“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” (Re 18:4 AV)
Two
very good practical reasons for separation.
The command is for the faithful saints who still remain in mystery Babylon
to come out from her because Jesus is getting ready to judge her. The warning is for more than escape from judgment. It is also to keep a clear conscience. Coming out from Babylon meant more than
seeking God’s grace. It meant not
partaking in nor condoning the sins of the world. I know we have journaled regarding separation
before. Above, we see a very clear
reason to separate. That is, to refrain
from being a part of the wrongdoings of others, even in the subtlest of
areas. It gives us pause to contemplate
why saints have a hard time with separation.
We usually dwell on liberty.
Liberty is a hard thing to relinquish.
But it might go deeper than this.
Why is it that we do not like to separate? The people above are in the future. They have more light than anyone. They will be aware they are living in
Babylon. Why are they living there? They know it will eventually receive
judgment. Perhaps they need to. But many may not. Why is it that we have a hard time separating
from that which we know the LORD approves not?
I think the answer might be above.
We know they will not wish to suffer the plagues. So it has to be the other option.
Partaking
is a bit different than indulging.
Indulging requires full commitment.
Partaking not necessarily. The
pleasure of sin is shared so the extent of sin isn’t as comprehensive as it could
be. There is also a communal experience
intimated. Culture has a way of seeping
into the church in ways that begins rather innocuous but left unchecked, it can
grow into a problem. Several years ago,
there was a major infatuation with superheroes.
So much so, we saw churches use this theme to promote events at their
church. Superheroes may seem innocent enough,
but if left without constraints, it can get out of hand. What do we do with someone who wants to make Wonder
Woman her hero? Wonder Woman is not the
picture of a meek and quiet spirit. How
about those superheroes who carry one intimate physical relationships outside
of marriage? Do we lift them up as role
models for believers to idolize? What
about the newer superhero movies that cater to the same gender crowd? The Superman I grew up with is vastly
different than the one portrayed today.
Yet, the church partakes in activities or culture which seem innocent
enough. What it doesn’t consider is the subtle
way in which sin is introduced and to the extent, it will grow. Separation demands that we forsake every
appearance of evil. Not just the
obvious. The saint is not separated
because the saint does not want to forsake.
The
other consideration is in partaking, we share guilt. Shared guilt is not nearly as deep as sole
guilt. We spread the divine disappointment
around. If Dad is angry at all of us,
then we can bear it. If he is angry at
just me, then it becomes immensely more difficult to endure. The very use of the word ‘partaking’ suggests
this is not a lone wolf affair. It
suggests one of the reasons for involvement is for the purpose of fellowship around
the activity. Perhaps not the activity
at all, but rather, association with others who happen to be involved in something
we would better off if we left alone.
This is the real issue of separation and it is as old as the garden of
Eden. When Eve partook of the fruit,
Adam had a choice. He could either
choose the company of God by faith in righteousness, or he could choose the
company of his wife. He made a choice
that the relationship at hand was better than the relationship by faith. This is the real issue of separation. We do not want to be different and we value
the affirmation of the world more than we do the affirmation of God. The people of Babylon must make a
choice. It is either God’s fellowship,
or the world’s. But they cannot have
both.
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