|
BIBLICAL
SEPARATION
The following
Article is taken from the Constitution of True Life Bible-Presbyterian
Church:
Article 6 Principle and Practice of
Biblical Separation
|
6.1
|
The doctrine of separation
from sin unto God is a fundamental principle of the Bible, one
grievously ignored in the church today. |
| |
|
|
6.2
|
This doctrine arises out of the
holiness of God. Both the purity and righteousness of God (Luke 1:75)
are involved. "Be ye holy; for I am holy." (1 Pet 1:16, also 3:11; Exod
15:11; Isa 6:3; 2 Cor 7:1) |
| |
|
|
6.3
|
The Bible does speak of cooperation
("be of one mind," "that they may all be one," "labourers together,"
"keep the unity of the Spirit," "Follow peace with all men, and
holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord," also 1 Cor 12:25).
However, biblical cooperation is based upon TRUTH. It involves the
united effort of God's people. This is not a cooperation borne of a
spirit of undiscerning pluralism, or that of seeking "truth" in all
religions. |
| |
|
|
6.4
|
We maintain that Scripture teaches a
separation that is based on the holiness of God, producing purity in
all of life, personal and ecclesiastical. |
| |
|
|
6.5
|
It is the duty of all true churches of
the Lord Jesus Christ to make a clear testimony to their faith in Him,
especially in these darkening days of apostasy in many professing
churches, by which apostasy whole denominations in their official
capacity, as well as individual churches, have been swept into a
paganising stream of modernism under various names and in varying
degrees. |
| |
|
|
6.6
|
There has been a notable growth of
autocratic domination on the part especially of modernistic leaders by
whom the rightful powers of true churches are often usurped and are now
being usurped. |
| |
|
|
6.7
|
The commands of God to His people to
be separate from all unbelief and corruption are clear and positive:
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers" (2 Cor 6:14; see
also Matt 6:24; Rom 16:17; Gal 1; Eph 5:11; 2 Thess 3:6, 14; 2 Tim
3:1-7; Tit 3:10; 2 Pet 2:1-3; 1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 7-11; Jude 3, 20-24;
Rev 18:4). We reach out to those who are part of any human system which
involves compromise with error, and who thus ought to "come out from
among them" (2 Cor 6:17), separate themselves unto the "Father... the
Lord Almighty" (2 Cor 6:18), thus "cleansing themselves" and perfecting
holiness in the fear of God (2 Cor 7:1). |
| |
|
|
6.8
|
In loyalty to the revealed Word, we,
as an organised portion of the people of God, are obliged to oppose all
forms of modernism, cultism, Romanism and false religions. Dialogue for
the purpose of reaching a compromise between all true Bible believers
and representatives of such beliefs is impious, unbiblical, treasonous
and unfaithful to the holy God, as He has revealed Himself to us in His
infallible, inerrant Word. |
| |
|
|
6.9
|
We are opposed to all efforts to
obscure or wipe out the clear line of separation between these
absolutes: truth and error, light and darkness. (See Isa 5:20; 2 Cor
6:14-18.) We refer to such efforts by New Evangelicals, Charismatic
Christians, promoters of ecumenical cooperative evangelism and of the
social gospel, and all churches and other movements and organisations
that are aligned with or sympathetic to the Ecumenical Movement. |
Top
|
