Just like believers of today, God's Old Testament people came to a point of decision where they had to choose who it was that they were going to serve. At the end of his life, Joshua found that the people were serving strange gods instead of the Lord. Just like the practices we have been talking about in this paper, these gods came from two sources their fathers and the land they lived in (Josh. 24:14, 1514Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. 15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:14‑15)). Joshua told them, "choose you this day whom ye will serve" and then he stood strong for the Lord and said, "but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." The people chose to serve the Lord that day but Joshua went on to remind them that they could not be uncertain about this decision, "for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God." (Josh. 24:1919And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. (Joshua 24:19))
As Christians, we have not been left in this world to do just as we please either. According to Rom. 10:99That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9), being a Christian involves the acknowledging of the Lordship of Christ in our lives. We no longer live to ourselves according to our own wills. Instead, we live for Him, our Lord, the One who loved us and gave Himself for us (Gal. 2:2020I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)). Living under the will and authority of another then necessarily involves responsibility that is, we are to be occupied with learning and doing His will.
Throughout this paper we have been showing from Scripture that every believer has a responsibility to personally have nothing to do with the works of darkness in any way. We are told this in 2 Tim. 2:1919Nevertheless 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. (2 Timothy 2:19) where it says, "Let everyone that nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity." But this passage goes further and tells us that there are vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor in the great house of Christian profession and we must be separated from the dishonorable vessels if we are to be useful to our Master. In other words, we cannot have free and open fellowship with others who call themselves Christians but will not separate from evil practices like the works of darkness that we have been talking about. The 22nd verse tells us that we are to associate ourselves "with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." So, it is absolutely necessary for each one of us to be separate from evil and all those who practice it, and then to be associated with other Christians who are similarly separated. The criteria is calling on the Lord out of a pure heart our own wills and desires are not involved, His authority is owned, and hearts are free from all that dishonors Him.
But what does it mean to separate from someone and not have free and open fellowship with them? In reality, when someone who claims to be a Christian continues to respond to spirits and do other things that are dishonoring to Christ, those things come between them and Him and are properly called idolatry. We are told specifically how we are to act with respect to idolaters in 1 Cor. 5:9-119I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 10Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. 11But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. (1 Corinthians 5:9‑11):
"I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat."
We are told that we are not to keep company or eat with those who claim to be Christians and also practice idolatry. This means that the assembly is responsible to put anyone who refuses to be done with these evil practices away from the communion of the assembly. And so he says in verse 13, "Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person."
If there is one in the assembly who is still practicing the works of darkness, those who are shepherds in the assembly should go to him and show him from Scripture why those things are wrong and try to help him do what is right. If, after carefully and lovingly showing that person what is right, he refuses to listen and rejects the testimony of Scripture, then the assembly must excommunicate that person as we have seen in 1 Cor. 5 above.
Summary: Each of us as individual believers has a responsibility to put away all works of evil from our lives. In addition, we must not associate with others who claim to be Christians but practice the works of darkness. Shepherds in the assembly should seek to help any who are involved with these practices to be Scripturally free of them. The assembly must excommunicate any who refuse to listen and insist on having to do with the works of darkness.