Page 88 - Christ and Culture Textbook

to God’s will and God’s Word in this way: “I delight to do Thy will, O my God; Thy law is within my
heart.”

By receiving and obeying God’s Word we lay the foundation for God’s Spirit to construct biblical
values and virtues in our character. The root of a tree determines the fruit of a tree; the source of a well
determines the water of the well; and the character of a person determines the outward moral and
spiritual characteristics of a person. Therefore, the ultimate cure for worldliness in Christians is
transformation of their character by the Spirit of God through the Word of God.

Such obsessive love for things is a form of idolatry, which characterizes the unsaved “who set their
minds on earthly things” (Phil. 3:19). Christians are warned, “Guard yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21)
As Paul wrote, “All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Cor. 6:12).
Don’t put your hope in the created things because they will all pass away. “The world is passing away,
and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17). When we live for
the Lord and other people and not for the evil world system, we live for what lasts. Avoid worldliness in
your thoughts and attitudes as well as in your conduct. Then your innermost character and also your
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conduct will be genuine and not hypocritical.

Love God the Father and not the world. “If anyone loves 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 boastful pride of life, is
not from the Father, but is from the world” (1 John 2:15–16). We cannot love opposites at the same
time just as a physical object cannot travel in opposite directions at the same time. “No one can serve
two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matt. 6:24).

The world tempts Christians to reduce their love for the Father. Temptations from the world come
through “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life” (1 John 2:16). The
world relentlessly tells us, “Obey your thirst. Satisfy your hunger. Fulfill your sexual desires.” These
legitimate desires can be properly fulfilled in the Father’s time and way. But the world implores us,
“Love yourself and not the Father. Gratify your desires now in your way.” Satan and our fleshly lusts
intensify our urge to yield to the world’s temptations. The pull of the world is strong, but we can say no
to the world by applying the Word and relying on the Spirit. And we can respond in this way because we
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love the Father (John 14:31).

Distraction from the world requires a positive attraction of love for God. Jesus always obeyed the Father
because He loved the Father too much to disobey (John 14:31). The stronger our love for God, the
stronger our obedience to God and our resistance to the world. The more we learn of His love for us and
allow His love to flow into us by His Spirit (Rom. 5:5), the more we will love Him. “We love, because He
first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Our genuine love for God is really His love rebounding from our hearts and
directed back to Him. And growth in love for God lessens our love for the world.

Seek heavenly things and store up heavenly treasures. “If then you have been raised up with Christ,
keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the

39 Ibid.,1205.

40 Ibid.,1205.

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