OVERCOMING WORLDLINESS—By Ira North
OVERCOMING WORLDLINESS---By Ira North OVERCOMING WORLDLINESS
Ira North My heart overflows with happiness to be back again at Abilene Christian College. I remember so vividly and pleasantly my school days on this campus. I shall always be grateful for the influence this school has had on my life. It has been a thrilling experience to watch my Alma Mater grow in service to the young men and women of our generation. As long as there is value in Christian young people associating together, associating with Christian teachers, and studying the Bible, just that long will there be a need for Abilene Christian College. I am glad that I have the privilege of making a small and humble gift to this great work each month. The subject that has been assigned to me is “Over-coming Worldliness.” I would like for us to note 1 John 2:15-16 : “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, if a 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.”
We use the word “world” in at least three senses. First, we use it to refer to the material creation, such as the rivers and the mountains, etc. It is certainly right that we love and appreciate such beautiful things of nature. David teaches us that the earth showeth forth the handiwork of our God. We have a greater appreciation of our Heavenly Father when we take time to enjoy the beautiful things of nature that he has provided. God has always wanted men to love the beautiful. This we learn in the very beginning when God in the Garden of Eden surrounded man with the beautiful and the good.
Secondly, we use the word “world” to refer to people on the earth. We find the word so used in the Scriptures. In John 3:16 we are told, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” We are taught to love the souls of men and women everywhere, and in this sense we must love the world.
Thirdly, the word “world” is used to denote the love of the material as opposed to the spiritual. John tells us to love not the world neither the things that are in the world. He then lists the things in the w'orld: (1) the lust of the flesh, (2) the lust of the eye, (3) the vainglory of life. It is in this sense that Christians must not love the world. We must not yield to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the vainglory of life.
Thayer defines lust as a desire for what is forbidden. A desire that is legitimate, that is fulfilled in harmony with the word of God, is not lust. There is no normal and natural desire within the human body that is wrong when fulfilled according to God's law. It is the abuse and the misuse of God-given desires that is the lust of the flesh. Brother D. Ellis Walker makes this thought very clear in his excellent booklet entitled, “A Bible Definition of Worldliness.” For example, in regard to the sexual desire he says:
“. . . let us consider the sexual appetite. Here is a desire which rivals hunger and thirst in strength. The Bible teaches that it may be satisfied not only for the purpose of procreation, but also for the mutual pleasure of husband and wife (1 Corinthians 7:26). The mere presence of the sexual drive is not to be construed as lust—unlawful desire. It is both natural and right for young people, passing through middle and later adolescence, to desire the company of the opposite sex. It is both natural and right for them to marry (if they do so in harmony with God’s ordinances) and to render unto each other the “due benevolence” (1 Corinthians 7:3) which each is entitled to in the conjugal relationship. But the desire to satisfy the sexual appetite in an unlawful way is lust. Marriage was not ordained of God just to satisfy the sexual appetite—marriage is much more than that. But the desire to satisfy the sexual appetite through fornication or adultery is lust—it is forbidden by Christ (Matthew 5:27-28).”
Let us, therefore, remember that lust is the desire for that which is forbidden by God. And let us determine to keep our heart free from fleshly lust; for unless we do, sin will surely overtake us. James says, “. . . every man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hast conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished bringeth forth death” (James 1:14-15).
Brother Walker also points out in his booklet on worldlineses: “An unlawful desire in the heart, like the germ of life in a fertile egg, will hatch out into the very act of sin, whenever the proper conditions are present.” The vainglory of life is worldliness just as is dancing, drinking, and cursing. Christians should give careful consideration to this matter of the pride of life. There are two outstanding dangers that face man everywhere—one is the love of money, and the other is the love of power. It is hard for man to be satisfied with either, for the more he gets, the more he wants. Christians are not to glory in money or power. The man in the church who glories in power, the fellow who is in favor of anything that is his own idea but opposed to anything he does not think of, may well be glorying in his own prestige and power. The pride of life, the vainglory of life, may well be the seed of dictatorship in the church as in politics. Brethren, when we glory in our power, our prestige, our money, we are indeed worldly. In Jeremiah 9:23-24, we read:
“Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he un- derstandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercises lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord."
If we glory in our wisdom, our might, or our riches, our glory is vain—in other words we are worldly. This does not mean that riches and honor cannot come through service, but it does mean that we must not glory in them.
There are women who live to show off beautiful clothes, big automobiles, and fine homes. This is the very purpose of their lives. They live for delight in showing off these material things. Such a woman is worldly even though she does not drink or commit adultery.
Apparently, the time has come when those of us who teach in Christian colleges must do graduate work. We are compelled to get higher degrees if our colleges are to be fully accredited. However, we must remember that we are never to glory in these degrees. If we glory in these academic degrees or in worldly wisdom, we are most assuredly worldly. Let us remember always that the power lies not in a degree, not in worldly wisdom, but in the word of the living God. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:1-8 :
“And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, not of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
I would like to mention four things this evening that I believe will help us greatly in our fight to overcome worldliness.
