In the World – But Not of the World

Reprinted from Bibleknowledge.com

Author Unknown

Many of you have heard from your pastors the title of this article in that we are to be in the world, but not of the world in our walk with the Lord.

Not only is this a very catchy phrase and saying, but this is also a rock, solid, God-truth that is coming straight out of our Bible.

Many Christians get a bit confused when they first hear this phrase and revelation. The first question they usually have is if God is calling me to do something worthwhile and noble in my call and purpose for Him down here on this earth, then why is God telling me not to become a part “of” this world? How can I complete my divine call in the Lord if I do not get actively involved in the world and with other people in general?

Jesus Himself went full scale into His surroundings once He received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and then came out of the 40 day wilderness test with the devil. From there, He embarked on a major three and a half year miracle ministry before He went to the cross to die for all of us and our sins.

During those three and half years, Jesus was constantly preaching, teaching, healing and delivering people.At first glance, it looked and appeared as if He had become an actual part of the world with how much interaction that was going on between Him and everyone else that was around Him.

But as you will see in the explanations below, God the Father does want us to become actively involved “in” the world so that we can fully accomplish all of His perfect will for our lives.

Another problem that some Christians have with this phrase is they misinterpret what God is trying to tell them when He is making the statement that we are not to be “of” the world. They think they should be retreating from life and everyone in general, and some of them end up becoming monks, hermits, and recluses, hiding away from as much of the world as they possibly can.

I know God may call a very small percentage of His people into that type of special celibate and monastic type lifestyle, but for the most part, I believe God wants His people to become very active “in” the world so they can make it a much better place to live, work, and play in.

How can you witness, save, teach, and help deliver other people if you are not “in” the world trying to reach and connect with them in the first place?

I believe this particular revelation from the Lord has two sides to it. It is like looking at a two sided coin.

On the one side of the coin we are to be “in” the world. As you will see in one of the Scripture verses below, Jesus is telling His Father not to take us out of the world, since we all have a great commission and call from Him to try and save and help as many people as we possibly can.

We cannot “reach” the lost, the downtrodden, the helpless, the poor, the sinners, and the people who are being held in some type of captivity if we are not “in” the world trying to reach them with the message and gospel of our Lord and Savior.

This is what is meant by the Lord when He tells us that we still have to continue to be living “in” this world. We all have to be born into this world as a result of the curse of Adam and Eve, and until it is our time to leave and depart from this life, God will expect each and everyone of us to come and work for Him.

Once you enter into a full surrender with the Lord, He will then place you into His perfect will for your life. And once God places you into His perfect will for your life, then He will lead you into the divine plan and destiny that He has set up for your life. And in that divine destiny will be your call, your missions, your divine assignments, and the specific people that He will want you to work with.

Again, you cannot properly compete your call and all of your divine assignments for the Lord if you are not willing to get actively involved “in” the world to some degree and to some extent. This is the one side of the coin where we are supposed to be “in” the world.

 

However, this revelation from the Lord also has a flip side to it. There is a flip side to this same coin.

Though we are to be actively involved “in” the world to the degree that God will lead us to, we also have to realize and be very aware that we are not to become too much of an actual part “of” the world.

As you will see in one of the verses below, God is telling us to keep ourselves “unspotted” from the world.

In other words, He does not want us to become spotted, contaminated, and tainted by the bad and evil things of this world. And the only way that we can keep ourselves from becoming too spotted and contaminated from this world is not to get too deep and friendly with the ways of this world.

In other words, God is asking all of us to walk a very fine line between being actively and properly involved “in” the world so we can reach and help other people – but at the same time making sure that we do not fall too deep and too far into the world where we then start to fall into the actual evil, depravity, and corruptness of this world.

The best analogy I can give you on this so that you can fully understand what the Lord is trying to convey to us in this revelation is the “fence analogy.”

Imagine a fence line running alongside your right side as you continue to walk on the straight and narrow path that God has you set up to walk on.

The phrase and saying that will come off this fence line analogy that perfectly lines up with what the Lord is trying to tell us in this revelation is that we all should be “staying on our side of the fence.”

