In the world, not of it...

"Be in the world, and not of the world." Well I would usually put a reference, but I can't. No where in scripture do we find this exact wording. Now I will say there are parts of scripture that will, in context, bring forth the idea of not being of the world. The best place to look is John 15:19

19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." -John 15:19

Just a side note: We as followers are not of this world. When we follow Christ we become His, "Marked as Christ's own forever." (Justification: made righteous before God)

Here in John 15, the word world is referring to the human system that goes against the things of God, which we can say that our culture is very saturated with. But the first thing that needs to happen is what do we use to measure the "worldliness" of something?As long as we are comparing and defining by Biblical standards, and not standards that are set out by denominational covenants and bylaws, we will find what is Holy (of Christ) and what is not (of the world). We must examine through the lens of Holy Scripture.

I rant to say that the idea of being in the world and not of the world is hard, especially for students. Culture's main goal is to throw as much stuff at us to help persuade us how to live life. If you do not believe me, just watch MTV, or any other network for about 10 minutes and I can almost guarantee that they will in some way portray to you sex, alcohol, materialism, image, etc. (yes, even kid networks sell image, you know the newest gadget or coolest book bag, etc). You see, in order for ministry and evangelism to take place, we have to be in the world. If we tried to completely cut ourselves off from that junk, we might as well lock ourselves in a closet and wait for Jesus to come back (you even witness it driving down the road on billboards, on the radio, and on bumper stickers). We cannot hide from it, that would be IMPOSSIBLE. BUT we can study it and offer something completely different. We can offer and fulfilling life full of grace and love, from a forgiving Savior. We also must be praying constantly for protection against these things that can easily influence us, pray that we can hold a steady mind and eyes fixed on Christ, giving our best to be a radical follower, and not giving into the the temptation that is offered to us.

How do we do this? How can we be in the world, and not fall to the temptations of the things around us that we can term as worldly? I turn to Romans 12...

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Paul's words should speak for themselves. We are to approach this world with a renewed mind (grounded in christ, with the lens of scripture) so we can test what is right, acceptable, and yes, perfect.

So how do we as pastors teach this? How do we help those we teach understand how to be in the world proclaiming and living the Gospel, but to also protect themselves from the temptations that surround us?

First, I think we need to be doing some research. We need to research, test, and understand what our culture is throwing at us through music and media (the greatest avenue of communication). By listening, reading, watching, and understanding, I can begin to understand how I as a pastor can teach people how to determine what is good and what is not. Of course, I can easily tell them, in my opinion (and by Biblical Standard), what is good and bad, but what good does that do? Then we as the church by in to the stereotype that we just tell people they cannot have fun, and we are a crazy group of people with a bunch of rules that will determine where we end up. Are we as the church supposed to shake our finger and slap our Bibles at people and tell them they are horrible sinners that need to turn or burn? That they need to get their fire insurance? I don't think so. We are supposed to TEACH them how to decide for themselves.

Jesus taught his Disciples through parables, and do you think that left a lasting importance? Jesus wanted His disciples to know how to continue to live on and be evangelists when He left. Jesus knew he would not be with the disciples their entire ministry, so He did all in his power to equip them to keep going. I honestly believe that Jesus could have started his ministry and brought 3,000 people and began the church before going to the cross, but he chose to equip 12 men to do that. And we read in Acts about the day of Pentecost when the church began, the spirit fell, and 3,000 came to know Christ. We to, as pastors need to be equipping those we teach on how to determine what is Holy and what is worldly. (To be cliche': "Give a man a fish he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime").

Now do not go claiming me a heretic or adding me to some crazy twitter list. I do believe that there are things laid out in scripture that we as the body of Christ need to call people out on, and I think we can get to relaxed in our approach to holding people accountable and presenting the Gospel. The Gospel is both a message of grace and judgement for our sin. We do need to call people out of their life of sin, I just do not want us to become a culture that gives the diagnosis of the sin and the medicine to cure it and then direct them to their assigned seat in our place of worship. I am not an insurance salesman.

We need to teach people how to begin living towards being Set Apart (Holy) followers of Christ. It is a process (sanctification: the process of becoming Holy), on which will not be completed until the day of glorification: the completion, the consummation, the perfection, the full realization of salvation. A journey that I as a pastor travel as well. May we all support, hold accountable, and present Grace as we all work towards being Set Apart, Holy, Radical followers of Christ. And I pray that we as pastors begin teaching those we teach how to begin to discern what is Holy, and what is not.