The Apostle John once warned us about being conformed to the world and its system. He said:
“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. 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.”
I John 2:15-16 NKJV
And the Apostle Paul also admonished us, by even going further than that, when he also said:
“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.”
Romans 12:2 NKJV
The New Living Translation said it like this:
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Romans 12:2 NLT
While the Passion Translation puts it in this way:
“Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.”
Romans 12:2 TPT
The world and its system obviously have nothing great to give any serious-minded believer in Christ Jesus. Those who have their eyes on the high prize in Christ Jesus, can’t afford to forfeit it for the love of this world, and the pleasure for the things that it offers (Philippians 3:14).
To be able to stand out in the crowd around you, you’ve got to make up your mind to be different. You’ve got to make the decision to live, solely by the standard which God had set before you in the Scriptures.
This is because you can’t bring a righteous change into your world, if you’re living your Christian life by the standard which the world places on you. The world wants you to be imitating them, instead of imitating Christ Jesus.
The Apostle Paul offered us a pathway into the victory over the world and its system of evil, in the scripture texts above. You don’t have to live like the world to be victorious in Christ Jesus.
You were Born of the Spirit of God to win at all times on this earth. You are a winner already in the world, as long as you have the light of Christ turned on in you.
According to the Bible:
“Then Jesus asked them, “Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine.”
Mark 4:21 NLT
The Good Book says it loudly and clearly in a simple way at the end of it that – WE WIN (Revelation 22).
Whatever is happening in your current situation that’s struggling to align itself with the word of God will eventually change, as long as you’re allowing the light of Christ in your life to shine. Those trials and troubles are just a process to an end. But at the end of the finish line itself, the good Book says that “YOU ARE THE WINNER”! And that’s all that matters.
You have fought the good fight of faith against the evil forces of this world triumphantly. Here you are today – standing strong and tall in the victory that Christ had given you. You really need to be dancing right now. You need to be rejoicing in the Rock of your salvation – Christ Jesus.
There are many today who are not able to see the victory that you have, because they are of the world. They are believers in Christ Jesus like you. But for them Christianity has become the observance of a set of rules, which they have tainted with religious traditions.
Their religious traditional beliefs are preventing them from being transformed into the image of Christ Jesus, so that they can become victorious like you.
It’s only by faith that we are able to stand victoriously. It has to be by faith alone, and nothing else. Those who are not committed to standing by faith are short sighted. They are seeing only what the world around them sees.
That’s why they will often talk like the world, and act like the world, because they have rejected the transformation of the Holy Spirit in their lives, which were meant to make them like Christ Jesus on the earth.
Be transformed to change your world.
The inward transformation by the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer in Christ Jesus, is only possible when that believer is truly separated, from the ideals and the opinions of the different cultures around him. This is how he is able to deliver himself from this world’s socio-cultural struggles.
It’s as a result of this fight of our faith against the evil forces of this world, that the scripture commanded us to:
“Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.””
II Corinthians 6:17 NKJV
If you are going to continue standing in the victory which Christ has given you; you have to take your eyes off many things in the world. God, the Father Himself will thereafter receive you and position you, for the greatest exploits of His Kingdom that are ahead of you.
Otherwise, you may end up finding yourself lost in the midst of the socio-cultural battles of the world and its system, which are being spiritually programmed by the devil to strangle your faith in Christ Jesus.
There can never be a genuine transformation of the soul of the believer into the image of Christ Jesus, without a total and complete separation from the world and its evil system.
You are of the light. The children of light don’t ever feel comfortable in the darkness of this world. It’s like a fish that’s trying to swim on a sandy ground.
Those who are not being transformed into the image of Christ, will always feel comfortable in the darkness of the world; because they are seeking to find a Christian footing to stand on within the enemy’s own turf.
This is the deception that they have brought upon themselves, because the devil himself is the god of the world and its system (2 Corinthians 4:4).
He is the master manipulator of the world and its system. He is working around the clock to ensnare and defile those Christians, who are playing his dirty games with him within his own territory.
You were called out of the darkness into the light, so that God, your Heavenly Father may equip you with everything that you need, to make His light shine in the darkness of this world.
If any Christian is not being transformed by the light of Christ, that believer has nothing else in turning darkness into light. The light of Christ has to be turned on in you, if you’re going to stand out in the crowd.