On your side of the fence is the divine path that you are taking for the Lord, along with all of His righteous ways on how we are to act and behave in this life with ourselves and with other people in general.

On the other side of the fence are the paths taken by those who are either not saved, or the ones who are considered to be very carnal and fleshly type Christians, whose only goals and desires in this life is to get as much out of this life while they still can. Their only goals and ambitions in this life is to try and gain as much of the material and lustful things out of this life as they possibly can before their day in the sun is finally over.

We thus live in a dual type of world. On the one side of the fence is the side of God and the righteous way that He wants us to live this life.

On the other side of the fence are the unsaved sinners and carnal Christians who are not living their life God’s way, and they are out breaking any law and commandment they see fit so they can satisfy their cravings for the lustful pursuits of this life.

Once you become saved and born again by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you are now in whole different ballgame.

You are now on a whole different type of playing field. God the Father perfectly lays it out for each and everyone of us in the way that He has worded the following verse I will now give you.

In this verse, God is giving every single one of us a big choice to make in this life. We can either choose to follow God and His ways for living in this life and “live” – or we can choose to follow the wicked and evil ways of this world and “die.”

Here is one whopper, all-or-nothing, black and white, straight-to-the-point verse direct from the mouth of the Lord Himself:

“… I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days …” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

Notice God says absolutely nothing about any type of middle or neutral grounds with this proclamation. Either we choose to follow God and live this life the way that He wants us to live it – or we can choose to follow the ways of this world and eventually bring down death and cursing upon us and possibly those who may be close to us.

Notice in this verse that God is telling us that we must “obey His voice,” which means that we have to follow directly after Him and all of His ways for us in this life, not after the ways of this world or anyone else in this world.

Now here are 5 very good verses from the Bible that are giving us this specific revelation in that we are to be in the world, but not of the world.

I will first list each one of the verses one right after the other, and then I will point out and highlight several key words and phrases in these verses.

• “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19)

• “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”(John 17:14)

• “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27)

• “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15)

• “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”(James 4:4)

Notice in the first two verses that Jesus is specifically telling us that we are not to be “of the world.” He then goes one step further in the third verse from James when He tells us that He wants us to remain “unspotted” from the world.

Jesus then perfectly wraps it up in the last two verses when He tells us that if we ever get to the point where we have become too friendly with the world and the ways of it, then we will literally become the enemy of God Almighty Himself!

When Jesus Himself is telling us that we will become His Father’s enemy if we become too friendly and too attached to the ways and material things of this world – you know we are dealing with a very serious warning from the Lord on this issue!

Jesus points out to us that all of the lustful pursuits and things of this life will eventually pass way when we die and cross over.

In another verse, Jesus has already told us that what good will it do a man to gain all the wealth of this world as his possessions, but then lose his own soul in the pursuit and acquirement of all of that wealth. It will all have ended up being for naught when everything is all finally said and done.

Conclusion

Though most of us know exactly what the Lord is trying to tell us with the revelation and knowledge that is in these verses, for many Christians in this day and age, this one is a real hard one to try and keep on top of.

With the incredible advances in technology and knowledge in the last 100 years, much of the world has become a much better place to live, work, and play in.

As a result of all of this incredible advancement in technology and knowledge, we now have many more toys and material possessions that we can all strive to acquire more of. We can now shoot for bigger and better houses, bigger and better cars, and bigger and better material things for our lives in general.

With all of these types of material blessings from our Lord, it becomes very easy for many to get out of balance with all of it.

Instead of realizing where all of this abundant type of wealth is really coming from in the first place, and choosing to stay humble and accountable with it in their walks with the Lord, many Christians start to get too caught up in the actual pursuit and desire for this material wealth.

Before they know it, they have placed their pursuit and desire for all of this material wealth before God Himself. The are no longer wanting to serve and follow God. They now only want to serve themselves and what they can still get out of this life.

As Christians, we always have to stay on top of this part of our walk with the Lord. Jesus Himself has made it as clear and as plain as day as to how we are to look at this life and interact with it.

