Disciples must live in a unregenerated world. This devotional reading looks at challenges disciples face.
Nuggets
- The worldview offers a hateful and repugnant world.
- The worldview offers a prideful solution to things.
- The worldview tries to ensnare disciples to turn them away from God.
- The worldview doesn’t know God, making them foolish.
What we’ve been saying in the devotions in this series is that the unregenerated world is wicked. On top of that, disciples have fallen away from God and present an inaccurate picture of what He calls us to be and do.
Sin is a disease. “And Jesus answered them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance’” (Lk. 5: 31-32 ESV).
That makes it hard for disciples to live godly lives in it. What challenges do we have in trying to live as God requires in a world that tries to trip us up?
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the A World without God series
The foundation of this series is Boston’s sermon The Unregenerate World Described.
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The headings are Boston’s words.
A Loathsome World
“Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise” (Hab. 1: 3 ESV)
The worldview offers a hateful and repugnant world.
I don’t know about you, but destruction, violence, strife, and contention sounds awful. That is what we have to put up with in this world.
We can’t help but see these things. The world is full of them.
That is why this world is filled with such hate. It plays out in horrible acts designed to promote widespread hurt and destruction.
God, on the other hand, is pure. His holiness means that He can’t exist in sin.
So, the question is a good one. Why do we have to see it? There are several reasons.
We see sin because it is a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin. That is how it got into this world in the first place.
Our sin — and our inability to follow God’s laws and commandments perfectly — show us that we need a Savior. We can’t reconcile ourselves to God because we aren’t holy, just, and good without Him.
Our conscience, while we have one, allows us to choose between right and wrong. We can corrupt it so that our right isn’t really God’s right.
Raikes made an interesting statement. He was talking about God being love as well as detesting sin. Then he wrote, “But we must notice the limits under which the love of God must be taken in application to ourselves. Only in the Gospel is it revealed.”
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Isn’t that a great way to reconcile the God of love Who just doesn’t drop His standards to allow everyone a free pass?
Let’s face it. Worldview people insist that God should not call a sin a sin. They want to do anything they want and have it be okay.
God says no.
God loves us, but He loves us enough to have high standards as to how His love is applied to us.
The world isn’t going to change God’s acceptance — or rejection — of sin. His holiness won’t allow that.
This world isn’t going to recognize God’s glory and holiness. It comes only from Him, so we have nothing through which to gauge it.
The worldview is always trying to get an end run around God. They want to end up at peace and happiness. They just don’t want to go God’s way to get there.
Talbot made an interesting observation. He argued that worldview people don’t have the restraints to keep them from guarding himself and mastering hurtful tendencies. I read it to mean that the reason is because they really don’t have love.
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We have to turn away from the horribleness of the world and look to God. Only He can bring us peace. Only He can — and will for eternity — offer us a better world without sin.
A Vexatious World
“I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind” (Ecc. 1: 14 ESV)
The worldview offers a prideful solution to things.
It is so easy to lead with our pride in this world. From a young age, we are programmed to get ahead in it. We are pushed to excel and come out on top.
What starts is a vicious cycle. We accomplish one goal and come out at the top. Then, we have to set another goal to take us even higher.
As we are successful in going up, up, up, our pride takes the same course. We pat ourselves on the back and think we have done good.
But there is something else. As the King James Version translates it, it says that there is “… vanity and vexation of spirit” (Ecc. 1: 14 KJV).
What aggravates and exasperates us? For one thing, we want everyone to get out of our way so that we can reach our goals!
We hate it when they have conflicting goals. We want it our way or the highway. Our vanity makes us think we have the best solutions.
Sometimes, it is even worse when their goals are the same as ours. They just have different highways to get there.
This world can also be a morbid place. With so much sickness and dying, it really seems temporary.
But then we read of another shooting, and it gets scary. It also ramps up the question why.
What this world is boiling down to is that everyone is in search of their own pleasure.
Jordon identified one root cause. He wrote,
“So is our view of life affected by our fluctuating feelings and changeful circumstances. To the boy life is a promise, a beautiful flower in the bud; to the old man it is a closing day, a solemn sunset; to the man in prosperity it is a quiet lake, with only the gentlest zephyrs rippling its surface; to the man in adverse circumstances it is a stormy sea kept in perpetual disquiet by the rude and boisterous breezes; to the satiated pleasure-seeker, the worn-out sensualist, the disappointed voluptuary, ‘all is vanity and vexation of spirit.’”
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Our lives are so interconnected, yet people are all over the place in what they want, where they are at, and what they are feeling. It is hard to mesh it all together.
It helps when we are all looking the same way – toward God. We have the same goals – to serve Him. We have the same rules – His laws and commandments.
But instead of trying to do that, the worldview wants to rely on their own intellect. They want to understand and, more importantly, do themselves.
Instead of not knowing what is going to happen, read the Book – God’s Word. We should especially read the Book of Revelation. Then we will know exactly what is coming.
Don’t allow the vexations of this world. Look to God for His knowledge of what will happen. Rest in Him.
An Ensnaring World
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” (II Tim. 3: 1-5 ESV)
The worldview tries to ensnare disciples to turn them away from God.
