Do Not Touch (2 Corinthians 6:17)

Introduction

Right up there with it’s time to go to bed. Do not touch some of the least favorite words of little kids. They hate to hear those words. At our house, we simply quote Emperor’s New Groove. No touching. A hot surface. That’s why they say, don’t touch the burner. It’s hot. It’ll burn you. But you know, kids, sometimes they think you just have to do it anyway. Snakes, definitely no touchy. Olenics, no touchy. They’re dangerous, all of them, even if they’re not poisonous. Electric power lines. Just ask Ross. That’s why he has an electric personality. You need to know that story. There are several biblical commands and instruction that relates to not to touch. And as you look at some of those, some interesting thoughts come out of that.

1. Holy Objects Were Not to Be Touched

Holy objects were not to be touched, lest they be defiled. When the construction was being done of said holy objects in Numbers chapter 4, once they were finished, they were not to be touched. They had been consecrated or set apart. And of course, there’s the famous story of Uzzah for us a wrong place, wrong time. But look, the objects were not to be touched. They were to be carried and transported in a certain way, which they were not on that occasion. And because of his irreverence, and that’s why I go to the 2 Samuel text. It’s told on two occasions, but in the 2 Samuel text, it specifically mentions Uzza’s irreverence. Though it was falling.

But the holy objects were not to be touched. And the second part of that is you were not to touch what is unclean, lest you be defiled in the touching. And of Leviticus chapter 11, it specifically mentions animals with a split hoof or that chew the could. And we all know that Scott Wiggington would have been a terrible Israelite. But it might not have been too bad, Scott, if you had never tasted bacon before the instruction that involved no touchy of the pigs. But this whole thought even begins to evolve as you come to Isaiah 52 and verse 11. And I just want to call your attention to this verse because we are where we are going in the conclusion of this lesson. In Isaiah 52, verse 11, as it speaks of God’s holy intentions for his people in this very messianic context, he says, Depart, go out from there.

Touch nothing unclean. Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the Lord. And so the concept of priestly purity is something that is going to be carried over in concept even in the New Testament, as we shall see later. So a holy object or place, as defined by God may be that way, because it is a representation of God Himself. Holy.

2. The Tree Represents Holiness and God's Authority

Much like Mount Sinai, that they were not to touch when God delivered the law there, or the tabernacle and its holy objects, the Ark of the Covenant. Perhaps there is a sense in which the tree in the garden was like those things. And thus it was separated from all the others, and it was not to be touched. I think that’s an interesting concept. Because when we think of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you know what we immediately think? Bad. Tree of knowledge of good and evil. That’s bad because that’s where sin entered the world. And that’s true. But everything that God created is what? It’s good. And so there’s not anything inherently bad with having an off limits tree. But it became a tree of death.

You see, I believe this tree not only represents holiness, but it represents the idea of God’s authority. By the placing of this tree, it was a way of defining God’s authority, and a violating of that authority constituted a grasping after Godhood. And that’s where Satan makes his appeal in Genesis chapter 3. For God knows that in the day you eat from it, your eyes will be open, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Now, this is my second sermon on the tree of knowledge of good and evil. I didn’t know that I would ever have one. But I did do a sermon not very long ago, actually preaching in meetings about the marism involved, the figure of speech called marism that’s involved in the knowledge of the tree of good and evil.

It represents all that can be known. Every end of the spectrum, good, evil, everything in between is the ideal. Lock, stock, and barrel. Remember that? It’s the whole thing. The knowledge, what can be known. He says, you’ll be like God. That’s why God is forbidding you from eating of this tree. And I want to suggest to you, just by way of introductions, that why did God say, don’t eat of this tree? And I think I always looked at it as just some arbitrary thing that God did, where there was just one tree that you couldn’t eat, and it’s just an arbitrary command. No, I think it’s more than that. I think it’s the holiness concept that we mentioned, and the fact that God is defining his authority and his place, his presence among Adam and Eve.

He has the right to rule. He has the right to establish limits in regard to our behavior. Because he is the creator. He is God. And so he has the right to make this restriction. Now, one thing I have to deal with before we get to the nuts and bolts of all this and what it means to you is a lot has been made of the interplay between the serpent, who is being used by Satan and Eve, when she said, building on the thoughts of Genesis 2, where it simply says, you shall not eat from it, she adds this, she says, or touch it in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 3, lest you die. So, oh, well, that’s Eve. She was putting a hedge about the law.

