questions, questions

how do you know when to let go of a friendship/relationship? are there cases when you should?

how you do reconcile ministering to your friends or acquaintances, sharing the love of Christ, sharing the good news of His salvation, listening and loving as Jesus did when He ministered to and ate with sinners, with the idea in the Bible that we are not to sit in the seat of the scornful/wicked?

if you have friends, associates, who don't know the Lord and are still very much saturated with the things of this world, is there a line that needs to be drawn? is it 'wrong,' per se, to maintain active friendships with "ungodly" people? of course you can't participate in ungodly activities that they may do, but are you called to end those friendships?

are there people in your life that you really feel like you can no longer be friends with because of the differences in your lifestyles?

i had a conversation with someone who disagreed with the notion that there are some people that you have to "cut out of" your life. i don't know if i agree or disagree. i do believe that we have a responsibility to minister to those who have not come to know Christ. but is there a line drawn somewhere? are there any cases where you absolutely don't need to have this person or that person as a regular part of your life?

the Bible seems to talk of not hanging out with "the wicked," but yet also is very clear that we are to love as Christ and to share the Word. i don't know how to reconcile those two. can you have friendships with the 'ungodly'?

any thoughts?

here are some Scriptures i was perusing on the subjects, but there are so many more that address both sides that i need to research and don't have the time right now (I NEED TO WORK!!!):

Psalms 1:1 "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful"

James 4:4 "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."

1 John 3:6 "Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not; whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him. ⁷Little children, let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. ⁸He that committeth sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. ⁹Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. ¹⁰By this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither is he that loveth not his brother. ¹¹For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning: that we should love one another." (actually, this whole 3rd chapter of 1 John seems to touch on both sides)

Mark 2:15 "And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat at Levi's house, that many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. ¹⁶And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with publicans and sinners, they said unto His disciples, "How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?" ¹⁷When Jesus heard it, He said unto them, "They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

hypothetical scenario, just to create an illustration: say you used to be a hardcore alcoholic and drug abuser, partied day and night. then you gave your life to Christ and He cleaned all of those desires from your heart. now you live for Him. are you called to walk away from the friends you formerly partied with? but then if you do, who will share with them the light of Christ that is now within you? but then again, how can you still 'hang out' with them if they don't want to hear about Jesus and you don't want to hear about drugs? are they the 'wicked' that we're not supposed to chill with?

please share your honest thoughts as the Holy Spirit leads you, and pray about it if you will. this can be a sensitive subject but i'm honestly looking for biblical perspective. i know we all tend to have our own opinions of things based on our experiences, so i ask that we all let the Holy Spirit guide and speak. i'm going to try hard to remove myself from the equation and do the same! muchas gracias in advance! i'm eager to hear what you all have to say.