“The Lord Jesus Christ…gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (Galatians 1:3, 4).
“The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2nd Corinthians 4:4).
“All that is in the world…is not from the Father” (1st John 2:16).
If someone told you Satan had successfully weakened the true Church virtually all around the world, what would your reaction be? Would you be skeptical? We live in a day when the world has become one of the main reasons why God’s people struggle to think biblically and follow Christ fully.
One of the most pernicious distractions we face in everyday life is the powerful influence of the world around us. If we are undisciplined in our life of faith, it has the potential to undermine our allegiance to Christ. Many genuine Christians are unaware that the way they think, and sometimes behave, conform significantly to the ways of the world. We can be sure that when we touch the world we are interacting with an evil authority that is insidiously opposed to the lordship of Christ.
By His Spirit God wants us to be transformed into Christ’s likeness according to the “pattern of sound teaching” laid out for us in God’s Word (2nd Timothy 1:13). The Bible’s God-breathed, all-sufficient teaching is uniquely rooted in His absolute authority. In contrast, “the whole world” around us, in every context imaginable, “lies in the evil one”—is “under the power of the evil one” (see 1st John 5:19, Amplified Bible).
If we are inattentive and careless, the world can shape our thinking according to its godless convictions. The world’s ethos can subtly alter a believer’s renewed mind, creating a contention that encourages godless attitudes. We are warned: “Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ” (Colossians 2:8, CSB).
Many characteristics of the world are very attractive to our flesh, our fallen, godless nature. They impress and stimulate us and are pleasing to the soul. This can even happen in a church context where the comfort and coolness of more formal religious routines guarantee we will be less challenged by God’s Word and Spirit. The fleshly characteristics of the world can also influence how our worship times are presented on stage. Where we are undisciplined in our private lives, the ways of the world can stir up our dark side, leading us into sinful behaviour.
Day after day the ways of the world are channelled into the average Christian’s home. What are the distingishing features of Satan’s world that we invite into our lives so freely? Consider 1st John 2:15-17: “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
Think about this prayerfully: If the whole world lies in the grip of evil, what should we expect the scheming forces of wickedness to accomplish through the entertainment industry and media outlets in general? Those who have been born again spiritually (see John 3:5-8) have been saved from “the course [or fashion] of this world” that is controlled by the evil spirit. (Read carefully Ephesians 2:1-3 and 6:10-17.) But in the believer’s daily life, the Internet, social media, television, radio, literature, music, newspapers and magazines are all relentless sources of corrupt attitudes and materialistic worldviews.
It’s crucial that we renew our thinking each day to protect us from damaging influences that could lead us away from the empowering “mind of Christ” (see 1st Corinthians 2:16). God has promised to infuse His truths into our hearts and minds (consider Hebrews 8:10; 10:16). Those who are continuously transformed by God’s living Word will find the ways of the world unattractive and objectionable. When God’s people are enlightened by His Spirit they will experience a radical transformation that conforms them to His will. They will be fired up for Christ in ways that set them against the spirit of the world. The Bible is clear about how we should use and protect our minds:
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2); “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2); “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
Many believers who have been affected by the world will neglect the loving fellowship of other spiritually minded believers, and will seldom think deeply about the indispensable fullness of Bible teaching. God’s Word pulls no punches. Friendship with the world turns us into God’s enemy: “Do you not know that being the world’s friend is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God” (James 4:4, Amplified Bible). Rather than being the world’s friend, we are to do all we can to make sure we don’t get contaminated by it (see 1:27).
When we allow ourselves to be comfortable with Christless attitudes, unbelieving life philosophies and the humanist value-system all around us, our fallen nature (our flesh) will be strengthened within us. This will make God’s Word less attractive to us, and eventually His will for us will become less obvious and not so important. Our spiritual disciplines, including prayer, will falter, and ultimately we will be brought under the influence and authority of the wrong spirit. We will blend in with the world around us. If you don’t think the world can indoctrinate you, you underestimate your vulnerabilities.
The disciplined lives of those who abide daily in Christ are characterised by singleness of mind and the fruit of the Spirit. In fact, God’s people and the world should be as different as it gets. The Bible tells us that to live is Christ, and we exist for God (Philippians 1:21; 1st Corinthians 8:6). While our minds are willingly and repeatedly exposed to the corrupted character of the world—in movies, television programmes, books, or through social media, for example—can we apply the following Bible verses to our choices?
“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17); “Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2nd Corinthians 7:1); “Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:21, 22, CSB); “What is highly admired by people is revolting in God’s sight” (Luke 16:15, CSB).
In your heart before God, can you comfortably make a distinction between depictions of sin and actual sin? Or do you claim that you could never be tainted by them? Is it possible to stay pure while you choose to be entertained by “the corruption that is the world by lust”? (Read carefully 2nd Peter 1:4-11.) Why are so many of us attracted to these things? Some of the world’s entertainment appears to be neutral and therefore harmless. But neutrality leaves Christ out. Make no mistake about it: a Christless world is evidence of the satanic force that controls it.
Always remember that separating ourselves from the ways of the world because we believe we have to, is very different to being offended because we willingly walk with Christ and are characterised by His nature within. One is mere religious practice, the other is evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
True disciples of Christ are aliens in a perishing world—and they are despised:
Always remember that separating ourselves from the ways of the world because we believe we have to, is very different to being offended because we willingly walk with Christ and are characterised by His nature within. One is mere religious practice, the other is evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
True disciples of Christ are aliens in a perishing world—and they are despised:
“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you…I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth [set them apart]; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” (John 15:18, 19; 17:14-18).
When teaching us how to pray meaningfully Jesus said, “Deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13). The evil that saturates the world flows from one distinct spiritual authority and those who are in Christ have been delivered from it. But those who have carelessly stepped away from Him are living in the domain of spiritual wickedness. Once again they are subject to “the power of Satan” (Acts 26:18), and have swapped one authority for another. Sinning willfully and habitually is dangerous:
“No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1st John 3:6-9).
“For this is the will of God, that you should be consecrated (separated and set apart for pure and holy living)” (1st Thessalonians 4:3, Amplfied Bible).
“Stay away from every kind of evil” (5:22, CSB).
“Conduct yourselves in [reverent] fear [of Him] and with profound respect for Him throughout the time of your stay on earth” (1st Peter 1:17, Amplified Bible).
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