The Church Has No Fellowship with the World

good morning everybody wonderful to uh to be together and to talk about the state of the church obviously a lot could be said and i i know you who are in ministry are always analyzing that not only your own church but the larger church and trying to make the church conform more to the word of god and to the will of the head of the church the lord jesus christ to be assigned the task of talking about the state of the church opens up all kinds of possibilities so i had to narrow everything down and i've narrowed it down to a particular portion of scripture that we'll get to in a moment over the last number of weeks and even months i've been preaching from this pulpit on the invisible kingdom trying to distinguish for our congregation and those around the world who are listening the difference between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness and obviously they're diametrically opposed to each other we've tried to help many new people who've been coming to our church to understand the foundational realities of what the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of god and the kingdom of light is all about and it comes down to i think two defining statements one in john 18 where jesus says my kingdom is not of this world if my kingdom were of this world my servants would fight so that i would not be delivered over to the jews but as it is my kingdom is not from here so it is a kingdom that exists parallel to the kingdom of this world to the kingdom of darkness but it doesn't mingle the other thing that our lord said is in the 17th chapter of luke where he said the kingdom of god is in your midst and that is to say that the kingdom is here because the king is here and wherever the king reigns the kingdom exists and that means it comes down to individual believers hearts as well as the collective believers in the church so we are we are as it were a kingdom here in the world not of the world alien to the world existing in a parallel universe imperceptible to the world the apostle paul said it is not manifest what we are because there has not been the glorious manifestation of the children of god the world looks at us and they don't understand that we are eternally the people of god that we have been redeemed that we are indwelt by the king that we belong to the eternal kingdom they can't distinguish that in the natural sense that's not possible what is possible is for them to hate everything about us everything about the kingdom of light so i've been trying over the last weeks to help our people separate themselves from the world foundationally in terms of their identity because what is in my mind the single greatest error in the church is its partnership with the world this is nothing new and it takes different forms in every period of history so i want to talk about the need for the church to understand that it cannot partner with the world in any real sense we'll talk about that from a number of passages so let's begin by looking at matthew 16. matthew 16. we'll pick up the very familiar story of peter's confession in verse 13. now when jesus came into the district of caesarea philippi he was asking his disciples who do people say the son of man is and they said some say john the baptist and others elijah but still others jeremiah are one of the prophets he said to them but who do you say that i am simon peter answered you are the christ the son of the living god and jesus said to him blessed are you simon son of jonah because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my father who is in heaven that is the highest moment of peter's life every one of us could wish to have the lord say to us what you have spoken is directly from heaven blessed are you because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my father who is in heaven that is the high point of peter such a high point the lord says you're peter and upon this rock i'll build my church and the gates of hades will not overpower it i'll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven i mean these are stunning stunning identifications given to peter he is part of the foundation of the church he is given the keys to the kingdom that is to say he can tell people how to enter the kingdom and what will cause them to be shut out of the kingdom he has given that kind of delegated authority from god this is peter's high point he is speaking from god and that is god's own testimony in an immediate contradiction to that you come to verse 21. from that time jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised in the third day peter took him aside and began to rebuke him saying god forbid it lord this shall never happen to you but he turned and said to peter get behind me satan in the space of six inches he goes from speaking for god to representing satan you're a stumbling block to me for you're not setting your mind on god's interest but man's this is the ultimate low point in peter's life from the high point to the low point in two adjacent passages get behind me satan now mark that jesus said that to an apostle the leading apostle the apostle who would be an eyewitness to the resurrection the apostle who would preach the first sermon in the founding of the church on the day of pentecost the apostle who would be the preacher through the first half of the book of acts get behind me satan that's strong language and the lord uses the verb upage be gone it's a fierce rebuke and it appears another place in matthew in the fourth chapter in the tenth verse when satan came to tempt jesus and jesus said the same thing to the devil jesus said to peter exactly what he said to satan and that's why he follows it up by saying you are not setting your mind on god's interest but man's the most fierce rebuke you have taken up the devil's agenda the temptation was the same what was satan's temptation to give to the lord the kingdoms of the world without the cross right the