First of all, there must be a realization that there is a sacrifice in living a Christian life. We think too often that while the people of the first century were persecuted, we, on the contrary, do not have to sacrifice for Christ. It is true that we are not tortured physically today; it is true that we are not called on to forfeit our lives at the stake or in the mouth of the lion. However, Paul's statement that they that live godly shall suffer persecution is true today. Our persecution may be of a different nature, but it nevertheless does exist. There are perils in the twentieth century. There is sacrifice in living the Christian life.
Many times mental or psychological persecution might be as hard to overcome as physical torture. Let us take, for example, the modern business man. When this man goes to a convention, he may be tempted to drink, to curse, and to commit adultery. There might be pressure brought on him to do the things that he knows a Christian ought not to do. This man must keep in mind that Christians are a peculiar people and not yield to the temptation to be like those around him. The average high school student faces grave problems in living the Christian life. One of the most effective means of persecution against this particular group is that of ridicule. The devil knows that the youth who will brave bullets without flinching might quickly be overcome by ridicule. The young man or woman of our modern day high school must realize that there is a sacrifice to living a Christian life and must stand for purity even in the face of being tortured by ridicule. The very fact that perse-cutions come today as they do, in somewhat disguised form, may even be an added factor of danger.
We must realize that as Christians we do not think as the world thinks, we do not speak as the world speaks, and we do not live as the world does. A Christian is a changed man. All things are new, old things are passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17). When a man becomes a Christian, he has a different set of loyalties and a different source of security, for he no longer looks to his money or land, but to the Lord. He has a different purpose in life, a different outlook on life, for all things are become new. He has been born again.
Secondly, the study of God’s word will help us to overcome worldliness. It is hard to over-emphasize the need for study. There may well be a danger of rearing a generation in the church that does not know God’s Word.. I sometimes am amazed at how little freshman students (members of the church) know about the Bible. I remember a young lady in my freshman class in Bible who, on taking a test the first day the class met, declared that Moses was a New Testament character. It is also surprising to learn that many of these boys and girls cannot give book, chapter, and verse for the plan of salvation. I am talking about boys and girls who have attended Bible study in some congregation of the church. The girl who did not know that Moses was an Old Testament character, stated that she had attended Bible classes at her local congregation for seventeen years. I wonder if we are really doing a good job teaching the Bible in the local congregation. We invest very little money and very little time in this important thing of teaching. An honest sincere study of the Bible will help the Christian overcome worldliness.
I have heard the story that in Centerville, Tennessee, on one occasion years ago, the judge in the court, not having a Bible, suggested that the witness just place his hand on the head of a member of the church. A Baptist teacher in Nashville, Tennessee, a few weeks ago was asked to select a member of his Civic Club to appear on a television program. He was requested to select a man, not a member of the church of Christ, yet one who was familiar with the Bible. He replied, “It will be very hard to find any businessman who knows his Bible who is not a member of the church of Christ.” This was indeed a compliment and I hope members of the church are worthy of it.
If we are to avert the danger of worldliness in the church, we must encourage every member to study the Bible. And we must do a good job placing the word of God in the minds and hearts of our boys and girls. It is not enough for them to know the words of the Bible; we must also put within their hearts Christian attitudes. I have known men who knew what the Bible said and yet were great liabilities to the cause of Christ. They had the word in their head but not in their heart and life. Let me emphasize the fact that the danger of worldliness is for the old as well as the young. We never get too old to study the Bible. I was speaking the other day to Brother Price Billingsley, and he was telling me some of his experiences with Brother David Lipscomb. He said after Brother Lipscomb had passed eighty years of age, he had seen him sit as long as five hours at a time reading and studying the Bible. Brother Lipscomb, when asked a question, re-read what the Bible said before giving the answer, even though he had read the answer many tmes before. We never get too old or too intelligent to study. As long as we live, we need to take seriously Paul’s advice found in 2 Timothy 2:15.
Thirdly, in overcoming worldliness, we must realize the value of work. In Brother L. L. Brigance’s sermon outline book, he has a lesson on worldliness in which he suggests work as the cure. This wise and beloved preacher, who taught for many years at Freed-Hardeman College, had something. The New Testament has much to say about work. John 9:4 reads: “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: The night cometh, when no man can work.” We are told that the brother who will not work is not to eat. Ardent toil will solve a multitude of problems. When I was a young boy, my father gave me a dollar a day to drive the tractor for the tenant on his farm. The farmer got up about 3:30 in the morning and worked until sundown. I could not understand at the time why my dad would give me a dollar a day to drive the tractor for the tenant. It was not his responsibility to do so. But, of course, I now know why. If he could keep me busy, he had solved a multitude of problems. In the church of our Lord, I fear we have a lot of worldliness simply because the members are not kept busy. Every member of the church should toil and visit and pray. Let us not be afraid of ivork. Too many people in our country today feel that Uncle Sam owes them a living and do not appreciate the dignity of honest toil. Brethren, too many in the church think that work is for the elders, the deacons, and the preacher, and for the other fellow. It is indeed amazing what can be done when every member of the church will work. It is surprising how little can be accomplished when the preacher tries to do all the praying, the visiting, and so forth.
