Index of Sermons and Books by Dr. Jack Hyles

JACK HYLES SPEAKS ON
BIBLICAL SEPARATION

by Dr. Jack Hyles

Originally published in 1984 by Hyles-Anderson Publishers, Hammond, Indiana.

Electronic printing, May, 1997 by FFEP.

CONTENTS

Introduction

1. The Main Reason for Separation

2. Sanctify Yourself

3. Liberty Through Separation

4. A Christian's Attitude Toward Other Christians with Whom He Cannot Cooperate

5. What About Secondary Separation?

6. Separation from Good Christians

7. Separation of God's Money

8. Separation from Weights

9. Separation from Unbelievers in Marriage

10. Ecclesiastical Separation

11. The Way Satan Breaks Down Separation

12. Why Separation?

13. Separation and Our Relationship with God

14. The Hardest Thing About Separation

15. What Is a Fundamentalist?

INTRODUCTION

I AM WORRIED. I am worried about what appears to be a breaking down of the doctrine of separation among fundamental believers. I am worried because I believe that Biblical separation is necessary for the preservation of New Testament Christianity and the preservation of the nation. I am worried because I love my country, and I believe the doctrine of separation and its practice by God's people is necessary for deliverance of that country and for the avoiding of the judgment of God.

I AM NOT ANGRY at anyone. I am not angry at those who disagree with this treatise. I am not angry at those who will attack it and its author. I am worried-worried enough to feel that this must be in print, that it must be read and considered.

I AM NOT ACCUSING anyone of compromise. I believe that compromise is committed when one knows what to do, but for the sake of convenience or reward does not do what he knows is right or does not preach his own conviction. I am aware that one may disagree with the contents of this manuscript and not be compromising; he can be wrong on his position, but he may nevertheless be sincere, so I am not accusing anyone of compromise.

I AM NOT SLANDERING the character of those who might disagree. Some sincere people will, no doubt, not agree with the author's position. I am not and will not attack them personally or be accusative in my conversation concerning those who do not agree with my position.

I AM NOT ATTACKING. No names of fundamental brethren will be mentioned in the following pages, and there is no desire on the part of the author to be hurtful, unchristian or unkind.

I AM JUST WORRIED. I am worried because I believe Biblical separation is necessary for the salvation of this civilization. I am not asking the reader to believe what the author believes unless the reader finds himself disagreeing with what he wants to believe because of conscious or unconscious drifting from what he once accepted as the Biblical position of separation. I only ask the reader to examine the contents and consider the possibility of its being true. I ask this sincerely, not for the sake of dispute or controversy, but for the sake of my country whose future I believe does not rest in the White House, the Supreme Court or the halls of Congress, but in the behavior of God's people! May these words be read with the same loving spirit with which they are written.

-Jack Hyles

Dear Reader, Please read Introduction before reading Chapter One.

Chapter 1.
The Main Reason for Separation

Titus 2:14, "Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Luke 1:17, "And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Ephesians 1:5, "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. " It is obvious from these passages as to why God created man. Man was created for the glory of God. He was created for the praise of God. He was created in order that the great heart of God, Who is love, would have a special object of His care and recipient of His love. God does not want us basically to save us from Hell, though that is one reason. He does not want us mainly to give us Heaven, though that is another reason. He does not want us mainly to give us joy and peace, but that is certainly another reason. God mainly wants us for Himself, that we may praise Him, adore Him, magnify Him, fellowship with Him and become the object of His great love. This is why we are commanded to do everything we do to the glory of God. I Corinthians 10:31, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

One might then ask, "Isn't it wrong to want to receive glory for yourself?" Yes, it IS wrong for man to desire glory, for man does not deserve glory. It is not the desire for glory that is wrong; it is the desire for undeserved glory that is wrong. Hence, it is not wrong for God to want glory for Himself, for He is deserving of glory.

Then why isn't that the reason that God appeals to us to be saved? Why doesn't He come to man and say, "I want to be glorified. Would you trust Me as your Saviour and receive Me as your God because I will get more glory if you do?" The simple answer is that few would be saved through those incentives. So God comes to us, offers us peace, joy, Heaven and salvation from Hell if we will receive Him. When we do receive Him, He then gives us the Holy Spirit Who leads us to desire to praise God, glorify God, to fellowship with Him and to be the object and recipient of His great heart of love.

Now if God does not have us, He is jealous of whatever takes us from Him. This is the basis of separation. God wants the Christian to be separate from everything that would take away the purpose of God's creation and redemption of man. If God doesn't have all of us, He is jealous of what takes us from Himself. Exodus 20:5, "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me. " Exodus 34:14, "For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, Whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." Deuteronomy 4:24, "For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God." Deuteronomy 5:9, "Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me." Zechariah 1:14, "So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy." Zechariah 8:2, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. " In these and other passages in the Bible we find that God is a jealous God. At one place, He is named Jealous. We find in these passages that He is jealous of His people. He is jealous for Jerusalem. He is jealous for Zion. This means that since God made us for Himself and redeemed us for Himself, He wants us for Himself and desires that we be separate from anything that detracts from His praise, from His glory and from His fellowship with His special creation.

This is the reason God is jealous of and wants us to be separate from liberal theologians and those professing Christians who do not believe the verbal inspiration of the Bible, the virgin birth, the perfect life of Christ, His deity, His vicarious death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven and His second coming to earth. When God's people fellowship with such doubters, there is a good chance that some seeds of doubt will be lodged in their hearts. God wants to be praised. Anything that takes away the deity of Christ could be a barrier between the praise and glory that God should receive from us. He does not want us to associate with those who doubt His honesty, His deity and His integrity. Because of this, He tells us to separate from such people. II Corinthians 6:14-17, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you." You will notice that we are to separate from unbelievers, from darkness, from Belial, from the unclean. God is not just being "picky"; He wants us for Himself. He wants the purpose for His creating us and redeeming us to be fulfilled. Therefore, since this would be hindered by our fellowship with those things mentioned in the above passage, He wants us separate from them.

A Christian in bad health cannot praise the Lord as much as a Christian in good health. This is why He wants us to separate ourselves from things that would impair our health, thereby limiting our ability to praise Him, honor Him and glorify Him as we should. God does not tell us to separate ourselves from unclean things such as strong drink, narcotics (which would include tobacco and alcohol), etc. just because He wants to restrain us from a few of His pet peeves; rather, He knows that if we partake of these things, we will limit our physical and mental ability to fulfill the purpose for our creation and redemption.

Since man can praise his God better with a sound mind than with one that is weakened and deadened, He tells us to separate ourselves from those things that would limit our mental ability to give Him the honor, glory and praise that He wants and deserves from us.

"But," says someone, "jealousy is wrong, isn't it?" Certainly jealousy for man is a dangerous thing, but it is not wrong for God. God has a perfect right to our praise, our glory and our honor, and so the attribute of jealousy is certainly justifiable for God.

God wants us especially for Himself. Lamentations 3:24, "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him."

In the time of the patriarchs, the firstborn belonged to God. Later, God turned to a tribe. Instead of the firstborn being set apart for God's service, the tribe of Levi was chosen. Numbers 3:12, "And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be Mine." The Levites were chosen because of their separation after the "golden calf' sin. Exodus 32:26-28, "Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men."

The Levites were divided into three groups-the Gershonites, the Merarites and the Kohathites. Basically, the Gershonites were given the responsibility of transporting the tent and the hangings of the tabernacle as the Jews traveled from place to place. The Merarites were given the responsibility of transporting the bars, the boards and the pillars. The Kohathites were given the responsibility of transporting the furniture. The tribe of Levi had replaced the firstborn of the patriarchal days, as those given to God especially for His service.

When the Israelites got to the land of Canaan, the tribe of Levi was given no inheritance. Numbers 18:20, "And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them; I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel." Deuteronomy 10:8, 9, "At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister unto Him, and to bless in His name, unto this day. Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance, according as the Lord thy God promised him." Deuteronomy 18:1, 2, "The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and His inheritance. Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the Lord is their inheritance, as He hath said unto them." Ezekiel 44:27, 28, "And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sinoffering, saith the Lord God. And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession." God told them that He was to be their inheritance. He was their portion. In other words, God wanted to be all that they needed.

