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Hello everybody, it's me, Mr. 1223, back with another video. Today I want to talk about the biblical doctrine of separation and why it's important to follow and actually why it's a very clear and well-taught doctrine in the Bible. The Bible repeatedly tells us that we should reject fellowship with wicked people and to remove ourselves from the unclean things of the world so that we can be holy to God. One of the most important passages on separation is this, 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 14 to 18 which says, So here we have several commands. First it says in verse 14 to not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Being unequally yoked together means that we attempt to work together, to walk with and to live with unbelievers. This is something that we shouldn't do because we are of God and they are not. They are of the world and the Bible says in James chapter 4 verse 4, The Bible repeatedly tells us in John chapter 1 and John chapter 3 and even throughout the entire book of John actually that one of the reasons why men reject God and the gift of salvation is lest their deeds be reproved as it says in John chapter 3 verse 20. In 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9 the Bible says, So the Bible calls us as Christians a holy nation. We're not of the world. Therefore we shouldn't live in the world and act like the world as if we are of the world. The word holy itself just means to be separate. It means to be set apart. 2 Corinthians 6 goes on to give comparisons. Righteousness and unrighteousness do not have fellowship together. Neither does light or darkness. Neither does Christ or Belial which is another name for Satan. And that's why the word is admonishing us to beware of those who are unrighteous, those who are of Satan, those who are of the darkness, those who have their father being the devil and not God being their father, God the father. Furthermore it says in verse 17 of 2 Corinthians chapter 6, Come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord. So this is an actual commandment from God. The Lord is literally telling us to do this. It says again in verse 18, saith the Lord Almighty. The Lord is actually calling us to come out of the world. He's calling us to be separate unto him. The Bible says in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 15 to 16, But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy. And this is a quote from Leviticus chapter 11 verse 44 to 45, For I am the Lord your God. Ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy, for I am holy. Neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. Ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. Now understand the context of this verse, the whole context of chapter 11, the entire chapter of Leviticus 11 and most of the book of Leviticus for that matter, teaches us how to be holy and how to separate ourselves. And one of the ways of doing that is to avoid unclean things. And this is where some Christians might disconnect from this doctrine. There's this false idea out there that God's guidelines and his law for the clean and unclean things in this world should be abolished. But this is all despite Jesus' words in Matthew chapter 5 verse 17 to 18 where he says, Think not that I am come to destroy the law of the prophets. It literally says in 2 Corinthians 6 17 from the commandment of the Lord, Such not the unclean thing. There are a lot of unclean things in the world and separating ourselves from these things is one of the steps to being holy as we should be. And this is what it's teaching in Leviticus 11. It says in the previous chapter in Leviticus 10 verse 10 to 11, And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses. In Ezekiel chapter 44 verse 23 it says, And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. So there's a difference between unclean and clean, and also holy and unholy, or as Ezekiel describes it, profane. Leviticus chapter 20 verse 7 says, Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy, for I am the Lord your God. And for those who don't understand, the Bible pronounces curses upon us for disobeying God's law. This is another thing which some Christians don't seem to get. Just because we're saved by grace through faith, which is definitely a biblical doctrine, that doesn't mean that the law is useless and that we can just go and do any sin that we want. It doesn't mean that God doesn't want us to abstain from sin. Although we won't go to hell, God will still punish us on this earth. We will still be cursed, and an inheritance in heaven will be removed from us. The Bible says in Deuteronomy chapter 27 verse 26, Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them, and all the people shall say amen. Now we're turning back to the initial discussion of 2 Corinthians chapter 6. That we should remove ourselves from the wicked, as it says in verse 14 to 15. We should remove ourselves from the wicked and not have fellowship with unbelievers. The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 13 verse 20, He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. The Bible says, The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. In Psalm chapter 14 verse 1. Atheists, those who deny God, those who refuse to even acknowledge a creator, are called fools in God's word. It is said that if we are to be their companions, if we are to be the companions of fools, we shall be destroyed. It doesn't say we might be destroyed. No, Proverbs 13 verse 20 says a companion of fools shall be destroyed. It doesn't say they might, it says they shall be destroyed. So you better watch who you're fellowshipping with and who you're companioning with. It's not just about those who are without, those who are outside of the church, the unsaved. The Bible does show us that we should be separate from fools, it does show us that we should be separate from any unbeliever, but the Bible also tells us that we should separate from even Christians who are disorderly and who spread heresies. In Romans chapter 16 verse 17 it says, Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them. In Titus chapter 3 verse 10 it says, A man that is an heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject. The word heretic literally means one who causes division. And this is where some people might get confused. I'm talking about division within the church, not just division in general. A church should be unified and of one accord, as the early church was in Acts chapter 1 when they were electing Matthias as the 12th apostle. It says that they were all of one accord in prayer and supplication. I've also heard some people accuse people like me, who teaches clear biblical doctrine of separation, of being divisive. The problem are not the people who stand on the word of God and actually do what it says, it's those who go against it. It's no coincidence that all throughout the world the primary doctrine of the Bible such as, for example, the sonship of Christ, or the gospel of grace alone through faith alone, or the resurrection of the dead, and so many other things are accepted by saved Bible believing Christians, because the Bible teaches us that if we're saved the Holy Ghost will teach us all things. Those who are divisive are those who break off from the accepted truth, from what the Holy Ghost has revealed to us through the reading of his word, and they create factions and cults through their heresies which are contrary to the word of God. They're the ones who are being divisive. They're the ones who are trying to separate from us and we need to separate ourselves from them to make sure that we don't have fellowship with these heretics. Also concerning brethren, the Bible says in 2 Thessalonians 3 verse 6 to 14, But to make ourselves in a sample unto you to follow us. