Who is Influencing Whom?

Last week God impressed on me a statement that has not only haunted me but also broken my heart.  As I awakened one morning last week that statement came to my mind.  The statement is the world influences the church at a greater rate than the church influences the world.  As I lay there in bed my mind tossed this thought over and again.  Not only did I keep thinking about it, but I wondered why it is and what could be done about it, more importantly what did I need to do to assure the world was not influencing me unduly. 

When statistics show little difference between the behavior of those who attend church and those who do not then there is a great problem in the church.  Peter expressed the words of our God when he said in 1 Peter 15-16 “but as the One who called you is holy you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy because I am holy.”  While the origins of the word holy are from a secular stand point meaning to be set apart for a particular purpose, the Christian version means to be set apart for God’s purpose while being without blemish in that you are striving for purity. 

As I taught youth many years ago they would ask a question which many adults think but do not voice.  Their question was, “How far is too far?”  In other words, how much can I do without calling it sin?  Jesus answered this question very plainly when addressing the issues of adultery and murder.  He said to look on a woman with lust is to commit adultery.  To harbor hatred in your heart against another person is to commit murder.  While the physical act may not have been born out, the reality of the matter is evident from the person’s heart, the wellspring of life.

Too many in the church have fallen into the mentality of wanting to be a child of God but live as close to the world as possible.  God has called us to a life of purity, to be set apart from the world.  If we are going to follow Christ with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength as we are called to do then we must be willing to abandon the desires of the flesh to follow close to the world.  Romans 12:2 commands us to “not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  This is only possible when we decide to forsake the lures of the world or not to allow the world to unduly influence us. 

Instead we must choose to influence the world.  J.O. Sanders writes in Spiritual Leadership that Dr. John Geddie went to Aneityum in 1848 and worked there for God for 24 years. On the tablet erected to his memory these words are inscribed:  When he landed, in 1848, there were no Christians. When he left, in 1872, there were no heathen.  Oh that my life may be such an influence on others that they see Jesus and seek Jesus.

Whatever it Takes,

Pastor Ric