LCN Article

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Are You Coming Out of the World?

Do you really understand the meaning of Christian living? Do you know what it means to be in the world—but not of the world?

Just before His crucifixion, Jesus Christ prayed to God the Father for His disciples: "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one [Satan]. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world" (John 17:15–16).

Can you stand to live without being immersed in the satanic customs, practices, holidays, ways of thinking and ways of acting that make up this world?

Billions of people around the world cannot. Even many who call themselves "Christians" cannot. They compromise. They stumble—and they sometimes give up!

How about you? Do you occasionally let your doubts and disappointments pull you down? Are you discouraged because your spiritual growth is slow? Whether you are aware of it or not, when you feel this way, the main reason is that God is not first in your life! You may think He is. You may even spend much time on your knees—or studying His Bible. Yet God might not be first in your life—and, if He is not, you are not ready to enter His Kingdom!

Love Your Neighbor

Some go to extremes. They are not balanced. They either expect God to do everything for them, or they do not rely on Him when His help is readily available.

Do you realize that, often, you may pray for an answer when the answer is already at hand? You do not see it because it does not please you.

In His last prayer with His disciples, Christ said to His Father, "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world" (John 17:11).

He was speaking not only to those who were with Him at the time, but to all His disciples—including you and me. We cannot help being in the world, but we are instructed not to participate in its evil ways. Ask God to give you the discernment you need. Ask Him to help you set right priorities for your life.

When you put God first in your thoughts and in your deeds, you will have a totally different perspective of life—an altogether different viewpoint and understanding. You will begin to love your neighbor as yourself, because you will understand that God loves your neighbor as much as He loves you.

Dissensions and quarrels with your neighbor, or jealousy and hatred against others, mean that you are not close enough to God. You are, as Christ said, leaving the weightier matters of the law undone, however "spiritual" your behavior may otherwise seem (Matthew 23:23).

Take time and think: Of what value are your prayers to God if you belittle your neighbors or do evil to them? What good will come of your prayers and your Bible study if you do not first practice justice, mercy, compassion and love?

The Apostle John wrote: "If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?" (1 John 4:20).

Imagine—God calls you a liar if you claim that you love Him while nourishing evil thoughts against your neighbor.

Christ and the Rich Man

Are you perhaps like the rich man who loved and obeyed God (at least, he thought he did)? One day, he ran up to Christ, knelt before Him and asked Him what he should do to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17).

Notice. This rich man was respectful and sincere. In his own way, he was a decent and obedient believer. He must have been relieved when Christ told him that the way to eternal life was to keep God's commandments.

"Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth," he assured Christ (v. 20).

In other words, ever since his childhood, he had learned to do what was right and had lived accordingly— as much as anyone could on his own. What else was there for him to do? What did he lack? Was he not fit for the Kingdom of God?

"One thing you lack," added Christ. "Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me" (v. 21).

What was that? Did the man hear right? Was he told to give up all his possessions—everything he owned—to follow Christ? Why? Why such a drastic condition?

The man found the price much too high to pay. He could not accept Christ's offer. He had not thought he would need to fulfill that kind of a bargain to be worthy of eternal life. According to the Bible, he was saddened by Christ's words, and he went away sorrowfully—terribly disappointed, because he had great possessions (v. 22).

All of us are being tested—or will sooner or later be tested—in like manner.

It may be in the area of our physical possessions, or it may be something else. We may have to give up family and friends for the truth of God. We may lose a job. We may need to endure being considered strange by people in the society around us. God knows us. We will be tested on our weakest point.

Then, and only then, can we prove to God that we should be part of His Kingdom.

Now, compare the rich man's attitude with Abraham's.

God asked 75-year-old Abram to give up everything. Yet he obeyed without murmuring. He left his country, his kindred and his father's house, to go to the land God would show him: "So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him" (Genesis 12:4).

This is the attitude each of us needs at all times to prepare for the Kingdom of God. It leads to eternal life.

The rich man did not really love God, because he had put a price tag on his love. Abraham truly loved God, because he set no conditions whatsoever. He did not worry about the consequences.

Do Not Worry

Some do not understand what Christ taught about not worrying. They think they can just let down, because God has promised to take care of their needs. They do not seem to realize that specific conditions accompany all of God's promises.

Christ said: "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" (Matthew 6:25).

What did Christ mean? Not worrying does not mean to be lazy or idle, or to neglect our duties. We can only stop worrying if we accept God's conditions, and diligently carry out our own responsibilities. God is always ready to help, provided that we strive to act like Christ did. Then— and only then—can we trust God without worrying.

Christ said, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (v. 33).

Read the entire verse, not just the first part of it. Christ did not put a period at the end of the phrase "seek first the kingdom of God"—He added "…and His righteousness."

