2 Cor 6:14-18 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 17 “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord “and do not touch what is unclean, and I will welcome you. 18 “And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” says the Lord Almighty. NASB
Lev 20:7-8 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.8 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you. KJV
From the beginning of their relationship as a people of God, the Jews were called to a separation from the world that enabled and caused them to be different from it. Paul tells us that this same separation is incumbent upon us. Without it we will become corrupted and fall away from God.
The subtle blending of our values with those of the world is called syncretism. In every age, it had been the basis for God’s people falling away. They begin to think, act and value in a manner consistent with the culture. It is soon not possible to tell the believers from the better of the unbelievers. We lose our “salt and light;” i.e., our distinction as a people of God.
Matt 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 “Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. NASB
Syncretism destroys our relationship with God and our witness to the world. We quit being God’s people and become, in effect, His enemies. We cannot fulfill the Great Commission; i.e., to make disciples of all nations. Syncretism is related to our actions, not just beliefs. We may believe all the right things and still be syncretized.
James 2:19-23 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God.
The Great Commission does not call us to teach people to “believe” God’s truth. It calls us to teach people to “observe” God’s ways. Faith without works is, as James says, meaningless.
Matt 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” NASB
In Biblical Hebrew, the word for “hear” (Shema) means by extension “to obey.” If you do not actually obey God, you did not really “hear” God. Jesus points out the difference bluntly to the Jewish leaders, and they did not love Him for it (or repent). They understood the message so well they wanted to kill Him.
Matt 21:28-32 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ 29 “And he answered and said, ‘I will, sir’; and he did not go. 30 “And he came to the second and said the same thing. But he answered and said, ‘I will not’; yet he afterward regretted it and went. 31 “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The latter.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32 “For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax-gatherers and harlots did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him. NASB
Syncretism is a subtle leprous kind of disease. It sneaks up on us. It is like the parable of the frog and the boiling water. Throw a frog into boiling water and he will quickly jump out. Put a frog in water and gradually turn up the heat, and he will not notice it until it is too late and he is a “goner.”
We often begin our relationship with God with total dedication, but little by little we get drawn back into the worldly ways. As Paul would say, our “old man (self)” leads us away from the Lord. Our “new man (self)” gets captured and corrupted through syncretism.
Eph 4:17-24 17 This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. NASB
Col 3:8-11 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him 11— a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. NASB
All salvation is based in relationship and all relationship is based in trust. Relationship with the Father through the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit causes us to think and behave like God. As we drift from God, we substitute ritual and religion for relationship. We are capable of being very religious and very worldly at the same time. We have become, in effect, boiled frogs.
Rom 12:1-2:1 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. N
The process of shedding syncretism in our lives involves repentance and renewal. We must renounce the values and practices of the world and embrace the values and practices of the Father. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one spirit.” He also said, “I do what I see My Father doing.” This process of repentance and renewal is in the Bible called “Sanctification;” i.e., the process of being made holy. It comes from Sanctus the Latin word for “holy” or “set apart to God.”
Sanctification in our lives is the main ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Father creates us and sustains our existence. The Son redeems us and will eventually judge us. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us; i.e., makes us holy. The Holy Spirit prevents, or cleanses us from, syncretism.
John 16:5-14 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 “But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. 12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 “He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you. NASB
After three years of handholding to prepare them for salvation, Jesus tells them that He is going to leave them so He can send the Holy Spirit. Their development as men and women of God would have been short-circuited without it. The Holy Spirit is an integral part of the plan of God for believers.
The Holy Spirit has two jobs to perform in our life: to convict us of sin and to teach and to empower us to become like Jesus. Without the Holy Spirit’s ministry in our lives, we are condemned to remain immature spiritual infants. Without the Holy Spirit, we inevitably become syncretized.
John 14:11-22 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father. 13 “And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. 15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
When Paul first came to the city of Ephesus, he found there a dozen or so people who were already born again. A man named Apollos had come through ahead of Paul and taught them about Jesus death and resurrection. Apollos was a great teacher in the early church, but he was not in Jerusalem at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell upon the believers in Acts 2. He apparently did not hear Jesus tell his followers to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came. He did not know about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, so he could not teach it to his new converts.
Paul noticed immediately that these new believers did not have the Holy Spirit. How did he notice it so quickly? Was it because they did not speak in tongues, or operate in the other gifts of the Holy Spirit? Probably it was because they obviously were still syncretized; i.e., they still talked and acted like the world around them. They were not distinct and separate from the culture. They were not “holy.”
Unfortunately, Paul would have asked many modern believers the same question for the same reason. “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” Too often the people in the church cannot be distinguished from the people in the world concerning values, beliefs, words and actions.
Acts 19:1-7 And it came about that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper country came to Ephesus, and found some disciples, 2 and he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. 7 And there were in all about twelve men. NASB
Christians are called to do the works of Jesus; i.e, to act and behave as Jesus did among us. This scripture is not mainly about working miracles. It is about living, acting and thinking like the Son of God, Jesus our Lord. If we ask in Jesus’ name appropriate things from the Father, He will grant them. This relates to verse 15 in John 14 above: “If you love Me you will keep My commandments.” It does not specifically relate to new cars, bigger houses and our passions. It relates to the fruits of the Spirit.
