{"id":18506,"date":"2019-01-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-01-06T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/ecclesiology-047-currently-no-video\/"},"modified":"2022-01-12T17:16:35","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T23:16:35","slug":"ecclesiology-047-currently-no-video","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/ecclesiology-047-currently-no-video\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecclesiology 047 – (currently no video)"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[85],"series_event":[484],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18506","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-matthew","series_event-ecclesiology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Ecclesiology 047 - (currently no video)","sermon_date":"20190106","sermon_month":"1","sermon_year":"2019","sermon_notes":20011,"sermon_slides":20012,"sermon_mp3":"","sermon_id":"16191610231214","series_or_event":484,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":85,"chapter_and_verse":"3:16","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nEcclesiology 47, Matthew 3:16\n\n1-6-19\n\nFather, we\u2019re grateful for this morning and grateful for a new year.\u00a0 I pray for\u00a0 Your hand of blessing today as we look into Your Word and I pray You\u2019ll be with us at the communion service and the fellowship lunch that follows.\u00a0 I just pray that Your Spirit would guide all things and that You would use us today in spite of ourselves.\u00a0 And we ask these things in Jesus name, Amen.\n\nIf you can locate Mark 1 and verse 10.\u00a0 Happy New Year to everybody.\u00a0 How long do you think it\u2019ll take before you stop writing 2018 on your checks?\u00a0 It usually takes me about two to three months to catch up with the learning curve.\u00a0 As you know, Ron has a handout for you back there but we\u2019re continuing our study on the doctrine of the church, Ecclesiology.\n\nJust a couple of comments on baptism.\u00a0 You\u00a0 might recall we were talking about ordinances in the church. What is baptism?\u00a0 You\u2019ll recall it\u2019s an outward symbol of an inward reality and that\u2019s different than the other views out there on baptism, baptismal regeneration, infant baptism, all of that stuff I don\u2019t think is biblically supported.\u00a0 But baptism, water baptism is an outward symbol of an inward reality.\u00a0 And really the only other issue I could talk about related to baptism is should we sprinkle or should we immerse?\u00a0 What do you guys think?\u00a0 The interesting thing is do our words in the Greek New Testament for sprinkling and pouring, you\u2019ll find sprinkling used in 1 Peter 1:2, and pouring used in 2 Timothy 4:6.\u00a0 And none of those words are ever used related to water baptism.\n\n[1 Peter 1:2, \u201caccording to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.\u00a0 2 Timothy 4:6, \u201cFor I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.\u201d\u2019]\n\nSo if you want to really understand water baptism and what it signifies, we think that sprinkling and pouring water on people is really not the way to go.\u00a0 Really the way to go is what we would call full immersion in the water.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why I had you open up to Mark 1:10; look at how Jesus Himself was baptized.\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of interesting, a lot of people think the Bible is neutral when it comes to methods but actually when you study the Bible it\u2019s pretty clear about methods.\u00a0 When you look at verse 10 it says, \u201cImmediately coming up out of the water,\u201d so to come out of the water means that he had to have been in the water.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026coming up out of the water He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him.\u201d\u00a0 And you can cross reference that with Matthew 3:16.\u00a0 [Matthew 3:16, \u201cAfter being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him,\u201d]\n\nSo we believe in full immersion because that\u2019s the way Jesus was baptized.\u00a0 Furthermore, the few baptisms that we have recorded in the Book of Acts that are described all seem to be talking about full\u00a0 immersion.\u00a0 You might want to flip over to Acts 8:38-39, this is the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch and his subsequent baptism.\u00a0 You notice what it says, \u201cAnd he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him [39] When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.\u201d \u00a0So to me that looks like full immersion because it talks about him coming \u201cup out of the water.\u201d\u00a0 Nothing here about pouring or sprinkling.\n\nAnd when we actually understand what baptism represents full immersion seems to better describe the reality that we possess.\u00a0 So we have already been spiritually baptized into Christ, Romans 6:3, haven\u2019t we.\u00a0 [Romans 6:3, \u201cOr do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?\u201d]\u00a0 That\u2019s already happened; baptism there in Romans 6 is our identification with Christ.\u00a0 So we have been identified with Christ.\u00a0 Now when we have been identified with Christ does that mean Christ gets about 97% of me?\u00a0 What do you think, thumbs up or thumbs down to that?\u00a0 Thumbs down\u2026 He gets everything.\u00a0 I mean I am now completely His, I have been completely identified or baptized into the transaction of Christ and so full immersion in water, baptism an outward symbol of an inward reality, full immersion in water would describe the totality of the fact that all of me belongs to Jesus.\u00a0 So that\u2019s why we would immerse people fully in water to symbolize that New Testament truth.\n\nSo why immerse?\u00a0 Christ\u2019s baptism, the Ethiopian eunuch\u2019s baptism, that symbolizes our complete and total unity into Christ. And I was talking to my wife about this not long ago and she said yeah, and coming out of water symbolizes a new creation.\u00a0 I said what do you mean?\u00a0 Well it\u2019s in Genesis, it\u2019s in 2 Peter 3, and I said wow, that\u2019s really good, do you mind if I use that in my Bible studies.\u00a0 She said no problem.\n\nBut when you go back to early Genesis what you see is creation is coming up out of water.\u00a0 For example, take a\u00a0 look if you could at Genesis 1:6, \u201cThen God said, \u2018Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters,\u201d everything seems to be starting with water, \u201cand let it separate the waters from the waters.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 So that\u2019s the beginning of what we call the sky or the expanse which is a separation of the waters below the earth, which is the ocean, versus (this is very interesting here) the waters above the earth.