Worldliness and the Church
Is man the ultimate ruler of the world?
Many years ago, musicians noted that errand boys around Westminster in London whistled out of tune as they went about their work. It was suggested that this was because the bells of Westminster were slightly out of tune. Something had gone wrong with the chimes and they were discordant. The boys did not know there was anything wrong with the peals and, quite unconsciously, they had copied their pitch. So we tend to copy the people with whom we associate; we borrow thoughts from the books we read and the programs to which we listen, almost without knowing it. God has given us His Word which is the absolute pitch of life and living. If we learn to sing by it, we shall easily detect the false in all of the music of the world.
The whole of the Bible is about this battle to be in tune with God and not in tune with the world. Worldliness is a seductive curse which destroys people. King David recognised this fact and prayed that God would save him from those whose concerns were primarily about this world and not the next.
“O Lord, by your hand save me from such men, from men of this world whose reward is in this life.” Psalm 17:14
James, the brother of Jesus, also recognised that worldliness was a real problem for Christians.
“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to lie in us envies intensely.” James 4:4-5
As in a marriage relationship, no-one should begin to look elsewhere for satisfaction. We have been given God’s Spirit to empower us to live single-mindedly for him.
‘Je suis Charlie’ is a slogan created by French art director Joachim Roncin and adopted by supporters of freedom of speech after the shooting, on January 7th 2015, in which twelve people were killed at the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper 'Charlie Hebdo’. Adopting the slogan identified a speaker or supporter with those who were killed at the ‘Charlie Hebdo’ shooting, and by extension, a supporter of freedom of speech. Throughout the world people were willing to be openly associated with ‘Charlie’. The early church were similarly openly associated with the Lord Jesus. He mattered more than anything else. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Christians could again openly associate themselves with Jesus and boldly let it be known,
“I am Jesus!”
The apostle John had a similar concern for single-minded devotion to Jesus when he describes the significance of our being given the Holy Spirit,
“This is love for God, to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God, overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 1 John 4:3-5
There is only one power that can enable us to have a completely different perspective on life, that is the power of God that equips us to live for the next world and not this one. It is this power of God that arms us to speak out against the values so prevalent in this world and point people to Jesus.
“We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.” 1 John 4:13-15
The Spirit of God in us gives us new priorities, we want to testify to others that we have found the Saviour of the world, we want to acknowledge him.
No-one likes to be known as a hypocrite. One of the best ways to avoid becoming worldly is to openly proclaim yourself to be a follower of Jesus Christ. It is significant that John uses the verb ‘testify’ thirty-three times in his gospel, and the noun ‘testify’ or ‘witness’ a further fourteen times. His book begins with a summary about the purpose of John the Baptist’s life,
“He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.” John 1:7
His book ends with the apostle John also pointing people to Jesus, who had just said,
“You must follow me.” John 21:22
John testifies about Jesus and the other apostles ratify what he has said.
“This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.” John 21:24
One piece of evidence that a person is drifting away from Jesus is that he no longer openly acknowledges his allegiance to Jesus either at work and amongst his friends. Jesus is no longer seen as being his ‘raison d’être’, his reason for living.
The great Victorian Bible teacher, Charles Hadden Spurgeon wrote,
“The course of rebellion against God may be very gradual, but it increases in rapidity as you progress in it; and if you begin to run down the hill, the ever-increasing impetus will send you down faster and faster to destruction. You Christians ought to watch against the beginning of worldly conformity. . . Once you begin, there is no knowing where you will stop. . .
When Satan cannot catch us with a big sin, he will try a little one. It does not matter to him as long as he catches his fish, what bait he uses. Beware of the beginning of evil, for many, who bade fair to go right, have turned aside and perished amongst the dark mountains in the wide field of sin.”
The writer, C.S.Lewis astutely said in a sermon given during World War II,
“You and I have need of the strongest spell that can be found to wake us from the evil enchantment of worldliness which has been laid upon us for nearly a hundred years. Almost our whole education has been directed to silencing this shy, persistent, inner voice; almost all our modem philosophies have been devised to convince us that the good of man is to be found on this earth.”
We do need to explain to fellow believers where we can find this power.
BVP
