I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. John 17:15-16

Most Christians have heard the phrase, “Be in the world, but not of the world.” I would like to suggest another way of saying the same thing:

Be in the world, but not conformed to the world.

Of course, this notion of conformity comes from Romans 12:2:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Being conformed to the world occurs when we adopt and integrate the world’s thoughts and ways for relating to reality. Our attention to reality, the perception derived from our attention, the processing of what we perceive, and our resultant response back into reality is controlled by our deepest understanding of it.

Some describe this deep understanding as “our worldview.” We would argue that such a word is woefully limiting, even worldly in a very real material sense. The word simply falls short – particularly for Christian thinking. The spiritual realm not only coexists with the material world, it overarches and penetrates it. After all, “supernatural” means something more than “natural.” And so, we use the word “reality.”

Using the word “reality” threatens a different confusion, so let us pause for a moment to be as clear as we can. As Christians, the reality most interesting to us, and therefore the one we are referring to, is God’s reality. In An Enemy Lies Within, we draw a contrast between the little “r” reality of a human (of which there are many) and the big “R” reality God defines through His written word (the Bible), His word spoken to His people (rhema), and His creation (both natural and supernatural).

Our purpose in writing this book (current working title: A Christian Response to the Meaning Crisis) is to explore the relationship between God’s Reality and the world in which we live, and to expose the world as humankind’s second most deadly enemy. Why second? An Enemy Lies Within exposed the carnal mind as enemy #1, explaining that Satan is put off by simple resistance (James 4:7) and the world has been crucified to us by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:14). Why the world over Satan? Because, like the carnal mind, the world has a way of getting into us, changing the way we think, feel, and behave. By the way: Also similar to the carnal mind, the world thrives on “Satan made me do it” blame-shifting and excuse-making.

It is high time we expose enemy #2.

There are several reasons this is more important than most of us think:

1. Like Satan and our carnal mind, the world is a deceiver (1John 4:1; 2John 1:7). Deception itself is a hidden thing – the act of hiding the truth (Cambridge, n.d.) – which creates a problematic situation for those who assume they are not being regularly deceived (i.e., most of us).
2. The world has been intentionally and forcefully working for over four-hundred years to conform us corporately to its thoughts and ways; and exerting the same intention and force to conform us at the individual level for all but the first couple of years of our lives. Practice makes perfect; the world has gotten better at this conformity thing – particularly in the last eighty to one-hundred years.
3. More than 99% of our mental activity occurs below the level of our consciousness. We do not regularly examine most of our thoughts, nor the way we are thinking. We must intentionally and forcefully think about our thinking if we ever hope to think differently.
4. Desiring to be a friend with the world is an adulterous affair, conforming those who seek such a compromise into an enemy of God (James 4:4). As most affairs go, small compromises lead to bigger ones, until we tragically find ourselves on the other side of things from the only One who has the power to keep us safe from such harm.
5. We are endeavoring to survive, thrive, and help our biological and spiritual children establish themselves in the most chaotic and crisis-ridden season any of us will face in our lifetimes. I once described this season as a decade, but more and more observers are suggesting that what began in 2020 will continue well past the ten-year mark.
6. The Western institutional church has proven to be ineffective and now ill-prepared for the existential threats facing humanity. The chaos and crises will more likely accelerate the decline than reignite some sort of awakening.
7. Creation groans in anticipation of the coming forth of the sons and daughters of God (Romans 8:18-22). A reformation awaits those who will respond and brave the necessary transformation. For those hoping to finish well and leave an admirable legacy, opportunity stares us in the face.

The last of these reasons is my favorite. I truly believe the Bride is making Herself ready, and She will be perfectly beautiful. While I much prefer positive motivation, it honestly does not work with most people. I have tried that tact for a few years now with little response. My hope at this point rests on the possibility that this project will help many Christians understand why they are so uncomfortable: God is using the chaos and crises to free us from our compromising lethargy, that He might use us for great and glorifying exploits.

So, how might we respond? The simple and truest answer is “be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2).” Proving the will of God is one of the most important things a Christian can do in the midst of chaos. To get there, we must acknowledge the need for the renewal of our minds, submit to the Holy Spirit’s work, and step bravely into the necessary transformation.

This response has proven to be easier said than done – particularly when it involves communities of believers. To survive, thrive, and help the next generation of leaders establish themselves, we must step back from our routine, repetitive, and mechanistic drifting through this life, and seriously consider how we should live in this world. God’s Reality calls for and provides something greater than the dream for which we have tragically settled.

Specifically, I am interested in serious, prayerful, Christian dialogue about the state of affairs – primarily in the church – and how we should respond for the renewal and preservation of Christianly thinking, the advancement of God’s kingdom, and the preparation of those who will lead the church through and beyond this current shaking. I propose this be done publicly via recorded dialogues, for posting to a podcast and YouTube channel. These dialogues will supplement and be supplemented by the research I am doing for the new book.

If you are at all moved by this article, please respond. I imagine, as with me, there is some “of the world” time you could set aside for a season of Christianly thinking about the challenges and opportunities facing us and our children.

In the meantime, God bless you with wisdom and courage to come out from under the influences of the world.

Have a strong day in the Lord,

Rob

Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). Deception. In Cambridge.org dictionary. Retrieved May 28, 2024, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/deception