Not of the World
Table of Contents
Not of the World: Part 2
PART 2
To Our Dear Young Christians:
The use of tobacco fulfills no design of God for His creatures; it is in no sense food, containing a rank poison (nicotine). It is habit-forming, those who follow it, becoming slaves of the habit; and it is a "lust of the flesh," and a cloud upon every believer that yields to it. I think I can truly say that I have never known a spiritual Christian to use tobacco in smoking or chewing, and I have seen not a few young Christians, and persons newly converted, stumbled by the bad example of others in this thing.
Card-playing and theater-going are, like smoking, so common in the world that one who does neither is viewed with astonishment. Worldly amusements they are, certainly, and the heart that knows not God must have something to occupy the time pleasurably; besides, God must be kept out. Card-playing is often called an "innocent" game, but it is, at the least, time occupied without profit for the believer, and it is often associated with gambling.
The theater, never very elevated in its tone (for no stream can rise higher than its source) has in the last two decades become even lower in its standards, so that of late there has been a public outcry about it. Of what sort of testimony is one's presence in a theater, seeking enjoyment there with the Christ-rejecting world from which we are called to walk in holy separation to God? Will the Lord hold one guiltless in it?
Dancing and drink, I have been reminded by people who ought to know better, are not condemned in the Old Testament. Can it be the sober thought of any Christian that David's dancing in 2 Sam. 6:14, and 1 Chron. 13:29 has any similarity to the dancing of the twentieth century: Surely not. I know little about the subject, but I have been told by worldly acquaintances that there are "good" and "bad" dances; for my part, it is all one, it being of the world, and a part of the broad system of Satan's devices for the amusement of his dupes. The Christian's sources of happiness are full and deep, but they are apart from the world and its fleeting joys.
With the passage of the prohibition amendment to the federal constitution, the possession and sale of intoxicants became illegal; during the succeeding period the drinking habit, at first repressed, later grew greatly in volume. Now, with the practical repeal of restrictions, beer and more intoxicating liquors are in vastly increased demand.
Prov. 20:1 truly says that "wine is a mocker (or scorner), strong drink is raging; and whosoever is deceived (or erreth) thereby-is not wise.”
And Eph. 5:18 yields this for our guidance and help: "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit....”
Water is given to us freely by God; it alone satisfies thirst, and in the beginning, we may well suppose that no other beverage was thought of. It is a humiliating fact that the first mention in the Word of God of any other beverage is found in the record of Noah's later years, after the flood which destroyed the early world it was then that this saint, who had been so faithful in word and work, and was so singularly preserved and blessed, made wine of grapes and became drunk, to his abiding shame.
I am aware that it is said that beer is no more than a means of quenching thirst, but there is abundant evidence that this is not true. It is the alcohol in it that makes this drink attractive, and the agitation over the "alcoholic content" of beer, which took place while the laws permitting its manufacture were being enacted, is a matter of recent history. There were two distinct and opposing elements then in action; one seeking to hold the liquor traffic in check for the good of the country, and the other endeavoring to obtain license for intoxicants without restraint. No such manifestation could have occurred had the question related to the manufacture of tea or coffee, or soda water; these, although stimulating, do not contain the far more effective element which makes beer and other drinks of that type attractive.
Now the desire for beer and the stronger stimulants comes from the lower desires of man, and the record of crime tells of the depths of depravity to which alcohol leads. As in the case of tobacco, no one asserts, or could with truth, that the thing is beneficial; rather is the opposite true, and in a marked way with the habitual user. "But there is no harm in a single glass," someone will say; this is incapable of proof, and the temptation is to go on to a second and third, etc., and thus a wrong course is begun.
I am reminded of the object lesson my Sunday School teacher many years ago put before her class, about the man who, wishing to engage a coachman, inquired of each applicant for the position, how near to the edge of a cliff road he could drive with safety. The man he chose said he would drive the carriage as far away from it as possible. So I would urge any young Christian who may read these lines to heed the word of 1 Thess. 5:22:
“Abstain from all appearance of evil.”
Today "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God" is true of the world, as foretold in 2 Tim. 3:4. Am I to be a partner with the world in pursuing the same worldly pleasures, knowing full well that there is a day approaching when I shall be with the blessed Lord in heaven's bright glory, and many of those with whose ways I have become familiar, will be spending eternity in a place of woe and torment? One word more, and I close.:
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Gal. 6:7, 8.
This letter I have written to meet your desire for some thoughts gathered from God's Word about some things which endanger the happiness of Christians, particularly the young.
Yours in Christ,
(Continued from page 38)
Not of the World: Part 1
Part 1.
To Our Dear Young Christians:
We were talking together recently about the reasons to be found in the Scriptures for a Christian's not doing some things that are common enough in the world, and, in answer to your wish, I am putting in writing the thoughts I then expressed.
