p. 5 | A Separated Life by D. L. Moody

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jan 7, 1913

A Separated Life

By D. L. Moody

I BELIEVE that a Christian man should lead a separated life. The line between the church and the world is almost obliterated to-day. I have no sympathy with the idea that you must hunt up an old musty church record in order to find out whether a man is a member of the church or not. A man ought to live so that everybody will know he is a Christian. If there are certain things in your university which are detrimental to your Christian profession, you say, “No, sir.”

In London they used to have a good deal of drinking among church-members. Some time ago, when I was there, I was invited to a late supper at the house of a Christian man prominent in the Sunday-school. I was going to meet some Sunday-school friends, and I expected a real religious time. To my amazement, they had seven kinds of liquor, and they drank until I should call them drunk, but they would have considered it a great insult if I had said so. There was a lady sitting next to me who kept refusing, and the deacon kept urging it upon her until her cheeks became quite red.

I finally said that they would have to excuse me. I left the table, and the host followed me up-stairs. He wanted to know the trouble. I said, “There is too much drinking; I can’t stand it.”

He said, “You’re not a gentleman.”

I went out of the house; and the next time I went to London, I heard it whispered around what an ungentlemanly thing I had done. But I tell you, when I had an opportunity of speaking in London, I thundered against that thing until they put it away—when I was about, at least.

The Bible tells us to lead a separate life. You may lose influence, but you will gain it at the same time. I suppose Daniel was the most unpopular man in Babylon at a certain time; but, thank God, he has outlived all the other men of his time. Who were the chief men of Babylon? When God wanted any work done in Babylon, He knew where to find some one to do it.

You can be in the world, but not of it. Christ didn’t take His disciples out of the world, but He prayed that they might be kept from evil. A ship in the water is all right; but when the water gets into the ship, then look out. The world in a Christian is just like a wrecked vessel at sea.—D. L. Moody.