David wrote that all of God's commandments are righteousness (Psalm 119:172). To seek God's righteousness is to live by His laws—to fulfill your responsibilities, to love your neighbor as yourself. If you seek God's Kingdom and His righteousness, you need not suffer from any form of worry or anxiety.

Study the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37)! Why do you think the priest and the Levite passed by the wounded man without offering their services? What went on in their minds? Perhaps they each uttered a silent prayer and then considered their task done. Why did they fail to help?

Could it be that they considered themselves too busy with their important religious chores and engagements? Whatever their reasonings, they did not prove themselves fit for the Kingdom of God. In this parable it was the Good Samaritan alone—a man who was not even an Israelite— who acted like a true Christian.

The Apostle Paul believed in God. He walked with Him, talked with Him—and never turned away from Him. Yet Paul's sufferings and trials were many.

What really made Paul remain firm? What made him hold fast to his faith when so many others gave up? How can you hold fast when others give up today?

Under God's inspiration, Paul revealed how he did it: "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:1– 2).

When you set your affection on things above, you renounce your selfish desires. You cease to do the works of the flesh. You no longer let the vanity of this world dictate your conduct.

Paul continued: "Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (v. 5).

He further stated that to be fit for the Kingdom of God, you must "put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth" (v. 8).

Learn to rely on Christ. Let Him be the center of your relationship with others. Always know that God sees and appreciates your good works, even if no one else does. Seek to please Him—no matter what happens.

Are You Ready Now?

Are you ready for the Kingdom of God? Some are not, because their attachment to this world is too strong. It prevents them from coming out of this world to be ready for the Kingdom. Obviously, you cannot come out of this world if you follow its ways.

Consider the excuses some people gave when Christ asked them to follow Him. They were not fit for His Kingdom. One man said, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." But upon hearing that Christ had nowhere to lay His head, the man went away (Luke 9:57–58).

Why, then, in the first place, did he tell Christ, "I will follow You wherever You go"? Did he really mean it? No. Like many people today, he would only accept the conditions that pleased him. He wanted an easy way—his own way—to be a Christian.

Another person, after expressing a desire to follow Christ, said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father" (v. 59). What was wrong with that? Why did this request disqualify him from being a disciple of Christ? Because it showed the man's lack of understanding of the value of the call! God did not come first in his life.

"And another also said, 'Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house'" (v. 61).

Again, there is nothing wrong with wanting to bid farewell to those you leave behind. The question is, what were this man's true intentions— his real motives? In all probability, he would have let his friends and his close family convince him to change his mind and decide not to follow Christ.

"No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God," Christ explained (v. 62).

In other words, when you look back and regret what you are giving up for Christ—if your love for the other members of your family, or for whatever you possess, surpasses the love you have for Christ—you are not worthy of His Kingdom.

As true Christians, we are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb—to the most wonderful wedding ceremony of all, and all the joyful festivities (Revelation 19:7). Are you looking forward to this? When the time comes, what will be your own excuses not to attend?

Strange as it may seem, Christ said in one of His parables that many would turn down their invitation to the marriage supper. "Then He said to him, 'A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, "Come, for all things are now ready"'" (Luke 14:16–17).

Surely you would expect that all the guests, upon receiving such a wonderful invitation, would be delighted to accept. You would think they would have looked forward to the occasion with great joy and enthusiasm.

But it did not happen that way: "But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused'. And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.' Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come'" (vv. 18–20).

Can you believe it? Instead of being thankful and grateful to have been invited to this most wonderful banquet, they begged to be excused. They told Christ they had other, more important things to do.

Notice again that the reasons they gave were not necessarily wrong— they were not bad things in and of themselves. But the timing was wrong, and so was their sense of priorities. God did not come first in their lives. Their eyes were set on things below, and not on things above.

Put God First

The world is filled with shiny but deceitful lights. Temptation is all around us, because of the "god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4). Satan wants us to put him first in our minds and in our hearts. His goal is to destroy each one of us! Do not let him! Turn quickly away from him— and look at the real God who loves you and wants to give you eternal life.

Satan the deceiver will offer you "the kingdoms of the world and their glory"—just as he did to Christ (Matthew 4:8–9). He will tempt you to lust after the flesh. He wants you to bow down before him and worship him.

Do not let him win! However attractive his worldly promises, our answer at all times must be, "Away with you, Satan!" (v. 10).

That is what Christ said in order to win the greatest battle in the whole universe—the battle for the right to rule over the Kingdom of God. With Christ's help, you and I, too, can win our battle and be worthy of His joyful and everlasting Kingdom, to live and rule and accomplish forever and ever with Him!