“Saint” is one of the names the Bible gives for a Christian. It means, “one set apart from sin and set apart for God.” “Sanctification” is both positional and progressive. Positional sanctification is our position in Christ and is settled for us in glory. Progressive sanctification is the lifelong process of conforming the life of the Christian to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). In sanctification the Christian disciple is progressively set apart from sin and for God. “Separation” is the biblical doctrine which aids us in our sanctification. The Bible presents separation on four levels: personal, interpersonal, local church and denominational.

1. Separation on a Personal Level

Most Christians will agree that the individual Christian should turn away from personally participating in sin and false doctrine. For example, a Bible believing Christian will agree that adultery is a sin and should not be practiced. They will also agree that the Trinity is a Christian doctrine which must be believed. This point need not be labored.

2. Separation on a Inter-Personal Level (1 Cor. 5:9-13)
   1. Scriptural Support: “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone who calls himself a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner - not even to eat with such a person” (1 Cor. 5:11; see also: Matt. 18:17; Rom. 16:17; Tit. 3:10-11). Why does God give us such a strict command?

·         “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Cor. 5:6).

·         “Do not be deceived, evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Cor. 15:33).

Sin always grows and spreads and destroys. Cancer always grows and never heals itself.

2. Practical Application. Separation from sin and false doctrine moves beyond personally not participating in them. The doctrine of separation teaches that a Christian must also separate from fellowshiping with those who unrepentantly practice sin or believe false doctrine. In other words, if a Christian has a friendship (or is in church) with another person who claims to be a Christian but who is living with their girlfriend, or supports abortion, or who denies the inspiration of the Bible, then the true Christians must break off the friendship (fellowship) with the one in sin. We must not associate with the person who calls himself a brother. “Association” includes attending any social activities together. It includes meeting for lunch together or eating dinner with the sinning person. Mark them, avoid them, disassociate from them, withdraw from them and have no friendship with them. A local church is commanded to exercise church discipline on any professing Christian within its fellowship who refuses to repent after going through the steps of Matt. 18.

3. Separation on a Local Church Level (2 Cor. 6:14-18)
   1. Scriptural Support. “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion has light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14).

2. Practical Application. The church is an assembly of God’s people saved by grace, living holy lives, under the leadership of a pastor, organized to make disciples to the glory of God, worshiping the true God, preaching the Bible, edifying the Christians, and making disciples in the world. It must remain pure! A true church is defined by:

1.      True Worship of the true God, and done the way God prescribed he is to be worshiped

2.      Bible Instruction - teaching the fundamental, essential doctrines and morals of historic, Bible based Christianity

3.      Pure Fellowship of genuine, holy living disciples. Church discipline is practiced.

4.      Intentional Evangelism and disciple making. Intentionally going and making disciples.

5.      Practice of the ordinances - Lord’s Supper and Baptism

6.      Biblical Leadership - Pastor, assistant pastors and deacons

·         A church which does not proclaim salvation by grace alone through repentant faith alone in Christ alone is not a true church.

·         A church which refuses to preach repentance and call people to turn away from their sin is not a true church.

·         A church which denies any or all of the fundamental, essential Christian doctrines is not a true church.

·         A church which supports or tolerates known, unrepentant sin or which denies or supports the denial of any of the fundamental doctrines of the faith is not a true church.

Thus, the true believer in such false churches is commanded to separate from those types of churches. Please understand, there are many good believers in those churches. The doctrine of separation is saying that those apostate churches are devoid of any true, good and godly Christians or pastors. It is saying that those good, holy living, doctrinally sound Christians should get out of those churches. A true Christian is not called to remain in apostate churches in an attempt to “work for renewal from within.” The believer is not to stay in a church which refuses to discipline members living in immorality, or which denies the inspiration of the Bible, or which denies any fundamental doctrine of the faith. It is very important to understand that if a church is not a true church then its worship is not true. False worship is the worship of false gods and that is worshiping demons (1 Cor. 10:20). Many good Christians are supporting the work of demons by staying in mainline denominational churches which ordain homosexuals, advocate or tolerate immorality and deny or tolerate the denial of essential doctrines.

4.      Separation on a Denominational Level (2 Chron. 19:2)

A.     Scriptural Support

·         Psa. 1:5 - “Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.”

·         Psa. 26:4-5 - “I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, nor will I go in with hypocrites. I have hated the congregation of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked.”

·         2 Chron. 19:2 - “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you.”

B.      Practical Application. Due to rebellion and false worship Israel became a divided nation. The northern kingdom (called Israel) and the southern kingdom (called Judah) were both made up of Jews. The Jews were the covenant people of God but the northern kings mingled the pure worship of Jehovah with the corrupt worship of Baal. This is called “syncretism.”

