Word of Salvation – Vol.  15 No.35 – September 1969

 

The Believer And The World

 

Sermon by Rev.  G.I.  Williamson on 1Corinthians 5:9-13

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Genesis 6:1-6; 11:1-9

PSALTER HYMNAL: 197; 146; 1; 63:4,5; 63:6,7

 

What is the proper attitude of the Christian, in the midst of a sinful and unbelieving world?  Evidently this was a question that people were very much concerned about in the early Church of Corinth, for we learn in our text that the Apostle Paul had already written them about this subject.  “I wrote unto you in an epistle,” we read, “not to company with fornicators.”  So it would seem, to begin with, that these Corinthian Christians had gone much too far in their friendly relations with the people of this world – until, that is – until the Apostle had written this earlier epistle.  But then, evidently, they had gone to the other extreme.  They had begun to take a highly critical attitude toward virtually any kind of relationship at all between their Christian brethren and the people of the world.  So now, what does the Apostle say?  Well, he says, “yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.”  Or in other words, “I don’t mean that you are to cut off all relationships with the sinners and unbelievers of this world, since that would virtually mean an abandonment of the world.”  And that too, is forbidden to the Christian.

I.  THE PRINCIPLE STATED.

If we are to grasp the scriptural teaching as to the Christian’s place in the midst of a sinful world, then, the first thing we must say is that there can never be an acceptance of the world.  “I wrote unto you,” says Paul, “not to company with fornicators.”  And he is not writing anything to contradict the precise meaning of those words.  The teaching of the Bible is perfectly clear and consistent on that point.  “Know ye not,” asks James “that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?  Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

And how could it possibly be otherwise, in the light of the teaching of the Bible?

a)  If you go back to the beginning of the world, what do you find?  Well, you find that God himself has made a division of the whole human race, so that perpetual enmity results between the one and the other.  This is not something that merely “ought” to exist or something that may “come to manifestation” only now and then.  No, it is a fact.  “I will put enmity,” says the Lord.  That is why Jesus solemnly warned his disciples, saying, “If the world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love his own; but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord.  If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”

b) And how could it possibly be otherwise, in view of the mighty chasm that separates these two companies of people?  On the one hand you have those who are “dead in trespasses and sins.”  People who walk according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”  And then, on the other hand, you have those who have been made alive by the mighty power of the Holy Spirit of God.  So in their case, it is the Spirit of God that now works in them, so that they can, will and do that which is of His good pleasure.  Yes, the one company can be properly described as the very children of the Devil.  Jesus Christ himself used that description, when he spoke of some who were members of the visible Church in his day, and yet not converted in heart.  And then, there is that other company of people who are truly the children of God.  They will never perish, but have everlasting life.

c)  And when we think of these two companies of people, and the final the eternal separation which is soon to come, then it is certainly obvious that there can never really be any union between these two different companies.  For Jesus himself is going to say, to the one company, “depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”  And then, he will also say to the other company, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  So the one “shall go away into everlasting punishment,” while the other shall receive the blessing of “life eternal”.

Now we know that what we have been saying is very unpopular today.  For there are a great many people today – even within the visible Christian Church – who say that this is very bad theology.  They are saying that this is the kind of thinking that has brought about all kinds of strife and division.  And they tell us that what we really need is to get completely away from this idea that some men are on God’s side, while others are on Satan’s side.  They are preaching and teaching, in other words, the gospel of universalism – the idea that God is a God of love only and that everyone will be saved in the end!  This is the great principle that so often comes out in the modern ecumenical movement.  And this is also the reason why there are so many radical theologians who are actually rejoicing because they see the Church becoming just as worldly as the world itself.

But what is amazing is that so many people seem to think that this is something new!  Actually, it is not new at all.  For the great work of the Devil has always been this – to wipe out the enmity between the Church and the world!  Yes, that is what Satan wants more than anything else.  And that is what he has tried to do, over and over again.  Remember how he did this even before the flood?  “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.  And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man.”  Remember how Satan inspired that great unionistic effort at the ancient city of Babel?  And think of how Balaam, the wicked prophet, advised Balak to destroy Israel – not with force of arms, but with sweet invitations to fellowship and communion with the people of Baal.  What were the high places of Israel, except a manifestation of this old Satanic attempt to wipe out the enmity between God’s people and the people of this world?

So there is one side of the truth of God’s word: the Christian can never be at peace with this world.

But the other side is just as important: for neither can the Christian reject this world, no “not altogether… for then (would he need to) go out of the world.”

