ACCOMPANY OR ACCOMMODATE ROSS SMITH
ALL REFERENCES FROM AMPLIFIED VERSION UNLESS NOTED
We live in a society that demands our participation but frequently conflicts with our principles. The attitude of many churches today is to engage in what is called “INCLUSIVENESS” or in plain language, accept one and all despite their lifestyle or convictions or behaviour. The catchphrase is “UNITY IN DIVERSITY” and while it sounds good, it is totally contrary to the Word of God. It is now popularly called “SECULARISM” and the insidious malaise is now pandemic.
It is important that we note however that no one is excluded from the grace of God, no matter what they are or where they come from. The opportunity is there for one and all to accept the provision Jesus made at Calvary BUT requires a turning away from those beliefs and behaviours that are not compliant with the Word of God. And while ever the church is afraid to confront these issues it conflicts with the Righteousness of God and the holiness required to lay claim to being “Christian”. If we choose to “ACCOMMODATE” these aberrations, then we cannot “ACCOMPANY” Father in the walk He proposes for our destiny. “How can two walk together unless they are agreed” (Amos 3:3)
Christendom has worked so hard to shelter and welcome some people who do not even desire to follow God’s Word and who, in fact, wish to subvert and change it for their own purposes, when the ones really left out in the cold are those who try to be virtuous, chaste and faithful, the “Uncompromisingly righteous.”
Even this term, “Uncompromisingly righteous” is objectionable to many because it infers that we cannot have any fun, but if you refer to the Amplified Bible it uses the term, “Uncompromisingly Righteous” 181 times in 87 different verses. Surely then it is consequential that we adhere to such a simple instruction and will then be very surprised at the response of our Father in heaven.
The Christians who would now be derisively called “extremist” or “fundamentalist” or “conservative,” are those who would stand against the cultural tide, who resist the temptation to succumb to the heretical fashions of the day — these are the Christians we need to include more.
James 4:4(B) Do you not know that being the world’s friend is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God.
We are called NOT to participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead to “expose them” (Ephesians 5:11). That means we must always “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 5:18). We must realize that real love always, always, always “rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 5:6). So, loving our neighbour means telling them the truth, even when that truth brings an unpleasant confrontation, and sometimes even dire consequences.
Though we cannot wholly avoid seeing and hearing and being with such people, yet we should never choose them for friends. We must not tarnish ourselves by compromising with those who defile themselves with sin and have little or no propensity for change.
We need to come out or apart from the world and the inappropriate behaviour and separate ourselves from their vain and questionable pleasures and pursuits; from all conformity to the corruptions of this present evil world. This takes courage, but more than that, it requires substantiation from scripture so that we recognise and do not isolate those who may accept the salvation offered to one and all. This position will no doubt evoke charges of bigotry and other equally offensive comment.
How would the church of today respond if we were subject to the same degree and intensity of direction that the Apostle directed towards the Corinthian church, he left no doubt as to the integrity expected, not from his personal preferences, but from the alignment with “OUR FAITH”. Anything else was considered spurious.
2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be UNEQUALLY YOKED with unbelievers [do not make mismated alliances with them or come under a different yoke with them, INCONSISTENT WITH YOUR FAITH]. For what partnership have right living and right standing with God with iniquity and lawlessness? Or how can light have fellowship with darkness?
Are you prepared to debate this statement with the Apostle, or is it just easier to ignore it and fit in with the “mob”? For those who would cavil with the principles espoused above, Paul went further in verse 17 to make the contrast between “ACCOMMODATE OR ACCOMPANY” and nominated the potential result, which I am sure would be our choice.
2 Corinthians 6:17 So, come out from among [unbelievers], and separate (sever) yourselves from them, says the Lord, and touch not [any] unclean thing; then I will receive you kindly and treat you with favour.
Unless we are familiar with what the Word of God requires, we can fall foul of those who would “modify” scripture to “ACCOMMODATE” the vagaries of change advocated by men wanting to mollify society who are bent on pleasing themselves and ignoring the integrity demanded of true Christians. The Word of God is not intended to make men comfortable, but conformable, and there is no wriggle room for blending values.
2 John 1:10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine [is disloyal to what Jesus Christ taught], do not receive him [do not accept him, do not welcome or admit him] into [your] house or bid him Godspeed or give him any encouragement.