A traditional believer may often act, like a serious-minded believer in Church with a mental ascent. He may participate in every religious activity. He may even be dedicated to making his daily confession of faith, like everyone else in the crowd around him during a Church Service. But in reality, he is only mentally ascending to those confessions of faith. His heart is not in them. His heart is in the world and in its system, and not within the Body of Christ.
The moment he gets out of those Church meetings into the world, he will start acting like the world and talking like the world. He’d completely forgotten everything that he was taught during those Church services.
He is like this because, even though he is saved; he is actually not being transformed into the image of Christ. His conversion to Christianity is real, but his heart devotion is not. He is saved, but not yet consecrated to the Lord. He is still holding on to his past lifestyle in the unsaved world, which is making his Christian conversion unfruitful.
It’s a dangerous thing for anyone to be living in a spiritual vacuum like this. This is the spiritual situation during which the devil likes to mess up with nice people. Just because an individual shows certain commitment by being in Church Services, doesn’t mean that he’s devoted to Christ.
The world is getting increasingly dangerous, evil and corrupt. The Apostle Jude warned us about these types of Christians within the Church when he said:
“These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. … These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.”
Jude 1:12-13, 16 NKJV
As a child of God, you will be better off, by being separated from them. Your transformation as a consecrated child of God, takes place through the renewal of your mind. And if you’re not being careful with these ones, you may easily get yourself entrapped in the socio-cultural struggles of the world.
Especially in the midst of every spiritual pruning, you have to take heed of the way that you’re relating with the world. They are toxic to your spiritual growth. The devil knows how to manipulate them to defile everything that you are doing to glorify God.
There is an ongoing spiritual warfare between the forces of evil and good in the world. The devil is fighting really hard to destroy Christianity. He is furiously going after committed Christians all over the world today like never before.
It has become an intensive spiritual warfare now. And you can’t afford to just be sitting on the sideline, in the middle of these spiritual crossfires. Otherwise, you may find yourself becoming the casualty within it, instead of being the victorious one.
We’ve been seeing an intense onslaught of the enemy all over the world against Christians who are living by their faith in God. A Christian who is being transformed by the renewal of the mind, has the ability to see what is going on spiritually around him.
But the Christian who is living with a worldly mentality, does not even have a clue about what is going on at all. These are the ones who are already buying into the lies and deceptions of the devil, in the world around them. They cannot see through the scriptures, so as to be able to interpret and understand what is going on.
They are not paying attention to the word of God, so as to be enlightened in understanding what is going on. They will eventually end up finding themselves on the wrong side of the scriptures.
The devil is very creepy and full of every form of deceptions, in making sure that, such Christians get themselves spiritually entrapped, before defiling them and spreading their defilement around to target you.
Any child of God who is not seeking to be transformed into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18); will eventually find himself lost in the middle of this spiritual warfare.
Many have been deceived already by the devil. But you don’t need to be one of them. You can run to the finish line with your victory in Christ Jesus.
The world and its way of thinking and living has nothing productive at all, to add to the spiritual growth of any child of God.
The very best that’s in Christ Jesus is only attainable to those, who are leaving the world behind them to fully follow Jesus. A total and complete separation from the world and its system, will position such believers in Christ to do exploits for God’s Kingdom.
You can’t love both the world and God.
Jesus said:
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is trusted in).”
Matthew 6:24 AMPC
The controlling spirit of the system of this world as pointed out here by Jesus is “mammon”. It is the deceitfulness of riches, money and other worldly possessions that comes with it. They are all connected with the love of this world.
And you can’t really say that you love God, when you are still chasing after those things, while allowing them to overshadow your passion for Christ. They are what’re taking away the heart devotion of many from Christ Jesus. You can’t really say that you love God, when you are committed to pursuing after “mammon”. This is what’s taking the heart of many away from falling deeper in love with Jesus.
For example, you may be working two or three jobs, because of the unrighteous desires in your heart for the things of the world. You are even more committed to them now, than you are with your personal devotional time with God. And the more you are working to get those things, the more you are discovering that you’re not even satisfied with what you’re doing.
Of course, you do need money to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. But you have forgotten that the finances come to you by trusting in God for it, and not by trusting in the world and its system.
