Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-16 (NKJV)
¹³ "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Since God has called us salt and light He expects us to affect the earth.  The question now is:  How do we do it? If we are salt let’s look at salt’s significance.

·         Salt represents a covenant.  

·         Salt was put on offering presented to the Lord. 

·         Salt has healing qualities.

·         Salt creates thirst & prevents dehydration.

·         Salt is used for seasonings,

·         Salt is used as a preservative.

·         Salt changes everything it touches.

·          Salt placed on meat retards its spoiling tendency

·         Salt is sometimes used on newborns allows umbilical cords to heal quicker.

Salt Represents A Covenant

·         Covenant of Salt -- Bedouins in Sahara requires salt to live in that environment.

Salt & Offerings

·         Used in offering presented to the Lord.

Leviticus 2:13 (NKJV)
¹³ And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt.

Salt And Healing.

·         Healing qualities for wounds – Who has ever had a tooth pulled and been advised to use salt water to hasten healing?

Ezekiel 16:4 (NKJV)
⁴ As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths.

2 Kings 2:20-21 (NKJV)
²⁰ And he said, "Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it." So they brought it to him.
²¹ Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, "Thus says the Lord: 'I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.' "

Creates Thirst

·         In the natural salt help your body maintain it water content, very necessary in a dry desert ecosystem

Matthew 5:6 (NKJV)
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

Salt is Used As Seasoning

·         Our food would taste very bland without salt;

·         God’s wants to use our presence on the earth to be as His seasoning of grace and blessing to flow, though not forever, to this world.

Job 6:6 (NKJV)
⁶ Can flavorless food be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

Colossians 4:6 (NKJV)
⁶ Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Salt Is A Preservative

·         Used as preservative - meat and fish when rubbed with salt prevents spoiling extending the time of their value as food.

Salt Is A Synonym For Righteousness

·         Humanity Is Morally Lack In Righteousness.

·          We Cannot Say To God, “O Taste And See That Mankind Is Good For Mankind Is Not Only Tasteless Without Salt Is Rotten.  The Only Remedy Is The Salt Of Righteousness.

·         In Noah’s Day There Was One Family That Was Salt To The Earth

Genesis 6:11 (NKJV)
¹¹ The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

·         The righteous, as salt, would have spared the city.  In Sodom had God found as many as ten righteous He would have spared the city.

Genesis 18:32 (NKJV)
³² Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of ten."

·         Do you see the significant of what Jesus was saying? Salt is not a final solution to decay, at best it can only delay the process.

Matthew 5:13 (NKJV)
¹³ "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

·         Scripture doesn’t give the expectation that the whole world will be saved by evangelism

Acts 15:14 (NKJV)
¹⁴ Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.

·         The world is under judgement it is doomed to fall and never to rise again and nothing we can do will change that.

Revelation 17:18 (NKJV)
¹⁸ And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth."

Revelation 18:3 (NKJV)
³ For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury."

Our attitude about this Earth

·         We are not looking for a paradise on earth because it will be destroyed.

2 Peter 3:10-13 (NKJV)
¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
¹³ Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

·         Our citizenship and or inheritance are not earthly but heavenly.

Philippians 3:20 (NKJV)
²⁰ For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Hebrews 11:13-16 (NKJV)
¹³ These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
¹⁴ For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.
¹⁵ And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.
¹⁶ But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

We must oppose Sin.

·         Violence, greed, materialism, dishonest, and immorally are prevalent in the world in which we live. 

·         If the presence of a Christian has a restraining influence on profanity and smut in his work place that is Christian is salt 

·         There are pressures to permit euthanasia, the use of human embryos for scientific experiments

·         We are prisoners of conscience especially for believers who are being killed each day for the gospel. Millions are perishing each your yet we are powerless in the natural to stop it.

What Responsibly Do The Churches Have? 

Question: Are Christians to try to influence society in these areas? Answer is Yes!

·         Yes!  But through revival, that changes Men’s hearts

·         A Spirit filled church will do just that.  Far-reaching social changes have always come, even if not immediate in the wake of a spiritual revival 

·         Social action such is not a part of the Great Commission to the Church.

The Great Commission.

·         The church must be confined to evangelism, which includes healing, deliverance, and the disciplining of those who believe.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)
¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Matthew 10:8 (NKJV)
⁸ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

What about Social issues? Social action is an individual matter.  Some are called & they must know what part of this massive need they are to address.  Social matters are campaigning against, abortion, animal right programs, and air pollution, keeping highways clean, policing the internet, recycling, depleting our natural resources, Etc.

·         Activities Other than Evangelism, Healing the Sick, Delivering those Bound by Satan and Disciplining Believers are individual matters.

Matthew 10:8 (NKJV)
⁸ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

·         Involvement in these activities by believers does reflect the compassion of Christ who fed the multitudes, which paved the way for them to listen to the gospel

·         You can’t expect a man with no food in his stomach and not shirt on his back to listen to the gospel.

·         We are to let the world see our good deeds.

Note: this is talking to individuals and not to the entire church.

Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Titus 3:8 (NKJV)
⁸ This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

Titus 3:14 (NKJV)
¹⁴ And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.

