“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

      Deuteronomy 30:19-20

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

          James 4:4

It’s true under the new covenant and it was true under the old. God gives us the choice to follow, serve, and obey Him or do the same with the world and its ways. The only major difference between the two covenants is that, under the old, God was making a covenant relationship with the people of Israel…the people of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. Under the new covenant however, this agreement is between God and anyone who “will call on the name of the Lord, both Jew and Gentile (Romans 10:9-13). 

For the people of Israel, God “set before (them) life and death, the blessing and the curse.” The people had a choice to make. Just like Adam and Eve, in the garden, were given instructions, and therefore, were given the choice to obey or not, so these people were given a decision that would bring either life and blessing or death and a curse. The entire Old Testament is full of these encounters in which God was giving the people an opportunity to love Him, obey Him, and live in abundance or to turn away, trusting in themselves, suffering the consequences for their disobedience (Isaiah 1:18-20, Jeremiah 17:5-8, Ezekiel 18:21-23,30-32).  But for us, the lesson is that God desired to bless these people, to be their God, providing everything that they needed for life, and to allow them to see long, prosperous days upon the earth. Yet, they had a choice. God even said to them, “Choose life in order that you might live, you and your descendants.” This is a pretty obvious decision to be made…to live or die, to be blessed or be cursed. So the people chose God, never looked back, and prospered the rest of the way in their lives? Not so fast! If you know the word of God and the history of the people of Israel then you know that this is not what happened. The people went through many periods of time in which they rebelled, turned to idols, and were disobedient to God. So why should we care about the people of the old covenant and their decision to choose blessings or curses? Because the same choice is still in place for us under the new covenant. For us, it’s Christ or the world and we cannot serve both. Consider the words of James:

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

          James 4:4

James isn’t using the word “adulteresses” in referring to sexual immorality or marital unfaithfulness. He is using this word in reference to our spiritual infidelity. Notice the same choice is revealed in this verse…God or the world and its ways. “Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?” If we desire to be a friend of the world and its philosophies and ways, by default, we are then acting in a hostile manner toward God. Compare this to the message often preached that we can “live our lives, chasing after everything that this world has to offer, and be in right relationship with God at the same time.” The word of God says otherwise. We have a decision to make…the world or Christ. And following Christ demands a “dying to ourselves, our plans, our dreams,” and adopting a willingness to live God’s way (Luke 9:23). No person, material object, or pursuit can become more important to us than our relationship with Christ and our service to Him (Matthew 10:37-39, Luke 14:26-27). This mixture of “I’ll pursue the world and stay in right relationship with God at the same time” is fiction and contrary to the word of God. Perhaps this is why so few seem interested in surrendering their lives to Christ and following Him only. 

But back to James: “Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” This passage doesn’t say that God wants to be our enemy. It says that when we want to be a friend of the world, we make ourselves an enemy of God. So the choice, like under the old covenant for the people of Israel, is either the world, effectively making ourselves hostile toward and enemies of God or surrendering our lives to Christ (under the new covenant) and following and serving Him all of the days of our lives. Consider the words of John:

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

  1 John 2:15-17

It’s not that the Bible is vague and difficult to understand rather it’s because of its clarity and convicting power that the masses run from it. “Do not love the world not the things of the world.” That couldn’t be any clearer! And it goes on, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” We simply cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit and pursue the things of the world at the same time. It’s one or the other. And what are “the things of the world?” “The lust of the flesh” (pleasure), “the lust of the eyes” (coveting possessions), and “the boastful pride of life” (material wealth and all of its trappings) are not from the Father but are from the world. Everything that the world says is important, make a lot of money, hold positions of prestige and power, and chase after the next party, these are not from God. That’s why the Bible tells us that “the world is passing away, and also its lusts.” These things are merely temporal and not lasting yet the masses run after them as if they are going to lead to life. How often do we see people who “have it all” and yet are empty and searching for purpose. “But the one that does the will of God lives forever.” We would do well to heed the instructions that God’s Word provides, leading us to an abundant, fulfilling life of purpose and fellowship with the One True God! 

Here’s The Rub!

When we make the decision to surrender our lives to Christ and forsake the world and its ways, we enter into fellowship with God, being filled with the Holy Spirit, and enjoying all of the heavenly resources at our disposal (Matthew 7:7-11, Mark 11:24, Ephesians 1:19), not to mention eternal life with Christ in heaven! But with this decision comes resistance from those still fully committed to the world. Jesus warns us of this reality:

If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. 

  John 15:18-19

We will be hated by those who are fully invested in the world. We might even run across people who claim to also be followers of Jesus but a quick glance at their lifestyle and we can discern whether or not that is the spiritual reality of their lives. Authentic Christians will always be like-minded in that it is the Holy Spirit that creates unity among believers (Ephesians 4:3). Peter even reminds us of this reality:

For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign (insult) you…

      1 Peter 4:3-4

Most of us probably have a testimony pointing to the fact that we have already spent enough time in our lives chasing after the things of the world. It’s not that we were once fully invested in the world, the important thing is, “Have we moved out of that existence into a genuine, authentic relationship with a living Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?” When we do, we might still find ourselves having to navigate the often difficult relationships with unsaved friends and family. The unsaved simply do not understand our relationship with Jesus and might even find it “foolish” (1 Corinthians 2:14-15). But we can continue to enjoy all of the benefits that come from a “born again” relationship with God (John 3:3) even in the midst of persecution for our faith. 

The world of Christ? That is the choice that every man, woman, and child has to make. But to be sure…it cannot be both!

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

    Matthew 5:6

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

          Matthew 5:10-12