We are to stay “in” the world. We have a holy mission and calling direct from the Lord Himself on what it is He wants us to accomplish and get done for Him before we depart to be with Him for all of eternity.

The goal of each Christian’s life should be to accomplish, to the best of their abilities, God the Father’s perfect will for their lives.

Our goal should be to serve God and do what He wants us to do in this life – not to chase after the world and all the material wealth and possessions of this world, which will do nothing but rot and perish the minute we leave and depart from this life.

We have to keep all of our priorities straight, and our number one priority should be to want to serve God and accomplish His perfect will for our lives. If we make that our number one goal and aspiration in this life, then God will appropriately reward each one of us once we enter into heaven.

And those heavenly rewards will far surpass and exceed any of the material wealth and possessions that we could have gained down here on this earth.

As Christians, we have to realize that we no longer even belong to ourselves, much less to the world in general.

We have been bought back at a severe price at the death of our Lord and Savior, and we now belong to God, and God alone. We now work for God, and God alone.

What this means is that our very protective and loving Father has now drawn a major battle line in the sand for all of us.

He is letting all of us know, loud and clear, what we can and cannot do in this life. He is letting all of us know where we can tread in this life and where we cannot tread.

Boundary lines and a fence line have now been put up by our Lord. God is now telling all of us to stay on our side of the fence in our walk with Him.

We have to stay on the righteous side of the fence in our walk with Him.

Though there is much in this life that will be very enticing and tempting to want to cross over and experiment with, realize that there are going to be certain things of the flesh that you will not be able to chase after in this life.

You cannot be doing drugs, abusing alcohol, and sleeping with whoever you want outside the bounds of holy marriage. You cannot be cheating and scamming others in an effort to try and gain more wealth and riches.

You now have to play everything by the Book – and that Book is the Bible!

Many of our teenagers are battling this cold hard reality in the high schools and colleges they are attending.

God obviously wants them to be “in” this world, as they will need a proper education to progress into the calls and divine assignments that He will have in store for them in this life. But this does not mean you have to cross over into the carnal and fleshly worlds of those who are not walking right with the Lord.

You can sit next to someone in school who may be doing drugs and living a wide and carnal type of life. You can befriend him. You can witness to him as the Spirit leads. You can help him with his schoolwork if he should ask you.

But this does not mean you have to leave your side of the fence and cross over into his world of drugs, alcohol, and wild sex parties. You can keep yourself unspotted from the world and yet still be “in” the world to help other people out.

The same thing goes for adults who are working in environments where they have a mixture of good apples and bad apples.

Again, you can help out, and work in harmony and unity with those who are living their life on the dark and wild side of this life. But this does not mean you have to cross over and leave your side of the fence to start going to their drug, alcohol, and wild sex parties outside of work.

Many Christians have been seduced into crossing over into some of these carnal and fleshly realms as a result of the seductive and persuasive influence of some of their co-workers or schoolmates.

This is why this particular piece of revelation is so important for each and every Christian to not only have the knowledge of, but to also abide by it and not be tempted to ever cross over into some of these forbidden areas with the Lord.

These boundary lines are being set up by the Lord for our own good and for our protection. Every Christian father and mother should be burning this piece of revelation into their young children’s minds at an early age so they can have all of this knowledge to fall back on when they start to get tempted to cross over into this darker side of life.

This knowledge should be fully ingrained in them by the time they move into their high schools, colleges, and then eventually into the work place.

This particular piece of revelation may be the difference as to whether or not some of your children ever become everything that God is calling them to become in this life. Every minute of every day someone is getting hurt, maimed, or murdered as a result of crossing over into the darker side of this life and hanging out with the wrong kind of people.

Bottom line – you are still “in” the world as far as God the Father is concerned because He has a specific plan and purpose for your life – but you are no longer part “of” this same world.

You now belong to the Lord, and you now have to live your life the way He will want you to live it, not the way you or the rest of the world would like you to live it.

This choice will always be yours to make.

