They are not of this World

II Tim.2:1-5 - Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.

Jn.17:14-18 - I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

Yes, we are in this world. And we are to work and do those things which attend to this present life. We eat, we sleep, we laugh, we cry, and we manifest the generic things that all human beings manifest. We are human beings to be sure.

But just what is the Lord telling us through these, and other, Scriptures when He deals with being different? Jesus did all the things we associate with being alive in this world, however no one can deny He did not walk according to the dictates and principles of this world.

“They are not of this world, even as I am not of the world.”

What a profound declaration! But what are the practical and observable implications of that surpassing truth? In order for us to even approach the substance of such a statement we need to divest ourselves of church tradition, and resist the overt and subtle temptation to compare ourselves with ourselves. (II Cor.10:12) In other words, we must realize that how the average western believer lives is filled with convenience and compromise. The early believers lived in a culture that was hedonistic and pagan and they were persecuted and despised for their faith. Many gave their lives for Jesus Christ.

We also live in a culture of hedonism and paganism, but somehow we are accepted and many times celebrated. Something is very wrong, and I do not suggest we purposefully desire to be hated and seek to be persecuted. But why is it that the Incarnate Christ was so despised that they crucified Him, and yet we live almost unremarkable within a similar culture? And far from withdrawing from the practices of this present world, the church has come to adopt and participate in the majority of its practices.

“No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”

Do we really desire to please our Heavenly Father? If so, then what are the “affairs of this life”? Of course they cannot mean to eat and drink and work, but they must mean something other than things that are by nature sinful. We are in the midst of a war. Not a visible war, and not a war among nations. This war is a million times more savage than any earthly war, and the spoils of this war go far beyond land and wealth and earthly power. This war is for the eternal souls of men and ultimately for the glory of God.

But the metaphor presented by God’s Word is completely accurate. Soldiers cannot afford to be inattentive, and they must not join in with the enemy and his tactics. As soldiers of the Kingdom of God our weapons are not of this world. Instead of hate we preach love. Instead of violence we use prayer. We gain victory through surrender. The most valiant among us is the least. Our chain of command has only two levels: The King and His servants.

But the church has become soft. We have cupped our ears to the sirens of this world, and slowly but surely we have been assimilated into this fallen culture that is the outright enemy of the Risen Christ. Our weapons are dull, and our prayer closets have been abandoned. God’s Word is neglected, and we use it to present theology among ourselves rather than begging its power to filet our hearts and transform us into earthen vessels that brilliantly shine the Son of God. We enjoy the frivolity of the kingdom of darkness, and our gatherings are predictable and on schedule.

We live among the lost with little observable differences save a once or twice a week trips to some building. We shed no tears for those among us who are headed for eternal disaster. We cling to our testimony concerning how God changed us when we were saved, but why doesn’t God miraculously change us now? We are satisfied and content with our saltless and dispassionate existence, and we placate our consciences with politics. We stand shoulder to shoulder with unbelievers and pledge allegiance to a pagan nation with tears in our eyes and hands over our hearts, and even commit sacrilege by ascribing God’s name to this pagan nation.

Night after night the church house remains dark, only becoming bright at the traditional and regulated times. The situation is desperate, but the church continues to operate as business as usual. The average believer is in as much debt as the unbeliever and lives in as much opulence as he can afford - or - cannot afford. Elongated prayer meetings are things of historical legend, and for every tear shed at gatherings there are a thousand laughs. The blessing of God is now defined as enough weekly offering to meet the church mortgage payment.

But where is the glory of God that should pulsate in and through His redeemed? Where are these “peculiar people” who live in such victory that they love not their own lives unto death? Where are the Spirit filled people whose very presence convicts the lost, not because of harsh judgment, but because of the tangible fragrance of Jesus the Christ? If television was God, we would all be eternally transformed by now.

“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”

What hardness is that? The average believe avoids suffering on any level, and his life is so innocuous that persecution is hardly warranted. I have painted a bleak picture and to be sure this is not the message upon which large churches are built. But I believe this is an accurate mirror of just how far we have strayed form the faith and its Founder. It is insidious and crippling.

But imagine a group of people who profess to believe in and follow the Lord Jesus; people that are without worry or concern or even interest about the machinations of this fallen world, but who live and breathe eternity. Imagine people who are so humble, so loving, so gracious, and so dedicated to redemption that they have become pronounced within this culture. These people walk in prayer and speak with words of grace seasoned with the salt of the Spirit. To say that they are different is to diminish the word different. They are not known because they do not drink or smoke or curse, no, they are known because they exhibit such selflessness and unconditional love for those in need of the Savior. Some perceive them as distinct, others as bizarre, but all must admit to a remarkable quality that centers upon the Person of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus deserves followers who have forsaken all and set their faces like flints on a journey that leads to Him. Let us cease the façade and openly admit to standing in desperate need of a spiritual awakening that breaks up the fallow ground and removes the ecclesiastical traditions that tarnish the true revelation of the Bride of Christ. This world is coming to an end, and the eternal kingdom of God is about to unfold in all its majesty. Behold, the Bridegroom comes!