And here we certainly have to be careful, for the whole history of the Church of God on earth has been deeply marred because of those who in the very name of extraordinary piety have tried to separate themselves entirely from the world.

a)  We can take, as an example, the Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day, and under their blind and perverted leadership, most of the visible Church existing in that time.  We see this quite clearly in the remark that was made to Jesus by the woman at the well in Samaria.  “How is it that you, being a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?  For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.”  Now there is the very essence of this perversion of the Christian’s enmity with the world: to have no dealings with the sinners that live about him.

b)  And how often has this terrible perversion re-appeared, down through the history of the Church.  It re-appeared in the third and fourth centuries, when certain men who were regarded as very holy, went out to live by themselves in the caves in the wilderness.  And then it even became more widespread during the Middle Ages, when people began to call themselves “monks” and “nuns”, shutting themselves off from all contact with the world.  Even the Reformation movement was not without this recurring evil, for some of the extreme sects of the Protestant Reformation also tried to go off entirely by themselves, so that they would no longer have contact with the sinners of this world.

c)  And this evil is with us still.  In the State of Pennsylvania, U.S.A., there is or used to be a religious society known as the “Amish Dutch”.  They wore clothes that were entirely different from those of other people.  They refused to have electricity in their houses.  And they made it a way of life to try to associate only with people who belonged to their own community.  But then, haven’t we sometimes had this very same thing in Reformed communities as well?  I have heard of Reformed Communities too, in which it was almost considered a sin to have dealings with a Roman Catholic baker or butcher.  And people were supposed to eliminate as much as possible all association with those who were considered the people of the world.

Well, this is evidently what was beginning to happen also in the Church at Corinth.  For these people had mistaken Paul’s meaning.  They had supposed that, since they were not to have company with the sinners of this world, they should make it their business to virtually cut off all contact and association with them in the name of exclusive devotion to their Lord.  But nothing could possibly be further from the truth, as we can easily see if we simply think of the example and teaching of our Lord.  For (a) the very point at which our Lord was at complete variance with the Scribes and Pharisees was precisely in the fact that he did associate with publicans and sinners.  It was not something that he did reluctantly, only because he could not avoid it.  No, he clearly did it intentionally, in order that he might bring them the hope of everlasting life.  And (b) is this not exactly what he taught his disciples to do as well?  He told them to go into the world, to preach the gospel to every creature.  He told them that they were to be the light of the world, and the salt of the earth.  And he told them that they could never be the light of the world, if they went off by themselves and hid their light under a bushel.

Perhaps you have heard the old story from Greek mythology, concerning the “Sirens” that lived on an island in the sea.  These “Sirens” were strange creatures.  Half woman and half bird in appearance, they had very alluring voices when they sang to the ancient mariners who passed by.  As soon as these sailors heard the voices of these Sirens they were irresistibly drawn to the island.  But as soon as they set foot on the shore, the Sirens would tear them to pieces and devour them.  Well, in one of the great Sagas of the ancient Greeks, Odysseus had to pass that island with his ship, and in order to keep from succumbing to this well-known danger, he took measures that seemed appropriate to him.  He had himself bound firmly to the mast, and gave orders that no-one was to heed the cry to be released.  And then, he stopped the ears of all the men on the ship so that they could not hear the voices of the Sirens.  Now that is like this false idea of separation from the world.  But another hero of Greek mythology, named Orpheus, took different measures when he passed that island.  He simply took his lyre, and began to make music of superior charm and power.  And because of this, none of his men took any heed to the voices of the Sirens.  This is really the way that we should keep ourselves separated from the world.  For the Bible says that we are to overcome evil by doing good.

In the system of Government under which we live, there is always one party that is presently in the minority.  This party is called “the opposition.”  It has the duty to stand in opposition to everything that is being done by the ruling party, that it considers to be wrong in principle.  But all the time it is also working for the day when it will no longer be the minority.  It is working for the day when it will be in the majority, and will govern that nation.  Well, that is only an illustration, but perhaps it suggests what we mean.  The Bible says that “this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.”  Now we know that it doesn’t always seem that this is the case.  Sometimes it looks as if our Christian faith and the scattered people of God – is a very small remnant without much chance in this world.  But the Bible says that the victory does belong to Christ.  It says that all things are ours.  And it says that every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess one day – that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  And one day the whole family of God in heaven and earth shall sing, “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.”  So the whole idea of going out of the world of fleeing from the world and of yielding it up to the forces of the kingdom of darkness, is absolutely against the victorious Christian faith.

II.  THE PRINCIPLE APPLIED.

But what does this all mean in our practical situation?  How are we, in our daily lives, to put this into use?

