We Should be Different

WE SHOULD BE DIFFERENT

Ex.11:7 …that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.

Lev.10:10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;

II Cor.6: ¹⁴ Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

¹⁵ And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
¹⁶ And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
¹⁷ Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
¹⁸ And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Throughout the Scriptures God’s people are exhorted and commanded to be different and even separate from those that do not know God. This is a non-negotiable aspect of walking with God, and in the New Testament walking in the Spirit. We cannot be aligned with the world of darkness and still profess to be walking in the light of Jesus Christ.

Now it may be somewhat difficult to stand out if we lived within a moral culture that lived outwardly according to the moral dictates of Scripture. If the culture was pro-life and had solid traditional marriages, and if the culture was not seeking material gain and personal success, and if the culture was peaceful and nonviolent, then it would be difficult to appear outwardly different while living in that culture. But even then we still would be exhorted by Scripture to remain separate from unbelievers regardless how moral they seemed to be.

But we do not live in a culture which in any way resembles any of the dictates and teachings of the New Testament. In fact, the culture in which we live exhibits a pattern of life that is at great odds with the teachings and example of Jesus. And within this culture we as believing followers of Jesus live. But the trappings of a culture such as this are very alluring. In fact, like the undertow of an ocean they relentlessly seek our minds, our hearts, and ultimately our lives. Like the sirens of Homer’s mythology, this culture beckons us through many avenues. And to a large degree, the church has heard their voice and has responded.

When the Lord teaches us about being different and even separate, what does that entail? I mean we all have to work and eat and buy things. But we can generally classify these things into two categories. They are the affairs of the flesh and the affairs of the spirit. Let us deal with the affairs of the flesh first. We, as believers, must strive to keep ourselves unspotted from the sinful and lustful behaviors of the world. It would seem that this would be easy but in fact it is not.

Believers by the millions think nothing of embracing forms of entertainment that are an affront to God and at odds with Scriptural teachings. Millions go every weekend and sit in front of large screens that show all sorts of sinful and salacious acts that include offensive language, horrific violence, and all kinds of sexual acts. And just because it is a movie and considered entertainment believers feel no conviction about allowing such things to entertain them, especially if they voice their disapproval. This is not to mention that our money goes to help produce more of the same.

The same can be said about television and cable. But another way in which the church has succumbed to the ways of this world is marriage. Believers date the same way as do unbelievers, they choose mates in a similar way, and they divorce along the same lines. Believers remarry with the same regularity as do the unbelievers as well. This should not be, but it has become common and accepted practice within the church that is supposed to different and remarkable.

One of the most ways the church acts just like the world is in the issue of money and material things. Somewhere along the line the church bought in to the capitalist mindset and now everything the world does short of stealing is on the table. Now a believer can be in great debt through mortgage and car loans and even credit cards and still be considered a faithful Christian. The house can be larger than he needs, the car can be above his needs, and some of his possessions can be labeled as luxuries and yet that remains commonplace within the church. There are even thousands of “Christian cruises” offered every year in which believers spend literally thousands upon thousands of dollars to see the sights and consume large amounts of food. And that is being different than the world?

HERE is an authentic Christian cruise.

There are many unbelievers who read the Bible and have bumper stickers. They even say their prayers. And within the evangelical church where those kinds of spiritual disciplines should be remarkable, they are not. The average evangelical church member spends a paltry amount of time in seeking Christ. And in many, many cases the preacher spends more time in meetings, lunches, and even golf than he does in deep prayer. Where is the difference in that? Instead of being a vibrant and pulsating representative of Jesus Christ the church has been diluted into a religious organization that bears a striking resemblance to other secular organizations with the major difference being what they say they believe.

In this world there seems to be only two gods, Jesus and money. Now the western church has taken the god named “money” and renamed it “Jesus”. Now that seems to work as long as Jesus does not come back or as long as we do not believe the Bible. Can it be possible that God sees the horror of children dying by the millions without food or water and medicine, and yet He directs His followers to borrow great sums of money to build comfortable buildings with all the media technological advances of sound and screen? Is that the kind of God Jesus represented? Is that really who Jesus was? We are no different than the Moose Club.

And then there are the ways in which we are supposed to be different in spirit. That means we are supposed to see things in the Spirit and not the flesh. We are different than the fallen culture. Our pursuits are different, our desires are different, our message is different, and our hearts are different. We see sinners in a redemptive light. We recognize that placing band aids on the fallen world only soothes the flesh but accomplishes nothing for the kingdom of God. We have no stomach for politics and the allegiances of men. We are not on any side except for Jesus. America is not our home, heaven is.

But as the years went by the church looked out at the world around and saw some things she likes. And even though we were never promised utopia here as pilgrims, believers began to desire a better earthly life. And the sin all around them disturbed believers and instead of the gospel and the love of God, the church turned to politics and legislation. How could this be? How could the church act and pursue ways that were like the ways of the heathen? It’s because the church pledged her allegiance to an earthly country and thereby unknowingly sold her birthright. It does not mean a believer is not saved, but it does mean a believer who pledges allegiance to a country has compromised his spiritual power and no longer walks in the ways of Jesus.

Back when I was born again many churches focused on being separate and were even legalistic about it. Of course they concentrated on drinking and smoking and ignored the nationalism part, but at least it was an issue. But through the years separation no longer was a church issue. Today you can almost live any way you desire and still feel very comfortable attending an evangelical church. The whole concept of “church” has fundamentally changed. It is now a place where people can find ways to compliment their lives rather than places where believers meet to worship and serve Jesus corporately. And churches gear their entire ministry to attract people.

But I believe where God desires to have believers most different is in their hearts. Since we claim theologically to have a new heart and life, it should follow that we manifest such a change in ways practically, dynamically, and spiritually. I mean what would separate a person living in America if he or she set out to literally and without compromise live out the unabridged teachings of Jesus? Would that life appear fundamentally different than those around it? And even though that would mean avoiding certain practices and living without many accepted avenues of personal aggrandizements, wouldn’t what would be most remarkable about that kind of life be found in what he or she does rather than what they avoid?

Wouldn’t that be a marvel if people thought Christians were different because of the way they loved and the way they forgave and the way they helped everyone they could? And because of such a phenomenon people couldn’t help but wonder “Why”. And as they wondered they remembered something. These same people seemed to use the name “Jesus” a lot. And perhaps these people might even believe that this Jesus, although He died a few thousand years ago, was somehow still alive. And that, my friends, is the revelation which should mark us as believers and the church as a whole.

I Pet.2: ⁹ But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;