An Outsider

Needtobreathe's song, 'The Outsiders' caused me to really think a little deeper than normal. I love to think and even though I am no C.S. Lewis or J. R. R. Tokien I had a rush of emotions as an epiphany hit me. Or maybe it was the rush of acid reflux. Either way I begin to meditate upon this song. A few lines say; "We are the outsiders, oh we are the outsiders ... On the outside, you're free to roam, On the outside we found it home, On the outside there's more to see, On the outside we choose to be.."

I begin to think about that and how that many would take it that this song is talking about being saved and being on the outside of the lost world. Being on outside of 'lostness' or on the outside of the world that rejects Jesus, Christianity, etc.
But then I began to be reminded of what 2 Corinthians 6:17 says. It says; "Come out from their midst and be separate from them and do not touch what is unclean". As I have read this verse in the past, I quickly would say that the Apostle Paul is talking about being separated from the world, from that which is lost and not of God. That's cool and all, but then that 'epiphany' hit me and I thought that God also wants us to separate from all that is unclean, including religion, religious institutions, and yes religious people. Hmmm... O yea, remembering that Jesus is not a religion nor is He a building or denomination but rather He is a Person who happens to be God!

I then begin seeing that just as the song speaks of being on the outside, that as followers of Jesus Christ, we are justified by God's very Word to separate ourselves from even those who call themselves Christian, the church, and God's people. O NO! It can't be! Sure it can! One only needs to see the latter part of the verse mentioned earlier; "DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN". What is unclean? That which is sinful, wrong, and rebellion against God and His Word. So, if a fellow believer is willingly and openly rebelling against God and refusing to be obedient, then the follower has every authority to separate himself from the rebellious believer.
The same would go with a local fellowship (church) or even a denomination. If a fellowship or a denomination openly rebels against God, the faithful follower must separate himself from it or be guilty by association or by enabling the rebellion. If we remain in that which is wrong, then we actually condone the very thing which is wrong.

So with that in mind, we must exclude ourselves. We must depart! We must leave the 'inside' and head outside! In this case following the Lord must be done as an 'outsider' of the church. It has to be! There is no way to follow Jesus if we are tolerating sinfulness or rebellion. This in no way calls for perfection at all, but rather for a desire to be right and obedient to the Lord. We are all sinners and we all mess up every day, but living in open rebellion is unacceptable. Friends have parted ways, marriages have dissolved, and believers have departed fellowships/churches. On the surface one could argue that friends, marriages, and churches should work their problems out and stay together. Well that's admirable, but when open rebellion and an unwillingness to forsake the rebellion, the follower who desires to be right with God cannot stay in that situation.

Jesus Himself is actually the first 'outsider'. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus is standing at the door of the church knocking. Jesus was 'outside' the church. The Laodocean church was a church filled with people who were lukewarm, just existing. Jesus showed His disapproval by being 'outside' knocking on the door. He offered to come to anyone in the church who desired to open up to Him.

Unfortunately many churches today keep believers from growing and experiencing the wonderful life God has offered. Churches have been guilty of throwing cold water on the people of God and have kept them from enjoying the greatest gift in the world. Jesus came to give us abundant life and all the joys that go with it yet it seems that so few are living that life. What's up? What's wrong? What's going on?

Remember the line in the song? "On the outside we're free to roam, On the outside we found it home, On the outside there's more to see, On the outside we choose to be ..." That excites me and not only does it excite me, I have experienced it! In the past 5 months, I have been on the outside and it has been totally awesome and extremely life changing! The chains have been broken and I have been set free to roam, and see, and choose, and take hold of the mighty Hand of God in fresh and new ways! I have the freedom to follow, the freedom to enjoy, and the freedom to see so much more than I ever have. I am an outsider and I must say that the outside is so much better than being on the inside of those walls of tradition and institutionalism. Freedom is so cool! I love being an outsider! I have found that I am more like Jesus as an outsider. We've been having a good time being out here.