So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and they intermarried with them. Israelite sons married their daughters, and Israelite daughters were given in marriage to their sons. And the Israelites served their gods. [Judges 3.5-6]
A year ago today, I wrote the article Intermarried With The World and it remains an unapologetic assessment of the condition of the Church today.
Never has the call to "come out from among them" been more appropriate.
Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. [2 Corinthians 6.17]
The distinction that be made between believers and unbelievers is one of faith and not to be misconstrued as one of race or nationality. There are those who believe in Jesus Christ and those who do not; those who please God with faith, and those who do not. There should be no overlapping of the two and there should be no comingling of the two. And, there should certainly be no marriage (intimacy) between the two.
The necessary distinction between believer and unbeliever serves to indicate where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to be shared. Without this distinction, there is simply no way to know "who" to evangelize.
There is something else of significance that must not be ignored as well. The necessary distinction between believer and unbeliever is manifest in the love believers share for one another. This internal charity for one another serves to attract outsiders into the fold.
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” [John 13.35]
The love God has for the world is not the same as the love He has for His own. His love for the world (which His followers are to have) is NOT an embrace of everything everyone does! God's love for the world is a focused invitation out of the world and into His Kingdom where there is faith, spiritual fellowship, growth and protection. The love of God compels all to come into this realm but does not extend this realm to all outside that setting. Jesus said it best:
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” [John 3.16-21]
There is GREAT reason to lovingly invite people into the Kingdom of God! However, there should be great warning against mitigating the curse upon a non-believer's life while they are outside God's Kingdom. When Jesus performed spectacular miracles on unbelievers, He used that circumstance to point them to the Kingdom:
But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” [John 5.14]
Paul said it like this:
Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? [2 Corinthians 6.14]
Bottom line: there is a difference, and therefore should be a distinction, between believers and unbelievers. To blur the lines is to invite idolatry. The difference between believers and unbelievers is faith in God alone through the work and person of Jesus Christ.
Father, help believers today to live in the distinction of their faith. Help us to distinguish ourselves in our love for one another and in the faith Jesus taught and demonstrated that also distinguished Him from the world. Help us invite others into the Kingdom without dwelling outside the Kingdom ourselves. So be it.
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