Boston cited only the first two verses in Second Timothy as the evidence of his point.
I don’t know. I thought Paul was on a roll, so I included all until the period.
If we were going to look at a list of things that could snare us, I felt we needed to look at the whole list.
It is a perilous world in which we live. Satan offers what is appealing to us but is contrary to God’s Will. He is always trying something to ensnare us so that we get us off the Sanctification Road.
We need as big of a list as we can get need to know what to watch out for, don’t we?
But then, God doesn’t give us a big checklist, does He? It is really very simple. ‘And he [Jesus] said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me’” (Lk. 9: 23 ESV).
Still, we are commanded to watch, be alert, and be on guard. Most importantly, we are to couple that with prayer.
- “But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Lk. 21: 36 ESV).
- “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (I Cor. 16: 13 ESV).
- “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt. 26: 41 ESV).
- “Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Eph. 6: 18 ESV).
- “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (I Pet. 5: 8 ESV).
- “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them” (Lk. 12: 37 ESV).
- “Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come” (Mk. 13: 33 ESV).
- “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4: 8 ESV).
- “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Mt. 24: 42 ESV).
- “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen” (Rev. 1: 7 ESV).
The way I read this is that we have to be so familiar with God’s Word that we know when things are going sideways.
What do we know from these verses?
- Trouble is coming – know it, believe it, and watch for it.
- It will be bad.
- It will prepare us for the Day of the Lord.
- Some people who are identifying as sheep really aren’t.
That last bullet gets me every time. People who think they are true disciples, have their ticket punched and bags packed for Heaven, are going to find out that they don’t.
What do I think the main reason for that is? They have compromised with the world. They have taken their eyes off God and His Will and tried to make it easier to live in this perilous, temporary world.
Owen gave us a whole list of ways disciples can go off track.
- We go with our outward religion rather than inward transformation.
- We don’t tamp down our worldly desires.
- We don’t see God’s truth for truth.
- We give up when we encounter persecution.
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Disciples don’t want to be following the world. We want to follow Jesus all the way to God’s throne.
Wickedness Thrives but So Does Good
“For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are ‘wise’ — in doing evil! But how to do good they know not” (Jer. 4: 22 ESV)
The worldview doesn’t know God, making them foolish.
Okay, I used Boston’s word for the heading. But to me, it doesn’t go with what the verse says.
Jeremiah 4: 22 is a sad verse.
We started out with such promise. We were made in God’s image. We were to be like Him.
But mankind said, “Nope. I want to do things my way.”
Oh, how wise we were – NOT! We were – and still are – stupid children.
We think we understand. We think science has it all figured out.
It doesn’t.
We can’t understand all that God does. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55: 8-9 ESV).
So, it ends up as Jeremiah said. They are wise in doing evil. They are wise in the ways of sin.
Making the Connections #1
Worldview people can think that God can’t because He isn’t. If He were God, He could make all the pain and suffering go away; but since He isn’t, He can’t — and isn’t. They see that as an argument that God is not omnipotent.
If God doesn’t remove all the bad stuff, He is just plain mean, not a just, loving God.
But God is loving because He does let us go through the trials and tribulations of this life. He lets us go through them so that we may grow closer to Him.
The best part is that we don’t have to go through those struggles alone. God is always in our hearts to guide and provide.
Making the Connections #2
When do we find peace and contentment in this world? Jordan said it best. He wrote,
“When we learn that life is not a selfish search, but an unselfish service; not the sacrifice of everything to self, but the subordination of self to God; then we receive a spiritual joy. The man who has spent his life like a butterfly flitting from flower to flower in search of sweets at last whines out the melancholy cry, ‘All is vanity and vexation of spirit.’ But the noble soul who has used himself in the service of God and humanity goes to his heaven exclaiming, ‘I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand,’ etc.”
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We serve others in God’s name. We submit to His Will.
If we are looking for peace and contentment outside of God, we won’t find it.
Making the Connections #3
“having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” (II Tim. 3: 5 ESV)
We have to have a true form of godliness when the Day of the Lord dawns. We’ve got to get it to the heart level.
The only way we receive godliness is through salvation and sanctification.
Kollock told us what that looks like. He wrote,
“We are unequivocally commanded to assume the form of godliness; to testify by external acts our allegiance to the Lord; and to attend on those ordinances and sacraments which He surely did not appoint that we might with impunity neglect them.”
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Yes, it has to be at the heart level, but it has to bubble out from there into our actions throughout our lives. We have to praise and worship God and have compassion for mankind.
How Do We Apply This?
- Show God’s holiness to others by providing them with His justice.
- Read God’s Word so that we know what happens on the Day of the Lord – and are prepared for it.
- Be content among the discontent.
- Teach the worldview people when they are ready to be taught.
- Live in God’s hope.
- Grow our faith in Him.
- Set our minds on godly things.
- Don’t center on ourselves.
- Pray for God’s grace to navigate our way in this world.
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Father God. Thank You for creating this beautiful world in which we love. Forgive us for allowing sin into it. Help us as we try to be in the world but not of it. We want to be following You. Amen.
What do you think?
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