AAu ug gu 1 Wading River Baptist Church P.O. Box 438, 1635 Wading River-Manor Road, Wading River, NY 11792 (631) 929-3512; 929-6022 www.wrbc.us [email protected]Biblical Separation Part 1: The Problem of Worldliness “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:17). In a recent informal survey of our WRBC Lord’s Day evening home Bible study, we asked the members of the group to indi- cate the things that were of most concern to the m spiritually. We asked them to share the problems that were causing them the most trouble in their Christian lives. The response that was returned more than any other can be summarized as “How do I live a godly life in an un- godly world?” This is a very big ques- tion, and in fact is the purpose behind the ministry of God’s Word at our church. Everything we do is focused on either introducing unbelievers to the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ or teaching believers how to think and live in a godless world according to biblical principles. Given the difficult times in which we are living, however, one issue looms verylarge—the issue of separation from the world. In other wor ds, step one in living a godly life in a godless world is to put as much distance between the believer and the wo rld as possible. In previous gen- erations, Bible-believing preachers and Christians were very concerned about what was c alled “ worldliness.” Worldli- ness refers to the presence (and accep- tance) of non-Christian values in the Christian’s life. Worldly Christians live like unbelievers. Years ago, sermons addressing the subject were common as pastors emphasized to their congrega- tions that Christians are not to be like the world. As a young person in the 1960s, I got tired of hearing preaching on the subject, although I never for a moment doubted the truth or necessityof the preachers’ messages. I recall that soon after my arrival in Wading River, I preached a sermon in which I laid out the case against confor- mity to the world (I think it was an expo- sition of Genesis 19 on Lot and Sodom). After the service, the late Pastor George Bogan, who was in the congregation that Lord’s Day evening, asked me, “Does anybody use the word ‘worldliness’ any- more?” (I had used it that evening). In his recent book, This Little Church HadNone, Pastor Gary Gilley makes the same point: ‘Worldliness’—now that is a word you won’t often find in ‘rele- vant’ Christian literature and churches, except to make fun of‘prudish’ Christians who still care about such things. Past generations of believers saw purity and separa- tion from questionable activities as not only obedience to God (Rom. 12:2), but also a witness to unbeliev- ers. Not that unbelievers necessarilyunderstood or appreciated the Christian’s desire for living a sepa- rated life (another old-fashioned term you won’t hear in most Chris- tian circles today), but they recog- nized that in many regards true Christians lived differently from the way they did (1 Pe ter 4:3-4). While this repelled and even infuriated some, it nevertheless served notice that Christ transformed the life and lifestyle of those he regenerated” (Gary Gilley, This Little Church HadNone, pp. 103-104). The situation Gilley describes re- veals the influence the seeker-sensitive mentality has had across evangelicalism. To preach against worldliness is calcu- lated to offend those who live a worldlylifestyle, and initially this was over- whelmingly unbelievers. If o ur purpose is to get as many unbelievers as possible into the church to hear the Gospel, then preaching against worldliness would defeat the purpose by driving them (or keeping them) away. After a generation or so in which worldliness was rarely ifever addressed from the pulpit, that same spirit of ungodly living began sub- tly to manifest itself more openly among professing believers. Today, it is usually hard to tell the difference between a regenerated Chris- tian and a worldly unbeliever by looking at their lifestyles. Here’s Gilley again: “If we are to win unbelievers to the Lord we must identify with them. We must show them that we enjoy the same things they do. They must be made to realize that Christians can drink and swear and dress like them, and can gamble and be foul and enjoy all the same forms of en- tertainment that non-Christians do. Liv- ing in this way, we are told, will be win- some to the unbeliever, for they will see in us an authentic life which is transpar- ent and free from hypocrisy and smug- ness—characteristics that the unbeliever claims to see so universally in Christians. We are, after all, no different from them except that we believe in Christ” ( This Little Church Had None, p. 104). After all, “separation” was a mark of a funda- mentalist, and no one wants to be called a fundamentalist today! It therefore appears that many cur- rent evangelical believers have no under- standing of the biblical mandate for Christians to separate from the world. ust t / / S Sep pt te em m b ber r 201 11V V o o llu u m m e e 66# 88continued on page 2
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Biblical SeparationPart 1: The Problem of Worldliness
“Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:17).
