True Christians have many enemies in this world and many influences are at work seeking to mar their witness for Christ and to diminish their usefulness. Sometimes these influences work so secretly and so insidiously that they are not noticed at all until, after perhaps quite a time, the believing soul has to face up to the fact that things are not with him as before, indeed that grey hairs are here and there upon him.
One of the very potent forces at work against the children of God is the world itself. The world exerts in many ways a disabling and retarding effect upon their life and witness. On occasions the world exerts its influence blatantly by its carnal allurements which finds a response in the old nature, the remnants of which are still found in the renewed soul. Through unwatchfulness or as a result of self-confidence or self-conceit, professed followers of Christ can be ensnared by the vain attractions of this world and, for a season, until recovered by divine mercy and grace, fall into gross worldliness.
However, there is another way by which the world more slowly, but just as effectively, mars the witness of the people of God. This is through believers becoming conformed to the world. This takes place when, by degrees, the believer concedes a place in his mind and heart to the principles and ways of the world. Its end result is such conformity to the world in speech, dress and behaviour that the professed follower of Christ cannot be distinguished outwardly from the world lying in the wicked one. When this happens what was said of the disciple of Christ cannot then be said of them, “Thy speech betrayeth thee,” nor can it be said of them like the disciples that “men took note of them that they had been with Jesus.”
How does this conformity to the world in speech, dress and behaviour come about? No doubt it flows from too intimate association with the world, that is, with worldly men and women, and, on the other hand, through too little intimate association with the people of God. Both these dangers are to be guarded against. Too intimate association with the world will mean that we will become like the world. The influence of worldly associates will soon tell on us, and eventually their likeness will be impressed upon us. The influence of the world is a deadening one spiritually. Close association with the world must mean increasing deadness of spirit. On the other hand, close association with the people of God has an enervating and enlivening influence. The more we associate with God’s children, the more we will become like them. The phrase — ‘Tell me his company and I will tell you his character’ — has not lost its significance. Worldly company drags the soul down to the earth: godly company lifts the soul up to heaven. In our rejection of worldly company we are not to affect singularity. We are to be in the world but not of it. Nor does it mean that we are to retire into a monastery or nunnery to escape from the world.
It is an awful thing for one of the children of God to become like one of the children of the world. For one of God’s redeemed ones to lose his lustre and brightness and become immersed in the worldliness of the worldly is hardly the vocation that God has chosen for him. They were called to be saints and also to be witnesses. “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God.” But how is this possible if we are conformed to this world? Of course it is not possible. We cease to be the shining lights which we were intended to be — “Ye are the lights of the world.” We cease to be the salt of the earth which we were intended to be — “Ye are the salt of the earth.” Instead our lights are hidden under a bushel and our influence as salt to the earth is lost. How can we help to keep the earth from decaying when we are in such a state of decay ourselves?
Conformity to the world is a calamity from which all the people of God should recoil. Has the Lord brought me out from the world lying in the wicked one, each child of God should say; has He lifted me up from the dust and from the dunghill to set me with the princes, even with the princes of His people, and shall I consort with the world again? Shall I embrace the dunghill again? Let none be secure in this matter. The first question we ought to ask in examining ourselves is — Has this already overtaken me? If our honest answer has to be ‘Yes’, then our second question must be: How can I be delivered out of it? The answer to this last question is to be found in Hosea, chapter 14. Also, “in returning and rest ye shall be saved.” Is. 30:15.
It was desire for conformity to the world that made Israel reject the Lord as their King and desire a king like the other nations. God gave them such a king, Saul, in His anger, as a punishment for their rebellion, and at length He took him away in His wrath. Whatever benefits we think are to accrue to us through conformity to the world, these are short-lived. The supposed advantages soon fade away. Worldly advantage anyway could never compensate for spiritual loss. This is the effect of conformity to the world in speech, dress, manner of life, views or principles. We lose spiritually, whatever we may gain from worldly applause or approval. Indeed the world has no respect for professors of religion who are conformed to the world. Their Christianity is necessarily of such a spineless sort that it is neither worthy of emulation or detestation. The Christianity that can accommodate itself to the world is a Christianity that has lost its vitality. True Christianity bears witness against the worldliness of the world and condemns the ungodliness of the ungodly.
How are we to escape this danger ourselves? The first thing we must realise is how weak and unstable we are and how ready we are to fall into every pit that is dug for us. A consciousness of our own weakness and helplessness would incline us not to trust in ourselves but to look to the Lord in order that His keeping power might be put forth on our behalf. Our dangers are manifold, but His power is infinite. Let us seek to guard against occasions of falling into this sin. It is through unwatchfulness very often that we are ensnared. Let us not be self-confident and boastful, thinking that we will never succumb here. Let us not begin to admire worldly persons and worldly things, and then we will never try to emulate their manner of life or seek what they possess. Above all else, let us seek to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. If our affections are set on things above where Christ sits at the right hand of power, and rest not on the things of this world, then the power of the world will lose its effect upon us. The more heavenly-minded we become by divine grace, the less lustre we will see on earthly things. We will view them but dross and dung that we might win Christ. If we are taken up with being conformed more and more to the image of Him who has redeemed us from death, the less we will seek to be conformed to the world. The more our minds are set on heavenly things, the more they will be taken off earthly things. If we are spiritually exercised in our minds, we will never think of conforming ourselves in dress or in any other way to this world. We will seek rather to be clothed with the unspotted garment of Christ’s wrought out righteousness so that we may stand perfect and entire before God in the day of account.