Worldliness

ALL thinking people are agreed that there is too much worldliness in the

church of our day. Too many members are trying to be in the church and in

the world at one and the same time. It cannot be done. In that great

intercessory prayer the Son of God poured out his heart to God in these

significant words: "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world,

but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world,

even as I am not of the world." (John 17:15. 16.) Jesus recognized that there

is evil in the world. Disciples of Christ should be no more of the world than

Christ was of the world. We are in the world, but we are not of the world.

While we are in the world, the evils of the world will be constantly before us:

but we must not partake of these evils.

'"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man

love 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 pride of life, is not of the

Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof:

but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." (1 John 2:15-17.) God

tells us here not to love the world and the sinful things of the world. When a

man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. The devil puts many

temptations before us through the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and

the pride of life. These things are not of the Father: they are of the world.

These things are going to pass away. The ones who do the will of God will live

forever. The more we love God. the less will be our love for the world: and.

conversely, the more we love the world, the less will be our love for the

Father.

"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the

world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world

is the enemy of God." (James 4:4.) It is a terrible thing to be listed in heaven

as God's enemy. Brother, if the world and worldly people are your friends, you are the enemy of

God. We must make a choice between God and the world. We cannot be on

friendly terms with both. Of course, if you do not go to the places the world

goes and do the things the world does, they will speak evil of you. "For the

time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles,

when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings,

banquetings, and abominable idolatries: wherein they think it strange that ye

run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: who shall

give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead." (1 Pet. 4:3-

5.)

There are many things today that are lascivious. And drinking is common.

The modern dance comes under the head of "revellings." You cannot frequent

the modern dance and remain a Christian. Parents are making one of the

biggest mistakes of their lives when they allow children of tender age to go to

the high school and college dance. Nothing could be more dangerous. Such

reveling and banqueting are an abomination to God. Do not forget that we

shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. Young

men and women who do such things should he taught better, and older ones

ought to know better, and I believe they do know better.

I remember hearing one of our old preachers, who had been a coal miner,

tell about some young ladies dressed in white coming to visit the mine. They

asked him if they could enter the mine dressed in their white dresses. He

assured them they could go into a coal mine dressed in white, but that they

could not come out that way. And so it is. Innocent boys and girls and pure

men and women may begin to dance, but if they keep up such for a very long

period, they will not continue to be pure and clean. The baser elements of our

nature would be stirred in the modern dance. No Christian can afford to take

such a chance. Preachers and elders are falling down and failing when they

cease to warn night and day with tears along such lines. Many elders and a

few preachers, because of ungodliness in theirown lives, are in no position to rebuke the worldliness of others. All such

"elders" ought to clean up or clear out, and such preachers ought to repent or

quit preaching.

Paul said something about the world being crucified unto him and

something about him being crucified unto the world. (Gal. 6:14.) Many

members of the church today are not crucified unto the world; rather, they are

married unto the world. They want to participate in about every worldly thing

that the world participates in. They go to about the same places, read about

the same literature, talk about the same. If we want to go to heaven, we must

crucify the world. Those worldly instincts must be put to death. I suppose very

few worldly church members will read these lines. Most of them are not

sufficiently interested in their souls to read religious books.

The real Christian is going to be hated by the world, but he has this

consolation: "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated

you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are

not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world

hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not

greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute

you." (John 15:18-20.)

You can keep the world from hating you, but to do this you will have to

sacrifice your very soul. This is too great a price to pay for the friendship of

the world. You can be on friendly terms with the world by doing what the

world does. This may sound strange to some, but it will not sound strange to

those who are drawing the line between the church and the world deep and

wide. Refuse to see the dirty shows that the world goes "crazy" over; refuse

to go to their dances; keep away from their mixed bathing pools and "wild"

parties; refuse to drink with them at their "innocent" parties; abstain from their

card parties, lodges, etc., etc., and you will learn the meaning of sacrificing the

friendship of the world. And the strange part of it is that some of the brethren

do not want the sins of modern times exposed.They want the preachers to always prophesy smooth things. Brethren,

come out of the world and worldly entanglements, and stand firm for pure

doctrine, pure living, pure talking, and pure thinking.

I do not mean to leave the impression that Christians cannot have a good

time. But their meat is to do the will of God. They find their greatest pleasure

in living close to the Lord. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel

of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the

scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord: and in his law doth he

meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of

water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season: his leaf also shall not wither;

and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like

the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand

in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord

knoweth the way of the righteous; but the way of the ungodly shall perish."

(Ps. 1.)