Enjoying the World without being Worldly - Part 2

If God has given us all things to enjoy, then how can we use them in a way that is not idolatrous?  In the previous BLOG on this subject Paul, through 1 Corinthians 6:12 and 1 Corinthians 10:23–24 gives us some questions to consider in making these important decisions.  Question 2 that we should think about is:

#2.    Does it dominate?   The Greek word is ἐξουσιάζω [ex·oo·see·ad·zo] literally to mean: “brought under its power – to have power over one’s body.^[1] What we are talking about is the world of addictions.  “This is the principle of control. Certain forms of indulgence become wrong when they bring the person into bondage. One of the character qualities of the believer is self-control (cf. Gal 5:22–23). ^[2]

Of course there are hundreds and thousands of things we can become addicted to.  We think of drugs and alcohol, smoking and gambling.  There are multitudes more from television to video games; to reading and working; to eating; to sports. I have no way of supporting this proposition, but I think every human being on this earth has a propensity to addiction.  I also believe that the only way to overcome and have victory over an unwanted addiction it to replace it with a God-glorifying, Christ-exalting addiction.

Christians need to move past the sickness/disease motif of addiction and call it what the Bible calls it: “Sin.”   All sin promises some sort of pleasure, albeit temporary.  When my pleasure and delight in Christ supersedes my delight for food, sports, etc. the lessor delights will subside.   The Puritan, John Flavel writes:

But why should the pretended pleasure of sin allure you, when you know that unspeakably more real pleasure will arise from the mortification than can arise from the commission of sin? Will you prefer the gratification of some unhallowed passion, with the deadly poison which it will leave behind, to that sacred pleasure which arises from fearing and obeying God, complying with the dictates of conscience, and maintaining inward peace?

So how do I use the world in a way that it not worldly?   First question: How will this affect my relationship with Christ; and Secondly, Will it control me, or will I be controlled by God’s Spirit?

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^[1] Strong, J. (2001). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

^[2] KJV Bible Commentary. 1994 (E. E. Hindson & W. M. Kroll, Ed.) (2295). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Enjoying the World without being Worldly – Part 1

I wrote a series of blogposts on What In the World is the "World"and someone might ask, "How then can I enjoy all that God has given me (who richly provides us with everything to enjoy¹) without letting it become wrong?"    Paul addressed that in 1 Corinthians 6:12 (ESV),

"¹² “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything";

and in 1 Corinthians 10:23–24 (ESV),

²³ “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. ²⁴ Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.

From these two passages there emerges a number questions that we ought to consider when we wish use the world God gave us in a way that glorifies Him.  Here is the first one:

#1.   Is this helpful?  The KJV uses the English word "profitable".   It's from the Greek verb, συμφέρω [soom·fer·o].^[1]  Another word might be "advantageous."   Kittel[2] notes that the word literally means "to gather" or "to bring together."  Contextually Kittel notes that "Since the Christian's body belongs to the Lord [“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!” (1 Corinthians 6:15, ESV)]  . . . the profit at issue here is individual spiritual existence, the union of each Christian with the Lord and of the Lord with him."   In 1 Corinthians 10 the context also includes one's relationship with the Lord.  1 Corinthians 10:21–22 (ESV)

²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. ²² Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

An idol is nothing.  It is simply wood or metal.   What concerns Paul is what is behind the idol. Paul is saying that a Christian might think because a certain thing is just wood or metal he or she can have a relationship with it.  But no!  His point is that you cannot simultaneously have a relationship with a spirit of evil and the Spirit of Christ.  

OK, so what does all this mean?  The question, "Is it helpful" could be asked this way: Does this thing aid my relationship with Christ or does it hinder/detract?

This question becomes acutely personal.   It could be that one event or thing contributes to your relationship with Jesus and yet to another person doing the same thing, the same activity finds that it harms (or impairs) their relationship with Christ.  Whatever the answer, we have to ask the question: What will this do to my relationship with Jesus?



#2.   Next, Does it dominate?   Next blog.

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^[1] Strong, J. (2001). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

[2] Kittel, Gerhard, Gerhard Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1974, Volume IX, Pages 69-78.

Don't Let Water Get In Your Boat - Part 4

So it appears that this created world, when introduced to sinful men and women gives birth to cravings and passions that are ungodly.   Christ in His love has saved us from the "world" of ungodly passions and desires.  Some day in His mercy we will be delivered from this world and delivered into a new world. The New Testament clearly calls us not to entertain these passions that we've been saved from.  These desires are essentially godless and self-serving.  So using the example of food, for instance, you can respond to food in a godly manner or a ungodly manner.  When the love of food is greater than our love for the Lord, there's a problem

On the subject of food, apparently some people were forbidding others to eat certain food; not for health reasons but for spiritual reasons.  Paul opposes the “. . . abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.” (1 Timothy 4:2–3, ESV).  So I can eat food and conform to a worldly ideal.  Or I can eat food with thankfulness.  It’s all about how I do it.  So Paul amplifies this: “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:4–5, ESV). 

