Day: June 13, 2014

End Times Spiritual Survival

Part Two: SEPARATION FROM THE WORLD

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.“
—Romans 12:2

Can the Christian prepare spiritually for the end times?  The Bible says “Yes!” How can the believer prepare for what’s soon to come upon the earth?  This is the second in an ongoing series about End Times Spiritual Survival: Separation from the World.

1. Christians are to be Separate from the World
2. Are you Peculiar?
3. Preparing for the End Times by Being Separate from the World
4. Why Separate?

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 CHRISTIANS ARE TO BE SEPARATE FROM THE WORLD

The Bible is perfectly clear: Christians are not to be like the world, of the world, or enmeshed in the world. Christians are not to compromise with the world or try to win the world by acting like,  looking like or sounding like the world.

Christians are not to be a friend of the world.

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
—James 4:4

Get that?

Anyone who becomes a friend of the world is an enemy of God.

One way Christians can tell if someone is a fake Christian is if that person loves the world.  If any man loves the world, that man is not a Christian.

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
—1 John 2:15

Seems pretty clear, huh?

And yet, how many who have “Jesus” on their lips follow after wolves who have “Mammon” on their minds?  How many buy books, DVDs and even STUDY BIBLES to support men who wear $28,000 Rolex watches and own multiple multi-million dollar earthly mansions?

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
—Matthew 6:24

How many who sit in pews on Sunday morning can’t wait to jump back into the world and all that represents the world: TV, status symbols, 24/7 smartphones, entertainment, sports and other distractions, social media?

The Bible is perfectly clear: Christians are to be separate from this world.  Forced to live among a fallen humanity, believers are to be ambassadors for Christ to a fallen world.

Even though the Christian lives IN this world, he is not to be OF this world.

But what does that mean?  How can believers be in the world but not of the world?

Believers in Jesus Christ are simply in the world—physically present—but not of it, not part of its values (John 17:14-15). As believers, we should be set apart from the world. This is the meaning of being holy and living a holy, righteous life—to be set apart. We are not to engage in the sinful activities the world promotes, nor are we to retain the insipid, corrupt mind that the world creates. Rather, we are to conform ourselves, and our minds, to that of Jesus Christ (Romans 12:1-2). This is a daily activity and commitment.

So that should be absolutely clear: if one desires to be a Christian and desires to do the will of the Father, one can’t be friendly with the world.

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Christians are called to be a “peculiar people.”  If the world doesn’t consider the Christian odd or peculiar,  chances are he’s not really a Christian.

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
—Titus 2:13-14

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”
—1 Peter 2:9

“Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:”
—Exodus 19:5

“Consecrate” and “sanctify” both mean basically the same thing: to be separated out or set apart for use by the Lord.  Are you set apart?  For whose use: the world’s or the Lord’s?

Christians should never get comfortable in this world.  True believers are to be pilgrims, sojourners, strangers in this world: just passing through on our way to the next life, the eternal one with our Savior.

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
—Hebrews 11:13

Are you fully persuaded of the promises of God?

“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;”
—1 Peter 2:11

“For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. “
—1 Chronicles 29:15

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PREPARING FOR THE END TIMES:
HOW TO SEPARATE FROM THE WORLD

The Christian should identify the areas in his life where the world has a hold on him.  The world ensnares the Christian in sin in one of three ways.

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”
—1 John 2:16

What is the lust of the flesh?

…sexual gratification, gluttony, excessive alcohol consumption, and drugs, both legal and illegal, as well as the “deeds of the flesh” about which Paul warned the Galatians, “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Galatians 5:19-21).

What is the lust of the eyes?

Simply put, the lust of the eyes is the desire to possess what we see or to have those things which have visual appeal. This coveting of money, possessions, or other physical things is not from God, but from the world around us. John emphasizes that these physical things do not last; they will pass away. In contrast, the child of God is guaranteed eternity.

What is the pride of life?