Today all believers have access to the priesthood. God is our portion. He wants to be all that we need. He wants us to Himself. He wants our praise, our glory, our honor, our adoration, our devotion and our worship, just as He wanted to be all that was needed by the Levites.

However, this is not all that God wanted. He not only wanted to be their inheritance and for Him to be their portion, but He wanted for the Levites to be His portion. Deuteronomy 32:9, "For the Lord's portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance. " Not only was He all that they needed, but they were all that He needed. He wanted them separated to Himself so that they could find their all in Him and He could find His all in them. Today, through salvation, all believers have access to the priesthood. I Corinthians 2:5, 9, "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. "God wants us to find our all in Him, and He wants to find His all in us.

In summary, God made us for Himself. He redeemed us for Himself, and He is jealous of anything that takes us from Him. So He has made "off limits" for us anything or any person that would hinder the purpose for our creation and salvation. He did not just arbitrarily sit down and make a list of things from which He wanted us to be separated, but rather, He listed those things that would hinder the very purpose for His creation and redemption of His people. Any personal pleasures that would detract from our purpose of being, any contact with people who would hinder God's purpose for us, or any endeavor that would damage our union with Christ for Whom we were made are out of bounds. He made you for Himself He wants you for Himself, and He wants you to separate yourself from anything or anybody that would keep Him from being your portion and keep you from being His.

Chapter 2.
Sanctify Yourself

Joshua 3:5, "And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you." I am worried! Years ago Satan tried to get fundamentalists and liberals together. These Sanballats and Tobiahs exhausted themselves in an effort to unite Bible-believing Christians with those who were infidels. Thank God, they failed. Soon Satan sent a mediator to pull us together. This mediator was simply a hypocritical liberalism hiding behind fundamentalist terminology. He said he believed in the Bible, but not word for word. He believed in a hell without fire and in sin without enumeration. He spoke against liquor but not for total abstinence. He had a Heaven without golden streets and a salvation without regeneration. He was called a neo-orthodox. Soon the fundamentalist stripped him of his facade and showed him for what he really was.

Wounded but not defeated, Satan inserted another intercessor to woo the fundamentalist in an effort to get him to betroth liberalism. This subtle cupid shot his arrows of love toward us until we became ashamed of our hatred for wrong. This evangelist for compromise told us to believe right but to seek acceptability. He sent us to study Barth and prodded us to read Brunner and Niebuhr. He taught us that righteousness and justice meant little and that love meant everything. He sent us to questionable colleges and compromising seminaries and told us that in order to be prepared we needed to know both sides. He made us ashamed of proven terms like "fundamentalism," "mourner's bench," "Hell-fire and brimstone preaching," "altar calls," "revivals," "get right with God," etc. He put liberal eye shadow on our fundamentalist eyes and liberal earrings on our fundamentalist ears. He put liberal rouge on our fundamentalist cheeks and liberal lipstick on our fundamentalist lips. He put liberal powder on our fundamentalist noses and liberal shoes on our fundamentalist feet. He put liberal dye on our fundamentalist hair and liberal terminology on our fundamentalist doctrine. He appealed to our second-generation city slickers in an attempt to make us ashamed of our founding fathers. He reminded us of their lack of education and refinement and assured us that we could be suave AND fundamental. He made us ashamed of our heritage and clouded what our forefathers said by ridiculing how they said it. This was new evangelicalism. We courted him for awhile but soon saw through his man-made love and found it actually to be hatred.

Finally we rejected his proposal only to find that there is another girl in the block. It is hard to tell whether she is loving us to right or seducing us to wrong. She is very attractive, but I worry about the look in her eye. In as much as I want to like her, I feel very suspicious about her.

Now who is this temptress? It is fundamental preachers becoming involved with outsiders in secular endeavors, and I am afraid that this contact with the liberal crowd will make us like them, for believe me, they ARE likable, and this new girl in the block just may accomplish what liberalism, neo-orthodoxy and new evangelicalism could not accomplish.

All of us have one thing in common. We long to see our nation and its freedom preserved for our children and grandchildren. Because of this we find occasion to rejoice. We can rejoice at the growth of our fundamental churches. We can rejoice at the inevitable results of this growth such as Christian schools for our children and Christian colleges for our youth and rejoice because of the men whom God has given us to appear at courts of justice on our behalf, and we can even rejoice at the political clout that has followed our new miraculous growth. It may be, however, that we have become so excited that we can mistakenly feel that we are ushering in the kingdom. We may be tempted to rush out and buy a lion and lamb to lie down together. We may bore a hole in the cockatrice den. It may be possible that we have forgotten the real reason that God spares societies; that is, in a miraculous response to the sanctification of His people. We seem to have forgotten that God was not looking for ten saved people in Sodom; He was looking for ten righteous people in Sodom. We face a peculiar kind of Christianity where a professed, born-again quarterback gives an interview to Playboy Magazine and implies that Jesus would do the same thing if He were here.

A famous singer who is a professing Christian appears at nightclubs, and at giant rallies he testifies concerning his love for Jesus. A publisher of a pornographic magazine says he has been born again yet continues to publish his illicit material. A famous evangelist says that he is not sure if Hell has fire. All of a sudden we old-timers cannot believe it!

The children of Israel were in the wilderness. They had no house of God, they had no law, they had just left Egypt. God's command is for them to sanctify themselves. Exodus 19:10, "And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes."

These same Israelites came to a place where they had no flesh to eat and pleaded with God to provide flesh for them, but first they must sanctify themselves. Numbers 11:18, "And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat."

Now they stand before the Jordan River. It is time to cross the Jordan and enter into the land of promise. God will give them the victory, but first they must sanctify themselves. Joshua 3:5, "And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you."

After they entered the Promised Land, the Israelites lost the battle at Ai. Now they come to Ai for the second time. Before God will give them the victory, they must first sanctify themselves. Joshua 7:13, "Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you."

The ark of the covenant is gone from Israel. God wants them to have it returned, but first they must sanctify themselves. I Chronicles 15:12, "And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it."

Under King Ahaz there has been terrible apostasy! God raises up the good king, Hezekiah, and revival is about to come, but before revival comes, the people must be sanctified. II Chronicles 29:5, "And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place."

Then there comes even a worse apostasy under Manasseh and Amon. God raises up a young king named Josiah through whom comes a great revival, but first there must come the sanctifying of the people of God. II Chronicles 35:6, "So kill the passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses."

When the temple was dedicated God wanted the people sanctified before the dedication. II Chronicles 7:14, "If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

America needs a miracle ! Though voting is important, this country will not be spared the judgment of God at the ballot box. We need a Red Sea to part or some walls around Jericho to fall or the sun to stand still or a pillar of cloud to lead us or the fire to fall. If America is saved, she will be saved because of direct intervention from God Almighty in response to a sanctified people. The troubles in our nation are not caused mainly by the homosexuals, though it is a godless crowd. The troubles in America are not mainly caused by the liquor traffic, though it is a disgrace to our nation. The troubles in America are not caused basically by the dope traffic, though it is a horrible Satanic menace. Nations are spared when the remnant is sanctified. God looks for ten righteous people in Sodom. He looks for a covenant of salt. He looks for Gideon's three hundred who are set apart wholly to God. God will intervene and spare this nation when His people are sanctified; when Christian ladies turn off the soap operas; when Christian young people forsake their rock music; when Christian ladies learn to dress modestly; when a liberal is a liberal again and a fundamentalist is a fundamentalist again; when right is right, wrong is wrong, black is black and white is white again; when God's men are prophets again; when we again hear sermons on judgment, Hell, drinking, dancing and gambling; when fundamentalists sing like fundamentalists, talk like fundamentalists and dress like fundamentalists again; and when we get back to our sawdust-trail, mourner's-bench Christianity which preaches holy living from the pulpit and practices it in the pulpit and the pew! Let us fight abortion. Let us fight the liquor traffic. Let us fight communism. Let us fight the dirty television shows.

Let us fight indecent dress. Let us fight homosexuality. Yet, we must face the issue squarely-the salvation of any nation is caused by God's intervention in response to the sanctification of His people in that nation.

Chapter 3.
Liberty through Separation

Psalm 119:41-46, "Let Thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even Thy salvation, according to Thy word. So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in Thy word. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in Thy judgments. So shall I keep Thy law continually for ever and ever. And I will walk at liberty: for I seek Thy precepts. I will speak of Thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed."