1.  Well, the first thing that we must try to understand is that the principles of our glorious Christian faith are never, even for one moment, to be put to one side for the world.  You can see for yourself that this is what the Bible teaches.  “I wrote unto you in an epistle,” says Paul, “not to company with fornicators ….I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one not to eat.”  And again, in his second Epistle to the Corinthians, he says, “For what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness?  And what communion has light with darkness, and what concord has Christ with Belial?  Or what part has he that believes with an infidel?  And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?”  Now whatever else we may say about these statements of the Apostle, one thing is perfectly clear!  As long as the unbeliever acts according to his own true nature and deepest convictions, and as long as the Christian also acts according to his own true nature and deepest convictions, there never can be any close and intimate friendship the one with the other.  The reason is very simple: they simply do not have things in common, to enable them to be at one with each other.

It simply is not possible, in the long run, for a believer and an unbeliever to live in close fellowship one with one another.  But one thing is sure: the Devil will try to deceive us.  He will try to make us think that we can do exactly that.  Paul wrote to the Romans, “be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  And “be not deceived,” says the Apostle in this Epistle to the Corinthians, “evil communications corrupt good manners.”  In other words, Satan is always trying to convince us that there are a great many things in which we can be at one with the world!  Two men sit at the table to eat their daily bread.  Now surely, we would say, there is nothing to prevent them from having fellowship together!  But the fact of the matter is that the conflict is very much in evidence, for the one if he acts the part of the Christian – will eat that bread with thanksgiving and praise in his mouth and in his heart – whereas the other will eat it to his own condemnation.  And you can go on to add a hundred other illustrations.  The point is simply this: “friendship with the world, is enmity with God.”  And anyone who really loves the Lord Jesus Christ will discover, sooner or later, that he simply cannot partake of this friendship with the world.

2.  But this does not change the fact one iota, that the whole life of the Christian believer is lived out – in the fullest sense – in association with this world.

And it is here that we sometimes need to think a little more deeply.  Many of us have come from a country in which there were Christian institutions in virtually every sphere of life.  There were Christian Labour Unions, and Christian Political Parties, and so on.  And what a wonderful thing this has been.  But I wonder if it is not true that we sometimes wish for these things also here in Australia and New Zealand for a completely wrong reason.  I do not mean that we should not want these things, and that we should not seek them.  We should.  We should do everything in our power to manifest our loyalty to Christ in every sphere of life.  But we should never want these things merely because we want to escape from contact with the world.  We should never want these things as a means of withdrawing from any association with un- believers.  No, the real reason why we should seek these things, and work for them, is precisely in order that we might exercise a greater influence on them than we do now, and in order that we might confront them even more than we do now with the principles of the Christian faith.

But what shall we do until that day arrives when we have reached the place of development – and sufficient numbers – to do something along these lines in Christian organizations?  Well, that is precisely the problem that these Corinthians had isn’t it?  They were just a very small Church, newly planted in a hostile and alien environment.  And what were they tempted to do?  Well, they were tempted to simply withdraw from all non-Christian associations, in order to have fellowship among themselves.  And this the Apostle condemned.  He also practised what he preached.  The Government of the Roman Empire at that time, was certainly in no way Christian.  But Paul did not withdraw his citizenship, but exercised it to the full.  And this is what we should do as well.  Do you work for a business that is not recognizing the word of the Lord Jesus Christ?  Well, then, go to the union meetings.  Vote in the various elections.  Raise your voice on behalf of truth and righteousness.  Or, in other words, do not hide your light under a bushel.  Do not let your salt lose its savour.  And in doing what you can, where you are, for Christ, you will really be serving him a thousand times more than if you were to simply withdraw as much as possible from contact with these un-Christian activities.  Yes, and thanks be to God, many of you are doing this very thing.  You are standing up for Christian principles in your place of daily work.  You are saying, “No, I cannot work on the Lord’s Day when it really isn’t a matter of necessity.”  And the gracious Saviour is blessing this witness that you are trying to make.  It is making known the sovereign claims of Christ.  It is making sinners aware of their sinful ways.  And for you Paul has a word of encouragement: “Be not weary in well-doing, for we shall reap in due time if we faint not.”  And remember that however difficult is may sometimes seem to be, “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

Well, that is the Christian’s positions in this sinful world.  On the one hand, it is a position of enmity and antagonism, and yet, on the other hand, it is one of complete involvement as well.  “Be of good cheer,” says Jesus, “for I have overcome the world.  “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly” as well.

Amen.