Smyrna times., 1963-02-28
FAITH I'M GOD
The FOUNDATION
of YOUR PEACE
Your individual Happiness
Depends Upon Whot You
Il Do About God.
TzIz1ZIEZEl1lEAMD
THE SEPARATED LIFE

This draws a definite line of
demarkaion between Gods
people and world-people.
Friendship with the world
puts one among the enemies of
God.
Friendship with God demands
separation from the world. The
demand is positive, unequivo-
cal. There is no such thing as
striking compromise.
He who would be Christian
must renounce the world. The
baptism convenant is: "Where-
fore you must promise upon
your part In the presence of
this congregation that you, re-
nouncing the devil and all his
works, will implicitly believe
Gods holy word and obediently
keep His commandments"
The great rival of God for
the affections of the human
hear is this present world...
Demas..."
In apostolic days the world
stood out as a plain enemy of
the church; its laws, its instit-
utions, its customs, all we're
antagonistic to the Christian
life.
But since those days there
has been a change. World laws
and customs are mellowed by
the influence of the Church,
while at the same time there
has been a tendency on the part
of the church to file down the
differences so that the distinc-
lives are not so pronounced.
Renunication of the world is
not disdain for the beauties of
nature, nor is 1t becoming an
anchorite under vow to abstain
from all pleasure or enter any
thing In which there is delight.
1t is not eccentric or peculiar.
John Il John 2:l6) declares
worldliness to be:
"Lust of the flesh"--''inor-
dinate desires after finery of
every kind, gaudy dress, spen-
did houses, superb furniture,
expensive equipage, trappings
of all sorts. adam Clarke.
"Pride of life" = ambition
to attain notice or fame at
any price. The present world
is all, and they care for no
other. Hunting after honours,
titles, and pedigrees; boasting
of ancestry, family connections,
great offices and the like"
Adam Clarke.
The world is where sensual
ity rules without regard or re-
spect for human rights or sptr-
irual interests.
Worldliness Is self interest;
unworldliness is other-inter-
est.
Worldliness crowns the body
and lives for its qualification.
Unworldliness crowns the
claims of the soul and lives
according to the Divine Revel-
alton.
The world is the wide do
main where self is honored,
self-effort is relied upon, car
nal pleasure is courted, per-
sonal opinion is considered law,
and qualification is the rule of
conduct.
The kingdom of God is mot
meat and drink; but righteous
ness, and peace, and Joy in the
Holy Ghost" God is supreme,
Christ is the only Savious, the
Holy Spirit is the guide and
instructor in every rule of con-
duct.
He who would be Gods must
be separated from the world
and separated unto God.
The world must be repudiated
and positively. God must
reign in the sould without a
rival.
The Christian has not only
the world but has
separated himself from 1t. He
has become the avowed enemy of
the world. This avowal brings
persecution.
To renounce the world, to re-
pudiate the world, to take up
arms against the world is the
call to all who would be follow
ers of Christ.
The separation from the
world was the Church's power
against the world. The Church's
abandonment to Christ has ever
been its power. On the other
hand, compromise and vonfor-
nifty have always meant weak
ness. sterility, and ultimately
death.
How is the love of the world
to be metz ''By the expulsive
power of a new Affection" said
Chalmers.
1t is not enough to mma k
the world and show its hypcc.
risy. A new beauty, a winsoI
relationship in Christ must
seen.
1t is not a demonstration
the worlds worthlessness IT,.
will pull men out of 1t, but men
ablaze with a new Pentecostal
job, absorbed in a new interest
In Christ that will bring men
from the world to Christ.
Conformity to the world stiff
lies and destroys and leads to
confusion.
Transformation by the power