In this article, we will continue our search for how we can overcome worldliness. The Scriptures tell us to “not love the world” and that “friendship with the world is enmity with God” (1 Jn. 2:15; Jas. 4:4). How can we avoid loving the world and being friends with the world when we are surrounded by the world? In last week’s article we discovered that “the world” in these passages does not refer to the earth itself or the people in the world, but to “the world’s system.” That is, the way the world does things as influenced by Satan (see 1 Jn. 5:19).
Last week’s article also discussed how the solution to avoiding worldliness cannot be to hide away in a monastery in the woods. Christians are to influence the world around them, not avoid all contact with the world (Mt. 5:13-16; Jn. 17:14-16; 1 Cor. 5:9-10). With this in mind, we will look at several biblical directives to help us avoid worldliness.
Transform our minds
In order to be “in” the world but not “of” the world, we will have to transform our minds. In fact, the Bible tells us that this is the principal way that we avoid conforming to the world: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). The only way to not conform to the spirit of the world is to have our minds transformed by the Spirit of God. It can be easy to become “a friend of the world” by siding with the cultural view of a topic despite what God has said to the contrary. We must strive to fight against such conformity and allow God’s Word to transform our thinking about even the most controversial topics.
Our values, preferences, priorities, opinions, etc. should all be shaped primarily by what God has said on the subject rather than what the socially acceptable answer is. As an example, the socially acceptable view of homosexuality is that it is good and natural. The Bible describes homosexual acts as unnatural and unrighteous (Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9-10). We should apply this outlook to every topic and believe what God has said.
We must allow God’s Word to shape our minds rather than the spirit of the age, trusting that God knows what He’s talking about and will be proven right every time. If we allow our minds to be informed by the mind of God rather than the hive mind of sinful humanity, then we will have a fighting chance against worldliness. If we let it, God’s Word will transform how we think about almost everything (ourselves, sin, love, forgiveness, our families, our money, our time, etc.).
Control our appetites
One reason Christians cave to worldliness is because they want to do what the world does. Some crave social acceptance, so they bend and conform to fit in. Sometimes we want to enjoy “the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Heb. 11:25), so we end up looking a lot less like Jesus and more like the crowd He came to call to repentance (Lk. 5:30-32). All sin ultimately comes from out-of-control desires. The New Testament often talks about “the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal. 5:24). These desires manifest themselves in actions like sexual immorality, strife, jealousy, drunkenness, murder, etc. (Gal. 5:19-21).
These desires lure us and entice us into sin which leads to death (Jas. 1:13-15). We can overcome these desires (and therefore worldliness) by walking according to Spirit and not the flesh, setting our minds on the Spirit not the flesh, making no provisions for the desires of the flesh, walking in the Spirit, sowing to the Spirit, dying with Christ in conversion and baptism, and praying with vigilance (Rom. 8:1-5; 13:14; Gal. 5:16, 24; 6:8; Mk. 14:38). To overcome worldliness, we must find more satisfaction in pleasing God than we do in pleasing our fleshly appetites.
Disregard the crowd
One of the most difficult parts of overcoming worldliness is the social pressure not to do so. Humans are social creatures. We want to fit in. We were designed by God to live in community and relationships with others. As God said in the beginning, “it is not good that man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18). But we must come to terms with the fact that oftentimes, to please God, we will have to disregard the crowd. Satan certainly has numbers. The whole world is under his influence (Jn. 12:31; 2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Jn. 5:19). Many enter the gate to destruction (Mt. 7:13). God’s Word gives us a helpful principle in the form of an Old Testament law: “you shall not follow a crowd to do evil” (Exod. 23:2 NKJV).
To overcome worldliness, we must have the courage to think for ourselves as informed by the Word of God and make our own decisions about what we should do or not do. Just because everybody wants us to do it, or says we should do it, or is doing it themselves, does not mean we should automatically follow suit. Jesus reminds us that “What is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Lk. 16:14). We can’t be afraid to be different. Jesus makes it worth it.
