Basic Separation Principles

1 Corinthians 5
11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

Now that I'm older, my life is slower, and I do not get around like I used to.  And, separation is a normal part of the rhythm of my life.  But I think about the separation ground rules for the younger Christians.  I also think about how I used to deal with the issue.  Here are some basic separation principles:

Kevin T. Bauder On Separation From Sharperiron.org
"As a rule, fundamentalists and their predecessors have noted that not all fellowship between believers is equal. Rather, the New Testament depicts several different kinds of fellowship relationships, ranging from simple, personal fellowship through discipleship and targeted collaboration, to church membership and church leadership. Some of these imply yet other levels that are not explicitly depicted in the Scriptures themselves. The point is that different levels of fellowship require different criteria."

The issue for me, over the years, has been how to deal with the people you work with who have not accepted Jesus as their savior?  And what do you do when interacting with such co-workers on a social level is a condition of employment?  One example is being a soldier in the Army.  There are lots of examples.

The quote above from SharperIron.com provides a way to start thinking of the issue of separation.  I certainly do not have any good personal insights on this issue today.  I may never have any good personal insights on this issue. But it is one of those issues that should always be of concern to Christians....

More From 1 Corinthians 5
9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.

[Kevin T. Bauder is Research Professor of Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Plymouth, MN]