crown without the cross the kingdom without the cross bow down to me and i'll give you all those things the devil is still saying that and he's saying it to evangelicals you can avoid the offense you can avoid the hostility you can avoid the persecution you can adjust the message and you can have the kingdom without the cross you can have the crown without the cross this is the most devastating rebuke that ever came out of the lips of the lord toward a disciple you have taken up satan's cause you are in partnership with the devil when you think there's going to be a crown without a cross when you think you're going to accomplish the purpose of advancing the name of christ through the gospel without suffering everything that could be identified under the term pragmatism is designed to eliminate the suffering and our lord says you're a stumbling block to me peter means stone upon this rock i'll build my church peter goes from a stone to a rock to a stumbling stone if you want to get in the way of the purposes of god take up the devil's cause to advance the kingdom without the conflict to advance the kingdom without the suffering to advance the kingdom without the cross you're not setting your mind on god's interests but man's the worst rebuke of course for this loving disciple who just wants to help jesus right just wants to help jesus help him avoid suffering and the devil's way is always that to try to get christians to think that the kingdom of light can advance without suffering by making certain concessions and compromises with the dark kingdom peter's sin has been repeated incessantly throughout all of church history and it's being done today christians have been trying to help jesus build his kingdom by striking deals with the devil every effort to advance the kingdom by means of any worldly scheme is doing the devil's work jesus said hate me because i tell them their needs are evil john 7 7. in john 15 18 23 he says if they hated me they'll hate you this goes with the territory but there's always this propensity among weak leaders to try to eliminate the hostility good intentions and maybe even love for christ prompting efforts to advance the kingdom by political lobbying pragmatism social change shallow gospel entertainment emotional manipulation acceptance of sin all of that is to cross over into the darkness and do the devil's work our lord's way is to stay on the side of the kingdom of light and there's a hard line between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light in second corinthians chapter 10 there's a definitive passage that i have you look at for a moment second corinthians chapter 10 and you're familiar with it verses three through five where the apostle paul says though we are human in verse three we don't use human weapons we can't make spiritual war with human weapons human strategies the weapons of our warfare are not human not of the flesh but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses we're destroying speculations in every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of god rather than make an alliance with things raised up against the knowledge of god we smash them we crush them and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of christ and we are ready to punish all disobedience that this this simplifies the life in the kingdom which is total complete obedience to christ and anything raised up against the knowledge of god against obedience to christ we bring the truth to bear on that as if we were crushing fortresses ideological fortresses called speculations and lofty things raised up against the knowledge of god our job is not to make alliances with the world and think in so doing we can advance the kingdom as if satan were coming alongside christ to aid him in the building of his church all that is in the world is passing away right first john love not the world neither the things that are in the world it's it's all got a very short shelf life james 4 4 friendship with the world is what enmity with god the kingdom of light needs no help from the devil's kingdom we don't need a lobby group in washington lobbying with some kind of bizarre notion that somehow politicians can help us advance the name of jesus christ it's irrelevant what the laws in any country are this one or any other country they have nothing to do with the kingdom of light it doesn't matter what laws are made or not made what laws benefit the kingdom at least in a temporal sense and what laws make it more difficult to be a christian they have zero effect on the building of the church jesus said i'll build my church and the gates of hades will not prevail against it all that the father gives to me will come to me i'll lose none of them but raise them at the last day christ will triumph we says paul in second corinthians 2 we always triumph in christ jesus right it has no partnership with the world we don't need to seek the world's attention we don't need to buy into the world's interests as if somehow doing that opens a way for people to be saved when the only thing that we need to do to bring the elect to salvation is to preach the gospel our lord's way is to stay on the side of the light evangelicalism has come has become like peter offering a better way than bold uncompre uncompromising compassionate loving proclamation of the gospel that offends the sinner that offends the sinner and seeks to break the sinner's comfort and contentment by bringing him into stark realization of the eternal judgment of god but evangelicals have become like peter they're looking for alliances with satan that they think somehow can aid the kingdom i told our congregation a few weeks ago that i could never really concern myself with religious freedom i wouldn't fight for religious freedom because i won't fight for idolatry why would i fight for the devil to have as many false religions as possible and all of them available to everyone well people would say that's a terrible thing