“COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND BE SEPARATE, SAYS THE LORD.”
Definition
“World” definition
John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
John 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.
Clarify we were once of the world, but by the grace of god we have come out
Ephesians 2:2-3….the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
Ruler of this world
John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Ephesians 2:2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
1 John 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
Revelation 12:9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Definition of church
“Church” – called out ones; called out of what
Come out
2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
2 Corinthians 6:15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM. I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.”
2 Corinthians 6:17 Therefore “COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND BE SEPARATE, SAYS THE LORD. DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN, AND I WILL RECEIVE YOU.”
2 Corinthians 6:18 “I WILL BE A FATHER TO YOU, AND YOU SHALL BE MY SONS AND DAUGHTERS, SAYS THE LORD ALMIGHTY.”
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
do not be conformed to this world…Come out of the world
1 Peter 1:14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
1 Peter 1:15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
1 Peter 1:16 because it is written, “BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”
Be holy as I am holy (Leviticus 19:2)
Don’t be like the world; don’t let it pull you back into its grasp; don’t become that way again; the world will pressure you to be like it.
1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
But be transformed… metamorphoō met-am-or-fo’-o ; to transform (literally or figuratively “metamorphose”): – change, transfigure, transform.
A process of changing from what we were to what we are to become
Notice this conversion
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed [metamorphoō] into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
It occurs as we renew our mind:
Ephesians 4:20 But you have not so learned Christ,
Ephesians 4:21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:
Ephesians 4:22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, [and conforming to the world].
Ephesians 4:23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
Ephesians 4:24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins [just as Lot’s wife did], and lest you receive of her plagues.
Revelation 18:5 For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
Romans 6:16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
Romans 6:17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
Romans 6:18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
Here is the distinction:
IN not OF
We are in the world but not of the world
John 17:11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.
John 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
John 17:13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.
John 17:14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
John 17:15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
John 17:16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
John 17:17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
John 17:18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
Do Not Love the World
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. [Continuing in the verse we now have an if/then statement; it is a conditional statement] If anyone loves the world, (then) the love of the Father is not in him.
1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. [which we are to come out of].
1 John 2:17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. [Our citizenship and goal is the Kingdom of God;].
Do not love the world instead we are to overcome the world (like you did the wicked one)
Lust of the flesh – Wanting and longing for the things of this world, in particular the things which are not of God and will not last but will be burned up in the end as the way is made for the new earth.
Lust of the eyes – this something that there is no end to. We can always see something else that we want and in the end there is no satisfaction with these things, nor will we ever be fulfilled with them
Pride of Life – thinking of yourself a little more highly than you should; the reality is that we are less than nothing and a vapor in the eyes of God; yet we think we are so mighty and wise; we have lost our perspective on this ant hill floating in space that we call Earth.
Summed up in:
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
Genesis 3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;
Genesis 3:3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
Genesis 3:4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
Genesis 3:5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food [lust of the flesh], that it was pleasant to the eyes [lust of the eyes], and a tree desirable to make one wise [pride of life], she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
End result was away from God and into the world….
Genesis 3:23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.
Genesis 3:24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is what the world has to offer and what does it all amount to
Matthew 16:26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Cares of this World
Matthew 13:22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
Mark 4:19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Repentance
Tied in with repentance
Luke 9:62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
We can not leave one foot in the world. Why would we want to look back to what we left behind?
Instead, let’s look forward. God expects of us, that once we put our hand to the plow we cannot look back and still be fit for the kingdom of God. When we look back we lose:
- perspective – one eye lose perception
- sense of direction
- sight of the goal
- cannot see “the Way”
That is why we are to look FORWARD. We are to continue to look towards the Goal and the Vision that we have been given. We cannot look forward and backwards at the same time.
We cannot serve two masters: God and the World. Once we are on the spiritual path, we cannot go back to our old ways. Lot’s wife longed to go back into Sodom and Gomorrah – back to the world.
We Show Repentance By our works…
Acts 26:20 but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.
We show that we have changed from our previous carnal ways. Our works show that we have turned around. That we have buried the old man and are walking in a new direction.
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
Luke 3:8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
Luke 3:9 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Luke 3:10 So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?”
Luke 3:11 He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”
Good Example by Works
We are to be the light in the world
This transformation is something that we do, it comes through action
Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Matthew 5:15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Lists to Measure Ourselves
(From general to more specific)
10 Commandments — Do we love God with all our heart mind and soul
Letter of the Law
Exodus 20:2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
Exodus 20:4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
Exodus 20:5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
Exodus 20:6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Exodus 20:7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
Exodus 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exodus 20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
Exodus 20:10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
Exodus 20:11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.
Exodus 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.
Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal.
Exodus 20:16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Spirit (Latter part of Matthew 5)
Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5)
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Galatians 5:23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Works of the flesh
Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
Galatians 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
Galatians 5:21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Love Chapter
1 Corinthians 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
1 Corinthians 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
1 Corinthians 13:5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
1 Corinthians 13:6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
1 Corinthians 13:7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies,
Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
Deuteronomy 10:12 “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
Deuteronomy 10:13 “and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?
Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
Matthew 6 Model Prayer
Matthew 6:9 “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
Matthew 6:13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Matthew 6:15 “But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 6:16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
Matthew 6:17 “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
Matthew 6:18 “so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
End Time Attitudes
2 Timothy 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
2 Timothy 3:2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2 Timothy 3:3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
2 Timothy 3:4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
2 Timothy 3:5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
How to Make Calling Sure
2 Peter 1:5-7 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
2 Peter 1:8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
2 Peter 1:10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;
Going the Right Direction
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
We need to continue to seek first the Kingdom of God and all His Righteousness
Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended [perfection or salvation]; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind [who and what we were before God began working in our lives; the world around us] and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, [the Kingdom of God and all its glory]
Philippians 3:14 I press toward the goal [moving forward] for the prize of the upward call [high calling KJV] of God in Christ Jesus.