“Come out from among them and be separate…” II Corinthians 6:17
When God is restoring you, it is wise to ask the Lord to set up boundaries for you to respect while He is strengthening you to wholeness. Even as you come back to a healthy position, there is wisdom in setting boundaries that keep you from becoming unhealthy again.
We don’t want to become Christians that exclude ourselves from the rest of society. It is not the heart of God to become isolated from the world, but rather to go into the world with His love and message of hope. However, the Bible is also very clear that we are to put boundaries on the people that we have close fellowship with. There is a difference between reaching out to the lost and befriending a rebellious person.
II Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”
There is also danger in companionship with a carnal believer. If there is a Christian that is embracing sin, attempting to pull you into sin, or is harmful for you to be around; no matter how deep your affection might be for that person, God warns us to disassociate from him or her. For one, God cares about our wellbeing. Two, God wants us to guard against temptation. Three, God wants to communicate the need for repentance to the rebellious and unrepentant believer.
I Corinthians 5:11 “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner – not even to eat with such a person.”
When you honor yourself, you won’t allow yourself to be dishonored by a disrespectful person. If you believe the truth about what God says about you, you will disassociate from people who try to hold you to condemning opinions of you. If you want to be healthy, then you will cut off people from close fellowship that are unhealthy. If you walk in holiness, you will separate yourself from intimacy with unholy people. God has given us instruction to guard ourselves, but do so in love. Be careful not to come across as self-righteous, but through humility and acceptance, always invite others to know the lordship of Christ.
Application: If the person you are dealing with is someone you can’t separate from because of a job, a house, a family; you still decide how close you will let someone get to your heart. Use wisdom.