to say what about christianity christianity advances whether there's religious freedom or not and there will always be there'll always be religious freedom for all the lies every false religion is going to be free because it's linked to the kingdom of darkness that operates in the world and christians whatever the label of religious freedom might be in its broadest sense christians are always the target even with religious freedom of the hostility of sinners the apostles turned the world upside down with no help from it no social action no alliances the evil kingdom of darkness hates what god loves and loves everything god hates and the kingdom of darkness is never a friend to the light evil rulers have exchanged the truth of god for a lie for lies and they function under the ultimate liar satan himself who is a liar and the father of lies there is absolutely no reason for us to make any alliance with him and i'll spell that out a little more as we go all godless rulers are previews of antichrist revelation 13 1-9 all godless rulers are previews of antichrist so we have two kingdoms one the kingdom of god the kingdom of truth the kingdom of christ the other the kingdom of satan the kingdom of lies the kingdom of anti-christ so what is the church's mandate in the world there are a number of passages we could look at let me draw you to ephesians chapter 5 because it spells it out ephesians 5 and we can pick it up in verse 5. for this you know with certainty that no immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an idolater has an entrance into the kingdom of christ and god let no one deceive you with empty words for because of these things the wrath of god comes upon the sons of disobedience therefore do not be partakers with them for you were formerly darkness but now you are light in the lord walk as children of light for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth verse 7 do not be partakers with them you have no alliance with the kingdom of darkness that would be just or righteous don't be deceived verse six with empty words don't be in any alliance with the kingdom of darkness in colossians chapter 2 verse 6 therefore as you have received christ jesus the lord so walk in him having been firmly rooted and now being built up in him and established in your faith just as you were instructed and overflowing with gratitude see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men according to the elementary principles of the world rather than according to christ for in him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form and in him you have been made complete chapter three familiar words if you've been raised with christ keep seeking the things above where christ is seated at the right hand of god set your minds on the things above not on the things that are on the earth and even down in verse 12 you have been chosen of god holy and beloved put on a heart of compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience bearing with one another forgiving each other whoever has a complaint against anyone and just as the lord forgave you so also should you beyond all these things put on love which is the perfect bond of unity let the peace of christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful let the word of christ richly dwell within you in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and with thankfulness in your hearts to the lord whatever you do in word or deed to all in the name of the lord jesus giving thanks through him to god the father that is the sum of your life is related to god and to christ everything everything in your life is related to the one who reigns in the kingdom of light now we could talk about those passages but it's another one that i really want you to look at with me second corinthians chapter six and very familiar passage but i think overlooked to the detriment of the church certainly in this period of time second corinthians 6 14. i have a lot to say and i'll try to squeeze it in in whatever amount of time we have here the opening statement of verse 14 doesn't need a lot of explanation do not be bound together with unbelievers is that hard to get hard to grasp do not be bound together with unbelievers it's an unqualified statement do not be bound together with unbelievers for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness or what fellowship has light with darkness or what harmony has christ with belial or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever or what agreement has the temple of god with idols for we are the temple of the living god just as god said i will dwell in them and walk among them and i will be their god and they shall be my people therefore come out from their midst and be separate says the lord and do not touch what is unclean and i will welcome you and i will be a father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to me says the lord almighty then verse 1 of chapter 7 therefore having these promises beloved let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of god and the defilement is the defilement of those alliances two opposing kingdoms one marked by righteousness light christ believers and god the other marked by lawlessness darkness belial unbelievers and idols there is no possibility of bringing these two kingdoms together in any partnership any fellowship any harmony any mutual benefit one is old the other is new one is earthly the other is heavenly one is deadly the other is enlivening one is material the other is spiritual one is full of lies the other is truthful so the command then in verse 14 do not be bound together with unbelievers that doesn't mean you should divorce an unbeliever paul addresses that doesn't he first corinthians 7. it doesn't mean isolation because paul himself says i'm all things to all men that i might by all means win some and jesus says in john 17 in his high priestly prayer i do not ask father that you remove them from the world but