Separation From Evil

by G. Prasher, Maidstone | Category: General | Feb 1968

"God divided the light from the darkness."

He divided "the day from the night" (Genesis 1.4,14).

When the LORD commenced His work in creation He revealed Himself as One who divides and separates. Light and darkness cannot mix. When light comes, darkness flees: when day has arrived, the night has gone. These are ordinances which abide, and they are as real today as when the Creator's fiat was heard at first.

On Mount Sinai the LORD'S voice was again heard separating and dividing. Here it was in the moral and ceremonial spheres. He divided between good and evil; between what was right and what was wrong.

"The LORD came from Sinai...

At His right hand was a fiery law unto them...

Moses commanded us a law, An inheritance for the assembly of Jacob"

(Deuteronomy 33.2,4).

The assembly of Jacob had been separated from Egypt, and had been brought unto God. Now they must learn that the holiness of the God they have been called to serve, required a like holiness in themselves. The law with its statutes and judgements, if adhered to, was the instrument to bring about this separation unto holiness. Here were commands against idolatry and taking the LORD'S Name in vain; against murder, adultery, stealing, bearing false witness, and covetousness; with positive commands to keep the Sabbath, and honour one's parents. "Ye shall be holy men unto Me" (Exodus 22.31). "Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. For I am the LORD your God: sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy" (Leviticus 11.43,44).

When Israel entered Canaan, separation from the peoples of the land was required. "Ye shall be holy unto Me: for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that ye should be Mine" (Leviticus 20.26). Because of the unclean practices of the peoples the command was, "Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:

and ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fires; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place" (Deuteronomy 12.2,3, A.V.).

Israel's sad history testifies to their failure to maintain separation. A prophet in the days of Gideon came with the message, "I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; ye shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not hearkened unto My voice" (Judges 6.10). This was why the people were so often in distress, and reduced to serfdom. In mercy, however, the

LORD listened to their cries when in distress, and sent them deliverers. For centuries He bore with their fickleness and declension; and the voices of the prophets were a constant call to the people 'to separate themselves from evil. "Israel hath behaved himself stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer... Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone" (Hosea 4.16,17).

Further commands to Israel were, "Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with two kinds of seed: lest the, whole fruit be forfeited, the seed which thou hast sown, and the increase of the vineyard. Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. Thou shalt not wear a mingled stuff, wool and linen together" (Deuteronomy 22.9-11). Garments are what we wear, and in Scripture they speak of our manner of life. Those spotted by the flesh we are taught to hate (Jude 23). In contrast with these the bride of the Lamb is seen arrayed "in fine linen, bright and pure; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints" (Revelation 19.8). There is no mixture here. Thus God looks to find His people clothed with these righteous acts as a garment. In speaking to the church in Laodicea the Lord says, "I counsel thee to buy of Me... white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself" (Revelation 3.18). Note that these have to be bought. We received life from Him gratis, but these white garments must be paid for. To receive and wear them may cost us much, but they are good value, and are worth the price. We should wear these pure garments in the home, in the assembly, and in the world. "Thou hast a few names in Sardis", said the Lord, "which did not defile their garments: and they shall walk with Me in white; for they are worthy" (Revelation 3.4). We have not to be like the brother we once met who wore a white suit from day to day because he thought this was what the Lord desired. Fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. There must be separation from evil if the walk of the disciple of :the Lord Jesus is to be consistent. "Thou shalt not wear a mingled stuff."

"Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together." To do so is an unequal yoke. The ox is a clean animal; the ass is unclean. In our ploughing, or service, we should see to it that we observe the teaching answering to the clean animal. "Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you" (John 15.3) was the Lord's assurance given to His disciples. Earlier He had told them they were clean every whit, because they had been through the laver of regeneration; though Judas, the betrayer, had not this experience. This is the all-over bathing performed by the Lord Himself. Thereafter we find need to wash our hands and feet at the laver of the word. These are marks of the clean individual.

Another command was, "Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with two kinds of seed: lest the whole fruit be forfeited, the seed which thou hast sown, and the increase of the vineyard." The Lord's disapproval of mixture is apparent. In certain sects today error is so mixed with truth that the simple are deceived. The word of God illuminated by God's Holy Spirit is the only thing that will enable us to discern truth from error; and enable us to sow only the good seed, and keep apart from the mixtures that abound on every hand.

Many children of God, though clear as to separation from grosser evils, still fail to discern that there should be separation from spiritual evil. Paul wrote, "All that are in Asia turned away from me" (2 Timothy 1.15). He saw this corning when He addressed the elders of Ephesus, whom he summoned to Miletus. He spoke of grievous wolves, and of men arising speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. And Peter says, "among you also there shall he false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies... and many shall follow their lascivious doings" (2 Peter 2.1,2).

In the instructions given for dealing with evil in the collective testimony of the church, an heretical person is to he refused; an immoral person is to be put away; false teachers, who make shipwreck of the faith, must he cut off (see Titus 3.10; 1 Corinthians 5.13; 1 Timothy 1.20). Should, however, a little leaven leaven the whole lump, so that the entire church is defiled, outpurging is the only remaining course of action for any who desire to do the will of God. The Spirit's instruction then is:

"If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall he a vessel unto honour, sanctified, meet for the Master's use, prepared unto every good work" (2 Timothy 2.21).

The assembly in Ephesus which the Lord addressed in Revelation 2 was surely the outpurged company that had obeyed the call of 2 Timothy 2, "I know thy works, and thy toil and patience, and that thou canst not hear evil men, and didst try them which call themselves apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false; and thou hast patience and didst bear for My name's sake, and hast not grown weary" was the Master's commendation; but how sad to note that they had gone back from their first love! Despite their faithfulness at the time of the outpurging they were then in danger of judgement, and the removal of the lampstand.

Like the law in the Old Testament, the Faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints, if adhered to, will effect this separation from evil. What characterized God's work in the physical world will thus he seen in the spiritual sphere; the light of His truth setting us apart from darkness and error. "Ye are all sons of the light, and sons of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness" (1 Thessalonians 5.5). Let us always remember that "Our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ... gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a people for His own possession, zealous of good works" (Titus 2.13,14).

"Wherefore

Come ye out from among them, and he ye separate, saith the Lord,

And touch no unclean thing;

And I will receive you,

And will be to you a Father,

And ye shall he to Me sons and daughters, saith the

Lord Almighty.

Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 6.17-7.1).

G. Prasher, Maidstone | Feb 1968
General