World, Flesh, Devil: August 2009
Table of Contents
What Want I?
What want I with the world
And all its treasures?
In Thee alone, Lord Jesus,
Are my true pleasures;
Thou art my soul’s delight;
My joy I find in Thee!
My rest and peace art Thou!
My heart’s tranquility!
What want I with the world?
The world is as a smoke
Which vanishes in air;
And, like a shadow fleet,
That stays not anywhere;
My Jesus, though, remains,
When all things else decline;
My heart’s true confidence,
Jesus alone is mine!
What want I with the world?
As grass it fades away;
The stamp of death is there;
It hasteth to decay;
Health does itself depart;
All earthly creatures fade;
Jesus sustains; my heart
Is by His love repaid.
What want I with the world?
My Jesus is my life,
My substance, and my joy;
In this poor scene of strife
To Him I gladly bow;
I worship at His feet;
He is my heaven, my all;
Therefore do I repeat,
What want I with the world?
From the German,
The Christian Friend, 1874
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The World, the Flesh, the Devil
Throughout history, it has been common for a conqueror to show his victory by placing his foot upon the head of his foe who lies upon the ground in defeat. It is a blessed thing to be shown our enemies and to be told that the Lord has delivered them into our hands. Our old man is “crucified” (Rom. 6:6), the world “overcome” (John 16:33), and its prince “judged” (John 16:11). If we are walking by faith as risen with Christ, Satan, the world and the flesh are under our feet. If not walking by faith in the results of the work of Christ, then, instead of being overcomers, we will be overcome in our journey through the enemy’s land. We do well to follow the example of Joshua, when, as he was about to face the enemies of the promised land, the Lord met and spoke with him. “He lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so” (Josh. 5:13-15). r
Theme of the Issue
Victory Over Satan, the Flesh, and the World
(Exodus 4:19)
The Lord gave Moses three signs when He sent him back to Egypt to deliver His people from Pharaoh. They were a lesson from Jehovah to Moses, to the elders of Israel and to Pharaoh. Moses learned to trust the Lord in performing them, the children of Israel believed the witness concerning Jehovah and were delivered from Egypt, but Pharaoh was destroyed because of his hardened heart. These three signs are a realistic example for the believer today of the way of deliverance from our three great adversaries, Satan, the flesh and the world.
The Rod
“The Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of My people which are in Egypt. . . . Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people the children of Israel out of Egypt. . . . And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And He said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee” (Ex. 3:7,10; 4:15). This sign of power was performed three times: first for Moses alone with Jehovah, then for the elders of Israel, and finally before Pharaoh.
Moses did not have this power of himself; it came from Jehovah. The first performance was to teach Moses to trust and obey. The second was to show the elders of Israel that Jehovah was with Moses and could deliver them from Egypt. The third time was to manifest Jehovah’s power to Pharaoh so that he would acknowledge His authority over Israel. Otherwise Pharaoh would be destroyed.
The act of casting the rod to the ground shows what happens when men leave God out and do their own will unguided by God; they become a tool of Satan like the rod which became a serpent. Pharaoh was one who would not recognize God’s authority. Jehovah showed Moses, Israel and Pharaoh how to become a useful rod of guidance, if they would submit to Him. Jehovah alone, the God of Israel, can take instruments under Satan’s power and deliver them, making them a blessing.
The blessing of the power with the rod was not turning it into a serpent, but rather taking it up again as a useful tool. Even the magicians could imitate the first part of the sign, although Moses and Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. This was a witness that God’s power is greater. Satan is a destroyer, but he is a defeated foe. God alone is Almighty. But Pharaoh remained obdurate to the testimony of Jehovah by Moses, leading to the destruction of Egypt, to the death of his firstborn, and to his own death. Pharaoh, by following Satan, was destroyed.
The only way of deliverance from the power of Satan is through obedience to the Word of God. We need not fear Satan, but only obey God’s Word. His desire is for us to serve, to take whatever ability we have in our hand and to serve Him. But if we proceed to do our own will with our abilities, they will become like the rod cast down to the earth and turning into a serpent. Satan will use it for himself. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). May the Lord help us to walk in obedience, proving the power of God to deliver from Satan.
