"Worldliness" Reviewed

Well I said that I would give a full review of the book "Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World" By C.J. Mahaney, and company, and here it is. The focus of this book In the first chapter to the last chapter is on the cross and the heart of your decisions. 


The first chapter is called "Is this verse in your Bible?" and is all about 1 John 2:15 which says "Do not love the world or the things in the world..." C.J. Explains that this is a verse that we like to mentally or even physically at least cut out of our Bible. We are afraid of the effect this verse will have on our lives so we avoid it or change its meaning. C.J. makes the comment that "the greatest challenge facing American evangelicals is not persecution from the world, but seduction by the world." C.J. defines worldliness not as the earthy world because created it and it was good. Rather C.J. says 

Worldliness, then, is a love for this fallen world. It's loving the values and pursuits of the world that stand opposed to God. More specifically , it is to gratify and exalt oneself  to the exclusion of God. It rejects God's rules and replaces it with our own (like creating our own Bibles). It exalts our opinions above God's truth. It elevates our sinful desires for the things of this fallen world above God's commands and promises.

C.J. would say that worldliness isn't ultimately in the world but in our hearts. Our desires are what makes a good gift from God a worldly idol. He makes clear that the point of this book is not to be legalistic or allow you to ignore 1 John 2:15, but rather to bring the matter off the surface and get to the heart of the matter.

Chapter 2, by Craig Cabaniss, is all about media and its effects on our lives. "As followers of Christ, we cannot afford to take lightly the media's pervasive presence in our lives" -Craig Cabaniss. Craig comes at you, on this subject, straight to the heart. Why are you watching that? Is there a point to your watching or are you just watching? Craig wants us to be discerning in what we willing put in our minds. A point he makes which I find is very interesting and helpful is, as he describes it, living coram deo. Which means living "before the face of God." He doesn't say that we should all get rid of our TV's or laptops but that we watch discerningly with gratitude to God for creativity, beauty, and laughter. Craig points out that if we are more discerning in what we watch and where we go on the internet then we will have so much more time to spend in fellowship and community with others. As he puts it "there's a world of things to do with the TV turned off."

Chapter 3, by Bob Kauflin, is all about the music we listen too and subject ourselves too. Bob doesn't say that there is only one style off music that we should listen too because not one style can capture who God is. But he does stress the importance of being discerning with what we listen to. He says, "listening to music without discernment and godly intent reveals a heart willing to flirt with the world... If we're concerned about the seductive effect worldly lyrics can have on our souls, we won't be racing close to the edge of sin, seeing how much we can take in before it finally starts affecting us."

Chapter 4, by Dave Harvey, is about the stuff in our lives. The Bible tells us that we are not to covet which means desiring stuff too much or desiring too much stuff. Materialism pervades every heart, according to Dave, whether it is obvious or not. "covetousness chains the hearts to things that are passing away" -Dave Harvey. There are four chains that Dave goes into in depth. first is stuff makes me happy, then it is stuff makes me important, thirdly our stuff makes us secure, and finally stuff makes me rich. But Dave makes the point that when we die we will stand before God with nothing. We need to measure our riches with what Christ did on Calvary.

Chapter 5, by C.J. Mahaney, is about our clothes. This chapter is directed mainly at women, but C.J. again is not looking to put boundaries on the surface but rather looks to the heart of the matter. He says, "Any Biblical discussion about modesty begins by addressing the heart, not the hemline." C.J. defines immodesty as an act of drawing undue attention to yourself. It's pride, on display by what you wear. And thus, modesty is humility in how you dress. He asks a very good question, in my opinion, to the women of the church. Are your role models the godly women of Scripture, or the worldly women of our culture. C.J. also gives words to the fathers of women saying that an immodestly dressed woman means usually the father has failed to lead, care for, and protect her. C.J. in this chapter is trying to protect the men as well as the women and asks women to think of their brothers in Christ before the dress.

The final chapter, by Jeff Purswell, totally changes focus and rather than how to avoid being worldly he goes into how we are to love the world. Jeff starts by helping lay down a biblical worldview for living in the world and walks through creation, the fall, redemption, and consummation. Jeff then gives us three tasks of how we are to love the world. The first is to enjoy the world and going along with the theme of the whole book explains that "worldliness is not a matter of matter, but of the heart. the "world" we are forbidden to love (1 John 2:15) is not the earthy creation but the rebellious, independent, God-rejecting, mindset of those who inhabit this creation." Second, we are to engage the world. God placed man in the garden to work and keep it (Gen. 2:15). Jeff explains that a biblical worldview "gives us new eyes to see all of life: every sphere is charged with potential, every activity providing an opportunity to serve God, encounter God, obey God, enjoy God, testify to God, and bring glory to God." Finally, Jeff calls us to evangelize the world. "A biblical worldview can transform evangelism from a neglected Christian duty or mark of elite spirituality to an exhilarating privilege for every believer." Jeff ends the book by showing us the cross and how it defines us and  the way we are to live in this world.