In our fundamental churches and schools we have some rules and standards. We have rules about dating, rules about hair styles, rules about clothing, rules about smoking and dancing and rock music, rules about speech and respect and behavior, rules about contact with the opposite sex, and rules about many other matters. Immediately the accusations begin to roll: "Legalism! Legalism! Legalism!" Such statements are often made by men with neo-evangelical hearts who masquerade in fundamental clothing. Sometimes they are made by men who have been fundamentalists and yet have become weary of the battle and yearn to return to the onions, watermelons, leeks and garlic of acceptance.

Then this cry of legalism often comes from the desks of colleges and seminaries built on a fundamental foundation with walls of compromise and a leaky roof of pseudo-liberty.

'Tis sad but true, we have grown to desire that our truth be accredited by worldly error. We want a license from wrong to do right. We want darkness to approve light. We want the unclean to accredit the clean. We want Belial to give Christ the right to exist. In so doing, not only are we betraying the standards of our forefathers, but we are betraying our own standards of a few years ago. If we cannot have padded pews AND Hell-fire and brimstone preaching, then let's return to the sawdust trail in a storefront building! If we can't have organs AND trained choirs without the sevenfold amens and crusty anthems, then let's go back to the piano and the tuning fork! If we can't have a marriage of proper grammar and mourner's-bench Christianity, then let's go back to splitting infinitives, dangling participles and hanging gerunds! If tiled rest rooms and chandeliers aren't conducive to the old-time religion, then let's mark off a path, build an outhouse and use 60-watt light bulbs! If we have to include Kierkegaard, Niebuhr and Brunner in order to be theologically intellectual, then let's go back to the blue-back speller, the A,B,C's and the Word of God!

We have listened too much to the worldly psychiatrists and not enough to the prophets of God. We have listened too much to humanistic philosophers and not enough to men of God.

The beautiful feet of those who preach the Gospel of peace have historically been shod with common shoes. The hands that have wielded the Sword of the Spirit have historically been callused ones. The eyes that look through the helmet of salvation have been tear-stained ones. The bodies that have been protected by the shield of faith have been pure ones. Yet sad to say there are those who would have us forsake our standards of behavior and they cry, "Legalism! Legalism! Legalism ! "

Someone needs to inform these dear souls as to what legalism really is. Legalism is attaching something besides faith to salvation. Salvation by faith plus works is legalism. Salvation by faith plus baptism is legalism. Salvation by faith plus keeping the law is legalism. Salvation by faith plus communion is legalism. Salvation by faith plus confirmation is legalism. Salvation by faith plus Sabbath keeping is legalism.

The legalist is not the godly mother who insists that her daughter be modest. The legalist is not the dedicated old dad who takes his son to the barber shop. The legalist is not the faithful pastor who insists that his Sunday school teachers do not drink or smoke. The legalist is not the godly educator who forbids his students to dance or listen to Satan's music. The legalist is not the man of God who cries aloud and spares not concerning the evil of our generation.

Was Paul a legalist when he told men not to have long hair? I Corinthians 11:14, "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?" Was Paul a legalist when he told ladies not to have short hair? Was Moses a legalist when he gave us the ten commandments? Was Paul a legalist when he admonished the deacons in I Timothy 3 not to be double-tongued, and to be the husband of one wife, be honest and temperate? I Timothy 3:8-13, "Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus." Was Paul a legalist when he told pastors to be sober, the husband of one wife, not given to wine and greedy of money? I Timothy 3:1-7, "This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the Devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the Devil."

Was Paul a legalist when he admonished Titus to tell the aged men to be sober, grave, temperate, sound, loving and patient? Titus 2:2, "That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience." Was Paul a legalist when he told Titus to tell the aged women to be holy and temperate? Titus 2:3, "The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things." Was Paul a legalist when he told Titus to teach the young women to be sober, love their husbands, love their children, etc.? Titus 2:4, 5, "That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the Word of God be not blasphemed." Was Paul a legalist when he told Titus to tell the young men to be sober minded, clean, pure, etc.? Titus 2:6-8, "Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you." Was Paul a legalist when he told Titus to exhort the servants as to their behavior? Titus 2:9, 10, "Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." Was Paul a legalist when he gave us standards for women's dress? I Timothy 2:9, "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array."

Now why do we have these rules? Notice Psalm 119:45, "And I will walk at liberty: for I seek Thy precepts." The Psalmist says here that he walks in liberty because he seeks God's precepts or because he keeps His commandments. Modern thought teaches us that if we walk in liberty, we don't have to keep commandments, but the Bible says the liberty is in keeping the commandments and not in being free from them.

The Scripture here deals with walls. The Psalmist is likening commandments to a wall of protection around a city. The ancient Eastern cities had walls built around them in order to keep the enemy from the people. Now these walls were not to keep the people from liberty, but to keep the people in liberty and free from those who would kill them or enslave them. Suppose an attack were to come from without and the enemy armies would begin to advance. Where would the people be free? Inside the walls or outside the walls? Inside, of course! The walls were built around the people in order that they may be free from the bondage of the enemy attacking from without. Rules and standards do not enslave; they liberate! The very purpose of commandments, rules and standards is to build a wall so those things which could enslave cannot reach our people. We have a rule against drinking because drinking enslaves. Hence, it is put outside the wall. We have a rule against narcotics because narcotics enslave. Hence, they are put outside the wall. We have a rule against stealing because stealing enslaves. Hence, stealing is placed outside the wall. The very purpose of rules is to build a place of freedom so those things that enslave us cannot reach us.

There is a commandment that says, "Thou shalt not kill." Now where is freedom? Inside the commandment or outside the commandment? Inside, of course! A man may say that he is free to kill, but he loses his freedom when he kills. The same is true with adultery, dope, drink, smoking, rock music, homosexuality and other things that enslave.

Humanistic universities often shoot their satiristic barbs toward fundamental schools and say they are prisons. Nothing is further from the truth! The humanistic school is the prison. Many of the students there are bound by liquor, bound by narcotics, bound by homosexuality, bound by immorality, bound by nicotine and bound by rock music. No one loves them enough and no one is wise enough to build a wall of standards around them in order that they may be free from those things which enslave. Freedom is not in the university which has no rules; freedom is in a university which loves its students enough to build rules of protection around them. Love is not breaking down the walls; love is building the walls! Love is not freedom to go to the captor; love is freedom from the captor!

Recently I was in southern California. It was a beautiful morning, so I took a walk. I saw a perfect illustration of this point. I walked by a corner house which had a fenced-in back yard. Inside that fence was a little Chihuahua dog and outside the fence was a giant bulldog. The little Chihuahua began to run up and down the fence barking. Then I thought I heard him speak a little bit. I think I heard him say, "Let me out! Let me out! Let me out! I want my freedom! I'm tired of being a slave. Let me out. I want to be free. Let me out!" How foolish that little dog was! The big bulldog had already put his napkin around his neck and said grace. Now where was the freedom for the Chihuahua? Inside the fence or outside the fence? Inside, of course. There are millions of young Americans like that Chihuahua. "Let me out. I want to be free. Woof! Woof! I want to be free. " Then they are allowed to leave the freedom provided by the fence. They leave what they think is slavery and are soon captured by those things from without which hitherto were not allowed to reach them because of standards and rules built as a fence for their protection. When I was inducted into the Army in World War II, the first night I slept in a tent in Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. A sergeant came to me and said, "Private Hyles, do you see that fence over there?"

I said, "Yes, I do."

He said, "Those men on the other side of that fence are the worst of the German prisoners of war. You are not allowed to go over there."

Brother, he wasted his time and effort in making that last statement. I wasn't about to go over there, for my freedom was provided by that fence. The boundary itself gave me freedom. To go across the boundary would be a loss of freedom.