The Leprous Hand
The second sign involved Moses’s hand and bosom. “The Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh” (Ex. 4:67). This sign is a picture of dealing with the enemy within, the flesh. We must learn that the fruit of the flesh is bad, and that the root is also bad. When Moses put his hand into his bosom the first time, he learned that the fruit of the flesh was leprous and bad. As it says in Romans 3:10-11, “There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” When he put his leprous hand into his bosom the second time, he recognized the source of the evil, his bosom. “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not” (Rom. 7:18). But the Lord does not leave Moses with the leprous hand in his bosom; He tells him to pluck it out, and when he did it was cleansed. “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. . . . For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 7:2425; 8:2). This is the way of victory over our enemy within, called the flesh. When we recognize it for what it is, the Lord Jesus gives deliverance from its dominion through the power of the new life of the Spirit. As long as we think there is still good in the flesh, we will fail in suppressing its evil.
The Lord taught Moses this lesson before he began to help the children of Israel. The power over leprosy was, in fact, a testimony to others that the Lord was with him. Only once is it recorded that Moses lost his patience, letting the flesh manifest itself. It is necessary to learn this lesson before we begin to serve the Lord in public. It only takes a little of the flesh to destroy much good.
The miracle of the leprous hand was not performed before Pharaoh. It was for Moses and the children of Israel. Those who are not sanctified by the Lord have no deliverance from their flesh. We who are believers have much to learn from it, but we should take care not to speak of our flesh before unbelievers.
The Water Poured Out As Blood
The third sign deals with recognizing Egypt, a picture of the world, to be under condemnation. The world should have no claim on the believer, as Egypt was to have no claim on Israel. “It shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land” (Ex. 4:9). The water from the river was the natural life in Egypt. When Moses poured it out on the dry land it became blood, that is, a figure of death. This was the act of recognizing it under the sentence of condemnation. None of the resources of Egypt were to be counted upon as sustaining life for Moses or the children of Israel. “This I say, brethren, the time is straitened. . . . They that use the world, as not disposing of it as their own; for the fashion of this world passes” (1 Cor. 7:29,31 JND).
This is not speaking of the world as the creation made beautiful by God, but as the system which has been developed by man to make for himself a place without God. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:15-16).
The snare of worldliness is a great temptation for us today. The world system of living has many attractive features. There are many parts to it, each one catering to different interests of men. If we are not able to resist the world, we will become nonproductive and powerless in our testimony. We must be able to say “No” to its clamors and attractions. The secret is to be able to regard the life of the world as a dead thing; then it will have no power over us. When Moses did this, it convinced Israel to be ready to leave Egypt. We ought to have that testimony to those around us, that we are ready to leave this world for a better one.
These three signs convinced Israel that Jehovah was with Moses and would deliver them from Egypt. We also have every provision to follow the Lord Jesus, our deliverer. “In nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God” (Phil. 1:28). “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10).
D. C. Buchanan r
Overcome or Overcomer
The question then is, Am I to get under the power of this world, or am I to overcome it (in my heart, I mean)? 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 it? 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.
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. Look at Abraham’s history. He sojourned in a strange country where he had not a place so much as 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 not true of the heathen world only. 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 and prophets, and the world had beaten one and stoned another and killed another. Then He said, I will send My beloved Son; it may be 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. I shall not want the world if Christ is in my heart. If my delight is in that in which God delights, that is, in Christ, then I can overcome. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
J. N. Darby r
A “Man in Christ” and the Flesh
There is a great contrast between the beginning and end of 2 Corinthians 12 — between Paul caught up to the third heaven and the Christians at Corinth — between what a Christian should be and what he can descend to. In verse 2 Paul speaks of himself as a man in Christ, and this is what characterizes every Christian, the whole church. It was not as an apostle that Paul was caught up to the third heaven, but as a man in Christ, on a level with the rest of the church. He that is in Christ is a new creation and has his place in the third heaven, although every man in Christ is not caught up there like the Apostle. But we are quickened together with Christ, seated together in heavenly places in Christ. There is no spot which faith cannot penetrate.
Paul did not receive a revelation in the third heaven in order to communicate it to others; on the contrary, he went there to hear mysteries which it is not lawful for a man to utter; he went there to realize the presence of God and to draw from this his strength. When the eye of faith penetrates God’s presence, it finds there, together with communion, strength to walk before Him in all circumstances. Neither is it here as on the mount of transfiguration, the sight of the future glory of Christ; it is communion with God, in which the body cannot share, to which it even becomes insensible. The principle of this communion applies to us all; the degree is not the same as with Paul, but our great and common privilege is this: “That ye also may have fellowship with us [the apostles]; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).