So how does this work?   Should you desire a healthy body?  Of course!  But maybe not!  If your desire for health does not include a purpose that is for the sake and the glory of God, it is worldly.   To desire an education apart for the sake and the glory of God is worldly.  The Psalmist puts it in the right way:

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:25–26, ESV)

That phrase “besides you” reminds me of the First Commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3, AV).  John Piper, in his unique manner says it this way: “. . . If you love God with all your heart, then every room you enter will be a temple of love to God, all your work will be a sacrifice of love to God, every meal will be a banquet of love with God, and every song will be an overture of love to God.”  To love, to crave, to have an intimate friendship with the things of this world is essentially idolatry.

Since the Fall of mankind, Satan has incited human beings to misuse what God has created by using things for their own selfish pleasure and not in the manner that pleases God. Christians have been rescued from that perception therefore it is inconsistent with our new life to love those former passions, befriend them or be conformed to them. 

Christians remain in the world, but their attitude to the things of the world is diametrically opposed to those who are yet unsaved.  The amazing grace of God enables a Christian to glorify God in even the most mundane of worldly activities (“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31, ESV).  Even the use and treatment of the body can be done in a Christ-magnifying way (“for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:20, ESV).  Finally, all things that God provides for us in this world can be used in an other-worldly way (Confirm: 1 Timothy 4:2-5).

Uses of this Doctrine

1.       We must be warned of a type of neo-gnosticism[1] that views the things of this world as inherently evil.  Are there some immoral, evil elements in this world?  Yes.  Pornography, adultery, pedophilia, etc. are evil, but they are perversions of what is good.

2.       The sin of all humanity is to take what God has created for our good and make it our god. “When a good thing becomes a god-thing, it becomes a bad thing.” (Mark Driscoll).

3.       For Christians, to be in the world and not of the world is to exist (temporarily) as a transient in this domain, but to live life in accordance with our heavenly citizenship.

Summary

How we respond to the things of the world defines worldliness.   This diagram is an attempt to describe that:

Previous Blogs on this Subject:
Don't Let Water Get In Your Boat - Part 1
Don't Let Water Get In Your Boat - Part 2
Don't Let Water Get In Your Boat - Part 3

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[1] Gnosticism was an ancient heresy that believed among many things that the created world was evil.  For example they could not accept God in Christ, in human form, for anything earthy was evil.  For more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosticism.

Don't Let Water Get In Your Boat - Part 3

The Bible uses the word "world" in a number of ways but there is a "world" that we are not to love, not to be conformed to; and we are not to embrace its philosophies.  This world is basically unseen.  It's made up of ideas and it is primarily spiritual.

Let me make a statement at this point:  The love and craving for money is an attitude that is intrinsic to the evil world system.  When money is used in accordance with God’s will and purposes there is no impropriety.   The unsaved world has a propensity to love money.  That predisposition is part of being in the domain of Satan.   Titus 2:11–12 (ESV), is helpful in that we read: “¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” This evil kingdom expresses values that Christians are to renounce.   John himself gives us specific examples:  “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” (1 John 2:16, ESV). 

Notice again John’s words recorded in 1 John 2:17 (ESV) , “¹⁷ And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”   The “desires” of the world is that aspect of worldliness that we are saved from and must not love or be-friend.  Peter affirms this when he writes, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”” (1 Peter 1:14–16, ESV).   What is evil about the world is primarily the desires and passions that accompany it.  Perhaps Dr. John MacArthur is helpful when he writes: “The goal of the world is self-glory, self-fulfillment, self-indulgence, self-satisfaction, and every other form of self-serving, all of which amounts to hostility toward God."

Does this mean that enjoying things of this life are wrong?  Look at the clue Paul gives us in 1 Timothy 6:17 (ESV), ¹⁷ As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.”   God gives us everything to enjoy, but some people become arrogant with them and set their hopes on them.  The assumption is that one could enjoy the things God provides us and not do it in an evil way.  I think that St. Augustine captured the heart of the issue in a prayer to God when he said, "He loves thee too little who loves anything together with thee which he loves not for thy sake."

Here’s another clue from Paul.  Apparently some people were forbidding others to eat certain food; not for health reasons but for spiritual reasons.  Paul opposes the “. . . abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.” (1 Timothy 4:2–3, ESV).  So I can eat food and conform to a worldly ideal.  Or I can eat food with thankfulness.  It’s all about how I do it.  So Paul amplifies this: “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:4–5, ESV). 

So how does this work, practically?   We'll try to apply that in the next installment.



