my family and I were making our way from our car into McDonalds. As we approached the front doors, another family was leaving. The dad stopped and curiously asked if we were Christians. I gladly told him yes and spent a moment talking to him about the Lord.

In 2 Timothy chapter 2, Paul told Timothy to, “Purge himself from these” in order to become “a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use.” The “these” from which Timothy must purge himself in order to be used of God are false teachers, such as Hymenaeus and Philetus.

To many, holiness means stained glass windows, organ music, or candles. Those things are not holiness. They are religious trappings of people trying to create an aura of holiness.

June 2011 marks my thirtieth anniversary in full-time ministry. I was saved in an independent Baptist church. Over the last three decades, I have seen the spiritual wagons circling into many different camps. We have to ask the question, “Should I separate from fellow independent Baptists?”

Sinful compromise is not hard to discern and avoid. Those who are careful to please the Lord will recognize such compromise when they ask certain questions about the issues at hand and the changes that are being made by many.

Leading fundamentalist churches across the country today are changing what they believe and teach. In many cases, these changes amount to compromise with evil.

The nation was in a free fall heading for destruction. Not a single drop of rain had fallen for three and a half years.

It was not that there were no “flesh-and-blood” enemies at Ephesus. During the great awakening in that city, Paul had faced the wrath of Demetrius the silversmith, who called together an assembly of idol-makers to protest his preaching (Acts 19:23-41).

Most young missionaries have no idea how much their relationship with other missionaries can affect their own work. Hudson Taylor was an excellent example of how . . .