"Have nothing to do with them" Bible Verse?

[Thankfull4Grace]

The scriptures seem to say this phrase quite often or it says, "Do not associate with such men"
Does anyone know how many times the Bible references this??
Has anyone here done this? What happened?
And...
What do you say to others esp. Christians when you do carry out what the scripture says, and they respond with "THAT IS SO UNLOVING!!"??

 

[section9+1]

So obeying the bible is so unloving. Then I think I'll be unloving. It also says "Come out from among them." It doesn't say drag them all around with you.

 

[Hazelelponi]

There are a few references in the Bible, 5 in proverbs: Proverbs 24:1 Proverbs 22:24 Proverbs 23:6 Proverbs 1:15 and 4:14, then there is the main one in 1 Corinthians 5 of course Exodus 23:2 Exodus 34:12
Psalm 1:1

 

[A_Thinker]

The scriptures seem to say this phrase quite often or it says, "Do not associate with such men"
Does anyone know how many times the Bible references this??
Has anyone here done this? What happened?
And...
What do you say to others esp. Christians when you do carry out what the scripture says, and they respond with "THAT IS SO UNLOVING!!"??

I don't know that the admonition is so often, but the following are references I could locate ...

Psalms 26:4-5 - liars, hypocrites
Proverbs 14:7 - foolish
Proverbs 1:15 - those that prey upon others
Proverbs 22:24-25 - angry
Proverbs 24:1 - evil men
1 Corinthians 5:11 - sexually immoral, greedy, idolaters,
revilers, drunkards, swindlers

 

[RaymondG]

Jesus was often found eating with the publicans and the sinners.....And the religious admonished Him for it. He told them that the Harlots and publicans will enter the kingdom before them. Maybe you are interpreting these things incorrectly.

 

[section9+1]

The Pharisees accused him of associating with sinners and we know how right they were. I am sure he encountered them, but he didn't hang out with them. I encounter people at Wal-Mart and sometimes speak to them, but it doesn't mean they are all part of my social circle. Sinners don't get into the kingdom. Only repentant sinners can do that. Which of course can include harlots and publicans. But in general, do not associate with such men.

 

[RaymondG]

He sat and ate with them. If any religion person saw a saint eating with a sinner now, they would no longer call them a saint. Things are not much different now than they were back then.

 

[aiki]

The scriptures seem to say this phrase quite often or it says, "Do not associate with such men"
Does anyone know how many times the Bible references this??
Has anyone here done this? What happened?
And...
What do you say to others esp. Christians when you do carry out what the scripture says, and they respond with "THAT IS SO UNLOVING!!"??

Some have already given you lists of Scripture that talk about separating one's self from the wicked. I would add the following:

1 Timothy 6:3-5
3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness,
4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,
5 useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.

And this one:

2 Corinthians 6:14-18
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people."
17 Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you."
18 "I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty."

And this one, too:

Ephesians 5:1-12
1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;
4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),
10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.

What does separating yourself from the wicked person do? Well, it protects you from their influence, for one. But it also signifies that the wicked person is, in fact, wicked, that s/he is not living in a God-honoring way. Is it unloving so to do? If I believe that Scripture is right when it says that sin always produces death of some kind (Romans 6:23), is it unloving to live in a way that reminds the wicked person that this is true? No more than refusing to join someone in swimming in shark infested waters is unloving. Wicked living is not merely morally wrong, you see, it is also incredibly foolish and dangerous! In any case, I can think of no more polite a way to point out the wrongness of a person's behaviour than simply to withdraw from them.

 

[aiki]

He sat and ate with them. If any religion person saw a saint eating with sinner now, they would not longer call them a saint. Things are not much different now than they were back then.

But was that all that Jesus was doing with them? I very much doubt it. Everywhere we look in the Gospels, Jesus is teaching and preaching repentance and the message of salvation. He says himself that his life was totally focused upon fulfilling the will of His Father in heaven, not kicking back with extortionists (aka tax collectors) and harlots. As has already been pointed out, it was Christ's enemies, the Pharisees, who accused him of partying with the wicked. It seems to me, then, that we have good cause to be very skeptical of the Pharisees characterization of Christ's activities. It seems far more likely that if/when Christ was interacting with folk like Zacchaeus and the women at the well, that he was doing life-saving work among them, not just stuffing his face and laying into the liquor as the Pharisees accused him of doing.

 

[section9+1]

There is so much throughout the bible that supports this thread. It cannot be avoided. Jesus dealt with everyone and he did eat at least once with a tax collector and the tax collector reformed and became righteous. It doesn't mean any more than that. I've gone into bars, too, more than once, and visited with people and the gospel was never mentioned at all, but it don't make me a bar fly.

 

[Robin Mauro]

I think that is mainly about how to deal with people who claim to be believers but their actions say otherwise...I mean big things, not just daily failings which we all experience,
We can still be respectful, just choose to not hang out with them.

The scriptures seem to say this phrase quite often or it says, "Do not associate with such men"
Does anyone know how many times the Bible references this??
Has anyone here done this? What happened?
And...
What do you say to others esp. Christians when you do carry out what the scripture says, and they respond with "THAT IS SO UNLOVING!!"??

 

[RaymondG]

But was that all that Jesus was doing with them? I very much doubt it. Everywhere we look in the Gospels, Jesus is teaching and preaching repentance and the message of salvation. He says himself that his life was totally focused upon fulfilling the will of His Father in heaven, not kicking back with extortionists (aka tax collectors) and harlots. As has already been pointed out, it was Christ's enemies, the Pharisees, who accused him of partying with the wicked. It seems to me, then, that we have good cause to be very skeptical of the Pharisees characterization of Christ's activities. It seems far more likely that if/when Christ was interacting with folk like Zacchaeus and the women at the well, that he was doing life-saving work among them, not just stuffing his face and laying into the liquor as the Pharisees accused him of doing.

