Dealing with the world is very important in the initial experience of our Christian life; therefore, we shall study it carefully. First, we shall consider, according to scriptural light, the difference between sin and the world, how the world was formed, its definition, and its process of development. Finally, we shall see how God delivers us from the world. Precise knowledge of these truths enables us to have precise experiences in dealing with the world.
Immediately after our consecration, sin should first be dealt with and then the world. Because both are defiling in our lives and are abominable unto God, they need to be dealt with and purged. However, the defilement of these two aspects differs. The contamination of sin is savage, rough and ugly, while the contamination of the world is cultured and refined, often appearing beautiful in the sight of man. The contamination of sin is like a splash of mud or black ink on a white shirt. But the contamination of the world is like a colorful pattern printed on the white shirt. From the human standpoint, a shirt with black spots is considered dirty and undesirable, whereas a shirt with colorful prints is not dirty, but rather desirable. However, in the sight of God, both are undesirable. He desires neither a stained nor a colorful shirt, but a pure white shirt. Just as a dirty spot is not pure white, even so a colorful pattern detracts from the pure whiteness. Likewise, the world appears better than sin, but when related to purity, both are contaminating and require dealing.
Furthermore, the damage caused by sin and the world upon man differ greatly: sin contaminates man, whereas the world both contaminates and possesses man. It is far more serious for man’s life to be possessed by the world than to be contaminated by sin. If Satan only uses sin to defile man, he can only cause man to be corrupted, but if he uses the world to usurp man, he can gain man for himself. For example, a child under the guardianship of his parents may be innocent and pure. Though someone may contaminate and corrupt his pure nature by teaching him to lie, steal and do many evil things, yet he remains under the guardianship of his parents and still belongs to them. If, however, the evil-doer goes one step further by giving the child beautiful clothes, he can deceive and gain the child, causing him to leave his parents and become lost. Similarly, Satan corrupts man by using sin, but he gains man by employing the world, thus causing him to depart from the presence of God and become lost.
A study of Genesis makes this difference apparent. Although Adam was corrupted by sin, he had not left the presence of God. It was not until Genesis 4, when man invented civilization and formed the worldly system, that he was not only corrupted but usurped and gained by Satan through the world. Hence, man no longer belonged to God.
Although Abraham had repeatedly failed in the matter of claiming his wife as his sister, that was but a sin which merely contaminated him but did not usurp him. He could still be one who served the Lord and prayed for others in a heathen land (see Gen. 12 and 20). However, Demas, a co-worker of Paul, was deprived of his usefulness before God because he loved the present world and became usurped by it (2 Tim. 4:10). This proves that the damage of the world upon man is greater than that of sin.
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