"I have given them your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of this world, just as I am not of this world. I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one." John17:14-15
A question that is often discussed is; is the local church a thermostat, or a thermometer? Do we control the atmosphere around us, or do we simply see and reflect on what the world is doing?
Theology 101. World is not planet earth. It is the Greek word cosmos. It basically defines as the systems by which the world works. Government, business, education, economic, etc. It is how man, unshackled from God's law, runs the world. It is how people live and how societies organize and how nations govern without God's input or influence.
The world hates us because we do not let them rule over us. We have our own financial system. We have traditional families. We pay our tithes and we stay married. By simply living the Christian life and walking by faith and not by sight we shine as lights in a darkened world.
The local church will never influence the bigger world around us. We are not going to lower ourselves to rule a godless world. We have civic duties; we vote, we pay taxes. We use banks and modern technology. But God takes priority and His will is paramount in our daily lives. When God says give, we give. When God says go, we go. When God says send, we send. When God says speak, we speak.
I think that it is interesting how the Lord says, not to be taken out of the world, but to be kept from the evil one. Jesus understood who is the spiritual power behind the throne, who really runs the world we are pilgrims in.
"For he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Heb.11:10
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