God said, not eat from it, but she said, Well, we’re not even going to touch it, because God said, Do not eat from it. I wonder if that’s the case. That if Eve is not explaining further the instruction that was given to them about the nature of this off-limits tree. And the touching probably didn’t involve the idea of just getting too close to it and rubbing up against it, but the whole process that would be involved of deliberately doing what you know is forbidden. The whole process of reaching and taking and eating and intimacy with this off limits tree. So here’s some thoughts as we get into this morning. Every time they saw the tree, it would be a constant reminder of God’s presence and the instruction that he gave.

3. Whose Authority Are We Going to Choose?

Disrespected God’s holiness and glory. That’s what happened by touching and eating that which God had set apart. And it was the denial of God’s authority over them. And that’s the play Satan makes in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 5. Now here’s where I’m going with all this. This has been the rub ever since. This is the rub. Are you going to respect God’s holiness? Are you going to respect God’s authority? Or not.

It is a choice that the Christian must make daily. And it is not an easy choice. It is not without effort or friction or opposition. The devil is there making his appeal. Your life will be better. You will be like God, knowing what he knows if you partake of the tree. He really doesn’t have your best interest at heart because if he did, he’d let you eat from the tree. And Satan still uses all that with us. Now it’s not about eating from a tree that God designated as off limits and holy, but there’s a lot of things in our culture, in our world, that are to be off limits for the holy people of God. And Satan is saying all the time to us, God really doesn’t have your best interest at heart.

Let me tell you, life would be better if you committed fornication. Life would be better if you had an affair. It would spice things up. There’s all sorts of appealing objects that he can use in our culture. I mean, he’s got a plethora of stuff that he can appeal to and say, God really doesn’t care about you, or he’d let you do this. Because it’s fun. It’s filling. You’ll like it. And so every day, here we are. Whose authority are we going to choose? God’s or our own. And did I say that’s the rub? Because it is. And this is the preacher telling you. This is the same for me as it is for you. I’m not on some kind of pedestal or live a different kind of life where this is not reality.

4. My Way Is Bankrupt

Because it’s my reality too. Every day is a choice. Am I going to choose God’s authority or my own? And let me tell you where this starts. You start by saying, coming to the Lord is my way is bankrupt. It’s death. It’s going nowhere. It’s going nowhere good. That’s why I had Dean saying, What is what is love? God is might. Or the old version, God is right. That’s the end of that. He wields the authority. Did we mean it when we sang, Live in me, have your way? I wonder sometimes we sing some of these songs and we do we realize what we’re saying to God? We said to God, and I heard a lot of voices, did you? I did. I’m not discouraging singing, okay?

Live in me, have your way. That’s the right attitude. That’s choosing God’s authority. My way is bankrupt. I come to the Lord realizing that I am broken, insolvent, penniless, ruined. You get the picture. If just from the standpoint of God’s irrevocable and inescapable judgment that’s coming, the way of man is not in himself. It is not a man that walks to direct his own steps. Jeremiah 10 verse 23. There is a way that seems right, but it’s in just the way of death. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And do not lean on your own understanding. Boy, now that is, boy, that’s needed in our times, isn’t it? In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your steps. That’s wisdom. It’ll be life to your body, refreshment to your bones, health to your soul.

5. Deny Yourself and Choose God's Authority

We’re going to choose God’s way our own way. And where does that start? I’m bankrupt. I’ve got nothing. That’s what the people on the day of Pentecost. Why did 3,000 people respond that way? They saw themselves as broken, ruining, hopeless. I’ve got nothing. What do I need to do? I’ve always said we need to get more people asking that question. What do I need to do? It is characteristic of many occasions where Jesus taught simply, you must deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me. But I want to take you to Paul’s re echoing of that sentiment in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. What is your life about as a Christian, as we choose God’s authority, not our own? Live in me, have your way.

2 Corinthians 4. The God of this world blinds the minds of the unbelieving. Now that’s a good connection back to Genesis 3. The God of this world blinds the minds of the unbelieving that they might not see. Boy, people don’t see what I’m instructing this morning. That they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is in the image of God. Now, all that says is this is really good stuff. This is the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, which you can be a partaker and a sharer of, who is in the image of God, for we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord. And ourselves as your bondservants. For Jesus’ sake. For God who said, light shall shine out of darkness is the one who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels. That’s you and me. That the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves. As we deny ourselves and take up our crosses, we really reclaim ourselves as we choose God’s authority and not our own. And what that means is, as I deny myself, let me put this in very simple terms for us this morning. I deny myself. That means that the beliefs that I have are his message. How I see the world. How I see myself. What I think about the realm beyond what I can see. My beliefs issue from God. And not just my beliefs, but my behavior. There are a host of things that I might like or want to do, but I have chosen God’s authority, not my own.

