44 lines
3.9 KiB
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44 lines
3.9 KiB
HTML
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<title>How Can the Believer Defend against Worldliness?</title>
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<div class="head">How Can the Believer Defend against Worldliness?</div>
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<p>Worldliness may be defined as enjoying our participation in this present world system to the place where we neglect the things of God. Worldliness attempts to pull us away from our first love.</p>
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<p><b>How to Defend</b></p>
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<p>There are certain things believers can do to defend against and prevent worldliness from affecting us.
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<p><b>1. Not Friendly to World</b></p>
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<p>The Bible tells us not to befriend this world system, which, by nature, is anti-Christian.
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<blockquote><p>Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God (<a id="nbi578-si1" onClick="return mV('Jam',4,4);">Jam 4:4</a>).</p>
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<p>Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world (<a id="nbi578-si2" onClick="return mV('Jam',1,27);">Jam 1:27</a>).</p></blockquote>
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<p><b>2. Refused to Be Molded</b></p>
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<p>The Christian can defend against worldliness by turning themself over to God and refusing to be molded to our present world system.
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<blockquote><p>I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (<a id="nbi578-si3" onClick="return mV('Rom',12,1);">Rom 12:1</a>).</p></blockquote>
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<p>We are commanded not to willingly give ourselves over to the world.
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<blockquote><p>Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him (<a id="nbi578-si4" onClick="return mV('1Jo',2,15);">1Jo 2:15</a>).</p></blockquote>
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<p><b>3. Looking for His Return</b></p>
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<p>We are to deny worldly lust by keeping our excitement centered on the return of Christ.
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<blockquote><p>For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works (<a id="nbi578-si5" onClick="return mV('Tts',2,'11-14');">Tts 2:11-14</a>).</p></blockquote>
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<p>If our minds are centered on Jesus Christ, His kingdom, and His return to earth, then the things of this world will not be attractive to us.
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<p><b>4. Use but Not Abuse</b></p>
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<p>We are to use the world but not abuse it.
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<blockquote><p>Those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of the world is passing away (<a id="nbi578-si6" onClick="return mV('1Cr',7,31);">1Cr 7:31</a>).</p></blockquote>
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<p><b>5. Aloof to the World</b></p>
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<p>We should maintain an attitude of aloofness to the world. James wrote:
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<blockquote><p>Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world (<a id="nbi578-si7" onClick="return mV('Jam',1,27);">Jam 1:27</a>).</p></blockquote>
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<p><b>Summary</b></p>
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<p>Believers are commanded to not love this present world system. Though we have to live in it, it is not our home.
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