\u00a0 If you look at verse 7 it says, \u201cGod made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.\u201d\n\nSo in original creation there\u2019s water and then there\u2019s a separation between the waters below (that\u2019s the ocean) and the waters above.\u00a0 And you say well, I understand the waters below, the\u00a0 ocean, what are those waters above?\u00a0 Well, I\u2019m a believer in what\u2019s called the canopy theory, that there was a sphere of water that at one time surrounded the earth and that\u2019s what I think filtered the sun\u2019s harmful rays and this sort of explains why people in the pre-flood world were living into their 900\u2019s.\u00a0 I mean, Adam lived, even after falling into sin he lived 930 years.\u00a0 Methuselah, the oldest man that we have recorded in Scripture, his life went 969 years.\u00a0 And then God brought the flood and how did He bring the flood.\u00a0\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if I\u2019d start a new denomination over this or anything but my perspective is God simply released the canopy that was above the earth.\n\nAnd so when you get into post flood genealogy suddenly what you learn is people are not living in their 900\u2019s anymore.\u00a0 They\u2019re living to be 175, and the life span of man gradually gets curtailed. Why is that?\u00a0 Because the canopy which separated the earth from the sun\u2019s harmful ultraviolet rays basically was released.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what brought the flood to the earth.\u00a0 And I get a chuckle out of people when they say you don\u2019t believe in a global flood do you?\u00a0 And they say there\u2019s not enough water in the clouds to bring a global flood.\u00a0 So they\u2019re kind of assuming that God used the rain that we see today as His mechanism.\u00a0 And once you start thinking that way you can\u2019t understand early Genesis correctly because that\u2019s what you call a uniformitarian point of view. In other words, you\u2019re analyzing what\u2019s normal today and pretending like that pattern has always been.\n\nThe fact of the matter is God changes the rules quite frequently in the Bible.\u00a0 And so my response to people who don\u2019t believe in a global flood because there wasn\u2019t enough moisture in the clouds, who says God used the clouds to bring the flood?\u00a0 I mean, He didn\u2019t use the clouds to bring hurricane Harvey on us, right?\u00a0 But who\u2019s to say that He\u2019s always used the clouds; He could have very easily released this veil of water which was existing above.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t mean to get off on all that but it\u2019s interesting that sky, a new creation, is brought into existence from water.\n\nAnd then when you go to Genesis 1:9 you see the same pattern.\u00a0 It says, \u201cThen God said, \u2018Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear\u2019; and it was so.\u201d\u00a0 So where did the earth come from or \u201cthe dry land\u201d?\u00a0 It came out of the water.\u00a0 So you see this pattern of God that He brings forth new creations out of water.\n\nAnd it\u2019s interesting, the Apostle Peter talks about this,\u00a0 you might want to take a look at 2 Peter 3:5, \u201cFor when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, 2 Peter 3:5]\u00a0 and people say well why did Peter talk about the flood so much.\u00a0 Ever ask yourself that question?\u00a0 I mean, of all the references we have to the flood in the Bible outside of Genesis, Peter talks about the flood more than anybody else.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Well, just remember Peter\u2019s vocation, he was a fisherman, so he liked water.\u00a0 And so God used the personality and the temperament and the background of the people that recorded our Scripture for us.\n\nWhy is it that Matthew brings up monetary denominations and sums of money like \u201ctalents\u201d which was an actual monetary denomination?\u00a0 Why does Matthew bring that up more than any other gospel writer.\u00a0 He\u2019s a tax collector.\u00a0 See how easy this is?\u00a0 In fact, there\u2019s a story of Peter and Jesus going fishing and Peter is to catch a fish and he is to look into the fish\u2019s mouth and see a coin in there and he\u2019s to use that to pay his temple taxes.\u00a0\u00a0 And I was just on the Sea of Galilee and they have a little restaurant there on the Sea of Galilee where you can eat fish from the Sea of Galilee, and they call it \u201cPeter\u2019s fish,\u201d I think it\u2019s what they call that.\u00a0 I looked very intently into the mouth of that fish they served me and I didn\u2019t find a coin though.\n\nBut why is it that only Matthew records that story?\u00a0 You don\u2019t find it in Mark, you don\u2019t find it in John, you don\u2019t find it in Luke, you only find it in Matthew.\u00a0 Well it makes sense because Matthew was a tax collector.\u00a0 Why is it that Luke records the prenatal activities of Jesus and John the Baptist more than any other gospel writer?\u00a0 Because Luke is a doctor or a physician, at the end of Colossians 4 you\u2019ll see a reference to Luke the physician.\u00a0 [Colossians 4:14, \u201cLuke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and also<\/em> Demas..\u201d]\u00a0 In fact, Luke also wrote the Book of Acts and he talks about Judas\u2019 suicide and he basically says he hung himself off of a tree via a rope (at least another gospel writer tells us that) and we assume the rope broke because Luke tells us that his body fell down the cliff and as his body was falling down it was brushing up against the sharp rocks and it was splitting his body open and Luke says, I think this is Acts 1, his intestines spilled out.\u00a0 [Acts 1:18, \u201cNow this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out.\u201d]\n\nNow\u00a0 I read that and I say that\u2019s more information than I want to know; I mean, I don\u2019t need to know about intestines.\u00a0 Well, if we understand that Luke is a physician we\u2019d understand why he would talk about things like that.\u00a0 So it\u2019s kind of interesting how the Lord put together our Bible.\u00a0 He carried along the writers of Scripture and He didn\u2019t override who they were; He respected their histories and gifts and temperaments and that\u2019s how the Scripture was recorded to us.\u00a0 It\u2019s what we call dual authorship.\u00a0 Man is writing it but God is not using man as some kind of robot, He\u2019s guiding the prophets that are recording Scripture.\u00a0 Anyway how did I get off onto all that?