In Second Chronicles eleven, verse sixteen, Jeroboam and the northern kingdom abandoned the worship of the Lord as revealed in His Word and covenant and replaced it with idolatry. For this reason all those who wanted to remain loyal to God left their homes, seperated themselves from the northern kingdom and joined the kingdom of Judah, as in verses fourteen and seventeen, respectively. The challenge to remain honest to God in the midst of apostasy and moral decline has frequently faced God’s people throughout the history of redemption.
Loyalty to God and commitment to the revelation and authority of the Word sometimes require seperating from a church that compromises God’s original and fundamental revelation in Christ and the New Testament. The test for every believer that strives to overcome apostasy and other forms of doctrine contrary to the Word of God is to come out from among them and be seperate to stay on the narrow pathway as in first part of Second Corithians six, verse seventeen. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” says in Second Corinthians five, verse seven. The faithful step is not easy, but believers must uphold the Word of God to stay on the straight and narrow path. For some, people of God will tend to rely on their leaders within the church instead of seeking God to determine if the congregation is continually walking the righteous pathway or not to God.
Today, believers must know God for themselves and not depend upon pastors, bishops, elders, deacons, and other leaders in position. Otherwise, the experience could be dangerous and unpredictable if believers are not praying and having a close relationship with God to know the difference within the church and their environment. All believers must walk by faith and not by sight. What we see can be deceptive. However, if we believe God and stay close to Him, and His Word is the dectective and help identify the truth for us.