Culture wars (VII) Come out from among them? Yes but who is “them”?

There are modern day Pharisees on both the left and the right, you know those who think that they alone are right, and that everybody else is wrong. It makes for polarization, where in our isolation it is far too easy to hate, fear and vilify everyone who is “not us.” There are some in Christendom, who think it's Biblical, quoting “Come out from among them and be separate” (2 Corinthians 6:17). But it’s far more than a false understanding of this verse that has led Christians into such isolation, and separation not only from the world, but from each other. To get the balance here, let me also quote “I wrote to you .. not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world” (1 Corinthians 5:9, 10). Indeed, we are told to be salt and light bringing Kingdom values to the World. Salt changes the nature of things. But it can’t change the nature, if it is separate from that which it's meant to change, or if the salt has lost its saltiness (Matthew 5:13), or if we refuse to be shown where we are wrong. We need to earn the right to be heard, and we can’t do this living in our Christian bubbles.

The command then, is not that we separate from the sexually immoral of the World etc, for how then can we be salt and light? So what is Paul saying? The context of the 2 Corinthian exhortation, is the command “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (verse 14). To be yoked in this sense, is to team up in indissoluble partnership. Applications include marriage and business partnership. It seems to be sad but true, that in such situations more often than not, the one who compromises morally, is the believer. So from whom then are we to separate? It is from a brother or sister who is sexually immoral, or covetous etc., etc. And this brings up the whole question of the how, the why and the when of Church discipline. Relevant scriptures here include Matthew 18 ; Galatians 6:1; 1 Corinthians 5:11; 2 Corinthians 2:6,7. But we cannot go into the details here.

So then scripture actually encourage us to have some sort of communion with unbelievers. This is not so much to be in indissoluble partnerships, but not excluding, I believe, working together on common goals. Clearly in order to do that, we cannot, and must not insist that they embrace all of our values, nor we theirs. Can we start by admitting that something is very wrong? It is easy to see the faults and the destruction that comes from the other side. But as long as we sit in splendid isolation (often in self righteous), dismissing everything that does not conform to our view as propaganda (both sides do this), we will not be doing all we can to live at peace with each other, and we will not solve the problems.

Father, it's Your stated goal to unite all things together in You (Ephesians 1:10). We have not done well in cooperating with You in this Lord. And we are reaping the consequences of all sides refusing to honour and respect those who are not us. Forgive us Lord, have mercy on us, and help us, in Jesus Name Amen.