Come out, Come out, Wherever You Are...

“She has a form of godliness but denies the power thereof, cut her loose.”

That was a major thing to chew on. However, in the middle of the night, I was awakened to and heard clearly, “Come out from among them,” which confirmed the wise counsel I had received earlier. The only difference was that I also heard, “They will pay,” and on that reassuring note, I fell back to sleep peacefully.

Back to the caller: I told my buddy, “He’s up to something.” She agreed and furthered, “Yeah, he’s stupid because he really thinks you’re stupid. He thinks that God is stupid, too.” We had to laugh because it was true, deceitful people don’t think God is smart or that He cares about their activities.

“Come out from among them…”

The Lord has established rules for sanctification for His people. Sanctified isn’t some form of worship or a sect of Christianity involving extremists or fanatics; it is the state of being separate and called apart from those who do not follow or adhere to God’s holy ordinances. One of God’s chief rules of engagement is, “Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6: 14)

Being separate or sanctified applies to every aspect of our lives, from romantic and platonic relationships to business and even to worship. There are many believers in Christ who fellowship and become entangled with professing saints who don’t exhibit the fruit of the Spirit though they may exhibit some reasonable facsimile thereof – a counterfeit behavior. And when we do, we fall short and fellowship with darkness, which can be potentially dangerous.

It took being duped and deceived for me to understand the value of being separate – being sanctified. The measures God took to pull me out from among people, who are thieves, liars, adulterers, etc., were astounding and costly but highly effective. And now the measures I have to take to remain separate are even more astounding – I can’t take those calls, and I won’t even put myself in a position to be duped once again.