\n\nI was just trying to explain, I think, how Peter, or why Peter talks about the flood more than anybody else and if\u00a0 you look at verse 5 in 2 Peter 3:5 it says, \u201cFor when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed\u201d what? \u201cout of water and by water.\u201d\u00a0 So there\u2019s another reference to a new creation coming out of water.\n\nSo I think water baptism symbolizes who we are in Christ Jesus because what are we in Christ Jesus?\u00a0 We are a new creation and you see that in 2 Corinthians 5:17.\u00a0 [2 Corinthians 5:17, \u201cTherefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.\u201d]\n\nSo why do we immerse in water rather than sprinkle or pour?\u00a0 Because the Greek words for sprinkle or pour are never used in baptism contexts.\u00a0 Beyond that the pattern that we have in Scripture, whether it\u2019s Christ\u2019s baptism, the Ethiopian eunuch\u2019s baptism, or new creation coming into existence seems to be always coming out of water which would argue for full immersion.\u00a0 And beyond that full immersion best symbolizes our union with Christ because when I am baptized into Christ, Christ doesn\u2019t get my forehead only as you sprinkle somebody; He gets all of me and full immersion best symbolizes that.\n\nSo anyway, that sort of completes our whole discussion of ordinances. Ordinances are basically rituals that God expects practiced in His church and the two that we really emphasize are the Lord\u2019s Table (which we\u2019re celebrating this morning) and water baptism.\n\nAnd that takes us to Roman numeral XII on your outline, which means we\u2019re almost finished with our study of Ecclesiology but don\u2019t celebrate yet, because as you know I have the ability to take something small and turn it into something big. Right?\n\nThis last one is interesting, it hardly gets mentioned in treatments on ecclesiology or the doctrine of the church and yet it\u2019s very, very important, and it has to do with the purity of the church.\u00a0 I mean, here is the church, God\u2019s blood-bought people, His community, living in the devil\u2019s world.\u00a0 So if we represent God in the devil\u2019s world how do we keep ourselves pure or unstained from the world?\n\nNow obviously we\u2019re all pure positionally, we\u2019re 100% pure \u201cin Christ,\u201d we\u2019ve been clothed in the righteousness of Christ.\u00a0 We\u2019re not using purity that way, here we\u2019re talking about our practical purity.\u00a0 How in the world can the church keep itself practically pure in a fallen world?\u00a0 And to help us with the Lord has given us two tools for this: the first is ecclesiastical separation, which we\u2019ll talk about.\u00a0 And the second tool is church discipline.\u00a0 And if these tools are not utilized and recognized and employed when needed what will happen to the church is she will just take on the pattern of the unsaved world around her.\u00a0 And as I\u2019ll show you when she does that she loses her witness to the world.\n\nSo let\u2019s talk first about ecclesiastical separation.\u00a0 Probably my first major lesson in ecclesiastical separation comes from my rearing in a denominational church and we were a little conservative church, Episcopalian, and suddenly we found ourselves in an institution that was drifting into worldliness.\u00a0 And what was happening is the Bishop in Los Angeles was ordaining homosexuals and things like that to the ministry.\u00a0 And it\u2019s something that our parish didn\u2019t believe in. And the problem is we were under a\u00a0 bishop rules system and this actually went\u00a0 to court.\u00a0 My father was very involved in this whole skirmish because at the time he was a member of the vestry which is sort of like\u2026 we would call it similar to the elder board today in Bible church vernacular.\n\nAnd the lawsuit really had to do with the title of the property because our little grout wanted to break away and the big group, the hierarchy that we were part of, the bishop system, said NO, the property belongs to us, so now it\u2019s a fight over who owns the title to the property.\u00a0 And they were sort of, the best I can explain it, trying to send us a message; they were reacting harshly against us because they didn\u2019t want all these other little churches under their domain to break off as well.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 So that\u2019s an example of what do you do when you\u2019re in that situation?\n\nWhat do you do when you\u2019re yoked to an institution that no longer honors biblical truth?\u00a0 I think what the Bible tells us to do is what\u2019s called ecclesiastical separation.\u00a0 Ecclesiastical separation is the doctrine of, almost never spoken of today because the big push today is unity at all costs.\u00a0 And\u00a0 yet what you see in the pages of God\u2019s Word is there\u2019s a tool that He has given where you are to formally break away from people or groups or hierarchies that are no longer honoring biblical truth.\u00a0 You\u2019re not to sit and remain in those circumstances; you\u2019re to break away.\n\nAnd sort of the logic of a lot of people is well if we break away then the salt and light will leave and all of that kind of stuff.\u00a0 And let me just ask you a question\u2014if I\u2019m standing on a chair right over here and you\u2019re standing on the ground and holding my hand, do you think it\u2019s easier for me to pull you up on that chair or for you to pull me off?\u00a0 Even though I\u2019m a large man, even if I put my full strength into it the chances are you could probably yank me off that chair before I can pull you onto the chair.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because the law of gravity is on your side.\u00a0 Right?\n\nSo that\u2019s sort of how it works with this ecclesiastical separation; what they\u2019ll try to do is they\u2019re try to remain in the movement and remain in groups and remain in bodies that they know are going the wrong direction under the guise of we\u2019re going to be salt and light to them.\u00a0 And generally what happens is they end up influencing you more than you end up influencing them.\u00a0 And so there is a biblical case for ecclesiastical separation.\n\nOr another example; what do you do if you\u2019re in a denomination and the seminary that feeds potential preachers for your pulpit no longer holds to biblical truth?\u00a0 They no longer believe in inerrancy, they\u2019re doing all these funny things with the Bible. What do you do then?\u00a0 I mean, do you stay?\u00a0 I would say no because if you stay what you\u2019re going to have are liberal preachers, unbiblical preachers.\u00a0 At some point you have to break away because what\u2019s going to happen at the end of the day is they\u2019re going to end up influencing you more than you\u2019re going to be influencing them.