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salms 119:63(NKJV) 63 I am a companion of all who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts.
1 Timothy 6:20(NKJV) 20O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust…
2 Thessalonians 3:6(NKJV) 6But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.
It has been said, that any unity of persons that would honor God must first be a unity that God Himself has produced.
Failure to observe the Scripture’s mandates on Ecclesiastical Separation endangers the integrity of the Gospel with which we have been entrusted. Sometimes, however, our own ideas about Ecclesiastical Separation fall short – neglecting the clear instructions of the Bible or adding our own opinions to the Word of God.
We must adopt a biblical position that, in the spirit of Christ, steers us clear of heresy yet maintains the fellowship of the Faith that maximizes our impact on a lost world for the cause of Christ.
Does a Bible-believing group participate, attend, and/or receive training from a group that denies the cardinal truths of Scripture? Do Bible-believing groups also seek methodologies that spring out from such groups simply because there seems to be some validity? The answer would seem obvious but often it is clouded with ambiguity and masked with affirmations of orthodoxy.
It is sometimes difficult for many to understand why all groups or churches are not enthusiastic about untied religious efforts gathering together for religious seminars, retreats or specialized ministry training. Why don’t all ministers and churches cooperate, especially when it seems it’s for the cause of the advancement of the Kingdom of God? Is it that they lack love? Don’t they want to see unity in Christendom? Are they not concerned about winning the masses to Christ? Do they consider themselves so spiritual they cannot work with others? These are legitimate questions and deserve an answer.
Let us first understand that this not about some obscure or single doctrinal position, or about personalities or some denominational distinctive. It is much more serious and profound than that.
Francis Schaeffer, the noted evangelical apologist of the 1970s, commented: “But if first we must speak Christianity with a clear content and an emphasis on truth in contrast to what is not true, equally we must practice truth. . . . We must practice the truth even when it is costly. We must practice it when it involves church affiliation or evangelistic cooperation. There is a difference between having a public discussion with a liberal theologian and inviting him to pray in our program.”
-Michael Holtzinger
Francis A. Schaeffer, The Church at the End of the 20th Century (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1970), 38.