When I chose Christ.

Not about people saying, I choose God’s way, not my own.

Simple singing. To one another. Speaking from the heart to God. Why aren’t folks content with that? The reason why is they want to do it their way. And not just the way we worship, but how we function as a body. You see, I’ve denied self. And so we’re going to function corporately in concert with the instruction that I’ve been given that is holy instruction that comes from God. And I’m going to be content with that. It doesn’t need bells and whistles. If we do it God’s way, it will produce the results that God wants. Whether I perceive the value and benefit out of it or not, I think I do. As I’ve examined the errors that brethren have made in regard to corporate activity, I think I see a lot of the dangers and the reasoning behind God’s instruction.

But even if I don’t see it’s right because God said it. And I have to choose his way. So did we mean it? When we say, live in me, have your way. God’s authority speaks to the reigning in of self. There’s something about defiance of God’s authority that makes it easier from thenceforth to do it again. To repeat it. And thus the catastrophic consequences of the first transgression. In Genesis chapter 3. It seems once you have set aside God’s authority for your own way, it becomes easier and easier to do that again. And once you get in a pattern of it gets really easy to do. And so I want to just say this as we wrap up these thoughts this morning. When you find yourself away from the Lord.

Perhaps a little way. Perhaps a long way.

Deny yourself. And choose God’s authority over your own.

6. Do Not Touch the Unclean Thing

In 2 Corinthians chapter 6. As Paul is making an appeal to those who are already in Christ, he says, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you. That is a quotation, actually, from the Isaiah text of Isaiah 52. It’s interesting. I told you it was an evolving concept. And so when it comes to the New Testament, he takes it even further to speak of our priestly conduct in Christ. And he says, Do not touch the unclean thing. Remember, this is the context of what agreement has the temple of God with idols. Do not be bound together with or unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Now, here’s the greater thing about that context in 2 Corinthians chapter 6 is that when Paul makes this statement, and I haven’t often seen this in relation to the message as a whole, the Corinthians were failing miserably.

They were in league with false prophets and deceitful workers who disguised themselves as servants of Christ. He says, You’re touching the unclean thing. Your associations right now are terrible. Fellowship with the holy God. And this is where I told you, this is not what’s preached. In a lot of places, fellowship with a holy God is still contingent upon a break from the evils that grip our world. Do not touch the unclean thing, and I will receive you. Now remember what we said. Deny self and take up your cross. Excessive association with those who do not regard God’s authority will ultimately lead to a weakening of those essential values. Originally I just said association, and I changed it because we must not go out of the world.

But I’m talking about too much association. Well, how much is excessive? I don’t know. Is it weakening your values? Excessive association with those who do not regard God’s authority will lead us to a weakening of those essential values that I am to be a holy object unto God. Benefits of godly association far outweigh and exceed any and all temporal benefits of worldly association. To value worldly association above spiritual association. Whatever that yields to you. That’s it. What I’m telling you is that association with the people of God far outweighs the results of the partaking in the defiance toward God’s authority and all that will yield. We need to be numbered among those who are choosing God’s authority for their lives. And we need to be intimately involved with his holy people who are making that choice.

Conclusion

I meant to quote this at the graduation thing yesterday and I forgot. Proverbs 13 and verse 20. This is going forward, young people.

But a companion of fools will suffer harm. Please know your holy mission. Take up your cross. Follow it. Choose his authority above your own. Kids, which way are you going to go? Some of you have greater plans of education. Probably a good choice as represented by this little graphic. This is supposed to be the better way to go over here, I think. At least get your high school education, kids. But there are greater choices to be made. And that is the choice of salvation. Saved or lost. Choose God’s authority, not your own. Choose light over darkness. Choose wisdom over foolishness. Choose untold wealth over abject poverty. My way is bankrupt. And beyond that, to choose the Lord is to choose incomparable joy versus unrelenting pain. Peacefulness versus restlessness.

Fullness versus emptiness. And these echo the words of Paul when he spoke of his mission in Acts 26 and verse 18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in me. You know what’s amazing about the calling of God? It is a call unto holiness. Be holy, for I am holy. What an incredible choice that is to be a holy object unto God. Can we assist someone this morning in making this great choice while there’s time and opportunity? Let’s stand and sing.