\u00a0 And so that sort of weaves into this whole discussion of ecclesiastical separation.\n\nTake a look if you could at John 17:20-23 for a minute. \u00a0One of the most misquoted verses in the whole Bible is John 17:20-23.\u00a0 And everybody that\u2019s promoting unity at all costs, we might call this ecumenism\u2026 what is ecumenism?\u00a0 It\u2019s the urge to merge; the urge to merge with groups that don\u2019t share your same theological belief system. That\u2019s ecumenism.\u00a0 They try to find the lowest common denominator for things you can agree on and you focus on that and you forget all the differences and you all come together as one. And you quote that great theologian Rodney King, can\u2019t we all just get along? And so everybody that\u2019s ecumenical, and that\u2019s the loudest voice today, the separatists have a very small voice because no one ever talks about it in church. But the ecumenists have a very loud voice, and the ecumenists are always going to be quoting John 17:20-23.\n\nIn fact the Roman Catholic Church looks at us, they call us the separated brethren, that\u2019s what they call us.\u00a0 And their big push is Rome sweet home, come home to Rome, forget the Protestant Reformation, act like that never happened.\u00a0 In fact if you go online and\u00a0 you listen to some videos by Kenneth Copeland, who I don\u2019t recommend at all because he is a prosperity preacher, I\u2019ve notice that he is now moving heavily in the direction of ecumenism and the Protestant Reformation was a mistake and Rome sweet home and all these kind of things.\u00a0 And the separatism just doesn\u2019t get a hearing because the big push today is the urge to merge.\n\nSo the Roman Catholic Church and everybody else that wants ecumenism is starting to quote\u2026 well, they\u2019re not starting to quote, they\u2019ve been quoting it for a long time, John 17:20-23.\u00a0 In fact, the very liberal World Council of Churches, which started way back sometime at the beginning of the 1900\u2019s, I don\u2019t remember the exact day of their birth but they\u2019ve been quoting this Scripture as long as I have any record of what they\u2019ve been doing.\u00a0 Forget conservatism, forget the Bible, it\u2019s all get back together because Jesus wants us all to be one, John 17:20-23.\u00a0 So what do these verses actually say.\u00a0 Jesus, watch this, Jesus is not instructing the church, that\u2019s the misunderstanding, He\u2019s praying to the Father AND the prayer request has already been answered.\u00a0 Those are the two things the ecumenist will never tell you when they quote this verse.\n\nAnd if that weren\u2019t enough, number three, they chop off verse 17 and pretend like it\u2019s not there.\u00a0 So\u2026 you might know this verse, Jesus is praying to the Father, \u201cI do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;\u201d that would be us, \u00a0[21] \u201cthat they may all be\u201d what? \u201cone;\u201d see, we\u2019re all supposed to be one big happy family regardless of theological differences we\u2019re told.\u00a0 \u201cbut for those also who believe in Me through their word;\u201d that would be us,\u00a0 [21] \u201cthat they may all be one even as You, Father, are<\/em> in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. [22] The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; [23] I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that\u201d look at this, if we don\u2019t do this what\u2019s going to happen, \u201cso that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.\n\nSo the ecumenist, whether it\u2019s the World Council of Churches or the Roman Catholic Church will come along and quote this verse and put you on a guilt trip because you\u2019re not part of their movement.\u00a0 Well the reason\u00a0 you\u2019re not part of their movement is because your Bible says things different than what they teach.\u00a0 But they will make you feel bad about yourself that you\u2019re not part of their movement; in fact, you\u2019re disobeying the words of Christ AND if that weren\u2019t enough, you\u2019re holding up world evangelization because the only way this world is going to figure out that Jesus is the Son of God is if we\u2019re all what?\u00a0 All one!\u00a0 So that is the ecumenist\u2019s misuse of this verse.\n\nAnd I already mentioned three problems with that interpretation.\u00a0 Let me give you those three problems.\u00a0 Number one, how come they never quote verse 17?\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t verse 17 come before verse 20?\u00a0 You guys with me on that.\u00a0 What did Jesus say in John 17:17?\u00a0 \u201cSanctify them in the truth, Your word is truth.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0Anybody that uses verses 20-23 to teach a unity that negates truth\u2026 and that\u2019s what ecumenism is, quit with all this Bible stuff, quit with all these doctrines you believe in coming from the Bible, just focus on the common denominators that we all have together and let\u2019s all come together.\u00a0 Anybody that promotes that is promoting a false unity, number one, because the unity that Jesus is speaking of here is a unity based on truth.\u00a0 He says that in verse 17, which they never quote, \u00a0?\u00a0 \u201cSanctify them in the truth, Your word is truth.\u201d\n\nJesus never said unity at the expense of truth.\u00a0 He talks about the importance of truth first and then he said let the unity be built on truth.\u00a0 So that\u2019s problem number one with their misuse of this verse.\n\nProblems number two and three I found in this wonderful quote from Lewis Sperry Chafer and look at what he says all the way back in 1947-1948 about the ecumenists abuse of John 17:20-23.\u00a0 John 17, as you might know, is Christ\u2019s high priestly prayer.\u00a0 It\u2019s His prayer to the Father just before the ordeal of the cross and His resurrection after that.\n\nLewis Sperry Chafer says concerning the ecumenists abuse of this verse, and these are very strong words, \u201c\u201cThoughtless and absurd\u201d he says, it\u2019s not very politically correct to say something like that, \u201cThoughtless and absurd is the modern notion that Christ was praying that denominations which exist in this remote time,\u201d 2000 years after the prayer, \u201cand in a country then unknown\u201d a completely different continent, \u201cmight become organically united in one, and therefore it is the duty of all sects to unite and thus help to answer this prayer.\u201d\u00a0 So we\u2019ve got to help poor Jesus get this prayer answered; we\u2019ve got to, as they were saying in the movement Promise Keepers not too long ago, I went to some of these things in the early 90\u2019s, the big thing was let the walls come down, saying that over and over again.