that you keep them from the evil one so we're not talking about isolation we're talking about being bound together now look look at that because it's really very important it means unequally yoked and that's i think the authorized translation and it's a good one because this this comment this command really do not be bound together with unbelievers is a prohibition based on deuteronomy 22 10 and deuteronomy 22 10 says you shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together you can't plow a straight furrow with two different beasts with two different natures two different gates two different dispositions that are designed two different ways you can't connect in a common cause that's the idea you can't connect in a common cause this is not new jeremiah addressed this in one of the most wonderful passages in jeremiah chapter 2. listen to this go and proclaim in the ears of jerusalem saying thus says the lord i remember concerning you the devotion of your youth speaking to the jewish people i remember the the love of your betrothals you're following after me in the wilderness through a land not sown israel was holy to the lord the first of his harvest all who ate of it became guilty evil came upon them declares the lord hear the word of the lord o house of jacob and all the families of the house of israel thus says the lord what injustice did your fathers find in me that they went far from me there was a time when you were like a bride and you were enjoying the intimacy and the blessing of our relationship and you were protected by me what happened what happened why did you go far from me and walk after emptiness and become empty they didn't say where is the lord who brought us up out of the land of egypt who led us through the wilderness through a land of deserts in a pits and of drought and deep darkness through a land that no one crossed and where no man dwelt i brought you into the fruitful land to eat its fruit and good things but you came and defiled my land in my inheritance you made an abomination the priest didn't say where is the lord and those who handle the law didn't know me the rulers also transgressed against me and here's the specific indictment the prophets prophesied by baal and walked after things that did not profit deviation from their relationship with the true god therefore i will contend with you declares the lord and with your sons i will contend and at the end of the chapter he says this my people have committed two evils they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters to hew for themselves cisterns broken cisterns that can hold no water why do god's people do that why did they defect to the world this is nothing new this was the story of israel as well as the sad history of the church and satan always seeks to disrupt the work of god and does that by joining the church to the kingdom of darkness it's in the parables of matthew 13 where jesus says the devil will come and sow tares among the wheat or by seducing either the devil sows unbelievers in the church or seduces the church to make alliances with the world now the current dominating interest of the defective church is in the realm of racism feminism and homosexuality and this has created massive chaos in evangelicalism the kingdom of light joining the racist bitter vengeful graceless philosophy of crt intersectionality systemic racism feminism spawned out of the enlightenment 300 years ago by god hating christ rejecting anti-family anti-christian atheists who were driven by bizarre sexual passions all you have to do is read philip johnson's book the intellectuals to know that those philosophers were some of the most deviant people who ever rose to intellectual power but all the issues that they generated on the social level have now become the interest of the church the church is endeavoring to partner with the world in its effort to fix things that aren't right on the planet and we all know there are plenty of things wrong that's not new genesis 6 when the lord looked at the earth all he saw was evil continually right and only evil continually so if you're going to fix the planet you got a pretty big job if you're going to make all the social ills right if you're going to fix every abuse that is a very challenging problem particularly if you don't do anything to change the people because you will find that sinful people will sin if you put a barrier up in one category to prevent a sin they'll just deviate into another category where sin finds life so what is the church doing in joining common cause with the world common cause with its distortions of truth and reality which with its god-hating christ-rejecting attitudes paul's passage here is very very powerful so let's let's dig in a little bit i want you to look at it from the three views that are the most obvious past present and future he's he's making reference to the past if if uh only in an oblique sense when we open with verse 14 do not be bound together with unbelievers again i i draw that from deuteronomy 22 10 and that takes me to the old testament let's look at the past what was god's attitude toward alliances between his people and the world in the past well the old testament is filled with prohibition let's go back and look at some of them just so we get the full picture uh we there are a lot of places to go but let's start with the 23rd chapter of exodus the 23rd chapter of exodus and verse 31 i will fix your boundary from the red sea to the sea of the philistines and from the wilderness to the river euphrates for i will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand you will drive them out before you you shall make no covenant with them or with their gods they shall not live in your land because they will make you sin against me for if you serve their gods it will surely be a snare to you now we have laid out there the reality that god says to israel you need to remove them from the land because you can't survive their