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Separation — Not Fusion
C. H. Mackintosh
"Therefore, thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I
bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me; and if thou
take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my
mouth; let them return unto thee; but return not unto them".
Jeremiah 15:19.
The principle laid down in the foregoing passage is of the
deepest possible importance to all who desire to walk with God.
It is by no means a popular principle; very far from it. But
this does not detract from its value in the judgment of those
who are taught of God. In an evil world the popular thing is
almost sure to be the wrong thing; and whatever has most of God
— most of Christ — most of pure truth — is sure to be most
unpopular. This is an axiom in the judgment of faith, inasmuch
as Christ and the world are at opposite points of the moral compass.
Now, one of the most popular ideas of the day is fusion, or
amalgamation; and all who desire to be accounted men of broad
sympathies and liberal sentiments go thoroughly in for this
grand object. But we hesitate not to avow that nothing can be
more opposed to the revealed mind of God. We make this
statement in the full consciousness of its opposition to the
universal judgment of Christendom. For this we are quite
prepared. Not that we court opposition; but we have long since
learnt to distrust the judgment of what is called the religious
world, because we have so constantly found that judgment to be
diametrically opposed to the plainest teaching of holy
scripture; and it is, we can truly say, our deep and earnest
desire to stand with the word of God against every thing and
every one; for we are well assured that nothing can abide for
ever, save that which is based upon the imperishable foundation
of holy scripture.
What, then, does scripture teach on the subject of this paper?
Is it separation, or fusion? What was the instruction to
Jeremiah in the passage quoted above? Was he told to try and
amalgamate with those around him? Was he to seek to mingle the
precious with the vile? The very reverse. Jeremiah was taught
of God first of all to return himself — to stand apart even from
those who were the professed people of God, but whose ways were
contrary to His mind. And what then? "I will bring thee again,
and thou shalt stand before me".
Here, then, we have Jeremiah's personal path and position most
clearly laid down. He was to return, and take his stand with
God in thorough separation from evil. This was his bounden
duty, regardless of the thoughts of men, or of his brethren.
They might deem and pronounce him narrow, bigoted, exclusive,
intolerant, and the like; but with that he had nothing whatever
to do. His one grand business was to obey. Separation from
evil was the divine rule, not amalgamation with it. The latter
might seem to offer a wider field of usefulness, but mere
usefulness is not the object of a true servant of Christ, but
simple obedience. The business of a servant is to do what he is
told, not what he considers right or good. If this were better
understood, it would simplify matters amazingly. If God calls
us to separation from evil, and we imagine we can do more good
by amalgamation with it, how shall we stand before Him? How
shall we meet Him? Will He call that good which resulted from
positive disobedience to His word? Is it not plain that our
first, our last, our only duty, is to obey? Assuredly. This is
the foundation, yea, it is the sum and substance of all that can
really be called good.
But was there not something for Jeremiah to do in his narrow
path and circumscribed position? There was. His practice was
defined with all possible clearness. And what was it? "If thou
separate the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth".
He was not only to stand and walk in separation himself, but he
was to try and separate others also. This might give him the
appearance of a proselytizer, or of one whose object was to draw
people over to his way of thinking. But here again he had to
rise above all the thoughts of men. It was far better, far
higher, far more blessed, for Jeremiah to be as God's mouth,
than to stand well with his fellows. What are man's thoughts
worth? Just nothing. When his breath goeth out of him, in that
very hour his thoughts perish. But God's thoughts shall endure
for ever. If Jeremiah had set about mingling the precious with
the vile, he would not have been as God's mouth; nay, he would
have been as the devil's mouth. Separation is God's principle;
fusion is Satan's.
It is counted liberal, large-hearted, and charitable, to be
ready to associate with all sorts of people. Confederacy,
association, limited liabilities, are the order of the day. The
Christian must stand apart from all such things; not because he
is better than other people, but because God says, "Be not
unequally yoked together with unbelievers". It was not because
Jeremiah was better than his brethren that he had to separate
himself, but simply because he was commanded to do so by Him
whose word must ever define the course, govern the conduct, and
form the character of His people. And, further, we may rest
assured it was not in sourness of temper, or severity of spirit,
but in profound sorrow of heart and humility of mind that
Jeremiah separated himself from those around him. He could weep
day and night over the condition of his people; but the
necessity of separation was as plain as the word of God could
make it. He might tread the path of separation with broken
heart and weeping eyes, but tread it he must if he would be as
God's mouth. Had he refused to tread it, he would have been
making himself to be wiser than God. What, though those around
him, his brethren and friends, might not be able to understand
or appreciate his conduct; with this he had nothing whatever to
do. He might refer them to Jehovah for an explanation, but his
business was to obey, not to explain or apologize.
Thus it is always. "Be ye not unequally yoked together with
unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he
that believeth with an infidel? 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. Wherefore
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,
and touch not the unclean; and I will receive you, and will be a
Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith
the Lord Almighty". 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.
It may seem very plausible and very popular to say, "We ought
not to judge other people. How can we tell whether people are
believers or not? It is not for us to set ourselves up as
holier than others. It is charitable to hope the best. If
people are sincere, what difference does it make as to creeds?
Each one is entitled to hold his own opinions. It is only a
matter of views after all".
To all this we reply, God's word commands Christians to judge,
to discern, to discriminate, to come out, to be separate. This
being so, all the plausible arguments and reasonings that can
possibly be adduced are, in the judgment of a true-hearted,
single-eyed, servant of Christ, lighter by far than the small
dust of the balance.
Hearken to the following weighty words from the blessed apostle
Paul to his son Timothy — words bearing down with unmistakable
clearness upon all the Lord's people at this very moment:
"Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this
seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And let every one
that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a
great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but
also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to
dishonor. If a man purge himself from these (the dishonorable
vessels), he shall be a vessel to honor, sanctified, and meet
for the master's use, and prepared for every good work". 2
Timothy 2:19-21.
Here we see that if any man desires to be a sanctified vessel,
meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work, he
must separate himself from the iniquity and the dishonorable
vessels around him. There is no getting over this without
flinging God's word overboard; and surely to reject God's word
is to reject Himself. His word commands me to purge myself, to
depart from iniquity, to turn away from those who have a form of
godliness, but deny its power.
Extract from "Things New and Old", by C. H. Mackintosh.
Separation - Not Fusion
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