The Two Prayers of Ephesians
Ephesians 1:15-20 and 3:14-21 contain two very different prayers. The first has in view the knowledge of the glory of Christ and what is connected with it; the second expresses the desire that our souls should enjoy communion with God. The Apostle asks that we may be strengthened by the Holy Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith and that we may be filled with the knowledge of the love of Christ unto all the fullness of God. We cannot realize these blessings when we are seeking after things down here, for then we are grieving the Holy Spirit, and the inner man is at once weakened.
What was Paul’s subject of glory? Not what he was, nor what he had done, but his infirmities (vs. 9). In communion with God he had learned that his strength was in God. If, in the infirmity of the flesh (Gal. 4:13), he had been the means of the conversion of many, it was that the power of God was with him, so that he took pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake; the flesh had not part in all that, nor did it countenance it.
The Thorn in the Flesh
Directly the Apostle regains consciousness of his presence in the flesh, this latter seeks to exalt itself, and God sends the thorn. The flesh seeks relief; it fears fighting and difficulties, but God will not relieve it at the expense of the soul. It is possible to pray earnestly for the healing of infirmities or for deliverance out of painful circumstances, which God will not grant. Our dependence on God is thereby increased. We ought not only to expect infirmities, but to take pleasure in them, that the power of Christ may be manifested in us.
This thorn in the flesh given to Paul in order that he should not exalt himself was something that rendered him contemptible in his preaching (Gal. 4:13-14). It was a counterpoise to the rapture with which he had been honored. We may not necessarily have the identical thorn that Paul had, but God will always send us the needed one. It is Satan that God employs against the flesh, and Satan acts on the flesh in four different ways.
Four Actions of Satan
on the Flesh
1. Before conversion, the flesh is under the dominion of Satan, the conscience being hardened. This was the case with Judas, who loved money and was a thief. When he had taken the sop, Satan entered into him to instigate him to unbridled iniquity and to deliver him afterwards to despair in beholding the result of his crime.
2. Before conversion, the flesh is enticed to act by the seductions of Satan.
3. After conversion, the flesh remains always there and can fall under the direct action of Satan, if the Spirit, the seal of redemption, has not yet been given, or else if He has not yet accomplished the work of deliverance in us. Such ones find themselves then, like Peter, opposing Christ at almost every turn. Before the transfiguration, when Jesus spoke of His approaching sufferings and Peter, out of affection but in the flesh, wished to dissuade Him, the Lord replies, “Get thee behind Me, Satan” (Matt. 16:23).
4. Satan desires to have us that he may sift us as wheat by means of the flesh. Jesus announces it to His disciples and prays especially for Peter, in whom the flesh was strong.
The Flesh in a Christian
Peter put himself forward on every occasion and showed each time that the flesh is the exact opposite of Christ. Jesus said to the disciples, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” This is not yet entering into sin. The effect of the Spirit was to incite Christ to prayer, so that when the temptation came, it had no power over Him, but the three disciples, instead of watching and praying, sleep for sorrow, and when the temptation comes they are a prey to it. In the moment when all that could break the Lord’s heart was combined against Him and when Judas betrayed Him by a kiss, Jesus remains calm, submits, yields Himself up, undergoes humiliation to the full, and Peter draws his sword. The flesh leads into temptation, but sustains no one in it; it leads Peter to the high priest. There Jesus bears a glorious testimony; Peter, incited by Satan, denies Him. In everything the flesh is opposed to Christ, and yet Peter truly loved the Lord. Even after having received the Holy Spirit, we find Peter still acting in the flesh (Gal. 2:11-21).
Every time that a Christian acts according to the flesh, what there is in him of piety sanctions and authorizes in the eyes of others his evil action. When the flesh is at work in a Christian, the effects are, for this very reason, much more fatal than in an unconverted person. Peter, by his example, led all the Jews at Antioch, even the Apostle Barnabas, into his dissimulation.
To have been in the third heavens even does not change the flesh in any way. It exalted itself and could say to Paul, “No one but you has been there.” It is then that the messenger of Satan has permission to buffet him, but becomes the instrument of the goodness of God for preventing Paul from exalting himself. God does not Himself do that, but Satan, who loves to hurt the children of God, is employed by Him as a means of making the flesh disagreeable to us, just where it would desire to exalt itself and be esteemed.
