Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord… – 2 Corinthians 6:17, KJV

In the book of Ezra, the people of Judah and Benjamin returned from their captivity to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. Not long after the work began, the people of Samaria, enemies of Judah and Benjamin, opposed the reconstruction in a variety of ways. Their first effort at derailing the renovations was also their most cunning: they offered to help the returned captives rebuild their city, claiming to be fellow worshippers of God.

There is an old saying: “It’s not the woodpeckers from without that destroy. It’s the termites from within.”  In Ezra’s time, as it is in our time, one of the most effective ways to derail God’s people is not to oppose them openly but to corrupt them secretly.  When openly opposed and persecuted, the church of Christ thrives, for it is when under attack that the people of God rely on and trust in their Savior.  When befriended by their enemies, however, Christians will give place to ways of thinking and doing that they never would have considered in a more confrontational setting.  Through daily, subtle conversation, God’s enemies can draw away God’s people through small, daily doses of unholy thinking and unholy living.

Thankfully, Ezra and his people knew exactly what to do when their enemies offered to become their friends; they said, “No! Stay away!”  They obeyed the biblical principle of separation so succinctly expressed in 2 Corinthians 6:17 (KJV):

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

To be separate does not mean to be a hermit.  Jesus dined with and visited with sinners in order to win them, and so should we. But nowhere do we find Jesus – or any other righteous Bible character, for that matter – partnering with unbelievers successfully. Those Bible characters who did partner with unbelievers, such as Joshua and Jehoshaphat, always experienced a bad outcome. It is easier to corrupt spiritually than to uplift spiritually, and for this reason we are commanded by God to be wary of long-term, close-up exposure to corrupting influences.

Churches today have allowed all kinds of worldly influences into their midst under the banner of building a work for Christ. In doing so, they have tainted the very work of Christ that they have sought to build.  In order to be accommodating, they have ceased to be holy, and they have done so to their own discredit. When unholiness creeps in, the salt loses its savor, and the light looses its brightness.

There is nothing wrong with being nice, but when we compromise biblical holiness so that people in the church can feel comfortable in their sin, we have angered the Author of holiness. Being different, being holy, and being separate from worldliness is exactly what made Christ attractive to sinners. Sinners saw in Christ something they did not have – righteousness, and the peace with God it brings – and they longed for it.

We need to stop inviting spiritual Samaritans to join us in God’s work, and we need to have the spiritual courage to say “No!” to them when they offer to help. Ezra’s stance for separation angered the Samaritans. Our stance for separation will anger today’s spiritual Samaritans. But who would you rather anger, man or God?

As Joshua so well put it, “…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15, KJV) If we would just choose to stand with God – which means separating from those who won’t – we would see real revival in America.