I heard of a preacher who knew enough Greek to know that the Greek word for world was cosmos. He read 1 John 2 that we shouldn't love the world and by making the leap from cosmos to cosmetics he quickly condemned those who wore makeup.
But are we any different? If we do not realize that John was speaking of the worldly system and a worldly view of life we can quickly fall into thinking that the love of the world is externals. But the love of the world is much more than externals. Some have used world methods to overcome the world. They withdraw from the world rather than overcome the world. Running away is a worldly method. So the question remains. How do we overcome the world? To overcome the world we need to have a heaven view point. It is not "what would Jesus do" but having the mind of Christ. We need renewed minds.
2 comments:
Therefore if 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 things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.
If we have been raised up with Jesus (Romans 6:1-11) we have then put to death the old self and need to keep seeking the things above! We should be walking in newness of life!
In today's culture it is vitally important for God's people to constantly allow Christ to renew their mind (Romans 12:1-2). It's also interesting to me that Peter - in regard to 'end times' - said that he was writing both his letters to 'stimulate you to wholesome thinking' (2 Peter 3:1) ... not wholesome behavior (although the one follows the other) - "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." [Proverbs 23:7]
I also like what Ravi Zacharias says about his ministry - "To get believers to think, and thinkers to believe!"
Pastor Gord
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