Many years ago when I was pastoring in Garland, Texas, I had a daily radio broadcast. Ordinarily the broadcast was live. However, on occasion, if I were scheduled to be out of town for a day or so, I would make a tape and take it to the radio station located on the eleventh floor of the Stoneleigh Hotel of Dallas, Texas. On one occasion I took a tape to the station. When I got on the elevator, I told the operator, who was an attractive young lady, that I wanted to go to the eleventh floor. She didn't hear a word I said! She was in a daze because Elvis Presley had just ridden her elevator. Finally I convinced her that I needed to go to the eleventh floor, and all she talked about was the fact that she had been alone with Elvis Presley for a few minutes. She finally gathered herself together and took me to the eleventh floor. She waited as I took the tape across the hallway to the station and then took me back to the main floor. On the way, however, she stopped the elevator, and Elvis Presley got on. He had on a green satin suit and at that time was in his heyday. I introduced myself to Elvis, we shook hands, and then I asked him, "Elvis, do you know, if you died today, you would go to Heaven?"

His answer was startling. "I certainly do," he said. "I was saved when I was a child." Then he proceeded to tell me the circumstances. As best I remember, he said that his grandmother or some other relative had taken him to hear an old-fashioned Gospel preacher. He had received Christ as his Saviour. He told me in clear, positive language of his salvation.

I then looked him square in the eye and said, "Elvis, how could a person who is born again live the kind of life that you are living?"

He said, "Jack, I got tired of the rules. I wanted to be free."

Need I say more? The very type of death that he died is living proof that though he thought he was leaving slavery to go to freedom, he was leaving freedom to go to slavery.

We have the idea that freedom is detachment, but this is not so. Freedom is being delivered from one master to a higher form of servitude to our Deliverer. Freedom is deliverance from the law for a higher law. Freedom is a higher law liberating me from a lower one. Romans 8:2, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Freedom is deliverance from that which God did not intend for me to do in order that I may be a servant to that which God intended me to do.

Jeremiah put it this way. Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron." (Jeremiah 28:13b) Abstinence from liquor is a yoke of wood; when it is broken, its place is taken by alcoholism which is a yoke of iron. Abstinence from narcotics is a yoke of wood; but when it is broken, it is replaced by the yoke of iron which is addiction.

David said, "I will be free," and in so doing, he became a slave to his passions. Lot said, "I will be free," and in so doing, he became a slave to the sins of Sodom. Samson said, "I will be free," and in so doing, he was bound to the mill with his eyes blinded. Solomon said, "I will be free," and in so doing, he became a slave to lust.

I thank God for an old-fashioned wall-building mother who built around me a wall of rules that kept me free from those life-ruining things that would have enslaved me. I thank God for an old-fashioned wall-building preacher who preached multitudes of "thou shalt not's" and in so doing kept me free from the captor. I thank God for old-fashioned schools, churches and preachers who still in this permissive society build little places of freedom and wall these places with rules so that our young people cannot be captured by the enemy.

Choose if you will, the bondage of compromise, but build for me the liberty of fundamental separation, or as one has previously said, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"

Chapter 4.
A Christian's Attitude Toward Other Christians with Whom He Cannot Cooperate

Recently I was flying to a speaking engagement. The gentlemen seated beside me on the airplane looked at me and asked, "Aren't you Dr. Jack Hyles?"

I said, "Yes, I am."

He introduced himself to me as a Christian brother who was in the Lord's work full time. He was saved, and yet was aligned with a group with whom I could not align myself in cooperation. However, we had a nice conversation on the airplane. We talked about salvation, how wonderful it was to be a Christian, and many other things that we mutually shared. Now I would not have this brother in my church to speak nor would he have me in his church to speak. There is no way that I could cooperate with him in an endeavor that would cause us to yoke up together, but that did not mean I was unkind to him. That did not mean that I doubted his salvation, and that did not mean that we could not spend a few minutes rejoicing in our common salvation.

Recently I was in a clothing store. A former member of First Baptist Church who is now leading a compromising life was there. I went to that member, talked with him and we enjoyed being together for a few minutes. We have some common experiences and memories that we relived and shared. For about fifteen minutes we talked and laughed and reminisced. Now this does not mean that I would invite this member living in a position of compromise over to my house for an evening, nor does it mean that I would cooperate with him in some kind of an endeavor.

Not long ago I crossed the path of a husband and wife who have drifted far from God and His purpose for their lives. They are saved but backslidden. I chatted with them courteously and kindly and then passed on. I did not have to choose between yoking up with them in some endeavor which involved my compromising and being rude to them. The Bible is plain concerning how we are to behave toward believers as far as our manner toward them is concerned. Following are some of the attitudes that we are to have toward all believers:

1. We are to love each other. I John 3:14, 15, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." Romans 12:9, 10; "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another." Ephesians 4:15, "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, Which is the head, even Christ."

2. We are not to hate a Christian brother. I John 2:9, "He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now."

3. We are not to count a Christian brother as an enemy. II Thessalonians 3:14, 15, "And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother."

4. We are to edify our Christian brother. Romans 14:19, "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another."

5. We are not to have bitterness, wrath, anger, malice or evil speaking toward our Christian brother. Ephesians 4:30, 31, "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, Whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking be put way from you, with all malice."

6. We are to be kindly affectioned toward our Christian brother. Romans 12:10, "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another."

7. We are to offer forbearance to those in the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:2, "With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love."

8. We are to respond to their evil with good. Romans 12:21, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."

9. We are not to sow discord among Christian brethren. Proverbs 6:16,19, "These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto Him . . . a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren."

10. We are not to cause our Christian brother to stumble. Romans 14:10-13, 21, "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak."

11. We should do all we can to restore a Christian brother o has erred. Galatians 6:1, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."

12. We should warn a Christian brother concerning unruly behavior. I Thessalonians 5:14, "Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men."

13. We are to do our best to strengthen our Christian brother. Romans 14:1, "Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations." Romans 15:1-3, "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not Himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me."

14. When our Christian brother does err, we are to speak the truth to him, but we are to do it in love. Ephesians 4:15, "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, Which is the head, even Christ."

15. We must always realize the possibility of our stumbling. Galatians 1:7-9, "Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." Notice the Apostle Paul entertains the possibility that someday he could come and preach the wrong doctrine. This, no doubt, prevented him from thinking too highly of himself Romans 12:3, "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." He always entertained the possibility that he could also fall. I Corinthians 10:12, "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."

16. We should give extra care in our attitudes toward pastors who are saved and are God's men. They who rule well are to be counted worthy of double honor. I Timothy 5:17, "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine."

We are not to lift our hands against God's anointed. I Samuel 26:9, "And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless?" I Chronicles 16:22, "Saying, Touch not Mine anointed, and do My prophets no harm." Psalm 105:15, "Saying, Touch not Mine anointed, and do My prophets no harm."

We are to take extra care in our treatment toward God's men. I Timothy 5:1, "Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren." I Timothy 5:19, 20, "Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear. "

There are many other attitudes and manners of behavior that we are supposed to have for God's people. This does not mean, however, that it is always proper to yoke up with the people of God in some kind of Christian endeavor. Romans 16:17, "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them." I Timothy 1:19, 20, "Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme." Philippians 3:17-19, "Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." There are Christian students in Christian schools to whom our children should be friendly and courteous and kind but with whom they should not have their social lives interwoven. There are Christian young men that should not be dated by spiritual young ladies. This does not mean that they should be looked down upon or mistreated; it simply means that there are some Christians whose lives must cause us not to enter into close contact or social interaction with them.

There are preachers who are saved men but who belong to compromising denominations and who support schools that lean toward infidelity. It is not wrong for us to be kind to these preachers and even to feel kindly toward them. It is unwise, however, for us to choose them for places of leadership or places of honor or have them speak in our churches.

I traveled with such an one recently. He believes the Bible, he is saved and was on the same airplane with me. He changed his seat, came up and sat beside me, and I was pleased that he did. I did not scold him for his relationships and affiliations. He already knew how I felt about that. I felt kindly and brotherly toward him and enjoyed being with him, just as I did with the brother mentioned at the beginning of this chapter. He is my brother in Christ, and though I cannot endorse him nor speak for him or have him speak for me, I nevertheless felt kindly toward him and realized that we are brothers in the same family. There seems to be an attitude that I either have to slander him or cooperate with him. What is wrong with doing neither? What is wrong with being courteous and nice to him, loving him and having forbearance toward him just as I am commanded, and at the same time realizing that he is not in a position spiritually but IS in a position ecclesiastically that would keep me from wanting him to speak for me or wanting to enter into some spiritual endeavor with him. He has chosen the crowd with whom he wants to run. I have chosen the crowd, according to the Scriptures as I see them, with whom I want to run. If I entered into some joint endeavor with him, we would have occasion to be tempted to be unchristian toward each other I can be a better Christian if I am nice and courteous to him at a distance rather than being tempted to discourtesy up close. By at a distance," I mean avoiding joint endeavors, etc.

