Church: Don't Make Your Souls Abominable to God

Church: Don't Make Your Souls Abominable to God

"To be separate to God is much more important than to be separate from other things. As God's people are separated to Him, we become more and more conformed to His image, to be the persons God intended us to be when He created the first man and the first woman in His image...Holiness in God's people involves grace, righteousness, integrity, peace and mercy, because these are the characteristics of the God Who has redeemed us and Whom we serve."

Throughout the Scriptures we hear God saying:

"And I will sever in that day..." (Exodus 8:22)
"And I will put a division between My people and thy people ..." (Exodus 8:23)
"And the Lord shall sever between ..." (Exodus 9:4)
"...that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between ..." (Exodus 11:7)
"And ye shall be holy unto Me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be Mine." (Leviticus 20:26)

The Churches' response to these commands should rightfully be - "For wherein shall it be known here that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight? Is it not in that Thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and Thy people from all the people that are upon the face of the earth." (Exodus 33:16)

God is saying - "I will sever ... I will put a division..."
And our response should be - "so shall we be separated ..."

As we examine the Scriptures more closely, we see the manner in which God separated His people.

1. He Separated Their land from the others
"Exodus 8:22 says - "And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarm of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth."

God wrought a marvelous thing wherein He exempted the land that His people inhabited from the awful plagues which afflicted the Egyptians. No swarms of flies, gnats, or imitating kind of insects would approach them. They were remarkably distinguished, preserved, and protected from sharing in the common calamities of the very  place in which they lived - Egypt.

2. He Separated Their Animals from the Others.

Exodus 9:4 says - "And the Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel."

As evidence of His special favor towards His chosen people, God made a difference in that all of the Egyptian's animals died while those of the Israelites continued to flourish.

3. He Separated His people From the Others

Exodus 11:7 says: "But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel."

"... shall not a dog move his tongue" was a proverbial expression depicting freedom from any alarm or immunity from assault. In this particular case, the Israelites were immune from death. They would leave Egypt without any attack whatsoever.

As we all know,dogs are very senitive to the scent of death and would normally howl at this tragic scene. Or, they would react with continuous barking as the shrieks of mourners pieced the still night. But in the Israelites' camp, there was no scent of death and no sound of mourners. Hence, not one dog moved his tongue to howl or bark in their camp.

4. He Separated Their Nation from the Others

Exodus 33:16 says - "For wherein shall it be known here that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight? Is it not in that Thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth."

Amidst such gross idolatry, the Israelites were separated from the nations of the world by God's special presence. This presence demonstrated to all that they were a peculiar people ... divinely protected ... and highly favored.

5. He Separated Their Souls from the Others

Leviticus 20:25 says - "Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean."

Amidst the universal apostasy, the Israelites were separated or made distinct from the Canaanites or neighboring nations by their higher standard of morality - a standard of holiness - a standard whereby their souls were kept pure from all contamination of sin and idolatry.

This severance from other peoples and nations comes through loudly and clearly in the following command - "For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy; neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." (Leviticus 11:44).

They had an obligation before God to maintain their distinction as His people among the nations. They were to always and evermore remain consecrated or set apart from a profane use to a sacred one. This is what distinguished them from the nations of the world.

God's command was - "And ye shall be holy unto Me; for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be Mine." (Leviticus 20:26) His people's response was - "...so shall we be separated..." (Exodus 33:16).

Nonetheless, down through the ages, has this always been the response of His people? Is it the response of the present-day, Leodicean Church?

WHAT DID GOD SAY IN EZEKIEL 22:26 TO THE PREACHERS AND LEADERS OF THAT DAY?

"Her priests have violated My law, and have profaned Mine holy things; they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shown difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them."

The "priests" were not examples of those who are separated from their worldly ways. By their conduct and careless and corrupt mannerisms, they put no difference between the holy and profane. In their teachings, they failed to keep up the distinction between the clean and unclean. They misinterpreted the Scriptures and wrested God's Word to allow for compromise, worldliness, and sin.

THE RESULT?

The people became contaminated and hateful in God's sight. In other words, they made their "souls abominable" in His sight. God wasn't joking when He admonished all Preachers in Leviticus 10:10 with these words - "And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean."

The prophet Malachi said it this way - "Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not" (Malachi 3:18).

Oh! Where... Oh! where is the Preaching that discerns - that cuts to the heart - that makes a distinction between that which is holy and unholy ... clean and unclean ... and that certainly and without a doubt exposes who is righteous and who is wicked - who is serving God and who is not?

Because it is lacking in our day, we as the Church - generally speaking - are guilty of "making our souls abominable" in the sight of a Holy God. We have become contaminated with the world's ways, fashions, and wares and resultantly, stand before Him as something disgusting or sickening.

Contrary to what most want to believe - God is not pleased with the Present-Day Church. He is not pleased with a people who claim to be His own, yet have mingled themselves among the heathen, learned their ways, and followed the multitudes to do evil.

In closing, there is always someone who is asking the question - What is God saying in this day and hour?

He is saying what He has always been saying - "...I will sever ... I will put a division ..."

And how is the True Church responding?

They are collectively and wholeheartedly proclaiming - "so shall we be separated ..."

Are you a member of the True Church?

Don't say that you are unless you want to show us your marks of consecration unto God and total separation from this worlds and its lusts thereof.

And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." (Matthew 3:10)

May God Bless His Word!

~Connie~

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