Gal 5:19-26 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. NASB
James 4:1-4 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. NASB
James, the Lord’s brother, takes up the same theme. God will give us what we ask when we ask for what God values. What God values is that we become like Jesus and, therefore, like God. (Paul says the same thing in Rom 8:29.) We were created, you will remember, to be like God. His image in us was marred by the fall, but is restored when we are saved.
When we are syncretized, we ask for worldly things from God and we usually do not get them. This seems to us to invalidate the promises of Jesus, but it really just exposes our syncretism. Syncretism is described by James as “friendship with the world.” It is the opposite of “friendship with God.”
John 14 continued from above: 16 “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 “After a little while the world will behold Me no more; but you will behold Me; because I live, you shall live also. 20 “In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.” NASB
The antidote for syncretism and the mechanism for spiritual growth is what (or who) Jesus referred to as “the Helper;” i.e., the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is an eternal gift to us, everlasting inside of us. Without the Holy Spirit in us, we could not survive in Heaven, and without Him we will not be able to live in Heaven here on earth.
Our heavenly life on earth involves our willingness and ability to keep God’s commandments in this lifetime. We are meant to live like Jesus here in this lifetime, not just after we die and go to Heaven. In Matthew, Jesus speaks of the “Kingdom of Heaven” 28 times. In the other Gospels, Jesus speaks of the “Kingdom of God.” More often than not, Jesus was referring to life on earth, not life in Heaven after we die. Jesus came to give us life more abundantly here on earth.
John 10:9-10 “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 “The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. NASB
Rom 8:28-30 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; 30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
The Greek word “good” in verse 28 is agathos, which means our well-being or our goodness. In this context, Verse 28 means that God works all things out so that they add to or assist in our development in goodness or spiritual well-being. But He only does this for His disciples: those who are “called according to His purpose;” i.e., the believers.
God did not come to bring “peace to all men.” That idea comes from the culture of 17th century England (and echoed today by Hallmark cards). It does not come from the Bible. God sent Jesus to bring peace to “men of good will,” not to “all men everywhere” as is often implied.
Luke 2:13-14 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” NASB
Luke 2:13-14 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” NIV
Jesus’ own words (below) invalidate the King James translation.
Matt 10:34-37 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 “For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. 37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. NASB
Return to the text above: Rom 8:28-30 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; 30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
Scriptures to be properly understood must be read in context. Romans 8:28 should be seen in light of Rom 8:29-30. God uses all things to assist our maturation in goodness if we love Him and are called according to His purposes. And God knows who “we” are through foreknowledge. The Bible tells us that God knows the end from the beginning. This “foreknowledge” does not mean that He causes our choices. It means that He knows
which free will choices we are going to make and He knows that before we make them, before we are even born.
Once God sees that we are going to choose to follow Him, He supports our decision so that we cannot fail (predestines us). This predestination is solely based on our choice, but once we finally decide who we want to serve in our lives, God acts and moves to make it successful. He calls us to His holiness and He treats us as if we are already holy (justifies us).
God does most of the work of salvation and sanctification. Fallen humans may genuinely want to do right, but we are incapable of consistently doing right. If we are sincere about wanting to be good, God will make sure we get our wish. Want a scripture on that? Read Romans 7:18-25.
Rom 7:18-25 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! NASB
The proper understanding of Romans 8:28-30 and the overall textual meaning is based on our clear understanding of the term “predestines” in verse 29. It is based on God’s foreknowledge of our choices. People sometimes struggle with understanding the term “predestines.” If you see a car traveling at great speed toward a wall or a cliff, you will know in advance what it going to happen, but that foreknowledge does not mean that you caused it. If you take a friend to see a movie that you have already seen, you know when they are going see a scary part or pivotal scene.
Based on your foreknowledge of their response, you can act in a manner so as to assist them. You tell them to close their eyes or you make comments to assist in their understanding. You act to get them successfully through it. You work with them to have a richer experience. Without your intervention or assistance, they would not have the maximum experience. You predestine their success by your actions in the way the Bible uses the word in verse 29.
Salvation is not a culminating event, not an end in itself. Salvation is a beginning of a process that allows us to become like God. We are saved so that we can become sanctified; i.e., to become like Jesus. If we fail to go forward after we are saved, we fail to become like Jesus.
Best case scenario, we remain like the world; i.e., syncretized. Worst case scenario, we are led by the world away from God altogether. Sanballat and Tobiah, syncretized Jews in Nehemiah’s day, lured the returnees to adopt a blend of Judaism and worldliness that ultimately would have led them back into the very condition that caused God to send them into exile to begin with.
The syncretized people of our day tempt us in the same way. They espouse pluralism; i.e., the doctrine that all religions lead to salvation. They espouse humanism; i.e, the doctrine that salvation is based on good works. They espouse antinomianism; i.e., the abandonment of God’s Law. They espouse consumerism; i.e., an attitude of ownership and the denial of their stewardship of God’s resources.
Only relationship with God through Jesus can save us so that we can become like Jesus through the Holy Spirit. We can neither save nor sanctify ourselves, but the Holy Spirit can work in us for sanctification if we invite Him, call for His assistance, seek Him. God reveals Himself to those who “seek Him.”
Ps 51:10-13 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee. NASB