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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional
November 20
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Today's Pathway:
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Yesterday we closed with the first half of verse 16. Paul wrote that it could never be acceptable for there to be false idols in the Temple. By the way, if there was no room for idols in the temple, then there is no room for idolatrous activities in the church. When devilish music, methods, and mysticism enter into the church, then there is a serious problem. These practices may draw a crowd, and may excite people's emotions, but they are in opposition to the Scriptures, and therefore have no place in the Lord's church.
Paul moves from the temple to the individual believer's life. He states that the Christian himself is the temple of God. He uses the Old Testament to illustrate his point. Exodus 29:45 says,
"And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God."
Leviticus 26:12 adds,
"And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people."
Paul is reminding the Corinthians that when they were saved God indwelt them in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Since that time God walks with them, and they are His people and He is their God. A special and unique relationship exists between the Lord and His people, and because of this Paul is able to write the commands of verses 17-18.
Paul issues three edicts: "come out", "stay out" and "touch not". Because we belong to God and He belongs to us we must see ourselves as spiritually distinct from the world around us and stop allowing them to press us into their ungodly mold. Romans 12:2 says,
"Be not conformed... but be transformed".
"Conformed" means to be fashioned in such a way that you appear to be something that you are not. "Transformed" means to reveal on the outside what you are on the inside. What I am on the inside is a Christian, so my lifestyle should reveal that. The world wants me to look and live like a child of the devil, which I am not. I need to separate from that and start living out what I really am: a child of God. Believers need to "come out" from the world. We must abandon its activities and priorities. We must leave that which would harm our testimony or hinder our ability to serve the Lord. Once we have chosen to leave the world's ways we need to determine that we will continue to stay away. It is so easy for believers to return to that which God has saved them from. Peter wrote about this in II Peter 2:22 when he said,
"The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."
It is not enough to leave the world behind if one is going to constantly return to it. We need to get out and stay out, and stay so far away from it that we can't even touch it. Some Christians like to "play" with sin and evil associations. They don't intend to return to an evil lifestyle, but they think that they can dabble with it a little bit and still be spiritually fine. Proverbs 6:27 asks this question,
"Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?"
He can not, and neither can a man get close to sin without having his spiritual life burned by it.
Paul closes this chapter with the promise that there is a special father-child relationship between God and those who separate themselves from sin. All believers are God's children, and sin does not nullify that position. However, because of sin our relationship with our Heavenly Father can become strained. Our prayers may not be answered, and we may not be receiving the comfort and guidance that we desire because we have grieved Him. The intimacy of fellowship may be gone. Robert McShane put it this way,
"All believers are in the family of God and can call Him Father, but here there is something more, for the special portion of those who separate is to enjoy His most tender care."
Is your relationship with your Heavenly Father everything that it could be? Or are you limiting your fellowship with Him because of a refusal to separate from ungodliness?
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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