You can either choose to follow God and His ways for your life and stay on His side of the fence in your walk with Him – or you can choose to leave the safety and protection of His side and venture into the darker side of this life where death, cursing, and major misfortune will await you.

Once again, God the Father could not make things any more clear and plain with the revelation that He is giving us in that we are to be in the world, but not of the world.

Remember, stay on your side of the fence in your walk with the Lord. Many great men and women of God have lost their calls and divine destinies in the Lord because they violated this basic fundamental revelation from the Lord.

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NOTE FROM KEN PULLEN – ADMINISTRATOR:

I am including the following comment which was attached to the above article on the Bibleknowledge.com website from a person identifying themselves as “AC”:

AC says:

Holiness vs. Separation

Should we live Separated from the World?

In everything there are extremes. In politics you have the Liberals versus the Conservatives. In lifestyles you have the Hippies versus the Amish. For every position there is an opposite view that goes to the extreme. In Christianity there are those who say we should have no part with the world and those who claim we need to be like them to win them. Which is the correct stand?
The first question that needs answered is: “Does God want us separated from the world?” The answer is relatively simple to locate. In Galatians 1:4 the Apostle Paul tells us that we needed delivered from what he calls “this present evil world.” Furthermore, in John 17:11-17 Jesus tells us that we are to be in the world but not of the world. John himself lets us know in his first epistle that we are not to love the world neither the things in the world. (1 John 2:15-17) Meanwhile James really lays it on, revealing that “the friendship of the world is enmity with God.” Jude says we should even hate the garment that is “spotted by the flesh.”
I think we would have to be pretty naïve to deny that the world is extremely vile. But we would have to be blatantly dishonest to pretend that God doesn’t want His children to separate themselves from the ways and values of “this present evil world.” To be honest in this chapter, we need to determine just what “the world” is.

What is “the World”?

The world is not a friend of God nor His people. It is a number of things that are all anti-God. If we can determine what “the world” is we can have some idea of the direction we should be going as representatives of Christ.

1. “The World” is the wrong morals

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the world and the Bible are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to morals. The world sees nothing wrong with pre-marital sex, adultery or homosexuality. All of which are condemned fiercely in Scripture. Yet the world does not rest with its acceptance of loose living. It promotes it evangelistically in school and college classrooms, books, films and even in the newspapers. Furthermore, the world is so unrelenting in its rebellion against its Creator that it regularly promotes the vilest of men as hero figures. Men like Hugh Hefner, Bob Guzzione, Larry Flynt, Howard Stern and others of their ilk should be driven from the public eye by the righteous railing of the news media. But instead, that very media is a partner in crime with these monuments of immorality.
Films, news magazines and television programs not only show as much nakedness and immorality as they can but they actively promote such acts as “normal,” “good” and “healthy.” When the most vile man ever to occupy the White House, turned it instead into a whorehouse, the News Mafia was right there not only defending him but murdering anyone who stood against him.
Then if we are to be unlike the world, it is easy to say that we should take note of its moral depravation and be just the opposite.

2. “The World” is the wrong music

Music originated as a medium through which man could glorify God. Throughout Scripture we find it being used over and over to exalt and magnify Him. This music was directed at the spirit of man. It was designed to help man fulfill Revelation 4:11 in an extraordinary way.
But as the world degenerated music went along with it. Soon we heard about “soul” music. And that’s just what it was. Rather than having God as its focal point as the music of the spirit, (the classics) it made sinful Man the center of attention. From there, music has been reduced to the sensual. It is now directed at the body. It is thundered out without depth in either the tune or lyrics by mangy looking beings, whose language and gyrations while performing, violate every form of decency. The beat is toxic, the words offensive and the performers are repulsive. Both they and their by-product are happily anti-God.
Again, only a diabolical person would try to assimilate such abhorrent clatter into our churches in the name of worship. It has nothing to do with God and is even a proud trademark of the forces of the anti-Christian lifestyle.
So it should be obvious to an honest heart that anyone claiming to love the God of creation should want to separate themselves from this fountain of contamination.