The Bible teaches an important principle of separation: when the unholy touches the holy the unholy does not become holy. Rather, the holy becomes defiled. When Israel included the worship of Baal in the worship of Jehovah the worship of Jehovah was defiled and unacceptable to God. The book of Judges records the sad story of an Israelite named Micah who blended the worship of the true God with the worship of idols (Judges 17). This “syncretism” is offensive to God and is called an abomination and is an example of the apostasy of Israel in the period of the judges when every man did that which was right in his own eyes (Judg. 21:25)

The northern and southern kingdoms did not have a lot of fellowship with each other because the prophets of Jehovah kept proclaiming the judgment of God upon the wicked false worship of the northern kingdom. At one point the idolatrous king of the north (named Ahab) contacted the godly king of the south (named Jehoshaphat) and asked him to help him fight a common enemy (2 Chron. 18). Should Jehoshaphat combine forces with Ahab? This is the question Bible believing churches and Christians must ask themselves about apostate churches in their denomination. Should a Bible believing church link hands, yoke up with, apostate churches in a denomination in order to have a larger voice for various causes common to both parties?

Jehoshaphat did not know whether he should join his godly southern forces (true worship) with the ungodly northern forces (apostate, syncretistic worship). He called for a prophet of Jehovah named Micaiah for counsel. Micaiah warned Jehoshaphat not to go into battle allied with Ahab. God hated Ahab and his apostate religion which mingled true and false worship. Micaiah explained that God was using the battle as an opportunity to kill Ahab, therefore Jehoshaphat was to have nothing to do with Ahab.

After the battle, in which Ahab was killed and Jehoshaphat was nearly killed, God sent a prophet to rebuke Jehoshaphat. He said, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you!” (2 Chron. 19:2).

The principle is clear, God’s true church is to have nothing to do with syncretistic, demonic. apostate churches, denominations or associations of churches. True worship is to have nothing to do with false worship. True churches are to have nothing to do with apostate churches. A denomination is a structure uniting churches under common leadership. The mainline denominations (Episcopalian, United Methodist, Presbyterian Church USA, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, United Church of Christ, etc.), overwhelmingly deny the great truths of the faith. Their seminaries and colleges are no longer defenders of the faith which advance holy living, defend the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, and preach the true gospel. In many cases they deny the virgin birth of Christ, they deny his miraculous life, they deny his substitutionary atonement, they deny his bodily resurrection, they deny his deity, they deny a literal burning hell, they deny the necessity of the new birth for all who would go to heaven, they deny his literal second coming and they deny the necessity of holy living in accord with biblical morals.

There are some true churches in those apostate denominations but God’s command to them through the prophet Jehu is clear, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you!” (2 Chron. 19:2). And again. “Come out from among them and be you separate, says the LORD. Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. And I will be a Father to you and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:17).

Christian, if you are truly a disciple of Christ then you will obey God (1 John 2:4). It seems clear from the Bible that a genuine Christian must:

1.      separate fellowship from a “Christian” living in unrepentant sin or heresy

2.      separate from a local church which denies essential doctrines or Bible morals

3.      separate from a denomination which denies essential Bible doctrines or morals

Theologically sound Christians who attend theologically sound churches which are in fellowship with apostate churches by way of their denominational affiliation, should seriously consider the biblical teaching of separation. If this paper is wrong then we are only guilty of over-scrupulousness in trying to obey God’s word for a pure church. However, if this paper is correct and you remain in an apostate denomination you are guilty of breaking God’s command to separate.

A Word About the Southern Baptist Convention

There are many good, godly Bible preaching pastors in the SBC. However, The SBC is becoming more and more apostate, especially evident is the syncretism. It is not as far gone as the other mainline denominations which have joined the World Council of Churches but it is about 50% liberal (for documentation see: Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible [Zondervan]; and James Hefley, The Truth in Crisis [Criterion Publications],). Year after year about 50% of their constituency votes in favor of the “liberal” (denies the inerrancy of the Bible and other key Christian doctrines) candidate for the SBC presidency. They allow professors, missionaries, pastors and members who deny essential Christian doctrines and moral values. Their colleges and seminaries are infected with apostasy. Speak with a conservative SBC pastor and they will claim that things are changing and that they are recapturing the convention for Christ. They claim that “things are turning around.” They have been saying this to me for over thirty years.

While they may make tiny advances here and there, which they may use to prove their case, the reality is that syncretistic apostasy continues to grow. This is called “creeping liberalism.” Cancer does not heal itself and go away. It must be cut out and discarded. A little yeast soon permeates the whole lump. For example, one of their “flagship” churches is Rick Warren’s Saddleback Valley Community Church. This church is different than many liberal churches in that it does not openly deny the fundamental doctrines of the faith. However, this church openly argues that a preacher should not seek to preach expository sermons on Sunday or like some “John the Baptist type of prophet.” Rather than preaching expository sermons on hell, the judgment of God and the holiness of God the pastors who visit their leadership conferences are told to focus only on encouraging and positive topical passages. This church is a typical “seeker church” which attempts to make the church “user friendly.” The high and hard demands of Christ are not preached consistently from the pulpit on Sunday morning to these “seekers.” Bible exposition is ridiculed as “ineffective” on a sinners. Repentance is redefined as a mere change of mind. It no longer means a total turning away from sin to serve God.