I guess i should rephrase my statement then. IF the religious saw a saint doing life saving work with sinner, they would not bother to look deeper into it, so to not be mixed up with sinners themselves, they would no longer call them saints...and would disassociate themselves from them as well.

 

[section9+1]

I guess i should rephrase my statement then. IF the religious saw a saint doing life saving work with sinner, they would not bother to look deeper into it, so to not be mixed up with sinners themselves, they would no longer call them saints...and would disassociate themselves from them as well.

Really? You don't seem to be getting this very well.

 

[RaymondG]

There is much throughout the bible that can explain any doctrine man comes up with...if interpreted the "right way." This, however, does not imply any truth.

 

[aiki]

I guess i should rephrase my statement then. IF the religious saw a saint doing life saving work with sinner, they would not bother to look deeper into it, so to not be mixed up with sinners themselves, they would no longer call them saints...and would disassociate themselves from them as well.

The Pharisees were religious sinners. They were, actually, the only ones in the Gospels Jesus called "sons of hell" and the "brood of vipers." And yet, Jesus ate with them, too. As I said, though, in such instances Jesus wasn't merely hanging out. See John 3:1-21 or Luke 7:36-50. A believer is not called by God to fellowship with the wicked, but to evangelize them. Those who refuse God's truth, who reject the Gospel, a believer ought to avoid. Doing so isn't pharisaical or self-righteous, but obedient to the commands of God's word.

 

[Kit Sigmon]

The scriptures seem to say this phrase quite often or it says, "Do not associate with such men"
Does anyone know how many times the Bible references this??
Has anyone here done this? What happened?
And...
What do you say to others esp. Christians when you do carry out what the scripture says, and they respond with "THAT IS SO UNLOVING!!"??

1 Corinthians 5:11 "But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people."

Here it's about anyone who claims to be a believer and they be sexually immoral/greedy/idolater/slanderer/drunkard/swindler.

In my look into this, there's half a dozen or so verses that convey the same type message.

Have I stop associating with someone who call themselves a believer who carry
on like that? yes.
Do others think that's unloving of me? they haven't voiced their opinions to me.

 

[Thankfull4Grace]

AIKI and SECTION9+1 ....Love how Truthfull you both were by backing up with substational reasoning and insight using scripture ! Both of you have ears to hear and eyes to see clearly what our Lord, Paul and the pharisees wanted. THANK YOU!!

 

[RaymondG]

The Pharisees were religious sinners. They were, actually, the only ones in the Gospels Jesus called "sons of hell" and the "brood of vipers." And yet, Jesus ate with them, too. As I said, though, in such instances Jesus wasn't merely hanging out. See John 3:1-21 or Luke 7:36-50. A believer is not called by God to fellowship with the wicked, but to evangelize them. Those who refuse God's truth, who reject the Gospel, a believer ought to avoid. Doing so isn't pharisaical or self-righteous, but obedient to the commands of God's word.

Pharisees were dedicated stewards of the word, who spent their lives studying it and mastering it. it just so happened that their extensive knowledge of the letters prohibited them to taking the word of one less studied, so they thought, than themselves. Doesnt this happen today? Cant you recognize those who know less about the word than you and then dismiss everything they say because of this....especially if it sounds foreign to you or against your knowledge of the word?

You see religious sinner, I see dedicated stewards doing all they can with what they know..........you see hanging out with sinner, I see the possibilities of becoming like as the gentile, to win the gentile.

All depends on the lens one chooses to wear when looking at another.

 

[RaymondG]

Really? You don't seem to be getting this very well.

You are right....better not waste any more time on me then...lest you too will be judged as hanging with the sinner.

 

[aiki]

You see religious sinner, I see dedicated stewards doing all they can with what they know........

All depends on the lens one chooses to wear when looking at another.

And of the two of us, with whom does Christ agree? Well, he was the one who called your "dedicated stewards," the Pharisees, the "brood of vipers," "sons of hell," and "white-washed tombs full of dead men's bones." Was Jesus just looking through the wrong lens? I think not. No, he had it right about the Pharisees. Why don't you? Do you see the Pharisees with clearer eyes, with better understanding than Christ did?

Doesnt this happen today?

Very likely. But that it might happen in some instances doesn't by any means establish that it does in all. Christians today can - and do - withdraw from the company of the wicked for the right reasons.

Cant you recognize those who know less about the word than you and then dismiss everything they say because of this....especially if it sounds foreign to you or against your knowledge of the word?

I don't think anyone is saying that a Christian should "dismiss everything" the unbeliever may say just because they are ignorant of the faith. Nor is everything a biblically-ignorant believer may say worthy of being dismissed. But imagine if a cruise ship captain suddenly encounters a guest in his steering room who wants to tell him how to properly guide the ship across the ocean. Imagine that the guest has never before been to sea and has no idea how to captain a cruise ship - or any ship for that matter. Would the captain be wise and right to dismiss any advice on captaining the ship the guest might give him? Of course! The captain would be a fool to steer the ship on the advice of such a nautically-ignorant person! So, too, with the biblically-ignorant believer who thinks to advise a mature, well-studied student of the Bible on what it says. On matters of Scripture, the mature student of Scripture would be very foolish to embrace the ideas of one who knows little to nothing about Scripture.