Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—
mere infants in Christ.
1 CORINTHIANS 3:1
It is a challenge to live a Christ-like life in our polluted world. Our lives are constantly bombarded with ungodly influence. It’s in the culture that we live in. It’s in the movie and television world, the advertising, and also in many of the people we associate with every single day of our lives. Without continual divine intervention we are all going to come under the influence of the world. How do we avoid that? Jonathan Edwards used to say “we have to put ourselves in the place of spiritual allurement”. What did he mean by that? To Edwards, reading the Bible, worship, and prayer were the highest forms of enjoyment. This is where we discover the pleasures of God. So it is in prayer, Bible reading, church attendance, and small group meetings that we meet with God, come to enjoy these spiritual endeavors, and come under the influence of the Spirit that keeps us from from the pollution of this world. Here is something Andrew Murray said about the world and its influence on Christians.
“Paul uses certain expressions to describe the spiritual condition of people. He says there is the natural man, one who does not accept the things of the Spirit of God (see 1 Corinthians 2:14). Then there are those who are spiritual and judge all things spiritually (see 1 Corinthians 2:15). Between those two, there is the worldly person, who is guilty of jealousy, strife, and division (see 1 Corinthians 3:3). Am I a worldly Christian who is guilty of sinful and worldly desires? Because I often think that it cannot be otherwise, I allow that which is wrong into my life. When Jesus Christ promised the Holy Spirit to His disciples, it was in the expectation that they would give themselves wholly to be led by the Holy Spirit. Once I give myself unconditionally to be led by the Holy Spirit in my daily life and conversations, the Holy Spirit will control my life every day.”
From Murray’s view, and apparently the Apostle Paul’s view, the world can have a powerful impact on the Christian and non-Christian alike. The scary thing is that a non-Christian and a carnal or worldly Christian behave in a very similar way. There are not obvious differences between the two. Obviously, the nominal Christian has not allowed the word of God to wash his mind or the Spirit of God to awaken him to spiritual realities. That is why the worldly Christian sees no need for the anointing and may even join in with the lost in mocking spiritual things. Where do you stand in Paul’s evaluation. Are you the natural man, never been born again? Are you the worldly Christian who is influenced more by the culture of this world than God’s word and His Spirit? Or are you the spiritual man that has surrendered to the allurement of God?