presence that's how powerful and seductive the ungodly world is even to the people of god you need to conquer them you need to destroy them you need to chase them out because you can't survive if they're still there that's how powerful and seductive the world is in the 34th chapter of exodus and verse 12 watch yourselves that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you're going or it'll become a snare in your midst but rather you are to tear down their altars smash their sacred pillars cut down their asheram for you shall not worship any other god for the lord whose name is jealous is a jealous god otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land they will play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice and you might take some of his daughters for your sons and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods you shall make for yourselves no molten gods in other words this is so powerful and seductive that the very presence of these idolaters will lure you and suck you in in deuteronomy chapter 7 as they stood on the brink of entering into the land of promise there's a reiteration of these warnings when the lord your god brings you into the land you are entering chapter seven deuteronomy to possess it and clears away many nations before you the hittites gergeshites amorites canaanites perizzites hivites jebusites seven nations greater and stronger than you and when the lord your god delivers them before you and you defeat them then you shall utterly destroy them you shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them this is extreme action on the part of god to protect his people from the powerful seductive influences of the kingdom of darkness furthermore you shall not enter mary with them you shall not give your daughters to their sons nor shall you take their daughters for your sons for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods then the anger of the lord will be kindled against you and he will quickly destroy you and thus you shall do to them you shall tear down their altar smash their sacred pillars hew down their asheram and burn their graven images with fire for you are a holy people to the lord your god the lord your god has chosen you to be a people for his own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth the lord did not set his love on you or choose you because you were more in number than other peoples for you were the fewest of all people and then this amazing statement but because the lord loved you the lord loves you because he loves you he desires to protect you and that means he's going to destroy all those around you who could seduce you into the darkness that's his will for you that you be that protected obviously we know they didn't do that they didn't isolate they didn't destroy those people they didn't get them out of the land and of course they became idolatrous isaiah 30 woe to the rebellious children declares the lord who execute a plan but not mine that sounds like matthew doesn't it your interest is in not god's but man's agenda who execute a plan but not mine who make an alliance but not of my spirit in order to add sin to sin who proceed down to egypt without consulting me to take refuge in the safety of pharaoh this is getting political protection for the people of god seek shelter in the shadow of egypt how bizarre is that therefore the safety of pharaoh will be your shame and the shelter in the shadow of egypt your humiliation for their princes are at zoan and their ambassadors arrive at heinz everyone will be ashamed because of a people who cannot profit them who are not for help or profit but for shame and for reproach all you're going to get out of alliances with egypt is shame and reproach and you're going to make clear to the world who's watching that you do not trust your god so in chapter 31 he says woe to those who go down to egypt for help and rely on horses and trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong they do not look to the holy one of israel nor seek the lord yet he also is wise and will bring disaster and does not retract his words but will arise against the house of evil doers and against the help of the workers of iniquity now the egyptians are men and not god and their horses are flesh and not spirit so the lord will stretch out his hand and he who helps will stumble and he who is helped will fall and all of them will come to an end together you get nothing from an alliance with the world you get nothing from trusting in worldly leaders politicians so that's the past view implied by verse 14. let's go back to second corinthians do not be bound together unequally yoked with unbelievers that reminds us of those old testament prohibitions and you know that god did so many things to isolate israel they had dietary laws they had clothing requirements they had calendar requirements all of those things were an effort to keep them protected from the darkness which eventually sadly engulfed them now let's move into the present tense okay so paul is now speaking to to us to the church what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness what fellowship has light with darkness or what harmony has christ with belial or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever or what agreement has the temple of god with idols for we are the temple of the living god present tense five comparisons it's almost like you want to say okay i get it before you get to number five five comparisons speak to the issue of life in the church what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness partnership is medicaid uh it's used only here in the new testament but it's related to a word that is used in luke 5 to speak of peter's business partners in fishing and it's used in hebrews chapter 3 to speak of our union with christ so this is a partnership that is a genuine partnership in a common effort a common effort it's not as if you're sitting next to somebody watching