Biblical faith for finances can only work when we’re working together with God for it, and not the other way around by depending on the world and its system. God wants to do many things for you, but you are not allowing Him to work in your life.
The Bible says:
“Tainted wealth has no lasting value,
but right living can save your life…
The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich,
and he adds no sorrow with it”.
Proverbs 10:2 & 22 NLT
Many have destroyed their faith in Christ Jesus by substituting godly prosperity, with the worldly form of it. The prosperity of the righteous is guided and secured, solely by following the principles of God’s Kingdom as written in His word, and not from the world and its system.
There is no way you can say that you do love God, when you are more committed to the world and its system.
Love for God has to be demonstrated with corresponding action, just as your faith is being demonstrated in Him (Galatians 5:6). Love for God can only be demonstrated by keeping His commandments (1 John 5:3). If you can’t obey God’s written word, then you are saying that you don’t love Him.
What is God telling you to do? Do it now. Then you’ll see Him surprise you. And obeying God is not difficult, because He will never tell you to do what you can’t do (1 John 5:3).
You can’t be living contrary to God’s word, and still say that you do love Him. That’s the lie that the devil is using against a lot of Christians in the socio-cultural struggles of the world today.
A believer in Christ Jesus who is exhibiting a lot more passion for the world than for God, is in reality saying that his love for God is actually a prop for his own cynical end.
Whatever goal in life that your heart is inclined and leaning towards, in greater proportion with the other things of the world becomes the driving force of your life.
If Jesus is at the center of your life, your everyday decisions and activities will always reflect this in a greater proportion to other things in the world. What you’re doing daily as a Christian should be demonstrating that, Jesus is truly the center of your life.
Your Christian activities don’t necessarily have to be with religious cliché that you exhibit with your friends. The basic Christian belief principles should daily be reflected in your lifestyle pattern. You can’t be living like a committed Christian on Sundays; and the rest of the week you are not different from the people of the world.
You can’t be hiding behind the mask of religious traditions either, while you’re in reality being conformed daily to the world.
Being a Christian does not need to become your religious slogan. It’s far more than that. It’s a way of life. It’s the way of life of God’s people. It’s all about the everyday life that you’re living. It is about the family of God. Live this life with Christ Jesus every day.
As the scripture says:
“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
John 1:4 NKJV
When you’re living the Christ-centered life, your life will become the light of the people of the world. It will become the compass for them in following Jesus.
Those cynical motivations of the heart that are causing your love for Jesus to dwindle will eventually be exposed by the Lord.
There is a pruning process going on right now within the Body of Christ, which the Lord is using to expose a lot of people within His Body. God is putting the Body of Christ into shape for the end time harvest. He is getting Christ’s groom ready and prepared, for the glorious wedding with His Bride. It’s better to repent right now before it’s too late (Numbers 32:23).
God can’t be mocked or deceived. He knows the heart of all men. He weighs the integrity of the hearts of men by their actions, not just by words alone.
Men may try to conceal the true intents of their hearts from one another with all kinds of deceptions. But it’s impossible to do that with God (1 Samuel 16:7).
Therefore, so as to escape being judged with the world and its system, it’s a good thing to turn away from it and be securely joined with Christ.
It’s never too late to turnaround.
This is why it’s very important to make your stand clear now. You are either going to be a firm believer in Christ Jesus, or you may choose to continue with the reckless way that will eventually lead you to destruction.
The choice is yours. But the decision will need to be made now, before it’s too late. Don’t let God, the Father decide for you.
Whether we all like it or not the judgment of God is coming on the world. God will surely judge every social culture of this world. And those who are found wanting will definitely not be happy with His judgment. But His judgements are always right and just.
What are you waiting for? You do have a great opportunity now to turn things around for good.
Aren’t you ever tired of those silly games with the world, because obviously you’re not deceiving God. He knows you. And He has His eyes on your ways.
You know this deep in your heart. You do know that He had been calling you for a long time, to come out of the world. So why are you still hanging in there with the world and its deceitfulness.
Jesus said:
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne”.
Revelation 3:20-21 NKJV
Jesus is calling you out today to stand out for Him. Are you ready to make a U-turn? Follow this link to read out a short prayer and to contact us about the decision that you’re making today. We love you, but Jesus loves you more.
