God calls for separation from the world because the world is in opposition to everything He stands for, and He must set His people apart so they do not share in the world's sins and so He can work with them.
God's call for separation runs from Genesis to Revelation because His people and the world are opposites — righteousness has no fellowship with unrighteousness, and light has no communion with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14). God modeled this with Israel, severing the land of Goshen and putting a division between His people and Pharaoh's people (Exodus 8:22-23), and He calls His people out so they do not share Babylon's sins and plagues (Revelation 18:4). Les Feldick teaches that this separation is a line of demarcation in lifestyle — believers are in the world but not of it, and the world should know where they stand.
2 Corinthians 6:14-17 — This passage commands believers not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers and to come out and be separate, answering the 'why' of separation.
Exodus 8:22-23 — God's act of severing Goshen shows His intentional division between His people and the world.
Revelation 18:4 — God's call to 'come out of her, my people' explains why separation matters — to avoid partaking of sins and plagues.
The Bible presents separation as God's ongoing call because His people and the world are fundamentally opposed. In 2 Corinthians 6:14-15, Paul asks, '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?' The implied answer is that there is no fellowship, communion, or concord between these opposites. God then explicitly commands, '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' (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). The purpose of separation is expressed in Revelation 18:4: 'Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.' The Old Testament records God's earliest model of separation. In Exodus 8:22-23, before the fourth plague, God said, 'I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division between my people and thy people.'
Les Feldick teaches that the call to separation is consistent from Genesis to Revelation. He points to God's act in Exodus 8:22-23, when He severed the land of Goshen and put a division between His people and Pharaoh's people, as the beginning of God mandating that Israel be separated from all the nations of the world (Clip 6). Israel was to have nothing to do with the pagan Gentiles around them, and Paul gives believers the same set of directions in 2 Corinthians 6. Les notes Romans 15:4 — these Old Testament things were written for our learning — so just as God put a separation between Israel and Egypt, God puts a line of demarcation between the believer and the world (Clip 7). Les is equally clear that separation is not isolation. Believers are in the world and cannot avoid rubbing elbows with even the grossest immoral people, but they are not to be of it (Clip 1). Christians are not called to be oddballs or to constantly ask for persecution, but the world should know where they stand (Clip 2). God does not expect the unsaved world to drop its lifestyle, but He expects His own to shun it — the admonition is, 'Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins' (Clip 5). Les also carries a burden that Christianity has lost this whole concept of separation. The world can't tell a Christian when it sees one, and Christians can't tell a Christian when they see one (Clip 3). God intended believers to be different in behavior and lifestyle — not long-faced, but joyful in a perplexing world (Clip 4).
Les Feldick teaches that the command not to be unequally yoked 'doesn't stop with marriage' — it applies to business or anything wherever two or more people work for a common cause. The reason is that righteousness and unrighteousness are two distinct opposites: light and darkness cannot cohabit, and Christ has no concord with Belial, a word Les notes means 'worthless' (Clip 0). The believer and the world are pulling in opposite directions, so yoking them together is futile (Clip 2).
Scripture says, 'Come out from among them, and be ye separate' (2 Corinthians 6:17), but Les clarifies that this is not isolation. Jesus, through Paul, made clear there is no way to avoid rubbing elbows with even the grossest of immoral people because that is what the world around us is (Clip 1). Believers are not isolated, but they are not to be of the world — and they are not to be oddballs or constantly asking for persecution by their actions (Clips 2, 3).
God's first explicit separation was in Exodus 8:22-23, when He severed the land of Goshen so no flies would be there, and said, 'I will put a division between my people and thy people' (Clip 6). Israel was then brought out of Egypt to be a separated, holy nation with instructions to have nothing to do with the people around them (Clip 4). Paul gives believers the same directions, and Romans 15:4 says these Old Testament things were written for our learning — so God's line of demarcation between believer and world still stands (Clip 7).
Les says the concept of separation is being lost even in fundamental Bible-teaching churches. The result is that the world can't tell a Christian when it sees one, and Christians can't tell a Christian when they see one (Clip 3). Christianity has gotten to the place where most people can't tell the difference between a Christian and an unbeliever by behavior or lifestyle — but that is not what God intended (Clip 4).
Unequally Yoked and Opposites
Les teaches that being unequally yoked applies beyond marriage to any common cause, and that the opposites of righteousness/unrighteousness and light/darkness — and Christ and Belial (the worthless one) — cannot cohabit, which is why separation is necessary.
In the World but Not of It
Les connects Revelation 18:4's call to 'come out of her, My people' with 2 Corinthians 6, explaining that believers are in the world but not of it.
God's Separation Pattern
Les teaches that just as God separated Israel from Egypt, He wants believers separated from the world — not as oddballs, but so the world knows where they stand.
Lost Concept of Separation
Les teaches that the concept of separation is being lost, and Christians are supposed to be different — in the world but not of it.
Israel as a Separated Nation
Les teaches that God brought Israel out of Egypt to be a separated, holy nation, but Christianity today has blurred the line between believers and unbelievers.
Come Out of Her, My People
Les teaches that God doesn't expect the unsaved world to drop its lifestyle, but He expects believers to shun it and come out so they don't share her sins and plagues.
Goshen and the Division
Les teaches that God's severing of Goshen and putting a division between His people and Pharaoh's people was the beginning of God mandating Israel's separation from all other nations.
New Testament Analogy
Les teaches that Paul gives believers the same separation directions Israel received, since the Old Testament was written for our learning — God puts a line of demarcation between the believer and the world.
2 Corinthians 6:14: Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
The foundational command against being unequally yoked, showing fellowship between righteousness and unrighteousness is impossible.
2 Corinthians 6:15: And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
Reinforces the opposite nature of Christ and Belial, the worthless one.
2 Corinthians 6:17: Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
The explicit command to come out from the world and be separate.
2 Corinthians 6:18: And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
The promise of God's fatherly relationship that follows separation.
Exodus 8:22: And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.
God's announcement that He will sever Goshen so Egypt knows He is the Lord.
Exodus 8:23: And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.
God's explicit act of putting a division between His people and the world.
Revelation 18:4: And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
The final call to come out so God's people do not share Babylon's sins and plagues.
Romans 15:4: For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
The reason Old Testament separation examples are for believers' learning.
Matthew 6:24: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
The principle that no one can serve two masters, supporting why separation is required.
No. Les Feldick says believers are in the world and cannot avoid rubbing elbows with even the grossest of immoral people, since that is the world around us, but they are not to be of it. Separation is a line of demarcation in lifestyle, not isolation.
Les explains that Paul's command not to be unequally yoked begins with marriage but doesn't stop there — it applies to business and any occasion where people have to work for a common cause. Righteousness has no fellowship with unrighteousness, just as light has no communion with darkness.
God put a division between His people in Goshen and Pharaoh's people in Egypt so that Egypt would know He is the Lord in the midst of the earth (Exodus 8:22-23). Israel was to be a separated, holy nation, and that pattern is for our learning today (Romans 15:4).
No. Les says Christians are not to be oddballs or constantly ask for persecution by their actions, but the world should know where we stand. Believers also have reason to be joyful in a perplexing world.
Watch the Teaching: What Does 'Unequally Yoked' Really Mean? 2 Corinthians 6 Explained