Pastor John MacArthur warned that partnering with the world can lead Christians into sinning.
In his preaching during the Shepherds' Conference, reported by The Christian Post, MacArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church in California, cautioned against making an alliance with world.
"Partnering with the world, unacceptable. To join in any other common cause with the world... is fine. But to assume that any alliance with the world is a part of the Gospel is to pollute the Gospel," he said.
He then recalled God's warning to the people of Israel when they were about to enter the Promised Land.
In Exodus 23:31-33, the LORD commanded the Israelites to never make a covenant with the people or with the gods of Canaan because they will cause them to sin with Him.
God reiterated this command in Deuteronomy 7, urging them not to make a treaty or intermarry with the people in the country they are about to possess.
"Separation so critical that He actually told Israel to be His executioner because the potential danger was cataclysmic," he added.
Further in Isaiah 30, the minister shared about God's sadness over the Israelites' alliance with other nations without His consent.
"There's always gonna be a disaster if you make an alliance with the kingdom of darkness," the pastor declared.
As written in 1 John 3, MacArthur said that if a person is not practicing righteousness according to God's directives in the Bible and does not show love to others, he is a "child of the devil."
He stressed that the children of God and the devil cannot make a partnership.
The minister went on to say that it is impossible for the children of light and darkness to cooperate together in advancing the kingdom of God because they are different both in behavior and character.
He explained that the difference in behavior between the two opposing sides is due to their different natures and sources of power, wherein Christians draw their power from heaven while that of the unbelievers is from hell.
Moreover, MacArthur said that the identity of God's people is different from those of the world.
In Ezekiel 8, he proceeded to share about the idolatry of the Jews which drove the LORD into jealousy.
"Our identity is...the temple of God and the temple of God is not to be basically making alliances with idols, with the darkness," he declared.
He went on to say that the passage in the Bible serves to remind the Christians about their identity despite what other people are throwing on them.
"I'm not defined by any other identity than this text, the temple of the living God," he stated.
The pastor then held a white paper near his face and blurted out that he is not "white" but "brown" just like everybody else, drawing laughter from the crowd.
He continued to read in 2 Corinthians 6:17-18, wherein God was telling His people to be separated from the world and to never touch "unclean" things.
Further, the minister emphasized that the believers do not have to make an alliance with the devil just to "fix the future for God."