Whether we believe it or not, we all as Christians practice this type of separation. The wise parent says to a daughter, "I know the young man is a Christian, but he is not living right and I don't want you to go with him." The wise parents say to a son, I know she is saved, but she is not the kind of young lady that we want you to date." A wife may say to a husband, "I know the fellows at the job are saved, but I wish you would not associate with them; they are doing questionable things Wise parents who have children in Christian schools will say to them, "Now you be nice to everybody at school, but there are some of the Christian young people that are doing wrong things and I don`t want you to be close to them You be courteous and nice but don t you socialize with them Now you can call this secondary separation or anything you want to call it It is just something that all spiritual Christians practice.

Without malice, bitterness, wrath or clamoring, we choose for ourselves and for our loved ones those particular Christians who are spiritual with whom we want to fellowship and with whom we want our loved ones to fellowship.

If the unseparated Christians will let us, we will help them If they want us to, we will restore them If they seek it, we will forgive them but until they are restored and have proven themselves, we refrain from social intimacies and cooperative endeavors. We all practice this form of secondary separation We don't want our children running with the wrong crowd of Christians. We don't want our children running with Christian young people that run with the unsaved We exhort them to be nice, yes; to be kind, courteous and forgiving of course, and yet not to run with them as good, close friends Now if this be true for our young people, why wouldn't it be true for Mom and Dad? Perhaps parents should not make their close friends and associations with those who run with the unsaved Then why shouldn't it be true also for a preacher? Perhaps a preacher would be wise to be careful not to run with other preachers who run with the unsaved A preacher can be courteous to them and even thank God for the measure of faithfulness they have to the Word of God and even rejoice with them in their salvation, but if contact with them puts him in a position to be tempted to violate the Biblical laws of separation, he might be wise to take extra care. One does not have to choose between running with the wrong crowd and being intimately associated with believers who are running with the wrong crowd and being courteous and kind with all the body of Christ.

When our girls were teenagers I did not feel unkind toward the boys whom I would not let them date There were simply some Christian boys whom I felt they should not date. This did not mean I hated them nor wrote articles against them nor slandered them. It just meant that my daughters could not go with them.

When our son, David, was a teenager, there were some Christian girls whom he could not date. Some of these attended First Baptist Church. I was their pastor, I loved them and I was happy to be their pastor; I simply felt that their Christian lives were not such as I wanted my son to date them. There were young ladies in Hammond Baptist High School that I did not want him to date, and there were young ladies in Hyles-Anderson College that I did not want him to date. I loved them, taught them, trained them, prayed for them, strengthened them, encouraged them, and even accepted the fact that someday they could be restored to a place where David could go with them. They had done nothing to cause them to be expelled from school, but they had not done enough to cause them to be the kind of young lady that I wanted Dave to date and eventually marry.

There are carnal adults, preachers, and members of First Baptist Church with whom I would not suggest spiritual folks become intimately associated Yet I love them and am doing my best to restore them to the position of spirituality they once knew While awaiting that time, I am going to continue to love them. I am not going to slander them. I am going to encourage my people to be courteous, kind and gracious toward them. I am simply not going to suggest that my spiritual people get so interwoven with them that they too will become carnal.

Chapter 5.
What About Secondary Separation?

One of the big issues of our day is not only, "Should we separate, from the wrong crowd?" but also, "Should we separate from those who run with the wrong crowd?" We could go on and on and ask, " Should we separate from those who run with those who run with the wrong crowd?" and "Should we separate from those who run with those who run with those who run with the wrong crowd?" To enter into such a subject is like tiptoeing through mine fields, but since the issue needs to be faced, we will do so.

Sin is basically that which causes bad consequences to me or to someone else. This is an oversimplification, but to say the least, sin has consequences. The ultimate consequence of sin is death. Because of this, the wise person will find what leads to death and avoid it. The answer to this is in James 1:14,15. "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." The Bible teaches us that sin brings death. We are reminded in the Word of God that the soul that sinneth shall surely die. We are reminded that the wages of sin is death. If we could just find what brings death and avoid it, we could avoid death-death of dreams, death of homes, death of hopes, etc. Since we don't want to die, then we should avoid sin, for sin brings death.

What brings sin? We find in our text verses the answer to this. Temptation brings sin. Hence, the wise person will stay away from death by staying away from sin and will stay away from sin by staying away from temptation, for temptation leads to sin and sin leads to death. To be two steps from death is better than to be one step from death.

We could be even safer if we could find what brings temptation. Again, our text verses tell us that enticement causes temptation. Enticement is someone or something trying to get us to consider wrong. Since enticement leads to temptation and temptation leads to sin and sin leads to death, then a person is farther from death if he stays away from enticement. If one does not want to die, he should avoid sin. If he wants to avoid sin, he should avoid temptation. If he wants to avoid temptation, he should avoid enticement. If this can be done, we are another step farther from death. Far too many of us walk just inside the boundary of sin, and then one stumble sends us across the line ! However, if a person can find that temptation brings sin and enticement brings temptation, he can be several steps from death; then if he stumbles, he will not stumble into sin but into enticement.

Recently a young lady in Hyles-Anderson College came to my office in tears and completely broken. I asked her what was the trouble. She said, "Dr. Hyles, I am a fallen woman."

I said, "Oh, my, I'm sorry!"

She said, "I know I have broken your heart. I never thought it would happen to me, but it did. I know my parents will be heartbroken! My pastor will be crushed! I know, Brother Hyles, that I have hurt you deeply."

As she told me this she was weeping uncontrollably. I wept with her. I asked her, "Where did this happen?"

She said, "In the halls of Hyles-Anderson College."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing! I said, "Exactly what did you do?"

She said, "Brother Hyles, I held a boy's hand."

Though I continued to look concerned, I could not help but rejoice inwardly. To her, to become a fallen woman was to hold a boy's hand. She had stayed so far away from sin that when she did stumble, she was far enough away from the edge of sin not to go into sin itself How tragic it is that many schools have their rules just between temptation and sin! The only rules are those which keep young people from sin. Why not make rules that keep them from temptation? Then why not make rules that keep them from enticement? Then why not make rules to prevent enticement in order to keep the young people even farther from death? If sin brings death, let us stay away from sin. If temptation brings sin, let us stay away from temptation. If enticement brings temptation, let us stay away from enticement.

If we could find what causes enticement, we could take another step away from death. The answer once again is in our text. Lust brings enticement. Lust simply means "desire." We lust, then we are enticed, then we are tempted, then we sin, then we die. We could take a step farther from death if we could find what leads to lust or desire. Again we find in our text that being drawn away leads to lust. God has a plan for each of our lives. Each of us is to be busily engaged in fulfilling that plan. When we are drawn away from that plan and the work that God has called us to do, we then notice what the world has to offer and we desire it. Once we desire it, there is always someone who can entice us. Then we are led to temptation which leads to sin which leads to death!

If we would keep from death, we must keep from sin. If we would keep from sin, we must keep from temptation, which takes us two steps from death. If we would be kept from temptation, we must be kept from enticement, which makes us three steps from death. If we are kept from enticement, we must be kept from lust, which puts us four steps from death. If we are kept from lust, we must be kept from being drawn away, which makes us five steps from death. It just makes sense that the farther one can stay from death the better off he is, and since death is caused by sin and sin brings death, we should stay as far away from sin as possible. Everyone who goes into sin follows the same pathway. He is drawn away from doing the things he is supposed to do. His eyes see something after which he lusts. Then someone entices him to take, whereupon he is tempted. The temptation leads to sin, and sin leads to death.

When I was a boy my mother taught me to come straight home from school. There was a certain route that I was to take every day. One day I did not take that route but joined some other boys in traveling another way. We had taken the first step. I was drawn away!

On this new way home there was a peach orchard which also had a big pecan tree nearby. We came by, looked at the peaches and pecans and desired them or lusted after them. Now we had taken the second step toward death which is lust.

