Smelling of the Fire? – Ambassador Baptist Church Singapore

1 Peter 1:16 …be ye holy…

The doctrine of separation is seldom heard of or taught today; it is, simply put, God setting us apart from sin and apart unto Himself to serve and love Him and to do His will in this life at the point of our salvation. There is no higher call for the Christian except to live for Christ – the Creator of the Universe. One would think that the Head of State would be the highest call for a citizen of a land, but to be called by the Head of State to serve him would be a great honour in itself. We are called by the King of kings and the Lord of lords to serve Him by being separated unto Him. Notice four important principles regarding this command to be separated:

Separation prevents sinful pollution of our soul.
All sin is sin against GOD; sin pollutes, corrupts and destroys. When there is sin in a Christianʼs life, there is no power and no ability to see what GOD has for the individual, let alone serve Him. All service, when there is the presence of sin, will not be glorifying to GOD, neither sanctioned by Him. God is not interested in, neither will He honour unholy vessels. The command to separate ensures that our service for Him and with Him is uncorrupted and unpolluted.

Separation ensures that we have power with Him.
If we regard sin in our lives, God will not hear us (Psalms 66:18). If GOD does not hear our prayer, we are doomed in this world, left to the whims and fancies of the Evil One. However, when we would obey God to be separate from sin, the prevention of sin in our lives keeps the soul clean and the spirit sensitive to hear God and to allow GODʼs power to ﬂow through.

Separation develops our testimony that we are Christians.
That means that, as Christians, we choose not to sin, listen to rebellious rock music, swear or use vulgar language, use the pleasures of this world such as movies, karaoke and the like, smoke, gamble, drink alcohol because we are separated for the Lord. Just as it is an offence for a soldier to drink disobey military law by drinking alcohol or gambling whilst on duty, it is an offence when we disobey the Kingʼs commandments in His service. When we live the separated life, we have a strong testimony for the Lord.

Separation begins at salvation and is initiated by the desire to be baptized.
This is the ﬁrst step of obedience and it will open the door to both the blessings of GOD and the opposition of the Evil One. However, to be baptized tells God and the world that you are serious about God, His mission and His cause, and that you are willing to love GOD and give up the things of this world for GOD.

There was a man who loved to play with ﬁre. He was constantly burning items, both in the house and outside. One day, unfortunately, he played one time too many. In a moment of carelessness, a gust of wind blew some sparks away from this manʼs smothering straw and the curtains caught ﬁre. The ﬂames some engulfed the house leaving the man trapped within. When the ﬁremen came to rescue him, he was unconscious and choked with smoke. His friend met him in hospital and told him that he smelled of the smoke. Dear reader, do we smell of the smoke of this world, or do we have the fragrance of the Lord Jesus and His love emanating from us?

Be ye set apart, that is the commandment of the Lord.

Evangelist-Pastor Johnny Tan
Ambassador Baptist Church