3. “The World” is the wrong education

Worldly education is as aggressive against God as is worldly music. Education is not aimed at equipping a young scholar to glorify God. It is instead designed to harden the young heart against its Creator. The fantasy of “evolution” is blatantly taught as though scientific evidence upheld it. “Values clarification” is used to drive the last vestiges of morality from the hearts and minds of innocent young victims. The God that made this country great is no longer allowed to be mentioned in the classroom.

Christianity is held in disdain by teacher and student alike. Today’s educational system is no friend of God…or its student body.
Therefore we should know to be wary of the leavening influences of public education.

4. “The World” is the wrong goals

The world focuses its praise on vain and inconsequential things. Sports figures are represented as though they were important to life. Someone who can shoot a basket, hit a home run or score a touchdown is upheld for all to glorify. Talent is exalted higher than the great Creator who bestowed the attribute. To this crowd the least important vocation on earth is preaching, even though a poor, ineffective minister does more good than the greatest basketball player.
So we as Christians should be careful not to incorporate the world’s misguided values into our own lives. Sports are a source of minor enjoyment but be careful not to take them too seriously.
Style and fashion are two more worldly distractions that can keep a Christian wasting his energy and resources. Nothing is more shamelessly vain than fashion. And nothing is funnier than watching some vain idiot with a sweater tied around his neck because the god of fashion told him that it was the “in” thing to do. Worrying about being in style is far less important than worrying about being in step with God.
A Christian who spends his time and money trying to keep up with the latest fashion is guaranteed to waste his time and money on frivolous things of no substantial value. So we, as God’s people, should not be putting too much emphasis on keeping in step with fashion.
Another misguided goal of the world is environmentalism. It must be noted that the goal of environmentalism is not to “save the earth.” Environmentalists are people who have an emotional relationship with dirt. I should imagine a person would have to have failed miserably at every emotional relation in life to feel compelled to turn to the relative safety of dirt. Environmentalists are misdirected in several ways. First, they focus their time and efforts trying to please a non-living entity, the earth. The earth has life on it but it is not alive itself. But environmentalists feel very righteous as a result of this love affair with dirt. Of course, loving dirt is a very safe relationship because dirt has never been known to have rejected anyone. In fact, from the seedy look that most environmentalists have, it is probably good that dirt is dead and can’t reject them or they would fail at that relationship too! Environmentalists have turned their desire to please away from God and toward the ground. This is extremely displeasing to the holy God Who made it and them.
But American environmentalism is even worse. The solitary goal of environmentalism is the destruction of the American economy. Most environmentalists are loyal subscribers to the goal of having a one world government. A strong America is the greatest single hindrance there is to that goal. Therefore, it is imperative that America be brought down to the economic level of a third world country. Every objective of environmentalists is to injure the American economy. They couldn’t care less about the environment. How do you know? In 1991 Saddam Hussein dumped raw crude oil into the Persian Gulf and set hundreds of oil wells afire. The damage to the Persian Gulf was magnitudes worse than the measly Exxon Valdez incident. Yet, just like the arch-liberal N.O.W. organization during Bill Clinton’s abuse of Monica Lewinsky, environmentalists were mute to this. They should have condemned Hussein as being very near to Adolf Hitler for his vicious attack on their “mother”. Yet they were silent. Why? Because they don’t care about the environment. They only care about financially shackling the American economy.
So we see that environmentalism is a hateful, dishonest product of the world. Yet many new converts have been deceived into thinking it is a worthy endeavor. No Christ loving Christian should be involved in the pagan rituals of environmentalism.