\u00a0 Let the walls come down, and finally I started to figure it out, what walls were they talking about? They\u2019re talking about doctrinal walls.\u00a0 They\u2019re talking about theological walls.\u00a0 Well why are those walls there?\u00a0 Because we find those walls in the Scripture.\u00a0 I mean, if those walls weren\u2019t in the Scripture we would still be Roman Catholic, right?\u00a0 What are they all saying at Promise Keepers?\u00a0 Let the walls come down, because poor Jesus, we\u2019ve got to all come together as one to help poor Jesus get His prayer request answered and if we don\u2019t do this we\u2019re holding up world evangelization.\n\nChafer says, \u201cThoughtless and absurd is the modern notion that Christ was praying that denominations which exist in this remote time and in a country then unknown might become organically united in one, and therefore it is the duty of all sects to unite and thus help to answer this prayer. As indicated before, this unity is sought at the hand of the Father, indicating that it is a divine undertaking.\u201d\u00a0 See what\u2019s happening here?\u00a0 Jesus is praying for something that only the Father can answer.\u00a0 You never hear this interpretation, what you hear is this is something we\u2019ve got to do in the 20th<\/sup> and 21st<\/sup> century.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026divine undertaking.\u00a0 \u00a0It is that,\u201d describing undertaking, \u201cand it results in a unity as organic and vital as that between the Father and the Son.\u201d So we have to bring the theological walls down so we can be as united as Jesus is with the Father in His relationship to the triune godhead, so that the world can see our love, so that world evangelization won\u2019t be hindered.\u00a0 Chafer is criticizing the ecumenists misuse of this passage.\u00a0 He says, This prayer\u201d watch this very carefully, \u201cThis prayer began to be answered on the Day of Pentecost\u201d see that, \u201cwhen believers were by the Spirit baptized into one Body, and is constantly answered whenever a soul is saved and thus joined as a member to the Body of Christ by the same baptism of the Spirit.\u201d\u00a0 [vol. 5, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1993), 158.]\n\nDid you catch that?\u00a0 This is a prayer that\u2019s already been answered.\u00a0 When was it answered?\u00a0 It\u2019s the formation that something only God could do and it\u2019s got to be something only God can do because Jesus is praying to who?\u00a0 The Father!\u00a0 He\u2019s not giving commands to the church.\u00a0 He\u2019s praying to the Father and the prayer request got answered already, 2,000 years ago.\u00a0 Well when was it answered?\u00a0 Through the universal church, the body of Christ, Christ formed one body and everybody for the last 2,000 years that has trusted in Christ has been baptized into the body of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:13.\u201d\u00a0 [1 Corinthians 12:13, \u201cFor by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.\u201d]\n\nSo number one, the prayer request has already been answered.\u00a0 Number two, it\u2019s not even a command to the church because Jesus was praying to the Father.\u00a0 And number three, if that all weren\u2019t enough, Jesus never talked about unity at all costs because verse 17 comes before verse 20 and in verse 17 He is talking about truth, unity on the basis of truth.\u00a0 [John 17:17, \u201cSanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. [18] As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. [19] For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. [20] I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; [21] that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are<\/em> in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.\u201d]\n\nSo it\u2019s likely you\u2019ve been listening to sermons and teachings for your whole Christian life and\u00a0 you probably never had that interpretation.\u00a0 In fact, can I just see a show of hands?\u00a0 How many people have never heard the correct interpretation I just gave.\u00a0 That\u2019s what I suspected, 75%-80% of the hands go up.\n\nSo don\u2019t feel like if you\u2019re involved in a movement that\u2019s ecclesiastically separating from another group that you\u2019re somehow outside the will of God and\u00a0 you\u2019re somehow holding up world evangelization.\u00a0 That is a manipulation of the Scripture from the World Council of Churches, the Roman Catholic Church, Promise Keepers, and all of these other groups that are promoting unity at all costs.\n\nSo ecclesiastical separation is a biblical tool that God gave to the church that He expects used.\u00a0 So let\u2019s look at three things: why separate, number two, what\u2019s the biblical basis for separation, can you show me some Scriptures that teach separation, and then number three, once you decide you\u2019re separating what exactly are you separating from?\n\nSo number one, why separate?\u00a0 Why separate from worldliness?\u00a0 Why separate from Christian groups that are becoming worldly.\u00a0 It\u2019s not because you hate them, and that\u2019s the misunderstanding; people think it\u2019s a sign of hate and it has nothing to do with that.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t separate you have to look at it from the perspective of an unsaved person, looking at a worldly church.\u00a0 What messages does that communicate to them?\u00a0 Well, it communicates to them a false sense of security because they\u2019re going to say to themselves well, that church is worldly, and they claim to be in the light, so what\u2019s the big deal about me being worldly.\u00a0 And you\u2019re basically saying to people that worldliness is okay because actions speak louder than what? Than words; that\u2019s why you separate, you separate because of the poor message it sends to the unsaved.\n\nWhat attracted people to Christ, when you think about it, was not that He was just like everybody else.\u00a0 I mean what drew people to Jesus Christ like a magnet was the fact that He was different, He was unique.\u00a0 That\u2019s what made Him such a draw.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve got into this mindset today that in order to draw people you\u2019ve got to become just as worldly as the culture that we\u2019re supposedly trying to reach.\u00a0 And nothing could be further from the truth.\u00a0 We need to be different from the world; I\u2019m not talking about being out of fashion and all that kind of stuff, and acting like the Amish. What I\u2019m talking about is a moral quality and character that\u2019s distinct from the world.