Circumstances painful to the flesh are the most profitable for the soul. It would be useless for a father to inflict a punishment which would not be felt as one by his child. The work and power of God in us, as well as our own weakness, are manifested in these difficulties. When something trying is before us, God’s answer is, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” God would have us in His presence in joy, and all which makes us suffer in the flesh is especially profitable.
J. N. Darby r
Christ Dead to the World
The moment I find Christ my Saviour is dead to the world, I become dead to the world also. I not only find my treasure in Him, but the very religion of the world judged, because Christ was cast out by the world’s religion. When He comes with clouds, every eye shall see Him. But this will not be the case when He comes to fetch His church. God is gathering the friends of Christ around the name of Christ now. The church is a body which is called while Christ is not seen, and the Christian, having his portion in Him now, is hidden with Him. “Your life is hid with Christ in God.”
W. Kelly r
The Work and Way of Satan
Satan is a fallen creature and he does not possess either omniscience or omnipotence. John 8:44 is a distinct testimony. Many Christians believe that Satan is represented under the figure of the king of Tyrus in Ezekiel 28:17, and I think they are right. But Satan has a whole multitude of demons under his authority—so much so that in the poor Gadarene there was a legion. He is the prince of the demons. With respect to the knowledge of thoughts, he does not know them intuitively, as God does, but he knows as a spirit full of intelligence and subtlety, who discerns with the greatest clearness the motives of the heart and who has gained experience by the practice of many thousand years, but I believe that he understands nothing of the power of love. He was able in his malice to raise up the Chaldeans, through the desire of plunder, against Job, but, not in any way knowing the purpose of God to bless him by this means, he did nothing but fulfill it. He did all that he could to get Christ put to death, but he only fulfilled the wonderful purpose of God for our salvation.
However, when he has to do with the evil heart of man, the case is different. He can present objects to awaken lusts. If we reckon ourselves to be dead, dead to sin and alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord, he is not able to tempt us; at least, the temptation remains without effect. But if the flesh is not held as dead, then he can present objects which the flesh likes and suggest to a man the means of satisfying his lusts. Thus he put it into the heart of Judas to betray Jesus for a little money. But man is responsible, because without lust Satan could do nothing: He has nothing to offer to the new man, or if he offers anything, it only produces horror in the soul; the soul suffers as Christ suffered at the sight of evil in this world, or else it overcomes as Christ overcame in the wilderness. But when the soul is not set free, Satan can indeed insinuate wicked thoughts and unbelieving thoughts and words of blasphemy, in such a way that these words and thoughts seem to proceed from the man himself. Nevertheless, if the man is truly converted, we always find that he has a sense of horror at the things that arise in his mind, and we see that they are not really his own thoughts. If he is not converted, he does not distinguish between the demon and himself, as we find in the Gospels. But also when he is converted, it is a proof that he has opened the door to the devil by sin — hidden sin it may be — or by negligence. Further, Satan is the prince of this world and its god, and he governs the world by means of the passions and lusts of men, and he is able to raise up the whole world against Christians, as he did against Christ, and so try their faith.
He can seek to mingle truth and error, and thus deceive Christians if they are not spiritual. He can, as did the demon at Philippi, get Christians mixed up with the world in order to destroy the testimony of God; he can change himself into an angel of light, but the spiritual man discerns all things (1 Cor. 2:15 JND). Satan has little power over us if we walk humbly, close to the Lord, following faithfully the Word of God, having Christ as the only object of the heart. Satan knows well that he has been conquered; therefore it is said, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” His influence in the world is very great through the motives of the human heart, and he acts on men through each other; likewise, from the rapidity of his operations and actions, he appears to be everywhere, and then he employs a great multitude of servants who are all wicked. But in fact he is not present everywhere. Now God is really present, and if we are under the influence of the Spirit of God and the conscience is in the presence of God, Satan has no power. “He that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.” However things may be with us, if we are truly the children of God, he will fulfill the counsels of God with respect to us; it may be, if need be, by chastisement. But God knows all things; He in the most absolute sense penetrates everywhere. He orders all things — Satan’s efforts even — for our good. If we are armed with the whole armor of God, the darts of the evil one do not reach the soul.
