Touch Not The Unclean Thing
I woke up this morning with the following verse ringing in my ears.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2Corinthians 6:17-18)
I began to meditate on this verse wondering what I need to separate myself from. Should I separate myself from family and friends?
Should I separate myself from the lifestyle that I am currently living?
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 (2 Corinthians 6:16)
In the entire chapter, the apostle Paul taught us how to live a holy life unto God. In everything that we do and in whatever circumstances that we find ourselves we should live as ministers of God.
Our lifestyle as ministers of God should be different from the people of this world.
The standard of this world (kingdom of darkness) is pride, lust, and fear.
The standard of the Kingdom of God is love, humility, and obedience to the Holy Spirit.
Both kingdoms cannot be united. Darkness cannot dwell in the presence of light because the light eradicates the darkness.
Therefore, righteousness cannot fellowship with unrighteousness.
Eventually, we all have to make the decision to allow the Lord God Almighty to be our Father.
An excellent Father will always protect and care for his children. This is the promise of God to us.
However, we can only receive this promise when we separate ourselves from the standards of this world.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father, help us to separate ourselves from the unclean things of this world.
Lord teach us how to recognize the unclean things and send us your Spirit so that we can differentiate between the good and bad.
Lord, give us the desire to study your Word so that our mind will be renewed and transformed into your image and likeness.
We want you to be our Father and we want to be your children.
We thank you, Father God.
In Jesus name, we pray. Amen!
Harm Not The Oil And Wine
Beverley
kammy0614
kiki0802
moyaj96
natz0598
R. N. Headlam
Nickay
Yvonne I. Wilson
Becoming the Oil and the Wine 
Amen!
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Welcome back! I haven’t heard from you in a while. I hope you will have a blessed week.
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Yes, I have. Hope you have.
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Love the prayer. I would also add teach to differentiate between what is good and best. So we can say yes to Your plan and not what seems good to us. Often we must say no to what is good to get to what is His best. Teach us Lord, we are listening.
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I agree with you. We definitely need to learn to choose the things that God says are best for us. Thank you for sharing. Have a blessed week.
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Thanks for sharing sister.
I need to study the passage and the context, but I wonder if it’s to do with professing Christians who are living unrepentant, publicly sinful lives- Paul says we shouldn’t even eat with them. But he says we can eat with unbelievers, like Jesus, the friend of sinners.
Thanks for giving me food for thought 🙂
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I think it is the sin itself that we should stay away from. Also I agree with you that we can eat and drink with unbelievers but I don’t think Christians should be in intimate relationship with unbelievers whether in marriage or business partners.
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True 🙂
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Do Not Do As They Do
As the children of Israel traveled from Egypt to the land of Canaan, the LORD warned the people of Israel not to imitate the ways of the Egyptians (do not turn back to the evil of your past), and He told them not to learn the behavior of the Canaanites (do not be seduced by new temptations).
You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. (Leviticus 18:3)
The Egyptians and Canaanites practiced sexual immorality as if they were obeying a legal code. This is why the Torah says, “You shall not walk in their statutes” (Leviticus 18:3). Rashi explains that “their statutes” refers to matters etched into the fabric of the society—so basic to the culture that they are observed as if they are laws. He points to the entertainments found in “theaters and stadiums” as an example of pagan statutes. In other words, the statutes of the world are those reflected in the entertainment values of the world. We are not to walk in them. God’s people are supposed to be a completely different breed of people, “So that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out” (Leviticus 20:22).
In the first century, sexual immorality wove through the warp and woof of the Roman world. Devotees of the gods followed their mythological, sexual exploits and imitated their base behavior in temple rituals which, in some cases, even incorporated sanctified prostitution. Roman culture, for all its austere talk of moderation, indulged in all manner of perversity, lewdness, and depredation.
The apostles applied the laws pertaining to strangers in the midst of the people of Israel to the Gentile believers. Leviticus 18 specifically includes those strangers in its jurisdiction: “You shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you” (Leviticus 18:26). Therefore, the laws that govern sexuality apply equally to Jewish people and God-fearing Gentile believers.
The apostles reinforced the ruling in their epistles. In passage after passage, the apostles exhorted the disciples to live lives set apart from the sexualized Gentile world and free from sexual immorality. The Gentile believers adopted Jewish standards of modesty, dress, and decorum. In the midst of the sexually charged atmosphere of the first century, the believers stood out as a people set apart. The apostle Peter observed, “[The other Gentiles] are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you” (1 Peter 4:4).
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Hi Candice. Thank you for giving us such a detailed information about the unclean things. You are perfectly right about the statutes of the world. They are embedded in the music and media. Many of our young people are being led astray. We can live in this world but we do not have to conformed to the things of this world. I appreciate your informative comments. Have a great and blessed week in the Lord.
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We need to just realize that the world is death. And Jesus is life. But usually people my age focus so much on how Jesus promises a death for us…and the world looks so tempting…
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The things of the world with all the glitter and glamour are what attract the young people. We just have to keep praying for them. Have a great weekend.
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You too 🙂
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Amen, Beverley …..Reading your message brought to mind this scripture stating that we are a peculiar people:
1 Peter 2:9 (KJV)
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;
And for good measure I’ll add 1John 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. ❤🕇
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We are indeed the chosen generation and peculiar. God wants us to be set apart as a holy people. Thank you Susan for sharing. I hope you are enjoying your weekend.
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