\u00a0 If you emulate a moral quality and character that\u2019s distinct from the world you\u2019re not going to have any problem with evangelization and opportunities because people will be drawn to you and they\u2019re going to want to know what makes you different and that creates an opportunity to share the gospel.\n\nBut if you\u2019re exactly like everybody else in the work place in terms of behavior, lifestyle, vocabulary, things that we say and do, I mean why should an unsaved person be attracted to you; you\u2019re just like the world I\u2019m already in they may say to themselves.\u00a0 So this is the problem with not separating; it gives the world a false sense of security.\n\nAnd then number three once a church becomes exactly like the culture that they\u2019re trying to reach they lose their voice to that culture.\u00a0 So what happens is a loss of distinctiveness and power.\u00a0 And this is the problem with not separating from worldly groups; there\u2019s a potential loss of distinctiveness and power.\u00a0 And probably one of the best illustrations that you have of this in the whole Bible is Lot.\u00a0 I have a sermon title, Are You a Lot Like Lot, because who is Lot.\u00a0 Well, you know what folks, Lot was a believer.\u00a0 You say well how do you know that?\u00a0 It\u2019s in 2 Peter 2:7-8.\u00a0 He\u2019s called a righteous man, not once, not twice but three times.\u00a0 [2 Peter 2:7-8, \u201cand if He rescued righteous <\/u>Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men, [8] (for by what he saw and heard that righteous<\/u> man, while living among them, felt his righteous<\/u> soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds).\u201d]\n\nHe\u2019s called a righteous man not once, not twice, but three times. And what did this righteous man do?\u00a0 Well, he was righteous in His position to God but when you look at the story of Lot his lifestyle certainly didn\u2019t emulate that positon.\u00a0 So Lot is an example of what we would call today a backslidden Christian, a carnal Christian, a worldly Christian.\u00a0 And the moment Lot slid back into that condition, and it was a process, the saying is that the way to immorality is always paid through gradual compromises.\u00a0 Once Lot gradually slid back into that position he didn\u2019t lose his salvation; what he lost was his distinctiveness and his power and his ability to reach those that he thought he could reach by becoming as worldly as they are.\u00a0 And this why ecclesiastical separation becomes a big deal.\n\nSo you might remember the story of Lot over in Genesis 13:12, and here\u2019s the beginning of the problem, right here, Genesis 13:12, \u201cAbram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and pitched\u201d or \u201cmoved his tent towards Sodom.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t even in Sodom and Gomorrah yet, he just sort of pitched his tent towards Sodom and Gomorrah.\u00a0 And Lot was a man who walked by sight.\u00a0 Abram, by contrast, later to be called Abraham, was a man that walked by faith.\u00a0 That\u2019s why here, I think it\u2019s in Genesis 13, Abraham says to Lot, okay, you pick what area you\u2019re going to go to and I\u2019ll pick what you don\u2019t want.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because Lot could see what was plush and vital and vibrant and what appealed to his senses.\u00a0 Abraham just simply trusted the Lord.\n\nSo the first problem with Lot is what\u2019s going in his mind.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 He\u2019s not even necessarily 100% immoral yet, he\u2019s just thinking about immorality.\u00a0 And so there\u2019s where the problem starts; it starts with the arena of the mind.\u00a0 As the saying goes, you can\u2019t stop a bird from flying over your head but you can certainly prevent them from building a nest in your hair.\u00a0 Right.\u00a0 We all have bad thoughts, the issue is what do we do with those thoughts?\u00a0 Are we ruminating on them?\u00a0 Are we of onto websites we shouldn\u2019t be off into.\u00a0 Are we off on texting, flirtatious conversations back and forth that we shouldn\u2019t be into, are we at the work place going out to lunch with people we shouldn\u2019t be going out with, etc.\u00a0 And you just sort of thinking about immorality. And you know, private thoughts, because of the way God has wired us, will become eventually, if left unfettered, public sins. And see this is what\u2019s going on in the mind of Lot, he\u2019s a believer and he\u2019s sort of pitching his tent towards Sodom and letting his mind wander down directions it shouldn\u2019t.\n\nThe next glance we get of Lot is not only is he living in Sodom but Genesis 19:1 says he was sitting at the city gates of Sodom.\u00a0 Wow! The gates in Old Testament times was everything; it\u2019s where business went down and major decisions were made.\u00a0 The Book of Ruth talks about things like this. And all of a sudden Lot is no longer pitching his tent towards Sodom but he\u2019s living in Sodom and he\u2019s actually risen to\u2026 I don\u2019t know what we would call it, the city council level, in Sodom and Gomorrah.\n\nAnd then when you go down to Genesis 19:8 now he\u2019s offering his virgin daughters, can you believe this, to a Sodomite crowd.\u00a0 [Genesis 19:8, \u201cNow behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof.\u201d]\u00a0 I mean, who in their right mind would do something like that.\u00a0 Well, a compromised Christian would do stuff like that.\u00a0 The fact of the matter is an out of fellowship Christian can out sin an unbeliever almost any day of the week.\u00a0 You say well why do you think that?\u00a0 Because Paul says to carnal Christians in 1 Corinthians, \u201care\u00a0 you not acting like mere men,\u201d \u00a0[1 Corinthians 3:3-4, \u201cfor you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?\u201d]\u00a0 And then he says in 1 Corinthians 5, you all \u00a0are committing sins that they don\u2019t even do in the world.\u00a0 [1 Corinthians 5:1, \u201cIt is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father\u2019s wife.\u201d]\n\nAnd he doesn\u2019t second guess whether these people are saved.\u00a0 So this is what is happening to Lot, he\u2019s drifting into this condition.\u00a0 The whole story of Lot ends with him in a drunken state in an incestuous relationship with his two daughters. Genesis 19:30-38.\u00a0 [Genesis 19:30-38, \u201cLot went up from Zoar, and stayed in the mountains, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters. [31] Then the firstborn said to the younger, \u201cOur father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of the earth. [32] \u201cCome, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him that we may preserve our family through our father.