The Church Must Stay On Course.

·         The church must always watch that it is not deflected from its major task of evangelism by the vast needs of suffering humanity.

How Salt Works.

·         For salt to work it must be different in nature than meat.  Meat has a much shorter life span then salt.  When salt is applied it increases meats’ life span. 

·         Believers and unbelievers are as different as chalk and cheese.

·         They are different order of being.

·         Jesus didn’t say try to be like salt he said, “You are salt”.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

1 Peter 1:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶ because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."

Is The Gospel That Is Being Preached Diluted In Order To Increase Its Acceptance?

·         There are some churches that are seeker friendly, what exactly does that mean?

·         Does it mean we want large numbers so let’s make it easy to become a Christian? 

·         I would be the last to suggest harshness in our preaching but Jesus didn’t compromise, he said hard thing, such as, “you must take up your cross and follow me.”  Anything that would prevent you from doing this; get rid of it, sell what you have and give to the poor. 

·         The bible says we must, and we want to love the unlovely, but somehow I wonder if we haven’t gotten something out of balance. 

·         We might be making converts and not disciples; the disciple is always different, he is a very salty salt.

Mark 16:15 (NKJV)
¹⁵ And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV)
¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

·         How do we relate to the world? Do we relate with I’m ok you are Ok? Can you love and relate to someone without adopting his or her life style?

·         You can’t preserve fish buy putting them in one barrel and the salt in another

·         Jesus lived a life that was an excellent example of how we can relate to the world.

·          He could talk with Nicodemus the theologian, Zacchaeus the tax collector or the woman with a suspect history of sin at the well.

Matthew 11:19 (NKJV)
¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children."

Hebrews 7:26 (NKJV)
²⁶ For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;

Significance Of Light

Matthew 5:14 (NKJV)
¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

·         We see the salvation message in “Genesis (1) one

Genesis 1:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶ Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.

·         Jesus said I am the light.  This corresponds to what Jesus said, he is the sun, and we are the reflected light to the world as is the moon. 

John 8:12 (NKJV)
¹² Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

Ephesians 5:8 (NKJV)
⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

Ephesians 5:14 (NKJV)
¹⁴ Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light."

·         We have no light of our own but we are to a reflection of His light to this world as the moon is to the sun

John 1:4 (NKJV)
⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

·         God has a reason for making us a light to the World

Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

We Are Not Saved Not By Good Works, But To Do Good Works.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (NKJV)
⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.
¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

·         The fruit of Christian character will automatically be an output of Good Works.

·         Our Christianity is not the doing a good turn for a neighbor

·          That good turn is but an expression of a totally different life style.

Such Good works will mean:

·         At times to confess Christ before men.

Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV)
⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

·         Witnessing to what he has done for us

Mark 5:19 (NKJV)
¹⁹ However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."

·         Giving a ready answer to those who ask us about our hope

1 Peter 3:15 (NKJV)
¹⁵ But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

·         Letting our light shine means influencing other by our life and by our words

There Can Be No Compromise

·         The same way that salt reacts to corruption light reacts to darkness

·         Light has nothing to do with darkness but to expose it.

Ephesians 5:12-13 (NKJV)
¹² For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.
¹³ But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.

1 John 1:5 (NKJV)
⁵ This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

Ephesians 5:8-9 (NKJV)
⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
⁹ (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),

Ephesians 5:11 (NKJV)
¹¹ And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

The Light Must Not Be Hidden

·         If salt loses its ability to make things salty it is good for nothing, the same about light if it fails to light the paths it is good for nothing.

Matthew 5:15 (NKJV)
¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

·         There were people in Christ’s day, and are still around today, that by their lack of testimony are failing to let their light shine and are robbing God of his due

John 12:42-43 (NKJV)
⁴² Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue;
⁴³ for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

·         They are also robbing the church, the world, and themselves of the benefits of living for God.

Matthew 10:32-33 (NKJV)
³² "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
³³ But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

You Are In The World But Not Of The World

John 15:18-21 (NKJV)
¹⁸ "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
²¹ But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.

John 17:13-19 (NKJV)
¹³ But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.
¹⁴ I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
¹⁵ I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
¹⁷ Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
¹⁸ As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
¹⁹ And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

The Scriptures Speak Of The World In Three Distinct Ways - The World Of Nature, Men, And Order.

World Of Nature

·         The world of nature demonstrates God’s power and moves us to recognize God’s greatness.

·          We must be careful to worship only God himself and not what he has created (Psalms 104)

Psalms 8:3-4 (NKJV)
³ When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
⁴ What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?

Job 31:26-28 (NKJV)
²⁶ If I have observed the sun when it shines, Or the moon moving in brightness,
²⁷ So that my heart has been secretly enticed, And my mouth has kissed my hand;
²⁸ This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment, For I would have denied God who is above.

Deuteronomy 4:15-19 (NKJV)
¹⁵ "Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire,
¹⁶ lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female,
¹⁷ the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air,
¹⁸ the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth.
¹⁹ And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.

The World Of Men

·         This is the world that “God so loved”.

·         This is the world that we must learn to love and win.

