Weekly Thoughts

9/7/07 – Separation

Hi all,

I've been thinking about the issue of the separation of the disciples. The reason this is relevant is that it is getting harder and harder to be a fence sitter in our faith.

But before I share on this, please be praying. You may recall months ago I shared about 3 main areas in the summer/fall of 2007 the Father told me about, and said it was a matter of prayer. The three included an attack on the US and/or the President, the US economy, and on a spiritual side, a turning point for the body of Christ in the US. I just wanted to remind everyone to keep these things in prayer.

There was a day when a person could call themselves a Christian and that meant a believer but not necessarily a disciple. It was all the rage to be 'born again' but that didn't mean you had to move beyond being born again into maturity. Today if you are labeled a Christian it usually means you are an actual disciple of Jesus - ie a learner, an adherent, a student, one who applies the teachings and practices of Jesus and the New Testament to life.

In some streams of the faith separation from the world is a major theme, in others it's separation from other believers who don't believe the same doctrine as they do. Down through the ages various streams of the faith have interpreted Jesus' statement that we are "in the world but not of it" in different ways.

What does the Word say? the answer is that there seems to be one separation as it pertains to the world and another as it pertains to separation within the body of Christ itself. But both have to do with moving with purpose into maturity and making a commitment to the Lord. Let me explain.

The first use of separation pertains to disciples separating themselves from unbelievers immediately following the born again experience, as in Acts 19: 9:

"But when certain people were hardened and believed not, but spoke evil of that way before the multitude, he (Paul) departed from them and separated the disciples, teaching daily in the school of a man named Tyrannus."

The word "separate" means "to mark off by bounds" (Vine's, Strong's) - to set aside by marking boundaries.

It would seem that the separation of disciples from the world is not just separation for separation's sake, but for a purpose, which is the inward desire to grow in Christ, to be focused on becoming more Christ-like by setting boundaries and priorities for themselves.

Thus the disciples sought instruction: Paul taught the people in Ephesus for 3 months of Saturdays until the lines were drawn between those who believed and those who hardened themselves in unbelief, and once those lines were drawn they marked who was a disciple and who was not. At that point Paul separated the disciples to continue teaching them.

It is apparent however that separation did not mean retreating from the world, for it was the disciples taught by Paul that carried the message of Jesus to that whole province (then called) Asia, so much so that the whole province heard the Word of the Lord. They remained a part of the world and relevant to their culture and society; their separation was one of the heart and walked out in terms of priorities of the heart.

In fact it is known that Ephesus took a siesta from 11am until about 4pm every day - the siesta is still the custom in Italy and elsewhere in the Mediterranean region. (In Paul's time they worked from sun up till the heat of the day, took a siesta, then returned to complete the work after 4pm) Paul taught them during this long lunch hour - they still worked their old jobs, lived in the same houses and neighborhoods - they just prioritized their lives to take their siesta time in school so they could continue to grow in Christ.

The decision to be a disciple - that is to separate by marking boundaries and become more than a mere believer - is interesting to observe. Acts 19:18-19 says "And many who believed came and confessed, and showed their deeds. Many of them which used magic and mysticism brought their books together and burned them in front of all..."

Here we see the desire to go from merely confessor of Jesus to disciple of Jesus manifest in action springing from a heart consumed with the things of God. Thus separating oneself for discipleship is an action word.

As a disciple I want to make sure my separation for God doesn't mean I've stopped being relevant to my generation and culture. I'm still in the world, but I've made a choice to focus on growth in Christ which means my priorities are different than the culture and some of those around me. My boundaries don't mean I'm shutting people who need Jesus out of my life, but rather internally I am setting boundaries in terms of priorities and where I focus my attention.

The second use of separation in the Word seems to have been within the body of Christ itself, but again the boundary line marks decisions made by disciples to go on in Christ in balanced and scriptural doctrine and life, separating from those caught up in off balanced or carnal things.

In Romans 16: 17-18 Paul says this to the disciples in Rome: "...mark those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine you have learned, and avoid them. For they serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites, and by good words and speech they deceive the hearts of the innocent."