I had a conversation the other day with my good friend, Harris Dark, who preaches for the Franklin Road congregation in Nashville. He told me this: “Starting with one Christian, telling one other person the gospel and each of those telling another, the process would have to be repeated only thirty times to include every individual on earth, white, black, yellow, rich or poor. Or again, if you assume 550,000 Christians to start with, the process would have to be repeated only eleven times to reach the entire world. Thus, allowing one month for each person to tell another, you could reach every creature on earth in eleven months.” Brethren, this beats any method of communication known to man. Brother Dark has a Ph.D. in mathematics. His figures should be correct. We will convert the world if we can teach every Christian to work. The early church went everywhere preaching the word—we go everywhere period. God wants every man on earth to be put on the spot— God wants every man to hear the gospel and say yes or no to its plea. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned.”
Brethren, we have been thinking too small and our vision has been too limited. You may think Abilene is a big, big school. I am proud of this college, but, brethren, it isn’t anything to brag about in size. It is small. The last time I was a student at the University of Illinois, if I remember correctly, we had 29,000 students. This one university in a little town about the size of Abilene had three times as many faculty and staff members as we have students here at A. C. C. You could probably put most of the buildings at A. C. C., David Lipscomb, Harding, and Freed-Hardeman College in the football stadium there at Champaign. I heard the other day that there are 30,000,000 Catholics in the United States of America —and this a protestant nation! I am told there are only a million and a half members of the church of Christ. Some seem to think that the church is getting big and powerful and they boast at what has been done. And apparently, some think that it is time to bring in the wrecking crew, split churches, sow discord, and cause trouble. The truth of it is, we haven’t even begun to work. The truth of it is this —we have not even scratched the surface, no not even in Texas. God help us to lift up our eyes and look on the fields. I suppose Jesus Christ had more vision than any man that has ever lived. He was the most optimistic man the world has ever known. He told twelve men to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had the vision, the optimism, and the enthusiasm of Jesus? If we did, we could turn the world upside down in this generation. The church today, as in the first century, would know something of multiplication. We know a little about addition and subtraction, but brethren, in the first century the church knew something about multiplication. The fourth suggestion that I have for overcoming worldliness is courage. This we must have to overcome the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the vainglory of life. Christians must be men of courage and conviction. I fear today in this great land of ours that we are rearing a generation of young men and women who do not have convictions about many things. One man with conviction will do more to influence the world than a hundred men without it. A year or two ago, while doing some research in the Library of Congress, I visited the site of the Battle of Bull Run over in Virginia. I stood on the hill where a famous Civil War general received the nickname of “Stonewall.” Many thought in this first great encounter between the North and South, that the North would squelch the South in one battle and the war would be over. During the early part of the battle, it seemed that this prediction would come true. The South was retreating in the earlier stages of the battle. But when the Notrhern troops came to Henry Hill, they ran up against a stone wall. In the valley below a Southern general said to his retreating soldiers: “Look, there stands Jackson like a wall.” The magnificent courage of Stonewall Jackson was an in-spiration to the Southern troops. They rallied and soon the tide of the battle had turned. The Union withdrawal finally turned into one of the most disorderly retreats of any American army in history. I am suggesting that as Stonewall Jackson courageously stood in the carnal fight, let us with just as much courage and moral stamina stand in the fight against worldliness. We must have the faith and the courage to do what the Lord says, to place our complete trust in him, and courageously stand against the forces of evil.
I heard this illustration the other day, and although many of you have heard it, I want to repeat it. A man was walking a tight wire. He asked how many of the people in the audience believed he could walk the wire backwards. Many hands went up and he walked the wire backwards. “How many of you believe I can push a wheelbarrow across the wire?” he asked, and many hands went up. He then rolled the wheelbarrow across the wire. “How many of you believe I can roll the wheelbarrow across the wire with a man in it?” Hands went up again. After this came the real question, “How many of you are willing to get in the wheelbarrow?” Not a single hand was raised. To overcome worldliness, we must be willing to get into the wheelbarrow. We must be willing not only to live for Christ, but if need be to suffer and die for Christ. With this type of courage we can overcome worldliness. In conclusion, I want to emphasize the fact that we CAN overcome worldliness. Genuine Biblical faith will certainly lead us to a realization that there is sacrifice in living the Christian life, to a diligent study of God’s word, to an active work in the Kingdom, and to the highest type of moral courage. With this in mind I know of no better summary of what I have tried to say than that which is found in 1 John 5:4. “. . . and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”