Leviticus 20:26 KJV
And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
God said he had "severed" Israel from other people. Webster's 1828 has as the first definition of the word "to part or divide by violence." It is a separation, but it is more than that; it is one that is accomplished with "cruel necessity" (again from Webster's 1828). It has a distasteful element to it.
Separation from the world - even from other people in the world is essential for holiness.
And herein lies much of the trouble within Christianity today. Too few are willing to do the distasteful. We would claim we want to be holy. We would claim we want to walk with the Lord. But we are not willing to be severed from other people.
We want to keep our old friends
We want to maintain an agreeable relationship with the lost
We want to fit in, to be liked, to enjoy the people of this world and at the same time, we want to be holy before the Lord.
And we are not the first ones with this trouble. In fact, it appears to me to be the trouble of humankind since God separated Abraham from the Ur of Chaldees. Jacob's children hated to be an abomination to the Canaanites, so God made them an abomination before the Egyptians. Their friendship with the people of the Promised Land was always and forever a thorn to their spiritual side.
Before we can be holy before the Lord, He will have to sever us from other people of this world.
And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
God said he had "severed" Israel from other people. Webster's 1828 has as the first definition of the word "to part or divide by violence." It is a separation, but it is more than that; it is one that is accomplished with "cruel necessity" (again from Webster's 1828). It has a distasteful element to it.
Separation from the world - even from other people in the world is essential for holiness.
And herein lies much of the trouble within Christianity today. Too few are willing to do the distasteful. We would claim we want to be holy. We would claim we want to walk with the Lord. But we are not willing to be severed from other people.
We want to keep our old friends
We want to maintain an agreeable relationship with the lost
We want to fit in, to be liked, to enjoy the people of this world and at the same time, we want to be holy before the Lord.
And we are not the first ones with this trouble. In fact, it appears to me to be the trouble of humankind since God separated Abraham from the Ur of Chaldees. Jacob's children hated to be an abomination to the Canaanites, so God made them an abomination before the Egyptians. Their friendship with the people of the Promised Land was always and forever a thorn to their spiritual side.
Before we can be holy before the Lord, He will have to sever us from other people of this world.
Just a thought...how does one discuss their faith or committment to Christ "anonymously"...Matthew 10:33
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