Thoughts from The Bible

Thoughts from the Bible

Wednesday, 28 September 2022 12:20

Staying Clean In A Filthy World
Have you ever gotten all cleaned and dressed up and then found it hard to stay that way? I must be one of the worst at getting spaghetti sauce on my white shirt or tie. Invariably I end up getting grass stains on my new pants? When we run around in the physical world, we are just going to pick up some of its dirt as well. I think you will agree that this is also true in the spiritual sense. Someone has well stated: “It gets pretty hard to stay clean when we are living in a pig pen.”

Unfortunately, our world, our society, really is a spiritual pig pen. Much of our world is UNASHAMEDLY wallowing in the mud of sin and immorality. We are constantly being exposed to the philosophy of “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die” in nearly every aspect of our lives. We can hardly get away from it; and it’s nearly impossible for us not to pick up some of the dirt. If we’re not very careful we’ll pick up a lot more than just some.

In this non-Christian world, it’s hard to be a Christian: to talk like, act like and live like a child of God under such difficult conditions. The Apostle Paul indicates that we should, and in fact we must:

Philippians 2:15 (KJV) 15That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
A great portion of the people in America that Christians go to school with, the teachers we listen to, the people we work with, the shows we watch, possibly most of the people we encounter, do not look at the world from a Christian point of view. But then again, it has always been so. This problem of being a Christian in a Non-Christian world is not a new one. The church battled this problem right from the start, and the church at Corinth is by far no exception. These Christians lived in and were surrounded by a city saturated in immorality and sin, and much of that philosophy, immoral lifestyle and attitude crept into the church.

Paul views just such a world and church relationship when he writes much of the inspired Spiritual counsel. For example, the context of 2 Corinthians 6 is one of Christians living in the midst of the pig pen of paganism!

The admonition is: Avoid Close Contact with Unbelievers (6:14-16). The overwhelming logic for this statement, he lays out is: “What Do Righteousness and Wickedness Have in Common?” “What Fellowship Can Light Have with Darkness?” “What Harmony (concord or accord) Is There Between Christ and Belial?” “What Does a Believer Have in Common with an Unbeliever?” “What Agreement Is There Between the Temple of God and Idols?”

In context Paul is addressing Christians who are compromising with heathens in practices that were ungodly. They are charged in verses 17-18, 17 “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” If we come out from them; If we are separate; If we touch no unclean thing (that is refuse to participate in ungodly activities) then God will receive us. He will be a Father to us. Friends, the church is not in the business of conforming to the world but rather transforming the world through the Gospel.

The author can be reached for comments at 256-574-2489.

-Terry Broome