Thomas gives us the biblical answer, explaining that, “worldliness is not primarily external, in the world itself, it lies in our heart. The apostle John locates it there in these verses “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 in possessions–is not from the Father but is from the world." (1 Jn. 2:15-16).
Thomas continues, “Desires (or lusts) and pride in the Bible are synonyms for sinful heart attitudes, not external sins. Pride and lust are inward. John describes this as worldliness. John places worldliness inside the person. John tells us not to love the world or the things in the world. And then he sets out to describe what is in the world. He does this by talking about pride, lusts, desires and sinful heart attitudes. For John, this is worldliness. This is how worldliness is described and/or defined for him. …you must guard your heart from the temptation of thinking that the external is sinful. It is the heart that must be guarded. It is sinful lust, desires and pride that make me worldly.”
To summarize his article, he ends with a quote from pages 161-162 of Dr. R. C. Sproul’s book, “The Holiness of God.” This quote is my Quote for the Week:
It is a tragedy that the matter of nonconformity has been treated by Christians at a shallow level. The simplistic way of not conforming is to see what is in style in our culture and then do the opposite. If short hair is in vogue, the nonconformist wears long hair. If going to the movies is popular, then Christians avoid movies as “worldly.” The extreme case of this may be seen in groups that refuse to wear buttons or use electricity because such things, too, are worldly.
A superficial style of nonconformity is the classical pharisaical trap. The kingdom of God is not about buttons, movies, or dancing. The concern of God is not focused on what we eat or what we drink. The call of nonconformity is a call to a deeper level of righteousness, that goes beyond externals. When piety is defined exclusively in terms of externals, the whole point of the apostle’s teaching has been lost. Somehow we have failed to hear Jesus’ words that it is not what goes into a person’s mouth that deflies a person, but what comes out of that mouth. We still want to make the kingdom a matter of eating and drinking.
Why are such distortions rampant in Christian circles? The only answer I can give is sin. Our marks of piety can actually be evidences of impiety. When we major in minors and blow insignificant trifles out of proportion, we imitate the Pharisees. When we make dancing and movies the test of spirituality, we are guilty of substituting a cheap morality for a genuine one. We do these things to obscure the deeper issues of righteousness. Anyone can avoid dancing or going to movies. These require no great effort of moral courage. What is difficult is to control the tongue, to act with integrity, to reveal the fruit of the Spirit.
Rick says, “Thanks, Mr. Sproul!”
I say “Thanks, Mr. Sproul and “Thanks Rick Thomas!”
You may read the entire 7-part article which includes Sproul’s quote at the following link:
http://competentcounseling.com/2008/08/25/gnostic-worldly-or-christian/
The book The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul may be purchased at the following links:
http://www.amazon.com/Holiness-God-R-C-Sproul/dp/0842339655/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219637285&sr=8-1
http://www.wtsbooks.com/product-exec/product_id/2965/nm/The+Holiness+of+God+%28Paperback%29