Then one of the fellows suggested that since I was the smallest, I should climb to the top of the fence and the other boys would keep me from falling inside. I could lean over the fence, pick up some pecans and peaches and throw them out until there was enough for all of us. Then they would pull me back over the fence and we could go our way. There was the enticement. I was a step closer to death.

As I looked at the peaches and listened to their plan, I was tempted, and I was a step closer to death.

Then came the sin! I climbed the fence and reached for the pecans and peaches on the other side. One boy was at the top of the fence holding me, another boy was at the bottom of the fence holding him and the other boy was on the ground holding him. I got several pecans and peaches and threw them outside the orchard, and just as I was about to get enough, I noticed that the police had arrived! I was the only boy inside the fence, and as soon as the other boys saw the police coming, they let me go! I fell inside the fence and they scurried home. (This is always the case! Those who lead you into sin always drop you as soon as they are through with you or as soon as trouble comes.) There I was facing the police officers. Being drawn away had brought lust, lust had brought enticement, enticement had brought temptation and temptation had brought sin. Sin brought the police. (My mother had called them and told them to scare me to death.) They took me to the police station and warned me of my plight. I could see life imprisonment or perhaps even the electric chair! My predicament was caused by sin. My sin was caused by temptation, my temptation was caused by enticement, my enticement was caused by lust, and my lust was caused by being drawn away from the straight route home.

How foolish we are to live just outside sin! How foolish we are to make our rules and standards just outside sin! The farther we can walk from sin, the safer is our walk, and the farther from sin that we can keep those young people over whom we have authority, the safer will be their walk. Too many of us have our rules and standards right after temptation or right after enticement or right after lust or right after being drawn away. The wise leader will keep himself and his followers as many steps from death as possible; hence, as many steps from sin as possible.

Now concerning the matter of secondary separation, this is not even the issue. The issue is to be as safe as possible. If it is safe not to run with the wrong crowd, then it is safer not to run with the crowd who runs with the wrong crowd. Let us suppose, for example, that when our oldest daughter, Becky, was dating the young man who is now her husband, her boyfriend came by one night to get her and had with him a friend. Suppose he said, "Brother Hyles, I want you to meet my friend. He is a sex pervert who has just escaped from the mental ward of the state penitentiary. He is going to go with us on our date tonight. " My daughter would not have gone on a date that night, and I would have told Tim so!

Suppose he would have said, "Brother Hyles, don't you approve of me?"

I would have said, "Yes, Tim, but I don't approve of your crowd. Now you take the sex pervert home before you take my daughter out, and you sever your relationship with him before you think seriously about my daughter."

Now if a person is a Christian, he is my brother in Christ, and I am to be kind to him, but if he is running with the wrong crowd, I will not promote him. I think it not necessary for me to declare the names of those with whom I do not choose to cooperate. I simply quietly use care so that I may stay as far away as possible from sin. Many churches and ministries have died because the pastor and people have not stayed far enough away from death and that which brings death-sin.

I have no tabloids or papers in which I verbally abuse the brethren, but there are brethren whom I love dearly and whom I think are saved whom I will not have preach for me. I am not going to list them, be unkind to them or verbally abuse them, but I will very quietly exercise care. The reader may call it what he wants to call it. I call it being careful. Perhaps this chapter should be called, "Careful Separation," but whatever it is-whether it be the sin of drinking, the sin of adultery, the sin of dope, or the sin of denying Christ and the Bible, the farther that I can stay away from it, the safer I am.

Because the command of the Bible is to be separate from sinners, it is wise that we exercise special care as we deal with others concerning this subject and its implementation.

If a young person wants to stay away from adultery, which is sin, then he would be wise to stay away from heavy petting. If he wants to stay away from heavy petting, he should stay away from petting. If he wants to stay away from petting, he should stay away from kissing. If he wants to stay away from kissing, he should stay away from embracing. If he wants to stay away from embracing, he should stay away from hand-holding. There is nothing in the Bible that says hand-holding is sin, but there is certainly nothing wrong with exercising care and good sense.

I am very aware of the fact that there is a great difference between the hair standards required for our young men at Hyles-Anderson College and what would be called sin. A young man could wear his hair much longer than we at Hyles-Anderson do and not sin, but why stay right next to the edge? The same is no doubt true with standards concerning young ladies' dress, but we believe that there is safety in staying a great distance from sin and its consequence-death. Each man must decide for himself how far that distance is, but there is certainly wisdom in safety.

Now the Bible is plain concerning separation from unbelievers. II John 7-11, "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." You will notice that we are not to receive false teachers into our house and we are not to bid them God speed when they leave, lest we become partakers of their evil deeds. If a nice, personable fellow comes by with a briefcase, a tape recorder or slide projector and tells you that he wants to talk to you about religion, you are not supposed to receive him into your house until you are sure that he is not a false teacher.

The Bible promises a great blessing to those who abstain from fellowship with the ungodly. Psalm 1:1-3, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Here are five points or steps to guaranteed prosperity and success.

1. Do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.

2. Do not stand in the way of sinners.

3. Do not sit in the seat of the scornful.

4. Delight in the Law of the Lord.

5. Meditate in the Word of God day and night.

Notice that three of these deal with separation from the wrong kind of people.

There is also a blessed fellowship offered to those who separate themselves from being yoked with unbelievers. II Corinthians 6:14-18, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." Notice verse 18 where God promises a sweet relationship between Himself and the separated believer. To be sure, all of us who are saved are God's children, but sometimes that relationship is strained and God will not treat us like His children. This depends upon our running with the right crowd and being separated.

Unbelievers want us! Acts 20:28-31, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears." Jude 3, 4, "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." II Peter 2:1-3, "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not."

Just as Sanballat and Tobiah wanted to help in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, even so unbelievers want believers and their fellowship. For one thing, they need our zeal. Their only hope for growth is the zeal and fire of those who believe and preach the Gospel. Apostate denominations love to confuse zealous believers and use them as window dressing. They put them in front of the denomination national meetings in order to convince the denomination that everything is all right while behind the scenes they continue to chop away at the foundations.

They also want God's blessings. This is why they came to Balaam and asked him to come to Moab. Though they themselves were heathen, they wanted the blessings of God that accompany God's men.

Then they want our money. They don't mind you criticizing them as long as you feed them and send your money to their liberal programs.

Then they want our fame. They love to choose some famous evangelist and appear before him because he is famous. The truth is, if he were not famous, they would destroy him if they could. Wrong always wants to run with right. An immoral boy always wants to marry a moral girl. Wrong always entices right, and the tragedy is that right always seems to think that it can change wrong. This is never the case. Those decaying denominations are never salvaged from within by their zealots. A long time before the zealots realize the decay, the places of denominational leadership and the schools have turned toward apostasy.

The Bible is clear that we are not to yoke up with unbelievers, but how about those who do yoke up with unbelievers? That has been discussed from many angles in this chapter. Much care should be taken here. Suppose your son has a good friend, but the good friend runs with homosexuals. Would you want your son to run with a fellow who runs with homosexuals? The truth is, the farther away he can get from the homosexuals, the better he is. Somebody says, "Prove it by the Bible." In this case, I do not have to do so. I can prove it by good sense. I am thinking now of a Canadian preacher who once was a successful evangelist, but he got the idea that he could run with the National Council of Churches and not be affected. He soon became their evangelist. He did not change them; they changed him. He then got out of the ministry. While sitting in a motel room in Canada, I saw him on a television program, and I heard him deny the Bible, deny Christ and even declare atheism!

The hope for America is the sanctity and purity of God's people. It is the hope for your children and mine and for your grandchildren and mine. Too much care cannot be taken to preserve this holy position in order that God may, for His people's sake, spare our generation!

Chapter 6.
Separation from Good Christians

Yes, you read it right. This chapter does not deal with separation from liberals, separation from new evangelicals, or even separation from carnal Christians. It will deal with separation from good Christians, from spiritual preachers, from godly deacons, from good, dedicated Sunday school teachers, and from loyal and faithful staff members. To be sure, Christian fellowship is important for God's people, but this fellowship should be both planned and scheduled lest Christians spend an excess of idle time with each other. Someone has said, "Great minds talk about ideas; good minds talk about things; weak minds talk about people." It would be a good idea for Christians to cease their fellowship when they leave off talking about ideas; certainly before they begin talking about people. Even casual talk will often deteriorate into criticism.

