Too Much Like The World

In Romans 12:2 there is a divine imperative given for all Christians in every age: "Do not be conformed to the world..." In other words, do not let the world shape you into its mold. This means that we are not to allow the way we think or feel or conduct our lives to be "conformed" into the thoughts, affections, and actions of the world outside of Christ. A Christian therefore is to be separate in how he lives before the world. Another term for this way of life is "holiness." Christians are to live holy (see II Cor.6:14-7:1; Heb.12:14; I Pet.1:15,16). And the supreme way in which every believer in Christ lives holy is by living in obedience to God's Word, which calls for an evident non-conformity to how the rest of the world lives.

Thus, for the Christian, he is to talk in a manner that obeys God's Word. This would exemplify gracious words that build others up, rather than engaging in words which are coarse, gossiping, slanderous, and deceitful (Eph.4:25,29; 5:4). A Christian is also to think in obedience to God's Word. What we think about God, about Jesus Christ, about man, about sin, salvation, heaven, hell, marriage, family, government, and everything else in life - must all come under the divine authority of God's Word (II Tim.3:16-17). And from thinking in obedience to what God's Word teaches will also spill over into the very manner and conduct that we carry into the world everyday. The world that is outside of Christ should therefore see a difference in how Christians live! A difference that openly follows Jesus Christ in a spirit of love and devotion that seeks to make much of Him and His glory no matter what that may cost them in the eyes of the world (Matt.10:16,34-39; Lk.9:23; 14:26).

And one of the greatest opportunities Christians have every week to show such selfless and sacrificial devotion to Christ, is on the first day of the week - which is called "the Lord's day" or "the Christian Sabbath" (see Acts 20:7; I Cor.16:2; Rev.1:10; cf. Ex,20:8-11; Isa.58:13-14). But the sad truth is, the vast majority of professing Christians in our day fail greatly to express their love for Christ in this way. For many Christians, to speak in terms of "keeping the Sabbath" or "observing the Lord's day", is a language and activity which is foreign at best and scolded at worst for being "too rigid" and "legalistic". To say this another way: despite God's command to set apart one day out of seven for His worship alone, most Christians find such a command a taxing burden on their time rather than an expression of love to the Lord.

Therefore, it seems to be at this point more than any other, where Christians are too much like the world rather than being different from the world. In other words, how often is Sunday - the Christian Sabbath - treated by many Christians as just another ordinary day? How many Christians are there who buy, sell and work on this "holy day"? Or how many Christians celebrate things other than the worship of God on this day, or in addition to the worship of God on this day? The point is, when God commanded in His Word, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Ex.20:8), much of the Church in these modern times have turned a deaf ear and have followed after the passions and pursuits of the world. To say it again, we are too much like the world when it comes to how we treat the Lord's holy day.