Foundations of Faith
NOT CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD (II)
In the last issue we considered some specific aspects of the world, including ways that Satan tempts us concerning “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Not being “conformed to the world” (Rom 12:2) goes way beyond not engaging in certain activities. It includes not falling in with the philosophies of the world or basic attitudes shown by people who do not know Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
God is dead. The world says to us, “Be your own person.” “We will help you to be independent” (financially or otherwise). While only a small percentage of people in this country absolutely deny the existence of God, a large proportion believe that God is dead in the sense that He is not interested in man, does not interact with man, does not have a specific will for our lives, and does not care how we live. But the Bible teaches from cover to cover that God is very interested in each one of us, and very definitely has a specific will for us to follow (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 5:17; Col. 1:9,10). The Bible also teaches us to depend upon God for all of our needs and to cast all our care upon Him (Matt. 6:31-33; Phil. 4:19; 1 Pet. 5:7).
Man’s chief goal is personal happiness. A survey was done with college students, asking what one thing was most important to them. The overwhelming response was “to be happy” or “to have things go my way.” The world says to us, “You owe it to yourself.” “Pamper yourself.” “If it feels good, do it.” “Do your own thing.” When we buy into these ideas, we respond by saying, “If you don’t do or give me what I want, I will become angry or depressed.”
Here is what the Bible says about man’s chief goals:”One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple” (Psa. 27:4). “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby (1 Pet. 2:2). “Jesus said unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work” (John 4:34). “Whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).
This world is all there is. The world says to us, “You can’t take it with you.” “You have only one life to live.” “Do it now.” “Live your life to the fullest.” “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die” (see Luke 12:19). Let me ask a question of you young people:If you were told by your doctor that you had only six more months to live, how would you live the rest of your life? I have seen young people with incurable cancer or other fatal disease go wild trying to cram a lifetime of pleasure into their remaining days. I see people of all ages (Christians and non-Christians alike) living as if they either do not believe in heaven or else believe that heaven will not offer as much pleasure, enjoyment, and happiness as can be found in this present world. In a future issue, Lord willing, we shall examine what the Bible tells us about heaven; we shall see that to be in heaven with our Lord and Saviour “is far better” (Phil. 1:23) and that in the presence of the LORD “is fullness of joy; at [His] right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psa. 16:11).
The Bible therefore tells us:”Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:19-21). “[Lay] up in store for [your]selves a good foundation against the time to come, that [you] may lay hold on eternal [or the real] life” (1 Tim. 6:19). (See Assignment 10)
There is no such thing as sin. The world says to us:”Drunkenness is not a sin but an illness; homosexual practice is not a sin but a life style; dismembering another person is not a sin but insanity; stealing is not a sin but a product of a dysfunctional family or society; doing drugs is not a sin but a simple result of poverty and lack of education; adultery and fornication are not sins but just the result of God-given urges.” There seem to be only two things left that the world is willing to consider as sin:The first is rich desserts. Our local newspapers may refer to luscious desserts as “positively sinful” (and indeed they may be, as discussed in the last issue), while on other pages they may be very accepting of sexual sins. The second is the “sin” of intolerance. Jesus Christ was the most intolerant Person ever to walk this earth (see Matt. 23, for example). And notice how intolerant the local church is to be toward “any man who is called a brother [who is] a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner” (1 Cor. 5:11). “Woe unto those who call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isa. 5:20). (See Assignment 11)
CONGRATULATIONS!
Five of our readers completed all 26 (14 regular plus 12 review) assignments for 1999, and all had scores over 88%. Special honors go to Lori Spielman and Drew Johnson, both of Pennsylvania, who led the way with perfect scores of 100% for the year. Others included Kate Kauffman (Pennsylvania), John Hope (Virginia), and Joseph Amusuk (Nigeria). Richard Unutaire (Nigeria) completed 24 assignments.
If you are doing assignments for 2000, remember to write out the text of the verses and not just the reference. If you are missing any issues of GROWING, please send your request for replacement copies as well as completed assignments to the editor at the address given below.
Running the Race
Assignment 10: (a) Describe two ways in which a Christian can lay up his or her material “treasure” (such as money or possessions) in heaven. (b) Describe one or more other kinds of “treasure” besides money and material possessions that we can lay up in heaven.
Assignment 11: For one week, pay attention to what you hear on the radio and television, read in the local newspaper, hear your friends and neighbors talking about, and/or hear your school teachers instructing you. Or else think back to past experiences. (a) Write out from these experiences two examples of the philosophy of the world that we have been describing in this issue. (b) for each of these examples, write out a Bible verse that shows the correct way to think about the matter.