1. The Christian is not to talk about unclean things. Ephesians 5:1-3, "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints." Certainly this includes obscene talk, but it goes beyond that. We are not to talk about unclean things that are true. For example, I was in a certain city preaching. I had been to the same church on two other occasions while another man was its pastor. He had obviously run into some difficulty at the church and had resigned. The young preacher met me at the airport. In a few minutes he said, "I guess you heard about the trouble the former pastor had."

I said, "No. The only thing I heard was that he resigned."

The young preacher then told me that it was a sad story and began to tell me the story.

Immediately I said, "Hold it, son! I don't want to know what happened. I'm here to be a blessing, and if there is something bad about the former pastor, I do not want to know it unless he himself comes to me for help. Then I must learn the story in order to help him. Otherwise I have no desire to know."

During the two days that I was at the church, numerous pastors and laymen mentioned how sad they were about what had happened to the former pastor and each began to tell me. Each time I said, "Hold it! I don't want to know what happened. I don't need to know unless it is to help the brother, and then I want to find the facts from him." Of course, gossip is bad, but it is also bad for the Christian to talk about unclean truth. The mind is the original computer. It is unwise to allow unclean things to enter therein.

The word "covetousness" in Ephesians 5:3 means "wanting to know more." The word "named" means "mentioned or talked about," which means we are not to want to know more or talk about or mention things that are unclean, even if they are true.

Recently I was talking to a friend on the telephone. He said, "Did you hear about so-and-so doing a certain thing that was bad?"

I said, "I don't believe it and don't want to talk about it."

Several years ago I was in a motel room fellow-shipping with two great preachers. One of them asked if I had heard something negative about another great preacher. I said, "No, I have not heard it, and I don't want to hear it. In the first place, if I heard it, I would not believe it. In the second place, I do not want a negative thought to enter into my mind about that brother."

I was preaching in a Midwestern city in a church pastored by a dear friend. He asked me if I would go out to eat with him after the service. (He knew that I rarely did so.) I told him I felt like I didn't have time. He said, "Please, Dr. Hyles. You are going to be here only one night, and I want to fellowship with you. Would you come if I promise not to talk about people?"

With a grin I agreed to do so. He kept his promise. We had blessed fellowship together.

2. The Christian is not to spend much time talking about light or frivolous matters. Ephesians 5:4, "Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks." The word "filthiness" in this passage means "shameful." The term "foolish talking" comes from the Greek word "moros" which means "silly" or "comic." The word "jesting" comes from a word that was used concerning the quick movement of apes and people. It means "quick talk" or "chitchat." The word "convenient" means "properly timed. " This means that we should be appropriate with our humor, our jesting and our chitchat. It does not teach that we are never to be humorous, folksy or casually humorous in our talk. It means that such talk is to be properly timed, which should be in good taste and should be limited. God wants us to laugh. He certainly is not opposed to a funny story that is appropriate.

I have known personally some of the greatest Christians of the past. I was an intimate friend of John R. Rice, Bob Jones Sr., Lester Roloff, Bill Rice, G. B. Vick, Ford Porter and other great men of God. All of these men were delightfully humorous, but always with propriety and within boundaries and limitations. God is telling us here that planned, limited, appropriate chitchat and humor are acceptable, but this should not be unbridled, and it should not occupy a great portion of our time.

I suggest to our young people that they plan their dates. I suggest that they plan to do things together and not to spend a lot of time sitting and talking. Perhaps at the end of a date, ten to fifteen minutes could be allowed for chitchat and conversation, but when a young couple just sits and talks they usually will say things they should not say, or they will have a problem in their relationship.

The wise Christian will allow a set amount of time for telephone chitchat. It is a good idea to make notes prior to telephone conversations in order that the conversation may go in a proper direction and to prevent a waste of time. At the end of the conversation, perhaps two or three minutes could be allowed for casual talk, but it is dangerous for people just to call and talk by telephone for a length of time without a planned conversation. Soon the conversation will deteriorate into gossip, criticism, or people talk, or become a waste of time, or all four.

3. The wise Christian will put some time in his schedule for light talk. For over 22 years I shared platforms all over America with Dr. John R. Rice. I preached with him over 2200 times. I have shared the same motel with him, shared hundreds of meals with him and flown tens of thousands of miles with him. When we were together in a Bible Conference, we would set some time for light talk. We would share a funny story. I can hear him now as I would arrive at the destination and see him on a Monday afternoon. He would say, "Dr. Hyles, did you have a good day yesterday?"

I would reply in the affirmative and share some of the blessings of the day.

Then he would slyly say, "You know, that First Baptist Church of Hammond would really go to town if it had a pastor!"

Dr. Rice would come to breakfast in the morning. He would sit across the table from me and I would say, "Dr. Rice, did you sleep well?"

He would look across the table over the top of his glasses and say, "No, Dr. Hyles, I confessed sin all night."

I would say, "Dr. Rice, with as many sins as you have, it probably would take all night."

He would smartly reply, "Dr. Hyles, I wasn't confessing my sin. I was confessing your sin!" We would then enter into conversation about the Bible, about the spiritual condition of America, or about some philosophy. We had our time for light talk, but it was brief and planned.

It is wise for the Christian not to get close to people who talk about people. Certainly we should be their friend, but we should avoid spending excessive time with them.

The same is true concerning family time. Family time should be planned. If Dad is home for an evening, let him plan a game of PingPong with his son. Then maybe they could take a trip to a drive-in restaurant and maybe go for a drive around town. Some of the worst gossip and most idle conversation takes place around the family circle. Many children have been turned off to Christianity and have lost faith in Christian people and in God's men because of casual talk by parents!

When our children were growing up, I spent planned time with them. I would take one of the girls on a date. I would get the basketball and shoot baskets with Dave or play a game with one of the children. The time spent was not as much as I would have liked, but it was planned time and quality time.

Every Monday I arrive at an airport somewhere in America. I am met by a pastor or a Christian layman and driven to my motel room. I am then driven to the services at night from my motel room and again the next morning and again the next night. I try to plan some conversation just in case there is nothing in particular that my driver wants to discuss. Recently I was driven from my motel room to the morning services by a fine man. I decided it would be a good thing for us to talk about the blessings of sleep and rest. When I got in the car I said, "Good morning, my brother. Did you rest well through the night'?"

He replied that he did and asked if I rested well. I then said, "Yes, I slept like a baby, which means I cried all night!" (Now this was a little planned, brief humor.) I followed it with this statement: "My brother, I sure thank God for sleep. How we ought to be grateful if we can sleep well! Millions of people last night could not sleep. Thank God, He gives His beloved sleep."

He replied with a statement of praise, and we had a delightful time driving to the services praising God for rest and sleep. We had had a brief moment of light talk and then about fifteen minutes of giving praises to God.

God is not telling us that we should never be folksy or humorous. He is saying that we should keep it within bounds and that it should be planned and appropriate.

4. The Christian should bypass disagreements in his conversation. I Timothy 2:23, "But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes." The word "foolish" in this verse means "silly." The word "unlearned" means "conversation where no one learns or teaches." The word "avoid" means "to walk around or to detour. "God is telling us that we should detour conversation that is silly or where no one learns or teaches. Many times I am met at the airport by somebody who wants to discuss his pet conviction or his pet hate. He will bring up some controversial subject or some silly thing that divides fundamentalists. I often think that he is hoping that I will disagree with him so he can debate with me and thereby gain some measure of self-esteem.

On the other hand, I am often impressed by some young preacher who will meet me at the airport and will say, "Dr. Hyles, would you mind my asking you a question concerning your book on rearing children," or "Brother Hyles, I am in a building program. Could I ask you a few questions about it?" or "Brother Hyles, I am counseling with a couple, and I need to probe your mind concerning some wisdom." I am not in the car three minutes until I can usually predict the success or failure of my host.

In my contacts with great men of the past, I have always tried to probe their minds in order to gain knowledge, information and wisdom.

5. The Christian should avoid conversation that does no good to anyone. II Timothy 2:16, 17a, "But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker." The word "profane" in this verse could be translated "accessible." The word "vain" means "void of results." The word "babblings" implies "picking up scraps." The word "canker" comes from the word "gangrene" or "an eating sore." God is telling us here that we should avoid conversation that is void of results, that picks up scraps of information or that discusses an eating sore. Notice Titus 3:9, "But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain."

