Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World
C. J. Mahaney (Editor)
Life in this fallen world can draw our hearts far from God and from growth in godliness. Worldliness equips you to search your heart for the presence of worldliness and gives practical help for resisting the world’s influence in the areas of media, modesty, music, and material possessions.
ISBN-13: 9781433502804
Pages: 192
Here are a few lines from the first chapter:
Here’s one verse I find easy to ignore. It’s the simple, provocative words in 1 John 2:15:
“Do not love the world or anything in the world” (NIV). There’s nothing subtle about this sentence. It’s abrupt and to the point—only ten words. It is categorical: “Do not love the world.” It’s comprehensive: “Do not love anything in the world.” And it’s intrusive, strategically aimed at whatever we desire most: “anything in the world.”
It forbids worldliness in no uncertain terms.
First John 2:15 isn’t a verse we tend to underline when we come across it in our daily Bible reading. We’re not inclined to put “Do not love the world” on an index card and rehearse it during our daily commute. We don’t hear many sermons on this verse and its prohibition of the sin of worldliness.
To understand this verse, you must first understand the nature of warnings. They’re not legalistic restrictions from an irritated God who doesn’t want us to enjoy ourselves.
And they aren’t relics of a bygone era, irrelevant for us today. No, warnings are expressions of God’s mercy and wisdom. They’re given for our good, to protect us from sin and its consequences.
So let’s ignore this warning no longer.
A love for the world begins in the soul. It’s subtle, not always immediately obvious to others, and often undetected by the people who are slowly succumbing to its lies. It begins with a dull conscience and a listless soul. Sin does not grieve like it once did. Passion for the Savior begins to cool. Affections grow dim. Excitement lessens for participating in the local church. Eagerness to evangelize starts to wane. Growth in godliness slows to a crawl.