Come Out From Among Them and Be Separate (Part 2)
The word popular is defined by Merriam-Webster as : (1) Of or relating to the general public, (2) Suited to the means of the majority, (3) Frequently encountered or widely accepted, and (4) Commonly liked or approved. [1]
According to this definition, the real Lord Jesus is not popular. His message is not popular. And his followers are not popular.
As a result of His non-popularity, it can be argued that what His enemies did to Him 2000 years ago would be done to Him again in any place at any time in world history.
Those who have given their lives to Him and are attempting with all their heart to live according to His full curriculum know this, because they are being treated by non-followers as He was treated. During His sojourn here as one of us, some loved Him, but most hated Him. That is just a fact, and it is the same regarding real Christians.
The Lord’s real teachings appear so foreign to unreal Christians that the following such pronouncements are often downplayed or rejected out of hand as the words of a religious nut:
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” [Matthew 10:34-38]
Regardless of constant pronouncements to the contrary, there is and always has been a wide gulf between the real and the unreal. The real teachings of the Lord demand totality, while the various watered-down versions of counterfeit Christianity demand the opposite, and are always on the lookout for ways to make living for God easier and more inclusive. At the heart of the false teachings are two prominent pillars of non-separation that unreal Christians refuse to eliminate:
(1) “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” [Matthew 6:24]
(2) He said to them, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” [John 8:23-24 NAB]
“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” [John 15:18-19]
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. [1John 2:15-16]
So who is to blame for the current state of America?
If America is a Christian nation, who elected all the presidents, senators, and members of congress over the last century and gave them charge of the country?
If America is a Christian nation, who is the real guilty party concerning our current state of affairs, being that “Christians” have always represented the majority?
If America is a Christian nation, why have 55 million innocent babies been butchered over the last forty years, and why does the slaughter of innocents continue?
If America is a Christian nation, why was a central bank created one hundred years ago that rules over all our financial affairs?
If America is a Christian nation, why are spiritual awakenings and the bringing forth of greater spiritual and Biblical truth always fought against, and primarily by other Christians?
If America is a Christian nation, why has national judgment been steadily increasing, and why is it now increasing exponentially?
And if America is a Christian nation, why are most of those who refer to themselves as Christians in this nation acting not like their powerful Lord and Savior, but apparently afraid to be more like Him for fear of monetary or legal retribution? Or blowback from their leaders? Or the threat of disfellowship? And instead spend their Sunday mornings acting out their Christianity exactly like the little ones in Sunday School walled off from the world in false safety? This is not the separation God is talking about. Where is the great presence, real love, and spiritual effectiveness of those who turned the entire Roman Empire upside down?
It should be obvious by now that institutional American Christianity in general has been dehorned and feminized like the rest of the country.
Words alone are meaningless. The effect of our words is what matters. The fruit, or evidence, of the Spirit of God in one’s life is what separates him or her from the pack. Because the Lord Jesus said only few would discover and walk out the path of life, the community of real Christians will forever be a distinct minority in the world at large, but great numbers have never mattered to God.
In fact, the Lord has always managed to do great things with a separated but unified few. [2]
You are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.
Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. [1 Peter 2:9-12] [3]
The Great Awakening is coming forth!
© 2013 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [Part 2 of 2]
[1] © Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition
[2] Consider the story of Gideon’s battle with the Midianites… [Judges 6-7]
[3] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Posted on April 22, 2013, in Real Christianity and tagged Come Out From Among Them and Be Separate, Community of the Called-Out Ones, Final Judgment, First Century, Is America a Christian Nation?, Jesus, Real Christianity, The Great Awakening, The Lamb's Book of Life, Unreal Christianity. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
I had to laugh at your greeting that my reputation is ruined. It fits right into the theme of your latest post, which is excellent. It is true that Jesus’ reputation is ruined just like mine, and I willingly, passionately follow Him regardless of man’s boundaries and definitions. Keep being His instrument of truth. The church needs to hear what you and Pastor G and I and a few others truly have to share. May the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives and words be readily apparent.
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Thank you. The great news about the current awakening is that it is driven by the Lord Jesus dwelling by His Spirit in millions of otherwise nobodies whose reputations matter only to Him. It is a bottom-up movement of real Christians who understand that the way up is down. The first-century community of the Lord was spiritually powerful but also very loving and humble, and as a group perfectly represented and embodied the method and character of their Lord and Savior. We must return to our roots.
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Agreed! We would do well to model the first century church. Even with their issues, and they had many, they are a good example for us all.
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Yes, and I believe they were the best of examples. Indeed, the “Community of the Called-Out Ones” illustrated the prototypical example of real community as taught by the Lord. The issues they dealt with were precedent-setting, in that such issues would have to be dealt with eventually. They handled everything the right way, in that they obeyed the Lord Jesus who was directing everything through them.
The Last Days outpouring has been taking place now for many decades, and is beginning to be felt here in America. Part of our responsibility in the present is to refer to the foundation, structure, teachings, and precedents of the first community of believers and incorporate them in our present settings. It is good that progress is being made but we have a ways to go, which requires that we work while it is yet day…
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