J. N. Darby r
Worldliness and Nearness to Christ
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 not maintaining nearness to Christ, which the world would come in and hinder. Then I am open to all sorts of error, for I shall not like the trouble to be right if I am not near Christ. It is very troublesome and disagreeable sometimes to have to do with saints: One will not give up this thing, and another that, and if we are at a distance from Christ, we shall be ready to give them up and shall not take the pains to get them 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?”
J. N. Darby r
A Letter on Worldliness
Dear brother,
I should like to comment on the tendency in these days to worldliness, and more especially on the means employed by the enemy to divert Christians from a faithful path.
Many will immediately say, “While we are down here, we have occupations which bring us into direct contact with the world, and consequently it is impossible to fulfill our duties without more or less participating in the principles which govern it.” This I totally deny, and the Word shows us clearly that there is in us a power great enough to keep us unspotted from the world and capable of resisting it unto the end. The Word does not admit the possibility of our living out of the world; on the contrary, it teaches us that we are left in it, but that we are kept from the evil (John 17:15; 1 Cor. 5:10), and in order to encourage us, it tells us that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). What then is lacking? God has put at our disposal all the weapons necessary to meet the assaults of the enemy, and if we allow ourselves to be beaten, it is either that we fail to employ the weapons with which God has furnished us, or that we misuse them. A true Christian pursues his trade honestly to gain his bread, but his real aim is to obtain everlasting glory with Christ, and this is a normal Christian according to the Word.
Satan’s Means
I come now to the means employed by Satan for turning us aside, if the heart is not truly attached to the person of Christ. While perhaps avoiding serious falls and flagrant sins, we can easily allow ourselves to be overcome, little by little, by worldly ways, by the claims of society, or by old friends. We fail to see that the divine life in us loses its energy and that gradually “old things” take possession of our hearts. At first we suffer and almost make a sacrifice to please the world in things that are not evil in themselves, but we end by having a taste for the “old wine” (Luke 5:39) and forget that the new is much better.
We have a picture of all this in the history of Solomon. He never had a fall like his father David, but a careful examination of his conduct will reveal to us a gradual return to the world. His reign opened amid the glory of a little millennium, and around him all was joy and peace, but unhappily it was of short duration. As time goes on, it is easy to see that his pristine glory fades, his heart turns to the world, and the world becomes his master. The reign which began with peace and glory and the knowledge of God is terminated amid idols and strange women. And how had this decadence begun? Note, it did not happen all at once, but gradually — insensibly the things of the world gained access to his heart, and he went from bad to worse till he became an idolater.
This may be a wholesome warning to us and certainly shows us why John said to the young men who were already strong in Christian life, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world” (1 John 2:15). We are in the truth, but we are not out of danger, and the Lord alone can keep us faithful.
Among Satan’s many devices for lowering the saints is that of subtly introducing the world without their being aware of it. On this account, it is well not to be ignorant of his weapons, so as to be able to turn them aside. I will try and indicate some of them, with the hope that we may profit by the experience of other Christians who have preceded us on this difficult road.
Old Acquaintances
In the foremost rank may be placed old acquaintances, because we have been on intimate terms with them, and our weaknesses are known to them. There are only two ways of avoiding this danger, either to break off all connection with them, or to preach the truth to them, by showing them that we have found an object worthy of our affections and who is jealous of any friendship which is not based on the work of redemption. I admit the difficulty of turning our back on an old friend, who has perhaps been of service to us and the enemy takes occasion by all this to keep us in slavery and to allure us into an atmosphere very unhealthy for those whose senses are fitted for a heavenly one. It may happen, for instance, that a worldly acquaintance of former days comes in and expresses a wish to pass an evening with us. What should be done under such circumstances? If we are not careful, it may become the means of making us miss a meeting or a projected study of the Word with others, so what is the right path? I think the best service we can render to a worldly friend who persists in seeking our friendship is to speak to him faithfully of the Saviour’s work. The result will be generally one of two — if he listens, so much the better; the Lord can work and help us to win a soul. If he does not listen, he will probably complain that we have changed and are less amiable than formerly, but meanwhile we shall be left free to follow the Lord. This may appear a hard thing, as truly it is to the flesh, and it would be an ignoble action if the motive were not the Lord’s, but we ought not to forget what Peter said to his contemporaries, “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin” (1 Peter 4:1). And then there is the exhortation which Paul addressed to the Corinthians, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:17-18).