How Can We Overcome Worldliness? Pt. 2
How Can We Overcome Worldliness? Pt. 2
In this article, we will continue our search for how we can overcome worldliness. The Scriptures tell us to “not love the world” and that “friendship with the world is enmity with God” (1 Jn. 2:15; Jas. 4:4). How can we avoid loving the world and being friends with the world when we are surrounded by the world? In last week’s article we discovered that “the world” in these passages does not refer to the earth itself or the people in the world, but to “the world’s system.” That is, the way the world does things as influenced by Satan (see 1 Jn. 5:19).
Last week’s article also discussed how the solution to avoiding worldliness cannot be to hide away in a monastery in the woods. Christians are to influence the world around them, not avoid all contact with the world (Mt. 5:13-16; Jn. 17:14-16; 1 Cor. 5:9-10). With this in mind, we will look at several biblical directives to help us avoid worldliness.
Transform our minds
In order to be “in” the world but not “of” the world, we will have to transform our minds. In fact, the Bible tells us that this is the principal way that we avoid conforming to the world: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). The only way to not conform to the spirit of the world is to have our minds transformed by the Spirit of God. It can be easy to become “a friend of the world” by siding with the cultural view of a topic despite what God has said to the contrary. We must strive to fight against such conformity and allow God’s Word to transform our thinking about even the most controversial topics.
Our values, preferences, priorities, opinions, etc. should all be shaped primarily by what God has said on the subject rather than what the socially acceptable answer is. As an example, the socially acceptable view of homosexuality is that it is good and natural. The Bible describes homosexual acts as unnatural and unrighteous (Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9-10). We should apply this outlook to every topic and believe what God has said.
We must allow God’s Word to shape our minds rather than the spirit of the age, trusting that God knows what He’s talking about and will be proven right every time. If we allow our minds to be informed by the mind of God rather than the hive mind of sinful humanity, then we will have a fighting chance against worldliness. If we let it, God’s Word will transform how we think about almost everything (ourselves, sin, love, forgiveness, our families, our money, our time, etc.).
Control our appetites
One reason Christians cave to worldliness is because they want to do what the world does. Some crave social acceptance, so they bend and conform to fit in. Sometimes we want to enjoy “the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Heb. 11:25), so we end up looking a lot less like Jesus and more like the crowd He came to call to repentance (Lk. 5:30-32). All sin ultimately comes from out-of-control desires. The New Testament often talks about “the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal. 5:24). These desires manifest themselves in actions like sexual immorality, strife, jealousy, drunkenness, murder, etc. (Gal. 5:19-21).
These desires lure us and entice us into sin which leads to death (Jas. 1:13-15). We can overcome these desires (and therefore worldliness) by walking according to Spirit and not the flesh, setting our minds on the Spirit not the flesh, making no provisions for the desires of the flesh, walking in the Spirit, sowing to the Spirit, dying with Christ in conversion and baptism, and praying with vigilance (Rom. 8:1-5; 13:14; Gal. 5:16, 24; 6:8; Mk. 14:38). To overcome worldliness, we must find more satisfaction in pleasing God than we do in pleasing our fleshly appetites.
Disregard the crowd
One of the most difficult parts of overcoming worldliness is the social pressure not to do so. Humans are social creatures. We want to fit in. We were designed by God to live in community and relationships with others. As God said in the beginning, “it is not good that man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18). But we must come to terms with the fact that oftentimes, to please God, we will have to disregard the crowd. Satan certainly has numbers. The whole world is under his influence (Jn. 12:31; 2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Jn. 5:19). Many enter the gate to destruction (Mt. 7:13). God’s Word gives us a helpful principle in the form of an Old Testament law: “you shall not follow a crowd to do evil” (Exod. 23:2 NKJV).
To overcome worldliness, we must have the courage to think for ourselves as informed by the Word of God and make our own decisions about what we should do or not do. Just because everybody wants us to do it, or says we should do it, or is doing it themselves, does not mean we should automatically follow suit. Jesus reminds us that “What is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Lk. 16:14). We can’t be afraid to be different. Jesus makes it worth it.