Worldliness: A Definition Please (Part 1)

Paul, Peter, and John all faced early forms of a system of false teaching that later became known as Gnosticism. That term (derived from the Greek word for knowledge) refers to the habit that gnositics had of claiming an elevated knowledge, a higher truth know only to those in on the deep things. Those initiated into this mystical knowledge of truth had a higher internal authority than Scripture. This resulted in a chaotic situation in which the gnostics tried to judge divine revelation by human ideas rather than judging human ideas by divine revelation. (John MacArthur. The MacArthur Bible Commentary, pg. 1954)

Separatist Fundamentalism is dangerously knocking on this door. I don’t believe Fundamentalism intended to completely withdraw itself from culture but in separating from sin at a personal level, and then apostasy on an ecclesiastical level, it has separated from “worldliness” at a cultural level. Elitism is the placing of one’s culture about the rest. Fundamentalism has placed it's knowledge of God above that of understanding the world and anyone who is not at the same level intellectually is of the "lower class." The term worldliness has come then to mean “sinfulness.” This term “worldly” then needs to be defined. Without a definition of worldliness, the church will never find its niche within culture again. So then…a definition of worldliness.

In its simplest form, worldliness is being like the world. But that simply isn’t enough. Being like the world could mean thousands of things. But at the center of it all is one thing; rebellion from a Holy God. Worldliness can not be looked at as only an external expression, however external expressions can show worldliness. Worldliness has to be primarily an inward impression and secondarily an external expression. Luke 6:45 says "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” It isn’t the mouth that is the problem but the heart. The mouth is only a tool used to express the heart.

Secondly, once worldliness has changed the heart, it next changes the mind. This may seem backwards but we need to remember that at the front of all of this, worldliness is rebellion from a Holy God. Rebellion is sin so we can say sin hardens the heart. Once the heart is hardened or even “dead,” it moves to the mind. Only when sin has taken over the life source can our mind change. So what in our mind changes? God has given us an intellect, emotion, and a will. When the heart hardens, our emotion is changed to that of bitterness, rage, wrath, etc. When our minds change, our intellect changes. We begin to hate, whether God, parents, etc. Our minds change to that of independence from everyone by ourselves.

1 John 2:15-17 says, “Do not love the world nor 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 and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

Pastor Mark Vance makes a good point. John 3:16 says that God loves the world. But John here says God loves the world. The word “world” here in 1 John 2:15-17 is the anti-God system or values that are embraced that are anti-God. It is an utter defiance of anything God. Pastor Vance says that worldliness is something that is primarily inward not outward. C.J. Mehany says, “John is equipping us to discern worldliness where it first lurks, within the heart. The sinfulness of the outward world system and the values and the things that it espouses, is simply the natural result that you are born with a sin nature. That you love sin inside of you.” However the church has boiled down a list of dos and don’t if I don’t dress like, talk like, dress like, and think like, I am not worldly. Avoid the places where sin is. Listen to his message on worldliness.

more to come...