Don't be a friend of the world

James wrote, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (4:4). James spoke this to Christians who have gone back to a life they should not have. “Adulteresses” implies leaving something to which they ought to be faithful.

Peter said, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11). Separation from the world involves the heart and the body. Paul spoke of the body in Romans 12:1-2, and Jesus spoke of the heart in Matthew 15:19-20.

The Bible is very clear in that there is no middle ground. Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters …” and “He that is not with me is against me …” Judges 5:23 says, “Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.” Meroz tried to be neutral, but it is not possible.

So we need to keep ourselves “unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). The worldly attitudes of envy, jealousy, hatred, worry, etc., must be put away, along with the worldly actions of adultery, lying, drinking, drugs, etc. If you want your name to be in the Lamb’s book life at the judgment day (Revelation 20:11-15), then you need to run away from the world and run toward God and obey Him!

Kyle Campbell