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing, and if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Notice how it says in verse 6 and also in verse 12, it says now we command you. So this is a command. It also says we command you and exhort you by our Lord Jesus Christ. So this is on the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a command that we withdraw from brethren which walk disorderly. And this disorderly walking is defined in this passage right here and we see several examples within this passage. Those who refuse to work, those who refuse to do the things which the church does by the commission of God. For example, if there's somebody in the church who refuses to do any work for God, who refuses to preach the gospel, who refuses to help his brethren, who refuses to even do simple tasks within the church, or who just leeches off of others for his own personal gain instead of working to get his own stuff by himself, by his own work. These people are disorderly. These people should be rejected and rebuked until they repent of their wrongdoing. Now there's another verse which can tie in both false Christians and disorderly brethren, but also those of the world. The Bible tells us again that we should separate ourselves from the world by saying this, Ephesians chapter 5 verse 11, And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. And this is in the context of a few verses earlier in verse 8 where it says, Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. So because we have the Spirit of God living inside of us, because we're saved, because we have become the light of the world as Jesus describes us in the Sermon on the Mount, we should act as the light of the world. When you're in a dark room, when you turn on a light, this room is a little bit dark. I have my window open right now, or not open, but there's no curtain over it, so there's light coming into the room. But when you're in a dark room and you turn on a light, the darkness is driven away. Light and darkness cannot exist together at the same time. If I turn on a flashlight in a dark corner, the darkness is not going to be where the flashlight is shining. There's going to be light there. You can't have both in the same place at the same time. Light and darkness cannot exist together at the same time. Therefore, as Christians, we should, if we are truly walking in the light, remove ourselves from the darkness, and we do this by walking in the Spirit. The Bible says in Amos chapter 3 verse 3, Can two walk together, except they be agreed? And going back to 2 Corinthians in chapter 6 verse 17 to 18, Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you. And it will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. So we are also given one clear reason to obey this commandment, and said that he will receive us, and be a father unto us, if we are separate. Now being born again, we all become the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. It teaches that in John 1-12 and Galatians 3 and so on. But we cannot have fellowship, we cannot actually have fellowship with God without holiness. Another reason why you should avoid the darkness of this world and to be separate is to make sure that we do not fall into the trap of performing the same evil deeds. It says in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 1 to 7, It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I fairly as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together in my spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. So an analogy is used here between leaven and wicked people, those who have sinned within the church. The phrase a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump is what we should pay attention to in this passage. When a leavened person, that is one with sin, one who is not unleavened, is among the congregation, that can be dangerous because it can cause the whole congregation to become leavened as well. Remember Proverbs chapter 13 verse 20, it says that walking with a fool destroys us. I want to wrap up with one more verse, Galatians chapter 5 verse 19 to 21. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, seditions of heresies are things you should also pay attention to, envings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like, of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Notice that one of the works is uncleanness. We need in this world to understand the difference between unclean and clean, between holy and unholy. God demands us to be holy and to be separate. And I could go on with this for hours. This doctrine is so clear from the Bible. I could teach and go in depth with dozens of other scriptures. This is such a clear doctrine and I'm saddened by the fact that a lot of Christians out there don't understand that we need to be separate. We need to separate ourselves from the world and separate ourselves from the people who are not of God. There are a lot of Christians out there who act like they're just of the world as if they are of the world, to the point that it's even difficult sometimes to even tell if they're of God, if they're saved. God has called us out from Egypt. He's called us out from Babylon towards him. And I'll admit, I'm not the best I could be. I haven't been the best at carrying out the practice of separation, but this has been on my heart for a couple of weeks now and I'm ready to do what God has commanded us to do and to separate from the world. And I hope you are too. I hope, let us all as believers do this and obey the Biblical doctrine of separation. So thank you everybody for watching. I hope this has been a very informative video. I tried to use as many scriptures as possible. Again, I could go on for a long time with a lot of scriptures, other things about this, but I'm going to cut the video off here. So thank you everybody for watching and goodbye.