In the World, Not of the World

Monday, Oct. 5, 2009 Posted: 1:08:00AM HKT

The Christian faith is a call neither to accept the world nor reject it.

Those who have attempted to do the first have become no different from the world, while those who try to do the second thing find themselves living as ascetics in caves or other places far removed from civilisation.

One of the most important words in Christianity – namely, conversion – is instructive in facilitating a better understanding of what the Lord Jesus meant when He said His disciples were in the world but not of it.

While the Bible often condemns the ways of the world, Scripture never denounces the categories it uses. Christ did not rebuke His disciples for desiring to be great. He taught them how to become truly wealthy. Most of all, He brought the sure hope of resurrection and immortality into a world obsessed with eternal life.

The Lord Jesus did not denounce wealth, health, freedom, wisdom, power, righteousness. A casual reading of the Book of Proverbs and Deuteronomy in the Old Testament might easily yield support for the ‘prosperity’ teaching.

There is, however, a major difficulty of coherence with such an interpretation. Jesus never guaranteed that His disciples would have it good for the rest of their lives if they followed Him. He told them they would have it quite bad; they would be persecuted for no good reason and might even lose their lives. It has been said that the only thing Jesus promised His disciples was suffering.

How then can the seemly poverty-centered theology of Jesus Christ be reconciled with the seemly prosperity-centered theology of the Old Testament?

The answer can be found in the teachings of Christ as recorded in the Gospels.

As alluded to earlier, Christ did not oppose wealth, health, freedom, wisdom, power, righteousness. He did one thing, nonetheless: He restored the original meaning of these categories.

The Lord Jesus taught that wealth is not about gaining possessions for oneself, because they will all finally disappear (Luke 12:13-21). Rather than that, true wealth consists in giving to those that need it, because that will remain as an eternal memory of love that God accepts.

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out; a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. (Luke 12:33)

True wealth lies in giving to those in need.

What about health? This can be tied in with security and peace. Christ taught that safety does not lie in pleasing everybody. It lies in pleasing God. It lies in preaching the truth of God to one and all even if there might be persecution. There may be temporary humiliation at the hands of the world, but eternal exaltation in heaven before God. For those who disobey God, there may be comfort for a while, but unquenchable misery in the life after.

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever wants to save his life will lose it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (Luke 9:23-26).

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