something it's partnership in a common effort righteousness can have no partnership with lawlessness matthew 7 23 jesus and you remember this well said you you will never ever enter into my kingdom because you are lawless you are lawless in 1st john chapter 3 that definitive distinction between the people of the darkness and the people of light goes like this everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness and sin is lawlessness you know that he appeared in order to take away sins and in him there is no sin no one who abides in him sins no one who sins has seen him or knows him little children make sure no one deceives you the one who practices righteousness is righteous just as he is righteous the one who practices sin is of the devil no one who is born of god practices sin because the seed abides in him and he cannot sin because he is born of god by this the children of god and the children of the devil are obvious anyone who doesn't practice righteousness is not of god nor the one who doesn't love his brother mutually exclusive so the first statement is what what alliance what common cause can righteousness have with lawlessness secondly what fellowship has light with darkness the first one has to do with character characters manifest by righteousness or lawlessness this one goes a little deeper it has to do with nature what fellowship koinonia has light with darkness these things are by definition opposites light is a metaphor for truth and virtue darkness is a metaphor for lies in iniquity children of light and children of darkness together in some kind of cause not possible not possible with the view of advancing the kingdom you can be in a business together you can be on a team together you can work together but you can't engage in a common alliance with the view of advancing the kingdom so first of all he's referring to behavior righteousness and lawlessness and then he goes back to character light and darkness then he speaks of power what is what is the difference between the two power sources what harmony and that is actually the word sum phonesis from which we get symphony what harmony has christ with belial now you're talking about power what alliance does the power of christ need to make with the power of the devil belial is an ancient name for satan it means worthless it's used about 12 times in the old testament it's unthinkable that you were to link up satan with christ unthinkable that you would somehow think as a believer preaching the gospel you need to make an alliance with atheistic godless christless vengeful hate-filled racist ideology and think those two go together and go so far as to say that's part of the gospel that's impossible you don't advance the kingdom of god by any alliance with any common cause in the world even those that may have some elements of validity the only way the world is ever going to change is when the hearts of people change right the lord wants us to view cooperation with the world in this way it's joining christ to satan or he says what has a believer in common with an unbeliever so we go from the behavior righteousness and lawlessness to the character light and darkness to the power of christ and belial to the means the world operates by sight we operate by faith so what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever they operate purely on the temporal level we operate on the spiritual level for christians who live by faith in the lord our trust is in him our faith is in him and that's why we don't swap the fountain of living waters for broken pots it offers us nothing we function in the supernatural by the power of god the power of christ and the power of the holy spirit all that the world can do is function on a natural level we trust in god they trust in themselves we trust in the spirit they trust in the flesh they they trust in political power military power ideological force financial power we trust in god and lastly there's opposite identities that's a big word identity he says [Music] what agreement has the temple of god verse 16 with idols this is like in ezekiel 8 remember when ezekiel had a vision of the temple and he saw scribblings of idols in the temple and then he saw false gods in the temple it's like in 1st samuel 4 through 6 where the philistines had captured the ark of the covenant and they put it in the house of dagon and god will not be alongside an idol you remember the story the idol was knocked over the next morning when they came back the next morning they set it up the next morning after that it was knocked over and its head were cut off was cut off and it was dismembered we have no agreement we are the temple of the living god we are the temple of the living god what an amazing statement temple of the living god what does the temple of the living god have to do with idols what agreement that means union temple here is naos means the holy of holies we are the temple right the spirit of god dwells in us john 14 20 jesus said those amazing words i'm in the father and you and me and i and you identity is a buzz word isn't it today everybody wants to talk about racial identity sexual identity gender identity well we have an identity too and that is we're the temple of the living god it is true i am not what i appear i appear as a man but that is my material identity my true unseen actual identity is that i am at the temple of the living god christ is in me christ lives in me and i cannot join christ to an idol paul even talks about not joining christ to a harlot doesn't he so don't be bound together with unbelievers don't be bound together as the righteous with the lawless don't be bound together as the light with the darkness don't be bound together as those who are christ with satan don't be bound together with idolaters when you are the temple of the living god you cannot do any of those things and advance the kingdom there's one more climactic truth it's in the last section here and it's the future