The Lord Jesus, in His prayer when about to leave the world (John 17), used an expression which long ago first made a deep impression on my heart. I refer to verse 16:
“They (those who have believed) are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
I yet ask myself, after many years, Do I really enter into this amazing truth? I mingle with the world daily, of necessity, but "am not of the world." How is this to be exhibited, if at all, in my daily life? The Scriptures give no direction for believers to wear outward distinguishing marks, such as peculiar clothing, or other things which would call attention to us. Indeed, I gather a warning against this sort of thing from Matt., Chapter 6 and 23:5.
Nevertheless, the Word of God is far from silent on the subject of the believer's conduct in the world. Let us glance at a few passages, having in mind the practices of smoking-long indulged by men, and of late finding an ever increasing share of women among its devotees-of card playing, theater-going, dancing, and of indulging in beer and stronger alcoholics, all of which are very common in the world, and Christians are, sad to say, evidently being affected by these things.
We may turn first to the 119th Psalm, verse 105: "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path," and to 2 Tim. 3:15-17, from which, for brevity, I quote only a part:
“All Scripture... is profitable for... instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
Believers who slight the Word of God, do so at their peril; it is this, more than all other causes combined, that explains the widespread spiritual paralysis of our times.
Rom. 12 and the following chapters are full of much needed and often neglected practical instructions for believers, young and old, and I call attention particularly to the first five verses of the 12Th chapter. They furnish the foundation upon which the details of Christian practice of a right sort depend, the substance of an acceptable life before God.
In verse 1, every believer is sought to present his body as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable (well pleasing) unto God. Truly, it is the apostle Paul beseeching, but he was expressing the mind and will of our God and Father concerning us, His children.
Then, in verse 2 we find, "Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed (transfigured) by the renewing of your mind," etc.
These are weighty statements; if only they were grasped and entered upon by God's beloved people everywhere! I call attention to the fact that the word in the original tongue which is here translated "transformed" is found but four times in the Scriptures, twice to describe the appearance of the Lord on the mountain of transfiguration (Matt. 17:2; Mark 9:2), and twice referring to believers, the remaining reference being 2 Cor. 3:18, where the word is translated "changed," but the "change" is from an earthly to a heavenly condition. We desire humbly to confess that our measure of realization of the transforming or transfiguration (moral, not a physical change) urged upon us in Rom. 12:2 is far, far too small. May it increase more and more, to the glory of God!
We turn now to Rom. 13:14 and find, "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.”
Perhaps it is asked, What are the "lusts of the flesh"? It is always best to look for the answer to our questions about the Scriptures in the Scriptures themselves, and while there are other passages to which helpful reference may be made, Gal. 5:16-26; Eph. 2:3; 1 John 2:16,17 are suggested as disclosing what the "lusts" are, and how largely they pervade the world.
Another helpful word in our considerations of the subject before us is found in Eph. 4:1-3. In 1 Cor. 10:31, which may next engage our attention, we come to specific, instruction:
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
With this let us read Col. 3:17: "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.”
These pointed directions for Christian behavior open to our spiritual vision the truly happy path of holiness, and guard us fully against fleshly lusts as to which the Word itself tells us (1 Peter 2:11), and experience proves, that they war against the soul.
In 1 John 2:6 we have another word, addressed to the conscience, that monitor within the child of God:
“He that saith he abideth in Him (Christ) ought himself so to walk even as He walked.”
Then as our blessed Example we have Him presented to the heart thus in Rom. 15:23: "For even Christ pleased not Himself." All His desires were holy, but His unvarying object as He passed through the world was not to gratify Himself but to please the Father.
Our consideration of Scriptures bearing on the subject of Christian behavior has been somewhat wide, but let us turn to four more passages. First, 2 Cor. 5:14, 15:
“For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if One died for all, then were all dead: and that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose again.”
Next, John 14:21: "He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me.”
Our third passage is 1 John 3:3: "And every man that hath this hope in Him (Christ) purifieth himself, even as He is pure.”
And our last will be found in Rom. 14:10-12: For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ... So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
O my soul, mark that word; I, even I, shall give account of myself to God. Are you prepared for that hour? The life I have lived will be reviewed at the judgment seat of Christ, not to decide my eternal dwelling place, for that, thanks be to God, is settled already, but that I may have His estimation of my course, learn what in it had self as its motive, and what (I trust) really had Christ as its object. All will be seen in the full light of God's presence.
The passages to which reference has been made leave no room for the worldly things which were mentioned at the outset of this letter. In essence they are evil, taking their origin in the heart of man, a fallen creature and a wanderer from the true God, seeking satisfaction in a judged, condemned world.
(To be continued.)