How should a godly Christian relate to the SBC? They must consider whether their membership puts them in fellowship with apostasy or not. They may belong to a theologically conservative local church but their church is “yoked” (2 Cor. 6:14) with other churches, professors, colleges, seminaries and missionaries who deny key doctrines and undermine and destroy the faith of young men. The Bible commands, “come out from among them and be separate so that you do not partake of the plagues which will come upon them” (2 Cor. 6:14-18; Rev. 18:4). Those who remain within apostate denominations expose themselves to the infection of theological error.

Furthermore, based upon information gleaned from their own surveys done among their own SBC pastors, SBC churches do not grow primarily through conversions (for documentation see: Kirk Hadaway, Church Growth Principles: Separating Fact from Fiction). A major source of their “growth” is through transfer from other churches (for documentation see: Thom Rainer, Effective Evangelistic Churches). This is called “sheep stealing”. They often do not practice church discipline (except in extreme cases) and so receive into membership those who have been disfellowshiped from other churches. This wicked practice is filling their pews with godless people who will further exacerbate the problem of growing apostasy within the SBC.

Another significant problem is that when a person tithes to the SBC a portion of their money goes from the cooperative fund into the pockets of apostates who teach young college and seminary students to deny the Bible. Would you want your son or daughter to be taught that the Bible has errors in it and is unreliable? Then why would you pay the salary of SBC professors who teach your children that exact thing? When I attended an SBC college for a short time I was taught that the Bible has errors in it. Do you want to be held accountable on judgment day for paving the salary of false teachers? A person in the SBC is in fellowship with apostates and supports apostasy with their money instead of using it exclusively for holy, doctrinally sound ministry. It is the considered biblical conviction of separatist churches like ours that they should withdraw from apostate denominations and find a church which seeks to remain pure and undefiled by the false worship of this world religious system.

In Summary

The Bible doctrine of separation teaches that the true must separate from the false, the holy from the unholy. True Christians should separate from false Christians. We must separate from local churches which teach false doctrine or tolerate sin as well as from denominations which teach and tolerate false doctrine and sin.

A Note on Unity on Conviction Issues

This paper has dealt specifically with separation from apostasy. A related though different issue is Christians who hold convictions about significant issues which differ from the church which they attend. What is a Christian to do, for example, who attends a church which speaks in tongues but they personally have come to the conviction that modern tongues do not fit the biblical definition or guidelines? What about a church which allows women preachers in the Sunday morning service? If a Christian believes women are not allowed to teach men that Christian would be wounding his conscience (1 Cor. 8:10-12; Rom. 14:23) to sit and listen to a woman preacher. If a Christian attends an Armenian church and they have come to a more Calvinistic theological position, that Christian would be grieved repeatedly.

Christians ought to uphold unity in their local church. Unity is a fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith. Divisive people are hated by God, they are an abomination (Prov. 6 12-19) and should be removed from the fellowship (Rom. 16:17-18). If a Christian is in disagreement on significant doctrinal or practical issues in their church they ought to leave that church and find one which holds to those significant issues in common with them. They ought not stay and cause division and disunity.

For example, it would be unethical and divisive for a Charismatic person to attend a non-charismatic church if they have the agenda of convincing the leaders of that church to become Charismatic when that person knows that it is not a Charismatic church. So too, it would be divisive for a person to seek to turn a church to be more biblical and expository in their preaching if that pastor has consciously taken the position of preaching “felt needs” to “seekers”. If the believer approaches the pastor and explains the danger of the seeker movement and the danger of not preaching the whole counsel of God, and if the pastor wants to learn and wants to change, then praise God. They could stay and help the pastor in his efforts to change the church to be a Bible driven church.

However, if the pastor and leadership have taken a stand not to preach the whole counsel of God but rather to be a “purpose driven”, seeker sensitive church, it would be divisive for a biblical Christian to remain in that environment. They should separate from that church and, if the pastor is receptive, make various Bible based resources available to him. The willingness or unwillingness of the pastor to change is the condition for staying where you hold significant conviction differences.

For further research:

• John MacArthur’s tape series on 2 Cor. 6:14 (played on 950 am radio in Orlando the week of 4/11 - 16/04)
• Ernest Pickering, Biblical Separation, Regular Baptist Press.
• Robert Lightner, Neoevangelicalism Today, RBP
• James Hefley, Truth in Crisis, Criterion Pub.