Living In and Separate From the World
Balances of Christianity • Sermon • Submitted
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· 17 viewsLearning how to balance our instruction to be separate from the world, yet the need to live in the world to shine our light.
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We begin a new special series today, looking at the various balances we try to maintain as we live for Jesus. This morning we will look at our relationship with the world, not the material things of creation, but the people who have not given themselves to Christ.
I) God makes this distinction
I) God makes this distinction
From the time of Cain –
And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
Noah was separated from the world, so that they could be destroyed – ,
And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
God called Abram away from his family (which stands as a symbol for the world) –
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
Israel was instructed to maintain this separation –
You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly. But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire.
II) This separation is an important aspect of Christianity
II) This separation is an important aspect of Christianity
Jesus told this to Pilate –
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
He mentions this separation in His prayer to God –
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.
Paul quotes OT passages to explain this to Corinthian Christians – (; ; )
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”
I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.
Depart, depart, go out from there;
touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves,
you who bear the vessels of the Lord.
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.”
We must not love the things of the world – ; ;
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. 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.
If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—
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.
The world will hate us –
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
The purpose of baptism is to make that separation –
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
III) Yet, we still live in the world
III) Yet, we still live in the world
Paul corrects the misunderstanding of the Corinthians –
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.
We are supposed to be lights in the world –
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
We cannot show Christianity to the world if we hide from them – ; ;
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
Concl: One of the balances of Christianity is learning how to live in this world with the light of the gospel showing in our lives, yet maintaining our separateness from the world. There are temptations that attempt to bring us into this world – both from persecutions and from blessings. Yet, we must always remember which world in which we are at home – .
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,