In my opinion this was a great book that is almost all practical while giving hundreds of scripture which helps to show how we are to avoid worldliness. I totally recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat.

Can You See Him?

So, lately I have been going on walks around 10pm or 11pm, just when its dark. I love being alone thinking about God's glory and holiness. His creation just looks so different at night. It's a different kind of beauty. and I thought about how the night is a picture of the gospel. Think about it. Night is when we rest, we await the coming of the light of the morning, the light of the "son."

An even sweeter picture I thought of was how there is so much darkness in the night yet there are stars that shine God's glory into the darkness, we are these stars, we proclaim the glory of God through the darkness of this world. There are nights where it feels as if there are very few stars or no stars at all. In the same way I think we can feel as if it is us against the world, yet we have hope that there are millions of stars out there with us awaiting the coming of Christ. As the coming of the dawn,  the glory of the Son is so great that the small fraction of that glory we were trying to reflect is completely swallowed up in His majesty. And its the dawn that we are so looking forward to. Darkness to be totally blotted out and His glory to fill our very being.

ISAIAH 6:1-3

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory!”

Who Is The Fourth Man

I recently heard a sermon on Daniel 3 by Oral Roberts. It is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego but more importantly Rev. Roberts emphasizes the fourth man in the furnace and then proceeds to show who he is in every book of the Bible which shows that indeed everywhere in the Bible points to Jesus and I thought this was really cool.  

In Genesis He is the Seed of the Woman.

In Exodus He is the Passover Lamb.

In Leviticus He is our High Priest.

In Numbers He is the Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night.

In Deuteronomy He is the Prophet like unto Moses.

about In Joshua He is the Captain of our Salvation.

In Judges He is our Judge and Lawgiver.

In Ruth He is our Kinsman Redeemer.

In I and II Samuel He is our Trusted Prophet.

In Kings and Chronicles He is our Reigning King.

In Ezra He is our Faithful Scribe.

In Nehemiah He is the Rebuilder of the Broken Down Walls of our human life.

In Esther He is our Mordecai.

In Job He is our Dayspring from on high and our Ever-Living Redemmer.

In Psalms He is the Lord our Shepard.

In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes He is our Wisdom.

In the Song of Solomon He is our Lover and the Bridegroom.

In Isaiah He is the Prince of Peace.

In Jeremiah He is the Righteous Branch.

In Lamentations He is the Weeping Prophet.

In Ezekiel He is the Wonderful Four-Faced Man.

In Daniel He is the Fourth Man in the burning fiery furnace.

In Hosea He is the Faithful Husband, forever married to the backslider.

In Joel He is the Baptizer with the Holy Ghost and Fire.

In Amos He is our Burden-Bearer.

In Obadiah He is the Mighty to Save.

In Jonah He is our Great Foreign Missionary.

In Micah He is the Messenger of Beautiful Feet, of carrying the Gospel.

In Nahum He is the Avenger of God's Elect.

In Habakkuk He is God's Evangelist, crying, "Revive thy work in the midst of the years."

In Zephaniah He is the Savior.

In Haggai He is the Restorer of God's Lost Heritage.

In Zechariah He is the Fountain Opened in the House of David for sin and uncleanness.

And in Malachi He is the Sun of Righteousness, rising with healing in His wings.

In Matthew He is the Messiah.

In Mark He is the Wonder-worker.

In Luke He is the Son of Man.

In John He is the son of God.

In Acts He is the Holy spirit.

In Romans He is our Justifier.

In Corinthians He is the Gifs of the Spirit.

In Galatians He is the Redeemer from the curse of the law.

In Ephesians He is the Christ on Unreachable Riches.

In Philippians He is the God Who Supplies All Our Needs.

In Colossians He is the Godhead Bodily.

In ! and II Thessalonians He is our Soon-coming King.

In I and II Timothy He is our Mediator between God and Man.

In Titus He is our Faithful Pastor.

In Philemon He is a Friend that Sticketh Closer that a Brother.

In Hebrews He is the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant.

In James He is the Great Physician.

In I an II Peter He is the Chief Shepard who soon shall appear with a crown of unfading glory.

In I, II, and III John He is Everlasting Love.

