Come Out and Be Separate
"Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you." — 2 Corinthians 6:17
A New Testament Command
Some readers assume that the whole subject of clean and unclean belongs to the Old Testament and expired with the ceremonial law.
Then they encounter this:
"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?… Therefore 'come out from among them and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.'" (2 Corinthians 6:14, 17)
That is Paul, writing to the church, after the cross, after Pentecost. Do not touch what is unclean is a New Testament instruction to New Testament believers.
Two other passages sit alongside it:
"And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean." (Ezekiel 44:23)
"Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins." (Numbers 16:26)
Why This Command Is Neglected
Two reasons, and both are worth naming.
First, it sounds unloving. Separation runs against everything our culture values. We are trained to think of inclusion as the highest good, and any call to come out of something sounds like arrogance or fear.
But look at what the verse promises. "Come out from among them and be separate… and I will receive you." This is not about superiority. It is about belonging somewhere else. A person cannot be fully received into one household while still living in another.
Second, we have no idea what qualifies. As the earlier lesson established, most believers were never taught what God calls unclean, so the command has nothing to attach to. It floats.
What Separation Is Not
Let us be precise, because this teaching goes wrong easily.
It is not withdrawal from people. Jesus was the friend of sinners and ate at their tables. Paul explicitly clarified that he did not mean avoiding the immoral of this world, "since then you would need to go out of the world" (1 Corinthians 5:10).
It is not fear of contamination by proximity. You are not defiled by being in the same room as an unbeliever, and treating people as unclean is precisely the error Peter was corrected for in Acts 10.
It is not a superiority complex. Nothing in this teaching entitles anyone to look down on anyone.
It is the refusal to participate in, honor, possess, or be bound to what belongs to another master.
The Practical Cost
We bring so much trouble into our lives and our families simply by disregarding these verses. Not through rebellion — through drift, and through never having been taught to ask.
What separation requires is a habit of asking a question we have never asked: what is this, actually? What was it made for? Who was it made for?
That question, asked consistently, will change what is in your home, what is on your body, where you go, and what you agree to.
Point to Ponder
Separation is not withdrawal from people. It is refusal to be bound to what belongs to another master.
Verse to Remember
"Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you." — 2 Corinthians 6:17
Question to Consider
Where have I said yes simply because saying no would have been awkward?
Today's Practice
Read 2 Corinthians 6:14–18 in full, then read 7:1, which is the conclusion of the same thought: "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
Then identify one specific area where you have compromised because separation would have been socially costly. A ritual you participated in to avoid offending family. An object you accepted rather than refuse a gift. A ceremony you attended and joined in rather than stand out.
Name it. Confess it. Decide what you will do differently the next time — and there will be a next time.
Prayer
Father, I have avoided this command because it sounded harsh and because I never knew what it meant. Teach me what it means.
I confess that I have often chosen comfort over obedience. I have gone along, joined in, accepted, and stayed silent — not because I was deceived, but because refusing would have been awkward.
Give me a clean conscience and courageous manners. Let me be warm toward every person and uncompromising toward every unclean thing. Teach me to be separate without being superior.
And thank You for the promise attached: that as I come out, You receive me. I want to belong entirely to You. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Come out, and be received. Those two things are attached in the same verse.