For years I have set boundaries on my fellowship, as follows:

(1) I do not fellowship with those who want to argue.

(2) I try not to fellowship with those who just want to talk.

(3) I will not join in criticism of persons.

(4) I will not listen to nor share gossip.

(5) I will avoid discussing bad truth.

(6) I will do no second-party counseling. In other words, I will not counsel with someone for another so that they can take my counsel to a friend or loved one.

(7) I put a time limit on light conversation.

(8) I refrain from giving my opinion unless I feel it will help.

(9) I am always for the one who is attacked. I defend the one who is absent.

(10) I try never to believe bad about anybody. In other words, when I hear a rumor about someone, I do not believe it.

(11) I try not to have an opinion about something unless my opinion is needed.

(12) I do not seek to know bad news or something bad that a person is alleged to have done.

This means that the Christian must spend much time alone. He will have to separate himself from many unnecessary meals, from much of what is called Christian fellowship, from continuing telephone conversations after their purpose is ended. This does not come easy for me. I love people. I love to be with people. I love humor. The truth is, I can see humor in so many things, but I have to guard myself constantly lest I engage in an excess of idle talk and light conversation. Knowing this, I discipline myself concerning the time and quality of time I spend with good Christians. I believe this helps us to remain good Christians.

Chapter 7.
Separation of God's Money

That which is God's is supposed to be kept separate- it is sanctified. The word "sanctified" (holy) is a very important word in the Bible. It means, "set apart for God's use only. " When something is set apart for a specific purpose, it is called "sanctified. " The pulpit in the First Baptist Church of Hammond is sanctified. It is not a perfect pulpit; it has scratches and marks and is marred by much use, but it is sanctified. It is set apart for one thing-for the preaching and the teaching of the Word of God. It is used for nothing else. It is a sanctified pulpit. The chairs in the choir are sanctified, which means they are set apart for a specific purpose. The church pews are sanctified.

Some things in the Old Testament were sanctified to the service of the Lord. In such cases man could not touch it. For example, the ark of the covenant was that little piece of furniture inside the Holy of Holies. It was sanctified to the Lord and could not be touched by the hands of men. When Uzza steadied it while it was shaking, he was immediately taken by death because he touched that which was sanctified to God.

In the Old Testament, God sanctified the tithe. It was set apart to Him. It was His, and man could not touch or use it. The first tenth of all the increase was sanctified to the Lord. The firstborn of all animals was sanctified to the Lord. The firstborn child was sanctified to the Lord. Jesus Himself was sanctified. I Corinthians 15:23, "But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming." The Word of God is sanctified. The very fact that we call it "Holy Bible" means "sanctified Bible."

The firstfruits belong to God. The first ten percent of our increase is His. It is not something that we give to Him; it is already His. It is not ours to give. It is holy and sanctified to God.

1. The sin of Adam and Eve was taking that which was sanctified to God. God said to Adam and Eve,- "All but one of the trees in the garden are yours. You can use them; enjoy them, but one is Mine. It is sanctified. That one is not for your use." When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden tree they were taking that which was sanctified to the Lord. In other words, the sin of Adam and Eve was the sin of not tithing. That tree was God's just like ten percent of our income is His. They took it for themselves, and when they did, a curse came upon the entire human race. An entire race fell because that which God had set apart was taken by the hands of man. They had touched that which was holy which is the same thing that the Christian does when he touches the firstfruits of his income.

I was teaching this in a service one night, and a man who has a great knowledge of botany and horticulture came to me with a startling statement. He told me that all the trees in the world originated from nine trees that were in the Garden of Eden. He listed these trees as the pomegranate, the mulberry, the berry, the rose, the palm, the ebony, the rue, the nut and the vine. If this be true, then there were ten species of trees in the Garden of Eden- nine were for man and one was for God. One of the ten was sanctified. Whether or not the statement from this expert on botany is true, one thing is true for sure, and that is, the one tree that was set apart and sanctified as holy to God was taken by man! This is the same sin committed every Sunday in thousands of churches around the world when God's people walk out of the church building with the tithe in their pockets. Malachi 3:8-10, "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." I Corinthians 16:1, 2, "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come."

The first money that I ever made was as a ten-year-old boy when I had a Dallas morning newspaper route. The first week I made $3. As soon as I got home, my mother told me to change one of the dollars. I did. She took three dimes and set them apart and said, "Son, these are God's. This is the tithe. It is not yours." I confess that 1 did not quite understand it, for God did not throw my papers for me nor get up at three o'clock in the morning to fold them and deliver them, but I believed Mother, and the next Sunday morning I placed my 30 cents in the offering plate. From that moment until this, the first ten percent has always been God's.

2. The sin of Cain was the sin of not tithing. Genesis 4:1-4, "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering." Hebrews 11:4, "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh." Notice that Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock. This was that which God had set apart to Himself. Nothing is said about Cain bringing the firstlings of his flock. Oh, yes, it was a sin for Cain not to bring a blood sacrifice, but it was also a sin for him not to let God have that which was holy. The firstling of the flock was holy. Abel brought to God that which was sanctified to Him. Cain did not. Cain's sin was that of not tithing. An entire civilization was destroyed because of this wicked sin. Just as a race fell because Adam and Eve did not let God have that which was sanctified wholly unto Him, even so an entire civilization was destroyed because Cain did not let God have that which was set apart.

3. The sin of Achan was the sin of not tithing. When the Israelites came into the Promised Land, God wanted the firstfruits for Himself. The first city was Jericho, so God said that Jericho was a holy and sanctified city, set apart to God Himself. When Achan took the Babylonish garment for his wife, the wedge of gold and 200 shekels of silver, in a sense he was taking the tithe. This was the first city of the land, the firstfruits of the land, and it was God's! It was set apart unto God. Because Achan took that which was sanctified unto the Lord, he was stoned to death, as were his wife, children and animals. It makes one get the idea that not tithing is a pretty wicked thing.

4. The body of the believer is sanctified. I Corinthians 6:18-20, "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost Which is in you, Which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." The very word "saints" comes from the word "sanctified" and means "sanctified ones." Your body is the Lord's; it is not yours. You are bought with a price and your body belongs to Him. He sanctified it and made it so.

5. Jesus is sanctified. I Corinthians 15:23, "But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming." Notice especially the words, "Christ the firstfruits. " Here we go back to the tithe. The firstfruits are God's. The first tenth is God's, and Jesus is called the firstfruits. He was set apart, holy and sanctified to be our Substitute.

THEN THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE SET ASIDE AS HOLY ! The tithe is already set aside as the Lord's, but there are times when we make promises and vows to God to give more than the tithe. When this vow is made, then the amount of money that is pledged becomes sanctified, just as the tithe is sanctified, and it becomes as holy as the tithe.

This was the sin of Ananias and Sapphira. Barnabas had sold a piece of ground in Cyprus and had given to God all of the money received for the ground. Ananias and Sapphira also had a piece of ground. They made a vow to God that they would sell it and give all the money to Him. When they made that vow, their pledge joined the tithe as being sacred and holy. When they did not give it all to God, their lives were taken. They had done the same thing that Uzza did. Uzza touched that which was sanctified, which was the ark of the covenant. Ananias and Sapphira touched that which was sanctified, which was a vow that they had made to God. Had they not made that vow, they would not have been killed. Suppose, for example, they had promised God half of the sale. Then that half would be sanctified and they could be at liberty to use the other half. If they had kept all of it for themselves except the tithe, they still would have continued to live if they had not made God a promise to give more than the tithe. When that vow was made, God transferred that money into the treasury of the Lord, and it became holy just as the tithe is holy.

When a person makes a promise to give so much to a building program or a pledge to a special offering at his church, the amount of that pledge and promise becomes holy and sanctified to God. It is a serious mistake and tragic sin to use it for one's self. Only eternity will reveal how many people have been taken to Heaven prematurely because they used that which was God's.

Not only does our money belong to God when it is pledged, but have you, dear reader, ever promised God soul-winning time? Perhaps you have promised God a certain time of the week. It is His. When you made that promise, that time became sanctified! It is dangerous to touch that or use that which is set apart to God.

There are others who have promised God a life in