Christians live in the physical world and every day we are tempted to stumble. How do we live in this world and continue to live for Christ? There has to be separation between us and those who live opposed to Christ, but we cannot isolate ourselves. In His final prayer prior to His arrest, Jesus prayed for those men who had followed Him. Jesus knew what they would face, but He also knew that they had to stay in this world in order to spread the gospel.

“I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil” (John 17:14-15).

Those men who were His disciples would face many trials but they did not isolate themselves from the unsaved. They shared the gospel with both Jews and Gentiles and that is why you and I know Jesus Christ today. They did not isolate themselves from this world but they did separate themselves from worldly living. They devoted their lives to Christ and service to Him, and so must we.

Many professing Christians today seem to have joined the world and are neither separated nor are they isolated. I’m sure we have all heard the verse admonishing against being unequally yoked:

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

Many times this verse is used to stop a marriage between a Christian and non-Christian, and rightly so. Yet this verse has a much wider meaning and goes beyond marriage. The New Testament writings have their foundation in Old Testament Scripture. God’s truth never changes.

“Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together” (Deuteronomy 22:10).

These two animals may share a field and graze together, but when yoked together they walk the same path. So it is with us. We are in this world with unbelievers be we aren’t to harness or yoke ourselves with anyone or anything that will turn us away from our Christian walk. That includes business partnerships, friendships, and can even reach to being yoked with secular music, television, and movies.

For instance, when a Christian watches movies filled with foul language and sin gone wild, those things enter the thoughts of the person. Soon foul language slips into everyday language, especially if our friends use the same language.

It is an easy step to become yoked with the sin shown in movies because it seems acceptable. Then, because the sin looks so tempting, we begin to see it as acceptable and God’s ways seem old fashioned. We separate from God rather than from worldly behavior.

When we accept Christ as our Saviour we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. That fact isn’t something to take lightly.

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).

The Christians in Corinth faced many of the same problems we face today. Corinth was full of idolaters and pagan worship was everywhere. Instead of separating from these pagans, the Corinthians were behaving like them. The pagans were joining the congregation at Corinth, but instead of bringing these people into a right walk with Christ, the Corinthians were following the pagan ways.

We see that same thing happening today. It is right to bring the lost into our congregations, but we need to lovingly and steadfastly teach them God’s ways.

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

When a person accepts Christ his or her attitude, way of dress, choice of words, and the friends we keep company with needs to change from worldly to godly. Isolating ourselves from the world around us isn’t what God expects, but separating from the yoke of the world is expected.

The idea of joining a monastery and being isolated from everyone who is not a Christian is not biblical. On the contrary we are to have contact with the worldly people around us and witness to them. Jesus’ last words to His disciples were for them to share the gospel with all people. In order to share the gospel we have to have contact with the unsaved. We just need to not allow them to change us.

“I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 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” (1 Corinthians 5:9-10).

We cannot expect non-Christians to behave in a godly manner. In order to witness to these people we need to be around them but we aren’t to socialize with them…not keep “company” with them. Wherever you are there are worldly distractions but by praying continually and studying God’s Word our hearts will be turned to Him and not to the world.

If we compromise our faith by yoking with unbelievers we are really declaring God to be our enemy.
“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).

A born-again Christian should feel the need to draw closer to God and into His fellowship. God loves us and we should not see Him as an enemy.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:17-20).

God is not our enemy, we are His ambassadors. As ambassadors people look to us to help them understand God. We cannot represent God properly if we don’t separate from the ways of the world. But we cannot be His ambassadors if we isolate ourselves from the lost people around us.

Christians can become stumbling blocks to others. There are two errors that Christians make. One is to be like the Pharisees, being puffed up with our own holiness. Our friends and family should see a change in attitude and actions but not a holier than thou attitude. It is by God’s grace that we are saved; our salvation comes from our faith in Jesus’ finished work on the cross.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-90).