In Jude He is the Lord Coming with Ten Thousands of his Saints.

And in revelation He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

A Past Story, Relevant To The Future

As I have continued reading through, thinking, and chewing on the book "Worldliness" edited by C.J. Mahaney I have found a story that the author, Dave Harvey, points out  is a story about what can happen if we are "set free from the chains of covetousness and materialism." I think that this is totally relevant to world we are living in today if not more so important in the world we are living in today.

January 5, 1976, was a day that neither I nor my wife will soon forget. It was the dead of winter in Dallas, Texas, and as the sun set the temperature plummeted to well below the freezing mark. I was in my third year of seminary studies and was up late reading.

"Fire!" The word rang out on that cold night with frightening urgency, bringing me out of my chair and into the parking lot of our apartment complex. There it was. Only three doors away a fire was raging.

My first reaction was to awaken Ann and get her to safety. By the time she had escaped and we had moved our car away from danger, the fire department arrived and cordoned off the entire complex. In doing so they shattered any hope I had of rushing back inside to save something of our possessions.

It was there in the parking lot at 11:00 p.m., in sub-freezing cold, that I learned an important lesson about myself. The flames did more than simply light up the cold Texas sky. They shone ablaze in my heart as well, dispelling the darkness of sin's deceit. While mournfully contemplating what would surely be the loss of all earthly possessions, it suddenly struck me how attached I had become to material things. My sinful dependence on earthly goods was exposed as I envisioned a future without clothes, without furniture, and worst of all, without theology books. I was shamed by the painful realization that my happiness was so closely tied up with what I owned.

We frequently talk about Christ being all-sufficient, but I fear that it has become little more than a theological cliché. Though I had often affirmed this truth, I never really knew that Jesus was enough, until He was all that I had left. To be sure, I had my health; and my wife was safe. But in one chilling moment in 1976 it suddenly clicked: Jesus is not only necessary, He is enough. 

Worldliness

I have been reading a book called "Worldliness" edited by C.J. Mahaney, and I highly recommend it from what I've read. The authors in this book are not trying to put up restrictions and thus become legalistic but they don't want Christians to think that anything is a "go" either and they come at this subject of "worldliness" from a very Biblical perspective. I will give an overall analysis of the book once I finish it, but so far I found a totally practical and applicable bunch of questions about discerning the benefits of what we are submitting ourselves to in media.

Questions posed by Craig Cabaniss
Time Questions

• Am I skipping of delaying something important in order to watch this now?
• What are my other social/entertainment options besides watching television or going out to see a movie?
• How much time have I already spent on media today?
• How much time have I spent surfing the Internet? How much time have I spent blogging or maintaining an online presence through social network sites?
• In the last week, how much time have I spent on the spiritual disciplines, building relationships, or serving in my local church compared to time spent consuming media?
• After investing the time to view this, will I look back on it as time well spent?

Heart Questions

• Why do I want to watch this program or film? What do I find entertaining about it?
• Am I seeking to escape from something I should be facing by watching this? Am I seeking comfort or relief that can only be found in God?
• What sinful temptations will this program or film present?
• Do I secretly want to view something in it that's sinful? Am I deceiving myself by saying, "I'll fast-forward through the bad parts"? 
• Similarly, am I telling myself, "I'll just visit this web site once, and I won't click on any of links I find there"?
• Am I watching because I'm bored or lazy? If so,what does that reveal about my heart?
• Am I watching simply because other are? Am I trying to be relevant or to fit in?
• How has my online relationships impacted my face-to-face relationships? How has my online activity impacted my soul? For better or worse?
• What motivates me to create and maintain a blog, Myspace, or Facebook presence? Am I attempting to impress others? Am I being prideful, slanderous, deceitful, or self-righteous?

Content Questions

• What worldview or philosophy of life does this program or film present? What's the view of man's nature? What's the view of sin? Is sin identified as such? What's the view of God-ordained authority figures? and how do these views relate to God's view?
• What does this program or film glamorize? What is valued or considered important?
• Who are the heroes of the story? Why are they heroic?
• Is sin shown as having negative consequences? Or is sin glorified or rewarded? Is sin presented in an appealing or seductive way?
• What is humorous in this work? How are people made fun of? What is mocked?
• Does violence appear as a natural part of the story, or is it used gratuitously to entertain?
• What's the sexual content? Is there nudity? Sensual or seductive dress? are there images, language, or humor that are sexually impure?
• Is sinful self-sufficiency honored? Are the heroic characters concerned for others or merely for themselves?
• Does the program or film portray materialism as "the good life"?
• Would seeing this help me better understand God's world? Would it help me understand my surrounding culture better without tempting me to sinful compromise? 
• Will I benefit in any way from viewing this program or visiting this web site?
• Does its content or artistry reflect truth, beauty, or goodness?
• Online do I communicate graciously, patiently, and humbly? Do I use crude or arrogant speech? Is my speech consistent with the gospel, or does it reflect worldliness?