John 3:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

2 Corinthians 5:14 (NKJV)
¹⁴ For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;

2 Corinthians 5:20 (NKJV)
²⁰ Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

The World Of Order

·         This one controls the thinking and behavior of mankind. 

·         Satan is the mastermind (the prince of this world).

John 12:31 (NKJV)
³¹ Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

John 14:30 (NKJV)
³⁰ I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.

·         His fallen angels are described as the rulers, the authorities the power of this dark world. 

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)
¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

·         This is the world we are commanded not to love. 

1 John 2:15 (NKJV)
¹⁵ 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.

·         This is the world that hated Christ, crucified him, and hates us.

John 7:7 (NKJV)
⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.

John 15:18-19 (NKJV)
¹⁸ "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

·         Why are we here?

John 15:18-19 (NKJV)
¹⁸ "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

·         Why, since we are born again, doesn’t God just take us out of this world and take us on to heaven?

The Reason We Are Still Here!

·         We are members of the resistance living as strangers in a land that was made and given to us.  It is our land. 

·         Another reason is; this very situation of conflict is designed to shape us and make us what God wants us to be. 

·         We, must decide if we are going to conform or be transformed.  The very thing that God uses to make us, the devil can use to mar us. 

·         The question is how are we going to handle conflict?

Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

J.B. Phillips translates this verse “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let
God remake you so that our whole attitude of mind is changed.”

There Are Two Opposing Kingdoms

·         The kingdom of this world

·          The Kingdom of God.

John 18:36 (NKJV)
³⁶ Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."

·         The Kingdom of this world is ruled by human reason and human wisdom;

1 Corinthians 1:17-20 (NKJV)
¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
¹⁹ For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."
²⁰ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

·         It is passing away 

1 John 2:17 (NKJV)
¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

·         Its rulers are coming to nothing.

1 Corinthians 2:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶ For "who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

·         Those who live in it are shortsighted; one day it will be destroyed.

Daniel 2:44 (NKJV)
⁴⁴ And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

Revelation 11:15 (NKJV)
¹⁵ Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!"

The Kingdom of God

·         In this sphere, God is Center 

·         God’s revealed will, not human reason, is the rule and measure of all things 

·         Men enter by means of the New Birth

John 3:3 (NKJV)
³ Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

John 3:5 (NKJV)
⁵ Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

What Is The New Birth? 

·         This means changing sides.

·         Coming under God’s rule.

·         Submitting to a new order.

·         Before, the spirit of this world motivated man, now we have received the Spirit who is from
God

1 Corinthians 2:12 (NKJV)
¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

What Is Acting Like The World?

·         Christian tradition has sometimes presented a view of worldliness that is not strictly biblical.

·         How a believer dresses, engaging in certain habits, enjoyment of certain entertainment or pleasure, what he eats or drinks, and how they act on Sunday are not often firm criteria for judgment of worldliness.  

·         The scribes and the Pharisees had similar list of rules by which they judged the piety of others.  They were careful about trivial things but overlooked the vital of important actions.

Matthew 23:23-26 (NKJV)
²³ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
²⁴ Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
²⁵ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
²⁶ Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

·         We know it is possible to be born into the Kingdom of God and still behave as though you still belong to the world.

1 Corinthians 3:3 (NKJV)
³ for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

·         The bible defines Worldliness as: lust of the flesh, Lust of the eye, and the pride of life.

1 John 2:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶ For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.

The Lust Of The Flesh - Your Body

·         If your body is not under the rule of the Holy Spirit it will be ruled by the cravings of the flesh

1 John 2:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶ For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.

1 John 2:17 (NKJV)
¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

·         Paul speaks of worldly passions as the major motivations of all the worldly man does.

Titus 2:12 (NKJV)
¹² teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,

The Lust Of The Eye – Your Mind

·         Consider the modern man hunger for viewing.  Notice the massive industry that exists to satisfy our hunger for seeing or viewing.

Isaiah 55:1-2 (NKJV)
¹ "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.
² Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.

The Pride Of Life -- Your Spirit

·         If our spirit is not ruled by the Spirit of Christ it will be ruled by the pride of life or the boasting of what we have and have done.  This type of attitude is always self centered.

Philippians 1:21 (NKJV)
²¹ For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

The Answer To Worldliness 

·         Do not love the world

1 John 2:15 (NKJV)
¹⁵ 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.

·         Do not be a friend of the World 

James 4:4 (NKJV)
⁴ 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.

·         Do not be confirmed to the World 

Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

How Can You Live In The World And Not Do Any Of These 

·         You can’t do it by rules and regulations 

·         You can’t escape from the world by moving to the wilderness.

John 17:11-15 (NKJV)
¹¹ Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.
¹² While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
¹³ But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.
¹⁴ I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
¹⁵ I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.

·         You are not called to a live among the Christian only. 

Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

·         You can’t do it by dealing with the externals praying for God to take away pride, jealously, and selfishness. 

The Only Remedy For The Believer, To Have Complete Freedom From The Spirit Of The World Is The Cross.

Galatians 6:14 (NKJV)
¹⁴ But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

1 John 2:15-16 (NKJV)
¹⁵ 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.
¹⁶ For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.