\u201d [33] So they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. [34] On the following day, the firstborn said to the younger, \u201cBehold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father.\u201d [35] So they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. [36] Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. [37] The firstborn bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. [38] As for the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day.\u201d]\n\nNow we have a lot of people that teach you\u2019ve got to persevere in good works to be saved. I don\u2019t know what they do with the story of Lot.\u00a0 They end up rewriting it is what they do because when people say you have to persevere in good works to prove you\u2019re a Christian I say what do you do with Lot.\u00a0 And they say well, Lot wasn\u2019t that bad, it was his daughters that got drunk.\u00a0 So involuntarily we\u2019re told he got drunk and he had an incestuous relationship with his two daughters.\u00a0 I find that very hard to believe.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think the man started in that condition; the problem is he never corrected his thought life going all the way back to Genesis 13:12.\u00a0 [Genesis 13:12, \u201cAbram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and pitched\u201d or \u201cmoved his tent towards Sodom.\u201d ]\n\nAnd what I want to show you is what happened to this man\u2019s witness to Sodom and Gomorrah because\u00a0 you remember the story, the angel came and said I\u2019m going to destroy this place.\u00a0 In fact, verse 22 the angel says \u201cHurry, escape there,\u201d notice this, he doesn\u2019t say for I will not do anything, \u201cI cannot do anything until you arrive there.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s more evidence that Lot was a believer.\u00a0 God could not bring judgment on the wicked city of Sodom and Gomorrah as long as Lot was there.\u00a0 And this is sort of a prefigurement, if you will, for the pre-trib rapture of\u00a0 the church, if you think about it.\u00a0 God is not going to bring destruction to this earth as long as His bride is there.\u00a0 And God said that to Lot despite the fact that Lot was living in a carnal sinful condition.\u00a0 So even in this condition he\u2019s still perfectly righteous before God and he\u2019s still exempted from coming judgment.\n\nAnd people say well if that\u2019s true, then why don\u2019t I just go ahead and be carnal?\u00a0 Because you lose\u00a0 your distinctiveness and power to be used by God once you become carnal.\u00a0 How do I know that?\u00a0 Look at verses 14, suddenly Lot figures out what\u2019s happening, he gets very spiritual all of a sudden, he\u2019s got no lifestyle to back up his verbal testimony so he gets very spiritual and he tells everybody (his family was there), we\u2019ve got to get out of this place because God is going to destroy it.\u00a0 And look at verse 14, \u201cLot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were married to his daughters,\u201d now wouldn\u2019t his sons-in-laws know him best?\u00a0 They know the man\u2019s lifestyle.\u00a0 And he starts to preach a sermon to them, and he said, \u201cUp, get out of this place, for the LORD will destroy the city.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0A very accurate sermon,\u00a0 a very accurate presentation of truth.\u00a0 But look at the reaction, \u201cBut he appeared to his sons-in-law to be\u201d what?\u00a0 \u201cjesting.\u201d\u00a0 Now to my knowledge I think that\u2019s the only place in the Bible that uses the word \u201cjesting.\u201d\n\nSo here is this carnal believer that all of a sudden gets serious about the things of God and he starts to declare the things of God but those that knew him the best, his sons-in-law attached zero credibility to what he said, because he had no lifestyle to back up his words.\u00a0 Do you follow?\n\nSo this is what happens to worldly churches.\u00a0 They don\u2019t lose their salvation.\u00a0 What happens is you lost your authority to speak truth to a generation that desperately needs it.\u00a0 And this is why ecclesiastical separation becomes necessary.\u00a0 If you\u2019re in some kind of denomination that is ordaining homosexuals\u2026 and by the way, to get to a point where you\u2019re ordaining homosexuals to the ministry think about all of the things that have already been jettisoned a long time ago before you got to that place.\u00a0 I mean, the inerrancy of the Scripture\u2014gone!\u00a0 Sufficiency of the Scripture\u2014gone!\u00a0 Consistent literal interpretation of the Scripture\u2014gone!\n\nAnd so when a group is\u00a0 ordaining homosexuals or they\u2019re moving into this transgender stuff you have to understand that they arrived at that place because they made a bunch of bad decisions a long time ago.\u00a0 And if you are yoked to some group, denominationally or by way of a seminary or whatever else that\u2019s making decisions like that, what you have to understand is you should have broken away from those people a long time ago.\u00a0 Because using the example of the chair again, you think you\u2019re going to be some kind of salt and light to them but they\u2019re going to pull you down faster than you can pull them up.\u00a0 And so this is why ecclesiastical separation is necessary.\n\nNow, is there a biblical basis for ecclesiastical separation?\u00a0 I mean, is ecclesiastical separation actually taught in the Bible.\u00a0 And I\u2019ve got multiple Scriptures here.\u00a0 [2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1 Corinthians \u00a05:11,\u00a0 2 Corinthians \u00a06:14-18,\u00a0 Romans \u00a016:17, Ephesians 5:11, Titus 3:9-11, 2 John 9-11]\u00a0 So this is New Testament church age material telling us when necessary to ecclesiastical separate.\n\nNotice 2 Thessalonians 3:6, notice what Paul says here, \u201cNow we command you, brethren,\u201d that\u2019s a command from the apostle\u2026 WOW!\u00a0 \u201cWe command\u00a0 you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away\u201d see that, \u201cfrom every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.\u201d \u00a0And if you go down to verse 14 it says, \u00a0\u00a0\u201cIf anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him<\/u> so that you will be put to shame.\u00a0 I mean, very clearly there, and this is talking about people that wouldn\u2019t work and the problem with that is if a man will not work neither shall he eat. [2 Thessalonians 3:10]\u00a0 And they had been told, they had been warned, no doubt they had been evangelized, they had been loved, but you have a stubborn resistant heart and so what do you do with such people?\u00a0\u00a0 You separate from them,\u00a0 you don\u2019t associate with them any more\u2014ecclesiastical separation.