Old Habits
Next to former friends, our greatest danger lies in old habits, tastes of the first Adam, which are so easily reawakened in us. What a sad thing to be a Christian and yet to go on with the ways that we allowed before knowing the Lord! The Cretians by nature were liars, and they remained so although converted (Titus 1:12-13), but they were to be rebuked sharply, because they were not walking according to the new man or in dependence on the Spirit of God.
There are many of our brethren who, without falling into open sin, allow old things, already judged as hurtful, to take possession of the heart, and here is a principle cause of the weakness they often lament. I admit that our characters are different and that tastes differ according to temperaments, but these are the things inherent in the first man, and if we follow our individual tastes, we shall get out of the sphere of Christian communion, where a taste for the Lord Jesus is the only thing. If, for instance, the reader of novels hunts up some old story to pass the time, and thus if each of us turns back to some occupation which we loved in days before the light reached us, who will be occupied with Jesus of Nazareth? who will proclaim His virtues? who will exalt Him in a song of praise? Remember Elisha, who, before putting on Elijah’s mantle, rent his own garments.
Present Possessions
I must not omit to mention another weapon which Satan uses successfully in his work of drawing back into the world those whom God has set apart for Himself; it is present things — the very air which surrounds us. It is quite true that the majority of Christians do not care for the world in its most ostensible forms; they do not go to parties or gamble, but is that enough? The Word says to us, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world,” and it is evident that many, without loving the world in its most popular garb, love certain things which are in the world. It is very easy to be led away by an object which in itself is not evil, but if our hearts are ensnared by things which are seen, we lose the taste for things which are not seen, and thus unwittingly we find ourselves in a worldly atmosphere.
The other day I received a letter from a brother which I hoped might contain some word of edification; on the contrary, I found it full of a great industrial and artistic exhibition which was on hand in a European city. You can conceive, dear brother, my astonishment. But that is what we have come to. In the meetings we say we are heavenly, we print and read good books, we publish excellent periodicals, and then, from the practices of many among us, we see that hearts are full of worldly things and insensible to the glory of Jesus, which we shall so soon inherit. I do not say that art and science are bad things, but I would remind you, nevertheless, that Adam made a very wrong use of the trees in the garden of Eden, which in themselves were not bad things, when he used them to hide from God.
E. L. Bevir, Christian Friend r
The Decline of Christianity
A recent article entitled “The End of Christian America” in the widely read American magazine “Newsweek” contained a number of disturbing statistics concerning the decline of Christianity in the U.S.A. This has had predictable consequences and is associated with other disturbing trends. A number of states have already passed legislation legalizing same-sex marriages, and others are poised to follow suit. In some cases, the clear statements of Scripture have been labeled as “hate literature,” and there has been an increasing tendency to liberalism of all kinds. People are saying, “I don’t want to be told what to do with my life,” and as one commentator remarked, “We are now seeing a generation that listens with its eyes and thinks with its feelings.” We talk about how we feel but do not deal with knowledge. Really deep knowledge is moral knowledge, but moral feelings are very unreliable. The end result of all this is not merely what some would call freedom, but an amoral society with no absolute values at all. Similar trends are present in Canada and have also been eroding morality in Western Europe for some time.
The Amoral Society
In discussing these trends, many of the news media are clearly elated and remind us that “religion” should not be a factor in the politics of a country. In the U.S.A., references are made to the “founding fathers” and their desire for the separation of church and state. But let us make no mistake; those who gloat over the decline of Christianity are not merely interested in ensuring that minority groups and unbelievers have an equal voice. Rather, their mission is to remove any vestige of Christian principles from the country and replace it with a diluted, humanistic, and amoral spirituality that encompasses everything from paganism to New Age philosophy. It is one thing not to insist on doctrinal agreement; it is quite another to seek to remove any moral basis for human thinking and behavior.
We can be thankful for the Christian influence that continues to exist in the traditional bastions of Christianity, such as Western Europe and North America. Fully one-third of Americans still say that they are “born again,” although the term may mean different things to different people. There is still total freedom to read and preach the Word of God in the areas mentioned, and for the most part, Christian principles still undergird most of the laws. However, some comments can be made concerning the trends we are witnessing.
