[Biblemat] S) THE CHALLENGE OF WORLDLINESS

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  Here is a study from my
files.  Use to the glory of God.

THE CHALLENGE OF WORLDLINESS

     On the night before the cross, Jesus prayed for His discip-
les, "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world,
but that You should keep them from the evil one" (Jno. 17:
15).  This passage points to a conflict that is very personal
and very real.  Satan, the evil one and your principal adversa-
ry, seeks to destroy you (1 Pet. 5:8).  The challenge that this
passage places before you and me is that of living in this sin-
ful world without yielding to the siren song of temptation and
becoming like the world.

     Before defining what it means to be worldly, consider the
force of the language used in Scripture as we are warned
against its deadly power.  Paul admonished, "do not be con-
formed to the world" (Rom. 12:2) and John said, "do not love
the world" (1 Jno. 2:15).  These and many other like warnings
would be superfluous if the threat of being conformed to this
world was not real and dangerous.  There is no need to warn
us against a love of the world unless we have a propensity to
let our affections for the things of this world to seduce us 
from God.  James warned, "...that friendship with the world
is hostility toward God" and that, "whoever wishes to be a
friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God" (Jas. 4:4)
That is strong language!

     God, therefore, calls us to sanctification and holiness.  The apostle 
Paul encourages us to, "...present your members
as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification" (Rom.
6:19).  Peter, referring to Lev. 11:44, commanded, "but like
the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all
your behavior; because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I
am holy'" (1 Pet. 1:15,16).  God wants you to be different in
your attitude (Matt. 16:25,26; Lk. 12:15), your actions (1 Pet.
4:1-6; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1), your associations (1 Cor. 15:33), your
aspirations (Col. 3:2), your attire (1 Tim. 2:9), and your articu-
lations (Eph. 4:29).  The message is unmistakable; God wants
His people to be different from the world!

     What then is the world from which we are to be so differ-
ent?  What does it mean to be worldly?  The word world (Gr.
kosmos) and its usages are both interesting and informative.

     First, W.E. Vine says that the word world primarily means "order, 
arrangement, ornament, adornment."  It is used in this
way to describe a woman's dress in 1 Pet. 3:3 (adorn).  Seco-
nd, somewhere in time and probably owing to the order and
arrangement that men could observe around them, the word
began to be used to describe this terrestrial orb upon which
we live (Acts 17;24).  Third, the word is sometimes used meta-
phorically in Scripture to describe men who live on the earth,
particularly the realm of unregenerate men who need the sav-
ing blood of Jesus Christ (Jno. 3:16).  Fourth, Strong's Enhan-
ced Lexicon says that the word world is sometimes used to
describe "world affairs, the aggregate of things earthly.  The
whole circle of earthly goods, endowments, riches, advantag-
es, pleasures, etc, which although hollow and frail and fleet-
ing, stir desire, seduce from God and are obstacles to the 
cause of Christ."  It is this latter use of the word that needs
more attention.

     A man is worldly when he possesses the disposition of 
heart to emphasize the things of the world over the things of
the spirit.  We often associate worldliness with things like
immorality, immodesty, gambling, social drinking, dancing, 
profanity, vulgarity, etc.  These things are manifestations of
worldliness but the disease is far worse than any one of its
symptoms.  Worldliness is fundamentally a dispostion of heart; a leaning 
toward this world and the things in it above
things that are higher and spiritual in their nature.  It is mind-
ing earthly things instead of heavenly things (Phil. 3:18-20).
Seeking other things above the kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33).
It is being more concerned about outward appearance than
inward character (1 Pet. 3:3,4).  It is when viewed at this level
that I see worldliness as a cancer eating at the heart of the
body of Christ, particularly in the opulent country in which we
live.

     This heart problem simply must be overcome (1 Jno. 5:4).
Jesus said, "...I am not of this world" (Jno. 17:16) and "My
kingdom is not of this world..." (Jno. 18:36).  He "gave Him-
self for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present
evil age" (Gal. 1:4).  The love of this world and the love of God are 
incompatible (1 Jno. 2:15) and, "the world is passing
away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God
lives forever" (1 Jno. 2:17).  These lyrics by Albert E. Brumley
remind us:

This world is not my home, I'm just a passing thru.
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond he blue;
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door,
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.

                    ------- Jim Deason in Biblical Insights, Vol. 6, No.
                              11, Nov. 2006.   </HTML>
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