Again I found these questions to be very helpful to what we are watching in media as well as helping us to not waste our lives away in front of the television. But don't rely on this pick up the book to get explanations of how we are to live out 1 John 2:15 in our world today.

My Ramblings About My Hero

I am writing this now for my Grandpa. The most Godly man I have ever been privileged to meet, and I am related to him. Harold R. Green, my Grandpa, is currently dying of pancreatic cancer. I don't know how to explain the impact that my Grandpa has had in the Cedarville, Ohio region but I know that he has touched the lives of hundreds perhaps thousands of people.

He prays for my extended family every night specifically for each person in the family, which I believe was a major factor in how God called me into ministry. He did so many little things and was so funny and witty that you couldn't help but like him.

He would always have a bag of little rubber frogs that whenever he would give out to waiters and waitresses as well as many other people that he would meet and explain that the frog stood for Fully Rely On God and then would say or take it a step further and its Fully Rely On God's Son, frogs, he then will ask if he can pray for you.

My Grandpa raised a great family, definitely with quirks, but all of his children love the Lord they have taken what my Grandpa has taught them and transfered it to all the kids. There are not many families that can claim that all their kids are believers as well as all grandkids, and my Grandfather is at the center of it. his passion for the Lord touches all those that he comes near. I am so blessed to have him in my life.

As my father is there now to be with him in his last moments, he sent us an e-mail saying that as he and my Grandpa spoke about the end my Grandpa replied, "I am not afraid." And that is the kind of man my Grandfather is, a loving, teasing, passionate man that demands respect, and I cannot wait to embrace when we meet again in glory.

I pray that God will be glorified through his death even more than in life. Most of all I pray that I can model my Grandpa in my life for he has been the greatest model of Christ to me.

To: The greatest model of Christ in my life, Harold R. Green

Thank you for your awesome impact in my life and the love that you have shown me. I praise God for your life and the impact you've had in me personally.

God is Holy

Lately I have been reflecting on the attribute of God's holiness. I believe that this is His greatest and most defining attribute. His holiness reveals much about who God is. We who are sinful in every fiber of our being cannot stand to be in the presence of the holy. Especially when we think of ourselves as good people, to be shown how far this world has fallen drives us mad in our rebellion against God. When God sent His Son as a propitiation for our sin, as He walked a holy and righteous life, we couldn't stand His presence. His utter perfection drove us mad and deeper in our rebellion until we killed the Son of God. 


The sin of our hearts may be the same in many cases but even in our society we understand that it is worse as the sin is against higher authorities. Tell a lie to a neighbor and they will be hurt and find you untrustworthy, but if you were to lie to a judge you can be placed in prison for life. But we are upset when we hear about how God would punish entire nations who are in constant rebellion against an infinitely holy God. It is God's grace and mercy that He hasn't wiped out this nation for our heinous sins. We have no right to judge a holy God, but for some reason this country believes that it knows better than God, and that is very dangerous ground.


In the Bible God's holiness is the only attribute of God that is declared to the third degree. You cannot find in the Bible a description that says God is wrath, wrath, wrath or justice, justice, justice or even love, love, love. No, God is HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, and we can't afford to miss this, for we are called to be holy as God is holy. Because of the penalty that Christ paid on the cross we have received the holiness of Christ, but we are also in a process of sanctification. And I am learning that in this process we will realize again and again that we are fallen and broken, and that should drive us to worship the God who saves. Yet, for some reason in this country there are millions that profess Christ as Lord but few live it out in their lives. We don't know radical living in this country. We think being radical is wearing a t-shirt, but until we are sold out for Christ and the glory of God because we understand His holiness which we have received by Christ by grace and mercy. 

Your view of sin would change if He gave you a passion for the Holiness of God. You would no longer think in terms of sin as the damaging of man but as the dishonoring of God. You would no longer think of sin as the choice of pleasure but the loss of pleasure. You would think the righteousness of God is his unswerving allegiance to always be right by Himself that is to exalt what is infinitely worthy, namely His holiness and glory. - John Piper

Don't be content to play the Christian game. The holiness of God demands righteous living, and that is only possible through Himself in the form of the Holy Spirit.

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.' And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. Isaiah 6:1-4