That verse should humble us. The God of all creation became a man to purchase our salvation. He also died for those lost people around us. But if we act superior to them they will not see His grace. Be a humble example of God’s love. Don’t boast but don’t compromise. The men who wrote the Holy Spirit inspired letters in our New Testament stood firm upon God’s precepts, yet they wrote with God’s love.
The second stumbling block to the lost is when Christians behave like those in the world. Rather than striving to turn away from sin, many Christians feel there is such freedom in Christ that continuing in sin is acceptable. That is wrong. If a friend who hasn’t accepted Christ sees you indulging in the same lifestyle and sin as everyone else, you look the same as a non-Christian.

If you cuss up a storm or the entertainment you embrace is violent and pornographic, you haven’t separated from the world. When nonbelievers see your lifestyle but don’t see anything special in your life then you are a very poor ambassador for God. So then, what difference does it make if they accept Christ or not?

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2).
Separate from the sins of this world; God will change your life if you allow Him to. Get to know Him and His ways by prayerfully studying His Word and applying it to your life. Don’t stumble someone by not living a set-apart life.

Sadly there are many self-proclaimed Christians who have not submitted to Christ and are living lives like the unsaved.

“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; which such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person” (1 Corinthians 5:11-13).

Paul makes it clear that we are to not keep company with “any man that is called a brother” who indulges in the worldly ways of sin. That means even if someone claims to be a Christian but lives a worldly life you aren’t to be close friends with them. Be a strong witness to them and bring them back into fellowship, but don’t be yoked with them.

It is not being judgmental to separate from those who don’t strive to honor God’s Word. God has never concealed from us what behavior he expects from His children. In Genesis we read that He expressly told Adam to not eat the forbidden fruit because eating it would bring death. Adam and Eve believed Satan’s lie and ate the fruit.

They found out that God was right. From then on God has been very clear about how we should behave, but people will insist on embracing sin. The Ten Commandments are a good place to start in learning God’s ways.

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).
Be renewed daily by the Holy Spirit. Move away from sin and separate from people who embrace sinful ways. Be separated from the sin in this world, but don’t be isolated from the sinners.

God bless you all,

Ron & Nathele Graham

We all go through battles. Some are physical, such as an illness and some are spiritual, such as temptation to sin. No matter what the battle is, our faith has to be in the Lord and our faith must lead us to trust Him.

“The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him” (Nahum 1:7).

Physical battles can be tough because our strength is often depleted. Maybe we are worried about a job and lose sleep at night. That can weaken even a strong person. Spiritual battles often seem the most difficult to fight because we can’t physically see the enemy. Quite often the spiritual battle also manifests in physical problems.

The enemy is very busy. No matter how much we’d like to fight our own battles, mere humans are no match for malevolent supernatural beings. We need to trust God to fight those battles for us; the enemy has no chance against God. Whether our fight is physical or spiritual, if our faith and trust in God is lacking, our ability to stand the test of those battles will also be lacking.

Trusting God is something we learn to do one step at a time. In order to trust God in all things we must recognize that it is God who provides for us rather than our own feeble abilities. David had faith in God and knew that it was God who had protected him when he had faced a lion and a bear. That faith led him to know that He could trust God to protect him when he faced something bigger than a lion or bear…God would help him defeat a giant.

One day King Saul’s army was in battle with the Philistines. The Philistine champion was a giant named Goliath. Goliath must have been a frightful sight and King Saul’s entire army was afraid of him and none would fight him. Goliath mockingly called for King Saul to send a man out to fight him; the only one who responded was a young shepherd named David who trusted the LORD.

“David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine…” (1 Samuel 17:37).

David had learned to trust God and only took a sling into the battle. He trusted God to deliver him from this one giant yet he picked up five stones. Why? Well, we learn in 2 Samuel chapter 21 that Goliath had brothers and David was ready to fight them all. It was David’s faith in the LORD that gave him the courage to face Goliath and any other giant that came along.

David trusted the LORD, but Saul’s army only saw the giant and hid themselves away from the battle. It was their lack of faith and trust in the LORD that would have defeated them, not the giant. David learned the lessons of trust, well. He wasn’t a perfect man, but he did place all of his trust in the Lord. David wrote many Psalms in which he sang of his trust in the Lord:

“Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD” (Psalm 4:5).

