There is a passage in Paul's 2nd letter to the Thessalonians that best shows the Church's problem with distinguishing itself from society. That passage is in 2 Thessalonians 3:10:
For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
We should note that the order Paul gave was for the Church, not the state. And yet, many Christians want this principle to be a part of the government's welfare system. And one problem with that is this: How can we tell the difference between those who cannot find adequate jobs from those who refuse to work? Now by many Christians, I am referring here To religiously conservative Christians who are also politically conservative.
The above order is about not letting a person who refuses to work get help in getting food. And that isn't the only issue in which the inability to distinguish society from the Church exists. First century Christians were commanded in Romans 13 to submit to a harshly antagonistic government. So when Martin Luther King Jr. led people in practicing civil disobedience, this struck many of my fellow religiously conservative Christians as being unbiblical.
And then when we add to that what King said about it being our duty to not cooperate with evil while Christians are being taught to suffer persecution, again confusion between what is the duty of a member of society and what is the obligation of a member of the Church abounds. But the problem with distinguishing society from the Church abounds for most religiously conservative Christians. And it serves as one reason why a significant number of Christians are reluctant to engage in many protests.
One reason for the failure to distinguish what should be allowed in society from what should be allowed in the Church is due to an unwillingness to distinguish between the two. To varying degrees, they believe that the rules that apply to Christians should apply to those in society too. That was one of the reasons why so many religiously conservative Christians opposed the legalization of same-sex marriage.
For these religiously conservative Christians, to oppose sin, they cannot make a distinction between what should be considered sin in society in relation to people from what should be considered sing against God. For them, sin is sin whether it exists in society or it stands in the way of the their relationship with God. And so when Romans 13 talks about the government's job is to punish evil, they believe that the government should punish all sins. Such people struggle to admit that if the government did that, we would all have a rap sheet and would be in jail. Also, these same people, if they were consistent, would have to support attempts to modify the 1st Amendment so that government would not allow freedom of religion--and yes, I have met fellow Christians who believe that.
The difference between what should be considered sin in society from what should be considered sins by God's standards is hinted at in the New Testament passages that deal with severe forms of Church discipline. And perhaps one of the most instructive passages about that is found in I Corinthians 5:12-13. There, Paul says the following after expelling a person from the Church for practicing a gross sexual sin:
12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”
What Paul said should come as a challenge to those who want Biblical sexual morals to be made into law. Paul is only concerned about the purity of the Church, not the purity of society in terms of punishing sin. Being thrown out of the Church into society is the ultimate, earthly Church punishment. That is because society consists of both believers and unbelievers. And to be alone in society without the spiritual protection of the Church should be dreaded by those who truly believe in Christ.
Now some of my fellow Christians would ask what about murder or theft? If they are prohibited in the Scriptures, then why should we give a pass to those who sin sexually? And that is the point being made here. We need to be able to tell the difference between what should be prohibited or allowed in society from what should be prohibited or allowed in the Church and visa-versa. The New Testament does not support the idea that what is what is prohibited in the Church must always be prohibited in society. The issue for us Christians is whether we have both the ability and the willingness to tell the difference between what should be prohibited in one but not the other.
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