"You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." - James 4:4
What does friendship with the world look like? It does not mean that you are a friendly neighbor. It means that you embrace what the world believes. And if that happens to contravene what God has said is truth, then if you want to continue to be a friend of the world, then you must reject God's truth. Pretty simple. Have you ever been with a group of friends when something was said that you did not agree with, but the majority did? And you decided to keep your opinion to yourself, or risk being ridiculed or worse, ostracized.
Don't be surprised or dismayed that what you believe is contrary to what the world embraces. So long as you don't disagree with the world you will be tolerated. But take a stand against something that the "world" espouses, and you will quickly be labeled "that kind" of Christian. Intolerant. You might even be part of the Conservative Christian Right suggesting that must be a Liberal Christian Left.
Pastor Greg Laurie spoke at a conference I attended some years ago. He spoke to this very issue and the possibility of being accused of being judgmental when the Bible says to not judge. He said, "you are not a judge, merely a fruit inspector".
"Now the works [fruit] of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." - Galatians 5:19-24
Like the bank teller that learns to identify counterfeit money by examining real money. That done, it is simple to call out the counterfeit money when they see it. It just doesn't match the real stuff. It is flawed.
I am intentionally not addressing any specifics because I want to encourage you to examine those things in this culture that you may be embracing as acceptable, perhaps even preferred. To test them against the Word of God as your standard for what is truth. That is always my motivation for writing these devotions. To encourage you to be willing to stand on the truth even in the face of rejection by the world for doing it. To be "that kind" of Christian.
These are perilous and dark times that we live in.
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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