\n\nNotice 1 Corinthians 5:11, this is the incest case where a man has his father\u2019s wife, and all the church leaders are kind of sitting around saying gosh, what do we do about this.\u00a0 And Paul says I\u2019ll tell you what to do, you should have kicked this guy out of the church a long time ago, that\u2019s what you should have done.\u00a0 1 Corinthians 5:11 says, \u201cBut actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler-- not even to eat with such a one.\u201d\n\nWhat does Solomon say in the Book of Proverbs?\u00a0 If you hang out with angry people\u00a0 you\u2019re going to end up being angry person.\u00a0 So there is a place to severe the relationship.\u00a0 And when you talk like this people interpret it as a lack of love or hatred.\u00a0 It\u2019s nothing of the kind, it\u2019s preserving the church in its practical purity so it does not lose its effectiveness.\n\nNow you know these verses, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, people usually apply this to marriage and of course it can apply to marriage but I don\u2019t think Paul is specifically addressing marriage here, I think what he\u2019s addressing is false teachers are in your midst that you should have removed from the church, that you should have separated yourselves from a long time ago.\n\n[2 Corinthians 6:14-18, \u201cNow God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power. [15] Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! [16] Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her?<\/em> For He says, \u201cTHE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.\u201d[17]\u00a0 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.<\/em> [18] Flee immorality. Every other<\/em> sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.\u201d]\n\nIt\u2019s really dealing with any intimate relationship you get into with somebody that does not share your biblically based value system.\u00a0 So obviously it would include marriage.\u00a0 If you\u2019re thinking of forming a business partnership with somebody you might want to think about this verse because what\u2019s going to happen is you\u2019re going to be yoked to someone unequally.\u00a0 A yoke, as you know, is a giant harness that went over two animals and if they were unequally yoked together then the stronger one would influence the weaker one, and they would kind of move in a crooked direction.\u00a0\u00a0 And so this is the problem of not practicing ecclesiastical separation and you yoke yourself to people who don\u2019t share your belief system and what happens is they influence you more than you influence them.\n\nBut notice verses 14-18, \u201cDo not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?\u00a0 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? [15] Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?\u00a0 [16] Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, \u201cI WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM;\u00a0 AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.\u00a0 [17] Therefore\u201d look at this, \u201cCOME OUT\u201d isn\u2019t that an ecclesiastical separation? \u00a0\u201cTherefore COME OUT \u00a0FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,\u201d says the Lord. \u00a0\u201cAND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. \u00a0[18] \u201cAnd I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,\u201d Says the Lord Almighty.\u201d\u00a0 You want the blessing of God on your life?\u00a0 You want the hand of God on\u00a0 your life.\u00a0 Do you want the hand of God on Sugar Land Bible Church?\u00a0 Then you have to cut things out that would draw us away from a practical walk of righteousness.\n\nYou know, you talk to young people today and they say you know I\u2019m dating this unbeliever or almost as bad, I\u2019m dating somebody, he or she is a very immature believer.\u00a0 And I say well why are you dating this person, don\u2019t you know that dating is going to lead to marriage?\u00a0 Well, we have so much in common. Oh really, I mean what exactly do you have in common?\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019re a sheep, he\u2019s a goat; you\u2019re going to heaven and they\u2019re going to hell, you\u2019re a child of God, they\u2019re a child of the Satan, you\u2019re on the narrow road leading to life, they\u2019re on the broad road leading to destruction.\u00a0 I mean, what commonality are you talking about exactly? Well, we have the same horoscope. Oh we like the same movies.\u00a0 Or this one, oh, so and so is so cute.\u00a0\u00a0 Do you not realize that in a few years the cuteness is going to disappear and the only thing you\u2019re left with is unbeliever.\u00a0 I mean, if you marry a cute unbeliever what you\u2019re going to be left with is the cuteness will be gone pretty quick and you\u2019re just left with unbeliever.\u00a0 So the reality is you have nothing to do with that person other than sharing with them the gospel.\u00a0\u00a0 You don\u2019t yoke yourself into some kind of a relationship with them.\u00a0 And so that\u2019s what\u2019s meant by unequally yoked.\n\nCan I jam in one more verse.\u00a0 Romans 16:17, and we\u2019ll stop with this.\u00a0 \u201cNow I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned,\u201d so people come in with false ideas, false doctrines, Paul says watch them, and then he says if necessary, \u201cand turn away from them.\u201d\u00a0 See that\u2014ecclesiastical separation.\n\nWe have a tendency to think that all\u2026 because we\u2019ve been brainwashed with a misinterpretation of the high priestly prayer.\u00a0 We think that all disunity is wrong.\u00a0 Have you read 1 Corinthians 11:19 lately?\u00a0 What does that say?\u00a0 Paul says, \u201cFor there must also be factions among you,\u201d factions are a good thing, division can be for a good thing as long as it\u2019s not something petty, as long as it\u2019s an issue of truth.\u00a0 \u201cFor there must also be factions among you \u00a0so that those who are approved may become evident among you.\u201d\u00a0 So here it\u2019s saying dissension for the right reason can be a good thing.\u00a0 And the ecumenist, I guarantee\u00a0 you, will never quote, NEVER, 1 Corinthians 11:19.\n\nWe\u2019ll stop there and we\u2019ll pick up this list next time.\u00a0 Let\u2019s pray.\u00a0 Father, we\u2019re grateful for today, grateful for Your word and what it says about something that is sort of out of vogue, out of style in modern day evangelicalism.\u00a0 Your Word speaks directly to the issue of ecclesiastical separation.\u00a0 And we\u2019ll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory as we learn and walk out this Bible doctrine. We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said\u2026. Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t