In a recent informal survey of our WRBC
Lord’s Day evening home Bible study, we
asked the members of the group to indi-
cate the things that were of most concernto them spiritually. We asked them to
share the problems that were causing
them the most trouble in their Christian
lives. The response that was returned
more than any other can be summarized
as “How do I live a godly life in an un-
godly world?” This is a very big ques-
tion, and in fact is the purpose behind
the ministry of God’s Word at our
church. Everything we do is focused on
either introducing unbelievers to the
saving grace of God in Jesus Christ or
teaching believers how to think and livein a godless world according to biblical
principles.
Given the difficult times in which we
are living, however, one issue looms very
large—the issue of separation from the
world. In other words, step one in living
a godly life in a godless world is to put as
much distance between the believer and
the world as possible. In previous gen-
erations, Bible-believing preachers and
Christians were very concerned about
what was called “worldliness.” Worldli-
ness refers to the presence (and accep-
tance) of non-Christian values in the
Christian’s life. Worldly Christians live
like unbelievers. Years ago, sermons
addressing the subject were common as
pastors emphasized to their congrega-
tions that Christians are not to be like
the world. As a young person in the
1960s, I got tired of hearing preaching
on the subject, although I never for a
moment doubted the truth or necessity
of the preachers’ messages.
I recall that soon after my arrival in
Wading River, I preached a sermon in
which I laid out the case against confor-
mity to the world (I think it was an expo-sition of Genesis 19 on Lot and Sodom).
After the service, the late Pastor George
Bogan, who was in the congregation that
Lord’s Day evening, asked me, “Does
anybody use the word ‘worldliness’ any-
more?” (I had used it that evening). In
his recent book, This Little Church Had
None, Pastor Gary Gilley makes the same
point:
‘Worldliness’—now that is a word you won’t often find in ‘rele-
vant’ Christian literature andchurches, except to make fun of ‘prudish’ Christians who still careabout such things. Past generationsof believers saw purity and separa-tion from questionable activities asnot only obedience to God (Rom.12:2), but also a witness to unbeliev-ers. Not that unbelievers necessarily understood or appreciated theChristian’s desire for living a sepa-rated life (another old-fashionedterm you won’t hear in most Chris-tian circles today), but they recog-
nized that in many regards trueChristians lived differently from the way they did (1 Peter 4:3-4). Whilethis repelled and even infuriatedsome, it nevertheless served noticethat Christ transformed the life andlifestyle of those he regenerated”(Gary Gilley, This Little Church Had
None, pp. 103-104).
The situation Gilley describes re-
veals the influence the seeker-sensitive
mentality has had across evangelicalism.
To preach against worldliness is calcu-
lated to offend those who live a world
lifestyle, and initially this was ove
whelmingly unbelievers. If our purpo
is to get as many unbelievers as possibinto the church to hear the Gospel, th
preaching against worldliness wou
defeat the purpose by driving them (
keeping them) away. After a generatio
or so in which worldliness was rarely
ever addressed from the pulpit, th
same spirit of ungodly living began su
tly to manifest itself more openly amon
professing believers.
Today, it is usually hard to tell th
difference between a regenerated Chr
tian and a worldly unbeliever by lookin
at their lifestyles. Here’s Gilley agai“If we are to win unbelievers to the Lo
we must identify with them. We m
show them that we enjoy the same thin
they do. They must be made to reali
that Christians can drink and swear an
dress like them, and can gamble and b
foul and enjoy all the same forms of e
tertainment that non-Christians do. Li
ing in this way, we are told, will be wi
some to the unbeliever, for they will s
in us an authentic life which is transpa
ent and free from hypocrisy and smu
ness—characteristics that the unbeliev
claims to see so universally in Christian
We are, after all, no different from the
except that we believe in Christ” (Th
Little Church Had None, p. 104). Aft
all, “separation” was a mark of a fund
mentalist, and no one wants to be call
a fundamentalist today!
It therefore appears that many cu
rent evangelical believers have no unde
standing of the biblical mandate f
Christians to separate from the worl
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