The pride of life can be defined as anything that is “of the world,” meaning anything that leads to arrogance, ostentation, pride in self, presumption, and boasting. John makes it clear that anything that produces the pride of life comes from a love of the world and “if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).

Money?  Attention and/or fame?  Sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll?

If a Christian is serious about preparing for the end times, he will have to identify and root out the causes of sin in his life.  Sin is death.  We can never get rid of all sin as we are humans living in a fallen world.  BUT, we can identify problem areas of sin, submit ourselves to God and resist the devil in those areas.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
—James 4:7

By separating from the world and the world’s sources of sin, the Christian can limit the opportunities to sin against a Holy God.

WHY BE SEPARATE?

The world is not only a sinful place, it’s a deceptive one as well.  Jesus’ warnings about the end times were especially concerned with deception of the believer. Not only does the enemy and his minions seek to deceive the end times Christian, but the believer will be under very heavy pressure to DECEIVE HIMSELF.

The primary method of self-deception is through compromise; specifically, compromise with the world. The enemy is always whispering in the ear of the believer to compromise. Sometimes, the devil uses those around us to mouth the phrases the world loves so well.

“Be reasonable!”

“What can it hurt?”

“God will understand.”

“It’s not hurting anybody.”

“It’s good clean fun.”

“Come on! You can make it right later.”

Satan never tires of whispering encouragement to compromise with the world in the ear of the believer. Compromise with the world is making peace with God’s enemies.

Separation from the world not only limits the opportunity for and sources of sin, it also erects a barrier to deception–both by others and ourselves.

“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”
—2 Corinthians 6:17

Jesus even prayed to the Father to protect His chosen ones from the world’s devices.  In fact, the entire 17th chapter of John is this prayer by Jesus to the Father for the apostles–AND FOR FUTURE CHRISTIANS.  In it, He asks to sanctify (separate, set apart) believers by the Truth of God’s Word.

“I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

“I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

“And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.<

“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;”
—John 17:6-20

The world will never run out of reasons why the believer should compromise his beliefs.  The world will always try to encourage, cajole, persuade, wheedle or coax the Christian into compromise.  When that doesn’t work, the world never hesitates to browbeat and eventually to  threaten.

The true Christian must gird himself and resist the blandishments of the world.  This is particularly important in the end times.

To prepare for the end times, the Christian must prepare for the hatred of the world.  The Bible assures Christians of the world’s hatred.  The end times trials and tribulations are to try the believer, to find him worthy.  The temptation will be to compromise with the world, to “go along to get along.”

Jesus declared that if you are one of His,the world will hate you and persecute you.

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.”
—John 15:18

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
—2 Timothy 3:12

For those who still have their rose-colored glasses on, that’s “ALL,” not some; “SHALL” not maybe.

“In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
—John 16:33

IF you are really a Christian, the world is going to hate you–especially in the end times.  In fact, if one is a true Christian, the end times apostate church (“which looks like a lamb, but speaks like a dragon”) is going to hate you, persecute you and eventually try to kill you.

Get used to it.

Forewarned is forearmed.

The first step to resisting the siren song of the world is to separate as much as possible from the sinful influences of the world.  This may be the most important step one takes toward surviving the end times.

And just to make sure we’re all on the same page: survival means “ultimate survival;” not necessarily survival of the flesh–though it doesn’t preclude that–but survival eternally.

Who are you serving: the kingdom of God or the world?

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Part One: Make Your Calling and Election Sure: End Times Survival

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• STRONG DELUSION: Strong Delusion is Coming
• The Doctrine of Salvation
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• Jesus Christ the Cornerstone
• Roman Road: Eternal Salvation through Jesus Christ

by Jeremiah Jameson
–with Mondo Frazier

images:
1- Stuart Miles, FreeDigitalPhotos.net/ETPR
2- Stuart Miles, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

© Jeremiah J. Jameson and End Times Prophecy Report, 2012-14. © Mondo Frazier, DBKP and End Times Prophecy Report, 2007-14. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jeremiah J. Jameson and End Times Prophecy Report with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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