How Should a Christian's Relationship with the World Be?
We live in this world; we cannot hide or isolate ourselves from it. We work in it, we interact with people in it, we shop in it, and we are surrounded by its culture. So, what is the right way for a Christian to relate to this world? Is it a place to be embraced, tolerated, or shunned?
The Bible gives us a clear and compelling answer, and it is a delicate balance that requires divine wisdom and spiritual discipline. We will see today that while we are in the world, we are not of it, and this distinction has eternal implications.
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I. The Correct Relationship with the World
Jesus and His apostles teach us that our relationship with the world is one of holy tension.
A. Christ Chose Us from the World (John 15:19; 17:16): Jesus makes this distinction clear to His disciples: "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (John 15:19).
• Later, in His high priestly prayer, Jesus reiterates this: "They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world." (John 17:16).
• This does not mean we are to abandon the world. Jesus did not pray for us to be taken out of it, but to be kept from the evil one and sanctified in the truth (John 17:15, 17). We are to live in the world as ambassadors, but not be of the world, adopting its values or system.
B. Crucified to the World (Galatians 6:14): For the Christian, the world is a past reality that no longer has a hold on us. Paul says, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."
• The cross breaks the world's power over our lives. Our old self, which was in bondage to sin and the worldly system, was crucified with Christ.
• Our lives, therefore, must show that the world no longer has power over us; its allure, its approval, and its promises no longer define us.
C. Separation from the World (2 Corinthians 6:14-18): The Bible calls for a holy separation from the world's sinful system.
• Paul asks: "What fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? ... Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”"
• This separation is not about physical isolation, but about spiritual and moral separation. We have no fellowship with darkness; we do not participate in its deeds or adopt its ungodly values.
D. Not to Be Conformed to the World (Romans 12:2): This is a direct command from Paul: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
• We are not to conform or mold ourselves to the world's way of thinking, its philosophies, its moral standards, or its priorities.
• Instead, we are to be transformed from the inside out by the renewing of our minds through God's Word.
E. Not to Love the World (1 John 2:15-17): John's warning is unequivocal: "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them."
• Loving the world—its lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is incompatible with loving the Father.
• Love for the world corrupts the heart, displacing our affection for God and His kingdom.
II. Four Cautions – The Steps That Lead to Danger
While the world's influence may seem harmless in small doses, the Bible warns us that certain steps can lead to great danger, ultimately jeopardizing our fellowship with God and our eternal life.
1. Befriending the World (James 4:4): James gives a severe warning: "You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."
• You cannot be a friend of God and a friend of the world at the same time.
• As Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, "You cannot serve both God and money." The same principle applies to the world.
• Jesus said in Matthew 12:30: "Whoever is not with me is against me." To befriend the world is to side against Christ.
2. Loving the World (1 John 2:15): This is a deeper step than just befriending it. It is an internal affection.
• John says, "If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them." A divided heart cannot fully love God.
• John 15:19 reminds us that the world loves its own because they share the same spirit and values. But it hates those who are not of it.
• Matthew 22:37 commands that our love should be directed toward God with all our being, leaving no room for a competing love for the things of the world.
3. Conforming to the World (Romans 12:1-2): This is the process of being molded by the world's system.
• When we conform to the world, we become insensitive to its sin. We start to justify things that God's Word condemns.
• We think and act like the world, and we lose our spiritual distinctiveness as a light in the darkness.
4. Setting Our Minds on Earthly Things (Matthew 6:19; Colossians 3:2): This is the heart's ultimate destination.
• Jesus warns, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." Because "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
• Paul commands in Colossians 3:2: "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Any of these steps can lead us to spiritual destruction. Let us be very careful!
III. A Wrong Relationship with the World Has Eternal Consequences
This is not a message about losing temporal blessings; it is a message about losing our souls.
1. It chokes the Word of God (Matthew 13:22): In the parable of the sower, Jesus describes the seed that fell among thorns: "The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the seed, making it unfruitful."
• The love and cares of the world can choke the life out of the Word of God in our hearts, making us spiritually barren and ineffective.
2. It distances us from God (2 Timothy 4:10): Paul gives a heartbreaking testimony of a fellow worker: "for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica."
• The love of the world leads us to turn our backs on Christ and His mission.
3. The Lord catches us unawares (Luke 21:34): Jesus warned His disciples about the end times: "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap."
• The cares and deceitful pleasures of the world can harden our hearts and cause us to be spiritually unprepared for the day of the Lord, catching us unawares.
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Conclusion
What will it profit a person to gain the whole world and lose his soul? (Matthew 16:26). This is the ultimate question we must confront.
Our relationship with the world must be one of intentional separation and holy love. We are in the world to be a light, to be salt, to be ambassadors of Christ. But we must not let the world get into us.
Let us heed the warnings. Let us not befriend the world, love the world, conform to the world, or set our minds on its earthly treasures. Instead, let us love God with all our heart, mind, and soul. Let our treasure be in heaven, our minds set on things above, and our lives be a living testimony that we are not of this world, but citizens of a coming, eternal Kingdom.