It is when we apply the principles espoused in these scriptures that we will begin to experience the truth of being reviled and persecuted as recorded in Matthew 5, and even now where people are refusing to compromise in their business ventures, they are being victimised as homophobic and/or racist or bigots. The result of “false religions” is daily exposed in our media sources, countries decimated, people beheaded, raped and murdered, incarceration for interminable periods simply because of ideology begotten of spurious doctrines.
Matthew 5:11-12 Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous–with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favour and salvation, regardless of your outward conditions) are you when people revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely on My account. Be glad and supremely joyful, for your reward in heaven is great (strong and intense), for in this same way people persecuted the prophets who were before you
1 Peter 3:16 [And see to it that] your conscience is entirely clear (unimpaired), so that, when you are falsely accused as evildoers, those who threaten you abusively and revile your right behaviour in Christ may come to be ashamed [of slandering your good lives].
It seems that Jesus understood the tension we would experience as Christians living in a hostine idealogical environment. The authors of the New Testament also encouraged us to continue review our considered and scrupulous relationships with the world around us, fastidious and careful to live in a way that pleases God, not the culture.
John 15:19 If you belonged to the world, the world would treat you with affection and would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world [no longer one with it], but I have chosen (selected) you out of the world, the world hates (detests) you.
For those who would conduct business with people who are “inconsistent with your faith (2 Corinthians 6:14), there are further warnings issued and a conscious decision has to be made whether to “ACCOMMODATE OR ACCOMPANY”, for there is the potential for disaster. Just as oil and water don’t mix, so are mismated alliances.
Luke 16:8 (B) – for the sons of this age are shrewder and more prudent and wiser in [relation to] their own generation [to their own age and kind] than are the sons of light.
The situation can only continue to deteriorate, for in the last days it will become extremely difficult to conduct business, to buy and sell, or even to sustain ourselves because there will be societal parameters established that require identification with the world’s systems that God’s Word strictly prohibits.
Revelation 13:16-17 Also he (the beast … comments mine) COMPELS all [alike], both small and great, both the rich and the poor, both free and slave, to be marked with an inscription [stamped] on their right hands or on their foreheads, So that no one will have power to buy or sell unless he bears the stamp (mark, inscription), [that is] the name of the beast or the number of his name.
It would seem a dire future awaits those who would comply with Gods demands, except for two things. The duration of our time here on earth, when compared with eternity, cannot even begin to be contemplated, for the Word says, “our life is but a vapour” (James 4:14) and cannot even be imagined what eternity will be like. The Apostle John confirms that we are totally ignorant of the preparations made for us if we “ACCOMPANY”
John 3:12 If I have told you of things that happen right here on the earth and yet none of you believes Me, how can you believe (trust Me, adhere to Me, rely on Me) if I tell you of heavenly things
Just as walking with a close friend requires saying “no” to many things, so walking with God requires letting go of anything that would be a distraction. To walk with God means that you and God are in agreement about your life and means you have aligned your will with His will and seek every day to consider yourself “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20)
God had a relationship with Adam and Eve that found them “walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8). God created man for the enjoyment of a walking relationship, an “ACCOMPANY” that involved companionship, dialogue, intimacy, joint decision-making, mutual delight, and shared dominion. Nothing has changed in that respect, God still seeks men who will pattern themselves on His example.
1 John 2:6 Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself.
1 Corinthians 5:9 -10 I wrote you in my [previous] letter not to associate [closely and habitually] with unchaste (impure) people– Not [meaning of course that you must] altogether shun the immoral people of this world, or the greedy graspers and cheats and thieves or idolaters, since otherwise you would need to get out of the world and human society altogether!
The principle is not new, even back in the time of the Israelites their leader, Joshua, made the point that there was a personal option to be exercised and that they either adopted the faith of their fathers or “FITTED IN” with the society and their cultural aberrations.
Joshua 24:15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Just so that we are in no doubt as to what is required in our “WALK WITH THE LORD” the following verses are appropriate for your personal study, adoption and implementation. There is a saying that is very relevant to our personal relationship with the Lord and that is: –
HE WHO WOULD LEAD THE ORCHESTRA MUST TURN HIS BACK ON THE CROWD
Pro 22:24 -25 Make no friendships with a man given to anger, and with a wrathful man do not associate, Lest you learn his ways and get yourself into a snare.
Proverbs 24:1 BE NOT envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them;
Proverbs 24:21 My son, [reverently] fear the Lord and the king, and do not associate with those who are given to change [of allegiance, and are revolutionary],
Ross Smith 