“But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee” (Psalm 5:11).

“Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed…Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:3, 5).

“In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me…In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me” (Psalm 56:4, 11).

These verses are just a few of the Psalms David wrote proclaiming his trust in God. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a national leader whose faith and trust was in God rather than serving the satanic powers around him?

“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes” (Psalm 118:8-9).

One day soon Jesus will return and set up His Millennial Kingdom, yet even then people will refuse to trust Him. Oh, how blind we can be.

Most people, even those who claim to be Christians, find it hard to place full trust in someone we can’t see and too often place their faith in fallible humans rather than our infallible God. Then, God’s Word is brought into question. The true born-again believer knows that faith in God builds trust

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

Though we have faith in unseen things, this isn’t blind faith. One battleground in which Christians are conceding to the enemy is creation. Secular humanists say everything evolved from nothing, and rather than trust God’s truth and fight the giant battle, many Christians cower in the hills just as Saul’s army did. We can look around us and know that the things we see aren’t just a random accident, yet many people refuse to trust God and believe His Word.

As our faith in our Creator God grows so does our trust in Him but many Christians don’t have the faith to trust God’s Word and they refuse to accept the biblical account of creation. This lack of faith in God brings a lack of trust. Even a superficial look will tell you that God spoke everything into existence. David, who had learned to trust the Lord rather than rely on human folly, wrote:

[To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David.] “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psalm 19:1).

How many nights had David as a young shepherd boy looked up at the night sky in awe of God’s creation? King David trusted God in all things, from faith in knowing that God is the creator to trusting the LORD to lead him in battle. Our faith in God will sustain us in every battle we face and our trust in His wisdom and power will grow in us. We miss out on so much if we don’t trust God.

To a Christian, trusting in God means we’ve laid aside our feeble attempts at trying to run our own lives and have now turned it all over to Him. His abilities are far greater than we can imagine. God is fully capable of directing our paths but we deny His power when we don’t have faith to turn our entire life over to Him. Because we hold back we never fully trust God.

“But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:9-10).

Paul faced many physical and spiritual battles but his unwavering faith led him to trust God in everything. Faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross is powerful. Christ conquered death and by His power we will be delivered from that second death which is eternal separation from Him.

Do you trust Him to deliver you? If you haven’t placed your trust in Him (that is accepted His death, burial, and resurrection as the atonement for your sins) then you have placed your trust in nothing. Only Jesus can give you eternal life.

This life we’ve been given is as fleeting as a vapor of smoke. Whether a person lives a few short years or lives to be a ripe old age, faith and trust in God is essential for facing the daily battles of this life and to gain eternal life after death. Those who don’t acknowledge God or don’t believe He even exists often mock us for placing our trust in God. Don’t let the mockers weaken your trust in God.

“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised” ( Hebrews 10:23).

God may ask you to trust Him enough to boldly step out in faith to share the gospel with a family member or a friend. Could you do that? If you trust God you can. God may ask you to step out in faith to trust Him to help you fight a battle with cancer or overcome an addiction to drugs. Place your trust in Him and you will win the battle. If we have faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then the life and death battles on this earth will always end in victory.

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

God wants each of us to trust Him in all things. From believing His Word (from Genesis to Revelation) to facing our own battles with giants, He wants us to trust Him. You and I must decide for ourselves if we truly trust God. If we can’t trust Him with the account of creation, how can we trust Him with our salvation? If God misled us and everything evolved, then Adam’s sin didn’t cause death to enter creation.

If sin had always been a part of the world, then why did God Himself have to die on a cross to redeem us? We must trust God that His Word is true and that He spoke everything into existence; that Adam’s disobedience brought sin and death into the world, that God did enter His creation and become a man, the man Jesus the Christ.

By faith we believe He did die on a cross to redeem His creation, and in Him alone is salvation. By faith we know we can trust Him to help us fight our battles. Only a perfect God could have accomplished this for His rebellious creation, and all He asks of each rebellious child is to trust Him.

God bless you all,

Ron & Nathele Graham