The World. The perfect “Bad Example”

There is a joke about a man who is such a wretched drunkard that his wife has left him, his children are ashamed of him, he can’t hold a job, his health is broken and he is lying in a gutter, homeless. But, instead of being depressed, he enthuses, “My life’s not a total waste. I can always be used as a bad example!”
The same can be said of the world. It can always be used as a bad example. If a young Christian is uncertain of how they should live their new life they can always look at the world…and go in the opposite direction. Yet today many of these very misguided goals are being espoused by our churches. And usually in the name of soul winning. The morality of our culture has been plunged to new depths by public education and the entertainment world. (world?) In order to attempt to draw these casualties of character in, some churches have turned to contemporary “Christian” music. They have heralded environmentalism as a mandatory tenant of the Christian faith. And fashion is alive and well in most Sunday morning style shows.
The new Christian should be hearing messages designed to free their minds of these wayward ideals. They should hear that their solitary purpose for being here is to be a pleasure to their Creator.
Close, but Not Quite
Some groups in Christianity recognize this trend and reject it zealously. They are called “Separationists” (“Legalists” to anyone looking for an excuse not to separate from the world.) Their favorite verse of Scripture is 2 Corinthians 6:17, Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,… These folks definitely believe in separation. They have “convictions” about the length of a man’s hair, the length of a woman’s hair, the proper dress for each of the sexes, marriage and divorce, where to buy your groceries and just about anything else you can think of and some that you couldn’t think of. I have seen where two pages of rules and standards had to be fulfilled before a teenager could attend a church function. Mind you, this is far better than the free-for-all that goes on in the modernist churches. But it does get a little overbearing at times.
Are the Separationists wrong? Let’s say that they are in the right church but the wrong pew. Basically, most Separationists are militantly determined not to be corrupted by the world. They fully recognize the innate wickedness in the world system and would rather die than have it invade either their families or churches. They are steadfastly turned away from the world. Ever looking back to make sure that it does not overtake and thus pollute them. For them the easiest way to curtail the influence of the world is with what has become known as “Checklist Christianity.” You can always tell when you meet a separationist because they feel compelled to “check you out.” It won’t take long before they’ll be asking you questions like, “Do you go to movies?” “Do you believe in mixed bathing?”, “What’s your stand on marriage and divorce?” Fail to agree on one point and you’ll probably get a sermon on that subject. Failure on two and you shouldn’t hold your breath waiting for them to invite you out for fellowship. Miss too many answers and you’ll probably be anathematized and be the subject of a sermon!
Behold I show you a Better Way
Separation from the world is good. It is always good. Even if it is for the wrong reason or through the wrong manner. But we are not called to just be separated from a corrupt world system. We are called to be “saints”! (Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2) Saints are more than just separated from the world. They are to be holy.
When a Christian realizes that they are here with the sole purpose of being a pleasure to the Lord they will examine their life for things that the Lord would find unsavory. We’re not to run from the world. We are to run to the Lord.
When you love someone you desire to please them. You find out what they like and do it. You find out what they don’t like and don’t do it. It’s that simple.
If we love the Lord we should also want to please Him. We should find what He likes and do it. We happen to know that the Lord wants to be worshiped for the great God that He is. What is the best way to worship Him? Forget your petty opinion and prejudice. God wrote down what He wants in His Book.
1 Chronicles 16:29

Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
Psalm 29:2
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
Psalm 96:9
O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
Has a “light” come on yet? Do you have any idea of something you could add to your life that would be a pleasure to your Creator and help you fulfill your obligation of Revelation 4:11? If not, let’s see if this will “flip your switch.”
Our bodies are to be holy – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
(Romans 12:1)
The church is to be holy – That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Eph. 5:27)
We are to be holy as individuals – According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (Eph. 1:4)
Our women are to be holy – There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. (1 Cor. 7:34)
The Pastors are to be holy – But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; (Titus 1:8)

The results of personal holiness –

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. (Col. 3:12_15)