and this has been overlooked a lot i think so this might be a fresh insight for you picking it up in verse 16 where god said i will dwell in them and walk among them and i will be their god and they shall be my people therefore come out from their midst and be separate says the lord and do not touch what is unclean and i will welcome you and i will be a father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to me says the lord almighty therefore having these promises these are promises i will i will i will i will four times four times these are promises you notice there that these are quotes from the old testament right and they are a mosaic of old testament promises to the people of god listen carefully to related to the kingdom did you get that related to the kingdom christ's millennial kingdom they're drawn out of kingdom passages like jeremiah 24 i will set my eyes on them for good i will bring them again to this land i will build them up i will plant them i will give them a heart to know me for i am the lord and they will be my people and i will be their god for they will return to me with their whole heart that's what this is referring to when he talks about dwelling and walking he's not talking to non-believers and calling them to salvation he already talks about us as believers and part of christ and the light and righteousness he's speaking to believers and saying that the promise of god is of a future kingdom jeremiah 31 33 this is the covenant which i will make with the house of israel after those days says the lord i will put my law within their hearts i will write it and i will be their god and they shall be my people familiar words from ezekiel 37 i'll make a covenant of peace with them it will be an everlasting covenant with them i will set my sanctuary in their midst forever my dwelling place also will be with them and i will be their god and they will be my people in other words what he is saying here is all of these kingdom promises mean the purposes of god are on track to be culminated in the reign of jesus christ on earth in other words it will be set right but not by any efforts that we make in alliance with the world it will be set right when the king of kings comes so having these promises cleanse yourselves from these unholy alliances it's the promise of the kingdom the millennial reign of christ called the regeneration called the times of refreshing the time of restitution the day of christ it's revelation 19 where it's laid out in the thousand-year reign of christ as he comes in chapter 19 and establishes in chapter 20 his kingdom and the new heavens and the new earth ultimately in other words there is a day coming when things will be made right the promise of the king coming to judge as in psalm 2 coming to rain culminating the new testament isaiah gives us elements of that kingdom global worldwide worship of god as king every knee will bow to yahweh all nations will see his glory perfect justice and fairness righteousness and truth peace between men and men and men and animals economic blessing abundant rain long life no war safety joy all of that is the kingdom where god will come and dwell with his people and walk among them and be their god and they will be his people the lord will zechariah 14 9 says the lord will be king over all the earth in that day the lord will be the only one and his name the only one the lord will be the only one and is named the only one the only ruler so i hear a lot about an urban mandate have you heard people talk about that we have an urban mandate to reclaim the cities you know what the urban mandate is i'll give you the urban mandate in the words of jesus very specifically in matthew 11 then he began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles were done because they didn't repent woe to you corazon woe to you bethsaida for if the miracles that occurred in tyre and sidon which occurred in you they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes nevertheless i say to you it'll be more tolerable for tyre and sidon in the day of judgment than for you and you capernaum will not be exalted to heaven will you you will descend to hades for if the miracles that occurred in sodom which occurred in you it would have remained to this day nevertheless i say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of sodom in the day of judgment than for you and while the contemporary world hasn't seen the miracles they have had the revelation of god written and rejected it there is an urban mandate and that urban mandate is to pronounce judgment on all cities that reject the lord jesus christ and to warn them as they should be warned in revelation 18 i saw another angel coming down from having heaven having great authority and the earth was illumined with his glory and he cried out with a mighty voice saying fall and fall in his babylon the great she has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird for all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality i heard another voice from heaven saying come out of her my people so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues for her sins have piled up as high as heaven and god has remembered her iniquities pay her back even as she has paid and give back to her double according to her deeds in the cup which she has mixed mix twice as much for her to the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously to the same degree give her torment and mourning for she says in her heart i sit as a queen and i am not a widow and will never see mourning for this reason in one day her plagues will come pestilence and mourning and famine and she will be burned up with fire for the lord god who judges her is strong that's the urban mandate tell the the cities what is coming in divine judgment when the whole currently booming global economy is crushed into hell so because of what god told his people in the past about separation from the world and because of what he