God’s Prediction
First of all, believers need not be surprised or dismayed by such things. God has told us in His Word that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse” (2 Tim. 3:13), and that there will be “mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts” (Jude 18). The final end of Christendom will be judgment, not revival and blessing. Some dear believers are vainly trying to turn the tide, and in turn experience increasing frustration when things get worse instead of better. But it is only “when Thy judgments are in the earth” that “the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isa. 26:9). Our part is to obey the “powers that be,” seeing they are ordained of God, but our time to rule is in the future, not in the present.
Persecution for Our Faith
Second, it is clear that the freedoms that believers in Western countries have perhaps taken for granted for so long may not be ours indefinitely. As evil continues in the ascendancy, we may well experience what our brethren in other parts of the world have taken for granted for many years, namely, persecution for our faith. If the persecution does not always take a serious outward form, it may still show itself in more subtle ways. It may become increasingly difficult for parents to raise their children according to the truth of God’s Word and to educate them in a right way. For example, in some countries of Western Europe it is already illegal for parents to spank their children, and a number of Christian parents have been jailed for it. It may become increasingly difficult for us to find suitable employment that allows us to work with a good conscience before God. It may become more and more difficult to carry out even the basic matters of business connected with buying and selling, without compromising our Christian testimony. It may become harder to worship according to God’s Word, as Satan takes more and more control. But let us also remember that God is ultimately in control and will never give us truth in His Word that is impossible to carry out. The path may be difficult and a narrow one, but that path will be there until our Savior returns for us. He has promised this! In the midst of outward failure of every kind, Paul’s word to Timothy was, “Continue thou,” and so it is for us today.
Self-Centeredness
Third, we will see an increasing emphasis on self in the world around us, in every way. As secular humanism replaces the worship of God and men call themselves “spiritual” instead of “religious,” man will become more and more the focus, with serious consequences. Already authorities are complaining about the “narcissism epidemic” and the sense of entitlement that characterizes young people (and often those not so young!) who have an exaggerated sense of self-worth. The result of this is discourtesy at every level of everyday life and disaster in more serious areas such as the working environment and marriage. The distortion and ultimate abandoning of Christian principles has encouraged this, rather than correcting it.
A Sign of the Lord’s Coming
Finally, on a brighter note, we can take courage as we see that “the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” (James 5:8). God has told us ahead of time that all these things will come to pass, so that His own need not be dismayed as they see the condition of this world. Our hearts should be burdened for the lost, and all this should make us redouble our efforts to spread the gospel, but our feet can indeed be “shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15). The soldier who wears the whole armor of God will at the same time be a man of peace, for He knows the end of the battle and does not need to live in uncertainty or alarm.
As we see all of man’s purposes and movements causing an interplay of economic and nationalistic forces with which he is unable to cope, we can rest assured that all will only accomplish God’s purposes in the end. God will shortly “head up all things in the Christ,” the One “in whom we have also obtained an inheritance” (Eph. 1:10-11 JND).
W. J. Prost r
The Enemy’s Temptations
In the temptation of the Lord Jesus in the wilderness, Luke departs from the order of fact and gives us the moral sequence. He puts them in the order of magnitude and rises from the natural trial to the worldly one, and then to the religious temptation.
The old man has to be judged, denied, treated as vile, but the body is even now made the temple of the Holy Spirit. Adam, before he fell, had body, soul and spirit, but directly he fell, he acquired self-will —the loving to have his own way. This is a thing we should always treat as evil and judge ourselves if in any way we allow it to act. What can give a man such power against it as Christ known thus in full delivering grace? Like the captured sword of Goliath, of weapons “there is none like that.” If I am dead and risen with Christ, where is the old man? It does not exist in the sight of God; therefore we are not to allow it in the sight of men.
The prime thought of worldly religion is correcting the flesh and improving the world. The mind finds greater glory in itself by ascetic efforts. Neglect of the body may be at the same time a puffing up of the flesh. It was a heathenish idea, the foster child of philosophy. They willingly believed that the soul was holy if not the body, some contending that the soul came from God and the body from the devil. This was productive of frightful evil, to the destruction of all morality. Is there not an answer in Christ to all these wanderings of the human mind? Receiving the truth in Him, you get that which defeats the object of Satan, but the Holy Spirit alone, if I may so say, makes it to be truth in us. May it be received in the love of it, that thus there may be abundant fruit of righteousness by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
W. Kelly r