He wants us holy at our presentation to Him in Heaven –

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: (Col. 1:21, 22)
Now let’s look at these areas and see how establishing holiness in our lives will not only be a pleasure to God but will take care of the concerns of separation without a list.
1. Our bodies are to be holy – Forget about somebody telling you, “You can’t do that.” or, “You’re not allowed to do that anymore.” Instead ask yourself questions such as:
“How can my body be holy if I put liqueur in it?”
“How can my body be holy if I smoke?”
“How can my body be holy if I watch, read or listen to filth?”
“How can my body be holy if I…………?”
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that answering those simple questions will keep you clear of wicked , unclean or just questionable practices as you strive to be holy rather than comply with somebody’s list.
2. The church is to be holy – The church, the body of Christ, is made up of individual believers. How can it be holy if we are not?
The church, local, should not only be holy due to the actions of its individual members but should be the prime mover in directing and instructing Christians to be holy.
3. We are to be holy as individuals – Just as there are questions to ask concerning the body there are questions to ask concerning us, the soul.
“How can I be holy and gossip?”
“How can I be holy and try to hurt a fellow Christian?”
“How can I be holy and be concerned only with exalting myself?”
“How can I be holy and split a church or destroy a preacher?”
“How can I be holy and do….that?”
These soul searching questions will do far more to prevent havoc in a church than all the sermons on “Touch not God’s anointed!” in the world.
4. Our women are to be holy – God made women special. They are wonderful. They are a gift from God. Because they are special to Him, He pays special attention to them in the area of holiness. Their questions may go like this:
“How can I be holy in body and in spirit and wear revealing clothing?”
“How can I be holy in body and in spirit and dress like a man?”
“How can I be holy in body and in spirit and act like a man?”
“How can I be holy in body and in spirit and not desire to please the Lord?”
Forget about “legalism”. Being holy for God will transform the hardest woman into a delicate treasure of God’s grace. I’ve seen it!
5. The Pastors are to be holy – Preachers are called of God and as such carry a much greater burden for holiness. He should ask:
“How can I be holy and touch a woman in a sensual manner?”
“How can I be holy and try to destroy a fellow minister?”
“How can I be holy and visit that Website?”
“How can I be holy and do ungodly things when I’m where no one knows me?”
“How can I be holy and be motivated to exalt only myself?”
6. The personal results of holiness – Well what do you know? We do have a list! But it isn’t a list of “Don’ts”. It is rather a list similar to those found in Romans and 2 Peter as gauges of our spiritual growth. Accomplishing holiness in our lives will also result in the additional benefits of: mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, a longsuffering attitude, forbearance, a forgiving attitude and, of course, charity.
Look how far into Christian maturity the addition of this one spiritual attribute will take you. Can you imagine what pleasure it must be for the Lord to see these properties blossom in the life of one of His children? There is so much more to the Christian life than just soul winning.
7. He wants us holy at our presentation to Him in Heaven – Notice that the passage eludes to the fact that we started this life as enemies and aliens. Yet through salvation in Christ and years of spiritual growth we can be a pleasure to our Creator in a multitude of different ways. But wait! Time and again in the Old Testament we see that a man who had been a good king failed the Lord late in his life. Imagine having lived a life in a holy manner for years, decades in fact, and then, one time an opportunity to be impure comes up that, due to weakness or some other emotional low point, we suddenly find ourselves tempted to surrender to. Think of the years wasted if we indulge.
I know you want to be holy when you are finally presented to Him in eternity. Don’t give in to weakness this late in the game.
In the previous chapter we looked at attributes that need to be added to the Christian life. Let’s take a moment to review them, adding the benefits of holiness.
1. Patience
2. Experience
3. Hope
4. Faith
5. Virtue
6. Knowledge
7. Temperance
8. Godliness
9. Brotherly kindness
10. Charity
11. Mercies
12. Kindness
13. Humbleness of mind
14. Meekness
15. A longsuffering attitude
16. Forbearance
17. A forgiving attitude
Isn’t it amazing! We end up with a list after all. But it’s not a list of things to be removed from your life. It is a list of things to be added to your life. And if these attributes are successfully incorporated into your personality over the years you will more than succeed at fulfilling anyone’s list of “Don’ts”.

The Highest Goal of all

There is great value to separationism. It will, if only by brute force, prevent some Christians from drifting into sin. But, in spite of this separation it will not produce holiness in the individual. That takes years of being submerged in the Bible and walking circumspectly. And the best part about holiness is that the benefits that we receive from it are incidental. For holiness in us is pleasure to God.