says to us as the church about separation from the world and because of the future plan of god in which god will do the separating and he will establish the kingdom of righteousness and justice and peace and joy the command to us there in verse 17 come out from their midst and be separate says the lord and do not touch what is unclean that is drawn right out of isaiah 52 11 the chapter prior to great chapter 53 this is a call to separation the call to separation and the day will come when the lord will welcome us into his presence as sons and daughters who will reign with him in his eternal kingdom so we cleanse ourselves chapter 7 verse 1 from all defilement of flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of god what does holiness mean means separation doesn't it so we separate we separate perfecting epi teleo that that is a eschatological term anticipating the perfection to come in the kingdom anticipating that all the rights will be established by god who is perfectly righteous he's speaking to the church it's in the plural let us cleanse ourselves from all melismas of all the unholy alliances we need no alliances with satan to advance the kingdom all that does is corrupt the kingdom our calling is clear shine the light into the darkness don't mingle with the darkness mark 1 15 makes it very simple tell people repent and believe in the gospel that's our calling well we left peter in sort of an embarrassing way so let's see if we can't recover him first peter chapter 1. verse 13 peter's learned a lot and he writes to us therefore prepare your minds for action keep sober in spirit fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of jesus christ look forward to his coming in his kingdom as obedient children do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance but like the holy one who called you be holy yourselves also in all your behavior because it is written you shall be holy for i am holy good peter you got it separate separate do it because as you address the father you are addressing the one who redeemed you not with perishable things like silver or gold from your feudal way of life inherited from your forefathers but with the precious blood as of the lamb and blemish and spotless the blood of christ who was foreknown before the foundation of the world was appeared in these last times for your sake who through him are believers in god who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so your faith and hope are in god greatest of all prices was paid for you you are a unique separate holy people let's go to chapter 2 verse 9. here's peter summing it up borrowing a lot from the old testament but you are a chosen race a royal priesthood a holy nation a people for god's own possession so that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light you once were not a people but now you are the people of god you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy beloved i urge you as aliens and strangers abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul keep your behavior excellent among the gentiles so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers they may because of your good deeds as they observe them glorify god in the day of hesitation what's the day of visitation the day that christ comes face to face with the people who are sitting at his tribunal you want to so live your life that there will be people influenced and come to faith in the gospel and they will with you glorify god in the day of his judgment visitation so peter got the message the message is separate from the world when you link up with the world everything gets completely confused then some final words from peter in the end of his last letter you therefore beloved knowing this beforehand be on your guard be on your guard so that you're not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness that's that's what we have to be careful to avoid falling from our own resolve our own conviction our own steadfastness as those who live in and proclaim the light grow in grace in the knowledge of our lord and savior jesus christ to him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity amen peter signs off by saying just focus on christ just focus on christ i think there are situations now where people are [Music] like peter one day they're saying something comes right from heaven and the next day they're saying something comes right from hell and the chaos and the confusion of all that is ripping and shredding and tearing the evangelical church to bits because those who should be tied tethered locked down by the gospel and the gospel alone have taken up social causes and they're doing nothing but rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic it's all going down what's the point the only way that we can make a difference in the world is by preaching the gospel right so that hearts are transformed father we thank you for the time uh this morning to think about these things and so many implications flood my mind and i know the minds of these faithful men thank you for their resolve to preach christ and him crucified to preach the gospel and to not get sucked up by the things around them even some of them good things we know that jesus never entered into social action paul never did and neither did any of the other apostles they knew the only hope was a changed heart didn't do any good to rearrange sinners in their sinful condition help us lord to focus on preaching the gospel and the gospel alone and preach your truth your word unleashing it one verse at a time as it were so that we are faithful to declare the whole council of god that's our prayer we pray in our savior's name amen

Channel: Grace to You

Views: 226,516

Rating: 4.8902483 out of 5

Keywords: John MacArthur, Bible, Preaching, Christianity, Expository, Exposition, Sermon, Jesus, Christ, Grace to You

Id: rXuigBJmuO0

Length: 64min 48sec (3888 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 24 2021