Worldliness is a terrible hindrance to the saint. The world is opposed to the Father, as the flesh opposes the Spirit, and the devil opposes Christ.
The difficulty lies in that we do not maintain nearness to Christ, which allows the world to come in and hinder. Then I am open to all sorts of error, for if I am not near Christ, I will not like to be bothered with correction. It is very troublesome and disagreeable sometimes to have to do with saints; one will not give up this thing, and another that. Then if we ourselves are at a distance from Christ, we shall be ready to give up on our brethren and shall not take the pains to help them get right when they are wrong. So Moses said, when in a wrong spirit, “Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that Thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom?” (Num. 11:12).
Christ in Glory and the Saints
Faith not only sees Christ in the glory, but sees also the connection between the glory of Christ and the saints, and it is that which enables us to go on. So Moses said of Israel, not only that God was their God, but also they are “Thy people.” The real hindrance is the world. The world desires entertainment, and it will be entertained with religion if it cannot get anything else. But what I know of the world’s path, spirit, affections and conduct is that it has crucified my Lord; not in its affections and lusts merely, but by wicked hands it has crucified my Master. Suppose it was but yesterday that you had seen Pontius Pilate the governor, the chief priests and the elders putting Christ to death, would you feel happy today in having fellowship with them? The stain of Christ’s blood is as fresh in God’s sight as if it had been done but yesterday; the time which has elapsed since makes no difference in its moral guilt.
The Power of the World
The question then is, Am I in my heart to get under the power of this world, or am I to overcome it? When Christ was down here, in all the beauty and attractive grace in which God the Father could delight, there was not found in the world one thought or sentiment of common interest or feeling drawing them to Him. The world in all its classes — rulers, priests, Pharisees, and the multitude — have all been associated in hanging the Son of God upon a cross; such is the world’s heart. If I have seen the glory of Christ’s person and see that He is the very Son of God who came down and was turned out by the world, can I be happy with that world? The link between the natural thoughts and affections and the world exists in every heart, so that in all kinds of things, even in walking through the streets, I constantly find that which attracts my eye, and my eye affects my heart.
The World’s Treatment of Christ
Nothing will overcome the world in my heart but the deep consciousness of how it has treated Christ. Take my children, for instance: Do I want them to get on well in the world? Must I have good places for them in it? Nothing but knowing the place Christ had in it will overcome the world in my heart. There is no possibility of getting on with God unless the world is given up and the heart is satisfied with Christ. Christ must be everything.
Abraham
Look at Abraham’s history: He sojourned in a strange country where he had no place to set his foot on. So we are not of the world, and this is the test of our affections, for as we are not at once taken out of the evil, we must have our hearts exercised to godliness. It is very easy to overcome the world when the love of Christ has made it distasteful. Satan is the god of this world. Perhaps you will say, That is true of the heathen world. Yes, but it is also true of much more than the heathen world. Although it was not till after the rejection of Christ that it was brought out, it was true before. God had spoken by His servants the prophets, and the world had beaten one, and stoned another, and killed another; then He said, I will send My beloved Son — maybe they will reverence Him when they see Him. But Him they crucified, thus proving that Satan was the master of man. So the Lord said, “O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee.” You will not have spiritual discernment or power of motive unless the heart is kept near to Christ. When I am near Him, I do not want the world. If my delight is in that in which God delights, that is Christ, then I can overcome. “Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).
The “Must I” Question
If I say, Why must I do everything for Christ? that very question proves that I have a heart away from Christ, calling it bondage to do all to the glory of God. It is not that we are to scorn the world in the least way, for God’s grace is for every poor sinner that will receive it. It is the spirit of the world in my own heart which I have to overcome — that by which my heart is in danger of being led away.
The heart that is resting on, looking to, eating, and feeding on Christ gets the consciousness of what the world is, and it overcomes. The Lord keep us in humble dependence on Himself. His grace is sufficient for us; His strength is made perfect in our weakness.
J. N. Darby (adapted)