‘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.’ 1John 2:15
Well now, here is a verse that is
not wanted in our liberal and compromised age of modernized Christianity!
It really cuts a line through all
of the claims of those who say they are true followers of Christ. It draws a line of demarcation in
the sand and asks, ‘Who is really on the Lord’s side?’
There are some very difficult
places in the world where becoming a Believer, (as opposed to becoming a
church-goer), does mean a real separation and clear distinction from everyone
else around you. There is a cost, a measured and calculated cost, which comes
along with following Christ and accepting his lordship over their lives.
In the western world, and in
countries where Christians seek to imitate the western compromises, there is no
distinction between those who believe and those who don’t.
The world and all of its
attractions, its sideshows, its glitter and glamour, steal the heart away very
quickly from those who are not really committed to anything except their own
comfort, entertainment, and personal ambitions. They might talk all the ‘God’
talk, but their actions and way of living, their motives and indulgencies,
their idolising of money, fame, success, and fortune, render them the same as
unbelievers, but with the charge of hypocrisy and spiritual adultery all over
them.
I have lived plenty enough to
have seen things as they really are, and not as the Pretenders who put on a
mask of being godly and righteous, but whose hearts are as far away from the
truth as the devil is from getting to heaven.
You cannot have the world and all
of its passing glamour and have Christ. You have to be one thing or the other.
John makes it simple and clear: ‘If
anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.’
True Believers are not of this
world, but simply pilgrims passing through, fulfilling the call of God upon
their lives to make sure the whole world knows the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Their money and assets belong to God; their houses and family belong to God;
their voices and talents belong to God. They are not their own, but bought with
an outstanding price, even the blood of God’s Son! (1Corinthians 6:20;
1Corinthians 7:23)
So, are you a true Believer, or simply
a ‘Christian’?
Nowadays you can be a witch, a
Spiritualist, a medium, a Jehovah Witness, a Mormon, a Catholic, a Protestant,
and a host of other things, and claim the title of ‘Christian’.
You can be a con-man, a thief, a
fraudster, a liar, a deceiver, a pervert, a lover of money and pleasures, a religious
person, and just about anything else, and claim to be ‘Christian’.
The world is not fooled. God is
not fooled.
Only the fools are self-fooled.
Come out from among them and be
you separate, says the Lord God Almighty, and touch not the unclean thing.
(2Corinthians 6:17)
Don't be fooled by the bright lights and the pleasures of this passing world.
The world is fed up with the
nonsense of religious make-believe that has no evidence of any merit or truth
within its adherents. It is like salt that lost its savour: and men cast it out
and trample it underfoot because it is worthless. Jesus said that.
Pilgrim Warrior 2022
