In the World, Not of the World!

In the World, Not of the World – My Daily Bread!

While thinking on the impact a lawless world can have on the believer, note’s Paul’s caution in 1 Corinthians 6:16-17, NIV:

“For we are the temple of the living God. Therefore come out from them and be separate says the Lord.”

The ‘them’ refers to the world or the present age of unbelievers and their value systems.  The bible tells of a unique time when a ‘world’ and its people collided with God and what happened to them and to the people of God who lived in that ‘world’.

It is the Story of Abraham’s nephew Lot who left the land of Ur of the Chaldeans with Abraham.  His story (Genesis 18-19, NIV) is also the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, the two cities that the Lord destroyed because of their gross wickedness.  God was not happy with these towns for the Lord said:  “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is so bad as the outcry as has reached Me’. (Genesis 18:20, NIV)  So needless to say, matters were pretty serious.

We have all heard of the great faith of Abraham, but few realize that Lot was also a believer.  This is evident from Peter’s words which describe him as a “righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men, for that righteous man living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard.” (2 Peter 2:7, NIV)   Although he was a believer Lot made poor choices of where to live, work and the company he kept.

Initially Lot was a herder of sheep, like Abraham; they wandered the plains and did not live in cities or towns.  His first mistake was he “pitched his tents near Sodom which was already noted for its wickedness against God.” (Genesis 13:13, NIV)   By the time the angels came to destroy these towns, Lot had built a home in the city of Sodom and was found “sitting in the gateway of the city”. This signifies he may have had a prominent position in the town because only city officials gathered at the gateway to conduct business in those times. He enjoyed being recognized as someone important in the eyes of men, all the while becoming less and less concerned with what was important to God.

He enjoyed the glitz and glam of the big city with its blatant disregard for God; he flirted with sin and compromised his walk and that of his family with the Lord.  Even though he did not commit their sins, he had become accustomed to the wickedness, even showing his own indifference by offering his daughters to be raped by the men of the city who banged on his doors to assault the Angles of the Lord.  And most importantly, “he hesitated’ (Genesis 19:16, NIV) when the angles told him it was time to leave.  His ‘world’ over time compromised his value system, making him unrecognizable for God.  Though he escaped with his life, Lot lost everything, including his wife and all his possessions.

Today we do not have to go to a physical location to be at the gates of ‘Sodom & Gomorrah’. The gates can be opened right in our homes through things like TV and Music; for today’s figurative Sodom and Gomorrah is symbolic of anything that we entertain or let into our spirit, heart or mind that dulls our sensitivity to sin.  Saints, have you set your heart close to the things of this world such that God cannot use you for Himself?  Have you accepted others sins into your life, even though you don’t practice them?  Or are you separate as God commands?  Jesus knew His disciples could not escape the physical world so He prayed that his Father would “sanctify them (His disciples) by the truth; your word is truth’. (John 17:17, NIV)

So here are some questions to ponder: Are you standing on God’s Word?  As the temple of the living God, is His Spirit flourishing in you?  Do the things you touch, see and let into your heart and mind dull your senses when it comes to standing on God’s truths?  Have you pitched your tent close to the things of this world such that you compromise who we are for God?  We are called to be separate from the things of this world, so that we can experience sweet fellowship with our Father in heaven.  Saints we must always be careful that our liberty in Christ does not draw you away from the Lord.  Remember, not only do we matter to God, but so do our choices!

Copyright© 2011-2012 Colleen Holton All Rights Reserved.