He also had a run-in with people who taught legalism in Acts 15, and he later called them false brethren. (Gal 2: 4) (The letter to the Galatians was written in part to contradict their false teaching) So we can rightly separate from those teaching legalism and those teaching carnal doctrine and a 'me' focused gospel which is contrary to the Word.

But of greater interest to me today is what Jesus told the churches in The Revelation. These 7 churches were the result of the outpouring in Ephesus in Acts 19, but the message from the Lord to them in The Revelation was some 40 years after Acts 19. That means there are some he is writing to who've known the Lord 40 years, and some who came to the Lord as a result of the initial generation that took part in the activities of Acts 19.

Every instruction he gave the 7 churches involved some sort of separation, but it was separation from false and flaky doctrine within the body of Christ, with the purpose of focusing once again on pure love and teaching rather than the separation from unbelievers we looked at in Acts 19:9. 

The people in these churches had separated themselves in order to be disciples of Jesus, in fact the first church mentioned (naturally) is Ephesus. But once on this course, some had either cooled in their fervor or allowed themselves to believe false or off balanced doctrine - and this is what Jesus is addressing.

To Ephesus he said they had lost their first love and to repent and find it again. Think of the love they had that shared Jesus with their whole province - that burned the magic books, that affected the idol making economy - but they had cooled in their passion and focus.

To Smyrna he spoke of coming persecution, but not to fear, clearly involving a reckoning of the heart and need to cleave to the Lord in prayerful separation unto him. To Pergamos he said to separate from the doctrine of the Nicolatanes and Balaam, and repent for holding to it in the first place.

To Thyatira he said to separate from a false prophetess and her teaching and practices - sexual sin and idolatry included. To Sardis he said to remember what they had received and repent for going astray. To Philadelphia he told them to remain separated; "hold fast that which you have". To Laodicea he said he wished they were either hot or cold instead of lukewarm - and to choose one or the other. All these involved a renewed separation to the Lord, a new consecration of heart and purpose in life.

When we were new believers many of us made decisions to go further, to become a disciple of Jesus rather than be content with just being 'born again', just like the Acts 19 disciples in Ephesus. Many of us made decisions that even separated us from career paths, friends, family, and our former lives, as did they.

It is therefore apparent in the Word that the initial "marking of the boundaries" for discipleship such as seen in Ephesus, is not the only time we must mark boundaries. Indeed, Jesus' strong words to the church at Ephesus 40 years later were to once again separate and find that first love all over again!

Think of the commands to the 7 churches:

Ephesus - repent and find your first love

Smyrna - persecution is coming, strengthen yourself in me

Pergamos - separate from false teaching and repent

Thyatira - repent and separate from false teaching and lifestyle

Sardis - remember what you had and repent

Philadelphia - remain separate, hold what you have

Laodicea - repent, get hot or cold, make up your mind

What is interesting of the Laodicean church is that they thought they were spiritually mature and on track. The doctrine they held to was this: "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." 

Jesus said however, "You don't know that you are really wretched, and miserable, and poor and blind and naked."

They were a self insulated group, comparing themselves with themselves, thinking all was right between themselves and the Lord and would react with anger to anyone suggesting otherwise. They were separated, but unto themselves, not the Lord.

Yes, it is getting harder to be a fence sitter in terms of our walk with Jesus. In Paul's time the Roman culture completely stereotyped and misunderstood what a disciple of Jesus was. They thought they were cannibals because they ate the body and blood of one Jesus, they thought 'love feasts' were orgies, and so on. It isn't that different from today; when was the last time you saw a balanced mature disciple portrayed accurately on TV or in movies or in print? Many receiving this live in countries behind the veil of Islam or with a heavily Islamic population, and certainly their faith is misconstrued as well.

Let us be more than believers, let us be separated as disciples once again, and once separated, let us not fall into the errors and complacency of the 7 churches of The Revelation.

To not draw the lines is to have them drawn for us!

 

Further up and further in,
John Fenn
www.ifaithhome.org