The Corruption of Overextended Association

The Corruption of Overextended Association

By Fred O. Blakely

Those who are enamored by the glamor of the cosmopolitan relationship in religion need to consider its devastating effects. Although they are gratifying to the gregarious instinct, few people are able to weather the multifarious and widespread associations without serious injury to themselves and their influence for God. Especially is this the case with those who have been granted an exceptional measure of grace and truth. And it is particularly so in this day, when the genuine faith is so scarce, but its corruption and counterfeit abound on every hand. 

The Testimony of Paul the Apostle. “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these [vessels of corrupting influence], he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work” (II Tim. 2:19-21).

Contrastively, the tendency is for the religious confusion and pollution of the times to corrupt the truly spiritual person who mingles with it. The scriptural principle that “evil companionships corrupt good morals” is fully as operative here as elsewhere (I Cor. 15:33, ASV). The divine mandate is unequivocal and insistent. “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing” (II Cor. 6:17); “Ye that love the Lord, hate evil” (Ps. 97:10); and, “Let everyone that nameth the Name of Christ depart from iniquity” (Rev. 18:4; II Tim. 2:19; see also Isa. 52:11; Mic. 2:10). 

Departing from Evil in All of Its Forms. The evil and iniquity which one is to loathe and from which he is to separate himself are wholly as inclusive—if not even more so—of religious corruption as they are of what is commonly considered moral defilement. That such disregard of God’s demand for the separation of His people from “the unclean thing” inescapably results in their spiritual contamination and degeneration, is abundantly evidenced by observation and experience, as well as declared by Scripture. 

It has been the universal tendency for the bad apples in a basket, so to speak, to corrupt the good ones, rather than the other way round. Although men, in apparent sincerity of desire to be helpful, continue to mingle indiscriminately with contemporary religionists, they do not escape the consequences. The law of retrogression through imprudent association cannot be defied with impunity. It is observable that the intent of sharing more widely what one has from God tends to boomerang on those who proceed ill-advisedly in the undertaking. Characteristically, Babylon influences its reformers instead of them making any corrective impression upon it. To all practical intents, the effectual sharing generally winds up being done by the other side. Thus, the compelling yen to adapt to current religious society results in the adapter being changed—for the worse—not in him changing that society for the better. 

The Danger of Neutralization of Influence for God. A secondary consequence of unwise religious desire and association is also spiritually frustrative, and to be eschewed. It is that of the substantial decrease—if not outright loss—of vital influence for God and the faith once delivered. It is altogether possible that one, in the ambition to spread himself afar, may spread himself so thin that he actually exerts no determinative influence anywhere. He becomes just another of those many “evangelicals,” among the already superfluity, who is running to and fro, with no clear and convincing word or unyielding loyalty (see II Sam. 19:22-30). It is far better, it seems to us, to be able to make a positive, enduring impression for God and truth upon a few than to so diffuse oneself among the multitude as to not really count with any. We had rather seek to keep ourselves “unspotted from the world”—both the undisguised world and that camouflaged with religious veneer—and bear a genuine message from God than to neutralize both our message and influence by inordinate desire for the masses (Jas. 1:27). To borrow the words of Solomon, we deem it better to “dwell in the corner of the housetop” and retain our full impact for God, than to company with many influence-destroying Babylonians in a “wide house” (Prov. 25:24; cf. ch. 21:19). 

The Urgency of Legitimate Concern for Proclaiming God's Word. These observations and remarks certainly are not directed against legitimate concern and endeavor to sound forth the pure Word of God far and near. It would seem that more than forty years of continued effort by us to that end sufficiently attest to that as fact. By all means, let us, as we are able, “buy up” the opportunities to “testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24; Eph. 5:16, Weymouth). In our zeal for this holy cause, however, let us beware of the dangers of our mission. While we preach to a confused and polluted religious world, let us keep ourselves distinctly aloof from it. It is only in this called-out and separated stance that we can effectually herald the gospel, reprove sin, and retain the unique thrust for Him which God has imparted to those who dwell apart with Him. To in any vital sense blend with the Babylonians, is to be shorn of our spiritual locks, as was Samson, and so to be deprived of our genuine power with God and men. 

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