Previous Blogs on this Subject:

Don't Let Water Get In Your Boat - Part 1
Don't Let Water Get In Your Boat - Part 2


  

Christ Will Not Disappoint

1 Peter 2:7 (ESV), "7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”

What honor do Christians have in believing?  The Greek text reads: ὑμῖν οὖν ἡ τιμὴ τοῖς πιστεύουσιν (to you therefore the honor (Gr: τιμή [tee·may]) who believe.   The KJV translates the phrase "he is precious" to those that believe.  This is a poor translation of the phrase.  Verse 6 is the parallel thought.  “For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”” (1 Peter 2:6, ESV).  The believer will never be put to shame, but on the contrary will experience honor. 

Here the idea "not be put to shame" from the Greek: μὴ καταισχυνθῇ is the word καταισχύνω {kat·ahee·skhoo·no].  "The word confounded [KJV] (Gr καταισχύνω) comes from a textual variation in the Septuagint translation of Isaiah 28:16 which is quoted by the New Testament writers. Paul, in Romans 9:33 and 10:11, seems to define quite well the meaning of being confounded, or being 'put to shame'; it means to 'fail to be saved'.” [1]

Christ is indeed precious and Peter's point is that one aspect to that is that Christ will never fall short of the expectations He has set for those who believe.  To trust Him is to be certain of one's salvation.

 

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1.  KJV Bible Commentary. 1994 (E. E. Hindson & W. M. Kroll, Ed.) (2606). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Don't Let Water Get In Your Boat - Part 2

In summary the word "world" is used in a variety of ways in the Bible. But there is a use of the word that exhorts Christians not to be part of.

So what does it mean then to “be in the world but not be part of the the world”? 

Let me use an illustration that I think we will all get.   Most Christians would know this verse:  “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” (1 Timothy 6:10, ESV).  Most Christians know how this verse is misused.  We note that the verse does not say that money is the root of all evil.  Christians have money and are in fact encouraged to use it wisely.  We are instructed not to “love” money.  To love money and to crave it, is according to Paul the root of all evil and in fact cause people to depart from the faith.

This evil world entity is also referred to by Paul as this present evil age (i.e., “who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,” (Galatians 1:4, ESV)).  We note that Christians have been rescued from it.  This is a spiritual system that is ruled by Satan.  (Confirm: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,” (Colossians 1:13, ESV). Here in Colossians Paul calls it a domain or a kingdom.  Christians are taken from and delivered from a spiritual kingdom or “world”.   It is that “that evil organized system under the rule of the devil which opposes God and His will.”^[1] It is a sphere where God and godliness are not welcome.

Primarily the “world” that Christians are saved from is a spiritual sphere.   The warnings to believers are:

a.       “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4, ESV)

b.      “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15, ESV)

c.       “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.” (Romans 12:2, ESV)

d.      “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8, ESV)

The next blog will continue the study and particularly examine these issues of friendship, love, conformity and the philosophy of the world.


Previous Blogs on this Subject:

Don't Let Water Get In Your Boat - Part 1

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^[1] Believer’s Study Bible. 1991 (W. A. Criswell, P. Patterson, E. R. Clendenen, D. L. Akin, M. Chamberlin, D. K. Patterson & J. Pogue, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (Jas 4:4). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Don't Let Water Get In Your Boat - Part 1

Here's the question: What in the world is the “world?”

 

I used to hear this illustration.  To be in the world but not of the world is like a boat in water.  There is no problem when the boat is in the water.  The problem occurs when the water gets in the boat.  That can be a helpful illustration, but it came with some problems. Churches tended to make their own lists of things that they considered “water in the boat.”  

 

What was created was essentially a list of laws. However some reaction to this created an equal and opposite problem:  no laws!  The by-word was grace.  The extremes were created because we really didn’t understand biblical worldliness.   So the question remains, “What in the world is the ‘world’?”

 

James writes: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27, ESV).  What does he mean by the word “world”?  A.H. Strong teaches us that the word “world” is translated from the Greek word: κόσμος [pronounced kos·mos].^[1] This word can have several applications.  Here are four of them:

 

1.       It can mean the created order as used in Acts 17:24 (ESV), “ ²⁴ The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man.”

 

2.       It can also mean humanity in general as used in John 3:16 (ESV) ¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

 

3.       It includes people who are unsaved as in John 15:18 (ESV) ¹⁸ “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

 

4.       It also refers to something that is spiritually wrong.    

 

It is this fourth meaning that James refers to.   We see it clearly identified in Christ’s prayer in John 17:

 

“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:14–18, ESV)

The “world” [meaning unsaved humanity] hates Christians because they are not part of the “world” [the spiritual sphere they live in].  Christ asks the Father not to take them [the disciples] out of the world [created order] but to keep them from the Evil One.  They are not part of the spiritual world sphere, just as Christ is not part of that dimension; but He was sent into the world of humanity so He sends believers into the world of humanity.

So what does it mean to “not be part of the world?”   Or what does it mean to “not let the water into the boat?

To be continued .......

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^[1] Strong, J. (2001). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.