The life of a true child of God is a life of spiritual loneliness. But for the presence of God, such a believer spends most, if not all of his/her life in spiritual isolation. There being few true believers, the saint finds him/herself separated from family, friends, former churchmates, etc. Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 5:10-12, said that though we must deal with people of the world on a normal everyday basis, we are to have nothing to do with them on the spiritual level. This eliminates having spiritual fellowship with the vast majority of one’s family members and friends, whom Paul referred to as “… those who are outside”–outside the family of God. With such people we are no longer to “keep company”–we are no longer to have spiritual fellowship with them unless they agree to come up to the spiritual level of the saint, in which case they too will be rejected by all religious groups. One who decides to believe and obey God will quickly find him/herself ostracized from former churchmates, family and friends who will have nothing to do with him/her on the spiritual level in that saint and outsiders are no longer on the same level. The saint having become “light,” his/her presence among those in darkness creates spiritual discomfort. Having been exposed, false Christians push the light source away. The result is aloneness. But this is all by God’s design, as several examples in the Scriptures reveal.

In the Book of Genesis we read of a man named Abraham whom the Lord called to be the progenitor of the nation of Israel–His chosen people. No sooner had Abraham (then called Abram) agreed to believe and obey God than He told him to pack up everything he owned and leave Ur of the Chaldees (Babylon) where he and his extended family had lived for many generations. He took with him his father and brother, both of whom died en route to his final destination–the area later to be known as the Holy Land. By the time he arrived, God’s chosen vessel was spiritually alone. Which is the condition in which he would spend the remainder of his life.

When Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah the Lord decreed that he also would live alone spiritually, first by having Abraham send Ishmael away from him (Gen. 21), then later having him send his other sons away also (Gen. 25). God went so far as to call Isaac “… thine ONLY son Isaac” (Gen. 22:2,16), even though Abraham had six other sons. Isaac could have nothing to do even with those in his own family.

Isaac’s son Jacob (changed to Israel following conversion) found himself in the company of those who would be negative influences in the life of his favorite son Joseph. His solution was to leave his uncle Laban’s sphere of influence and return to the land of his ancestors (Gen. 31). God led him to separate himself from those who would negatively affect Joseph.

Joseph later found himself separated from his less-than-stellar brothers (Gen. 49:26), which, years later, resulted in the salvation of God’s people–the 70 souls who would one day become the massive, powerful Kingdom of Israel.

Many years later the children of Israel, having been separated from Egypt (sin) by an act of God, found herself at the edge of the Jordan River preparing to enter the Promised Land. Note God’s instructions to her: Israel was to have no spiritual inter- course with the people next to whom they would be living and doing business. Note also that as long as they kept them- spiritually separated from the heathen they survived and prospered. It was only when Israel became involved in their relig- ions that they were defeated and enslaved.

Today, God’s remnant church–spiritual Israel–“… the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16), is commanded to keep herself unspotted from the world by separating herself from all other religious bodies, including Catholicism/Protestantism. The Lord com- mands those inside these religious organizations who know the Truth to “… come out from among them and be ye separate,  … touch not the unclean thing.” Then, and only then, He will be one’s God and one will be His child (2 Cor. 6:17).

Coming out is especially difficult for those who want to “… stay in the false church and win souls for God.” These well- meaning but misguided souls are mistaking the voice of Satan for the voice of God. Their dependence on “common sense” causes them to reject God’s written, explicit command to “come out,” rationalizing that those souls left inside will not hear the Truth if the potential soul-winner leaves. This reasoning is sound–from the human point of view. But God commands that he/she COME OUT. Alas, my efforts on God’s behalf never produce success in this regard. Those with this mind-set are so controlled by Satan that God’s Words are summarily discarded and replaced by sounder reasonings. Satan has convinced them that they know more than God, that their powers of reason are more important than His expressed will. Their rejec- tion of God’s Word, and therefore Him (Jn. 12:48-50), places them on the same level as everyone else in the organization.

The separated life is a hard cross for God’s saint to bear. But it is necessary for the true believer to remain spiritually distant from all those outside of God’s family, especially those of the Counterfeit Church who will lure them back into her web, using family and friends as her bait. Let us remember Jesus’ Words that He did not come to bring peace to the earth, but rather a sword (His Word-Eph. 6:17) by which He separates family members, relatives, etc. along Truth lines. If one cannot give up son or daughter, father or mother, wife or husband in order to follow the Lord, one is not worthy of Him and will not spend eternity with Him (Mat. 10:34-39). To “find one’s life” is to abandon all if necessary in order to follow Him. Those who refuse to do so will “lose his/her life.”

God demands one who knows the Truth to “come out” of false religion, to have nothing to do with the “unclean thing.” Fake religion, even one that purports to worship the Biblical God, is unclean and to be avoided. The result is a life of isolation. For this reason God counsels us to “count the cost” of sainthood. Though the isolated life is one of spiritual loneliness, its future application is beyond our imagine to behold: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9). Who loves God? He who believes and obeys Him. All others are counterfeit.