Guilt By Association

Psalms 50:18 “When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.”

As Christians we have very strong limits from the Lord our God, we are not allowed to dwell among the lost and those Christians that are out of step with the Lord. I understand some will think this to be strong language; however it is God’s law and not mine. We need to look to what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 6:17 and we get a better understanding of what God is talking about in Psalms 50:18 “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 Lord told us in our text scripture “thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker”. The Lord did not warn us to watch our step with them but to stay away from them. The Lord said if we “run with a thief” that is to join him or agree with him then we are guilty of the same, not that we were active in the act but rather just associating ourselves with them. As Christians we are to exclude those who are not saved or are acting outside of God’s will and truth from our life or fall into the judgment of sinful acts. I understand some Christians truly believe they can be their own person and we as minister or their church or pastor has no right to judge their actions but they are wrong. If you are a member of a church then your life is of interest to the church membership because the Lord told the churches to weed out the leaven from among them. In 1 Cor. 5:6 the Lord said “…Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” that is your sinful actions as a church member without discipline from the church can cause the entire church to be partakers of your sins. In 1 Cor. 5:7 the Lord went farther to say “Purge out therefore the old leaven…” the words “purge out” means to cleanse thoroughly that is to cleans the one with the leaven from the church or exclude them or else the entire church is guilty by association. And the Lord ends with verse 8 of 1 Cor. 5 “Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” That is to keep ourselves and our churches pure even if it means expulsion. One of my church members informed me of a woman who attended another denomination that told him she would not be a part of a church that believed in expulsion; well I could not be a part of one that did not purge out the leaven. Let’s not forget the Lord said we become partakers in their sinful acts.

We also need to consider what the Lord said in Psalms 50:22 “Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.” If the Lord is angry with us and brings punishment on us because of our actions then who will deliver us from His anger? God is our shield, He is our protector, and He is the One whom delivers us, so if He refuses or if He is tearing us to pieces, who else do we look to for deliverance? We as Christians must be very careful in this life in what we do because God sees every action and He knows every thought. Be careful at whom you associate yourself with and do not become guilty by association because the eyes of God are everywhere. Do not make the sad mistake of saying it is none of my pastor’s business or it is none of the churches business because it is and they also can become guilty by association. I understand there are churches that do not believe in expulsion and will allow their membership to do as they please but remember this, a church without order is not a church and if it was then the Lord Jesus has removed the candlestick and it is no more. This is a serious matter and God is serious and His punishment is serious and real. God has not changed, man has changed who God is and will greatly suffer because of it.