Maybe you are asking, “If the dominion of sin and Satan and the world has been defeated in Christ, then why are we talking about fighting against worldliness? Ought we not to just rest in the finished work of Christ?” While the dominion of sin and the world has been broken through union with Christ in his death and resurrection, the remnants of worldliness yet cling to the born-again believer. Sin and worldliness no longer reign; however, they do remain in the soul. The desire for the approval of those who are living by the standards and goals of the world is not altogether dead. Believers are still tempted to conform to the world.

     

It is, therefore, crucial for us to fight against worldliness. If we are not convinced of this, friends, we will make little progress in our sanctification. James 1:27 (King James Version) tells us, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” The test of whether or not we are truly Christians is directly related to how we relate to the world and whether we keep ourselves from its pollution. The warnings in the New Testament against worldliness remind us that we must constantly watch and fight against the world so long as we are in the world.

The believer can win the fight against worldliness only through union with Christ. For “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John. 4:4). Yet while this victory is only in and through Christ, we as believers must not be passive. We must fight. And there are three primary virtues we must cultivate in Christ if we are to be victorious: mortification, vivification, and anticipation.

Mortification in Christ

Though our old man has been crucified with Christ, we must still labor to subdue the remaining fleshly deeds and desires. Thus, we are commanded to “mortify [our] members which are upon the earth” (Col. 3:5). We need to draw by faith from the virtue of Christ’s death to put to death that which is worldly within. This is what we call mortification. Mortification refers to the perpetual putting to death of every form of sin and worldliness. John Owen warned that we must be practicing mortification “every day, and in every duty.”1 Thomas Manton said, “A carnal Christian is no Christian but the carcass of a Christian, [for] if we don’t put the love of the world to death, the world will put us to death.” Either we strike a death blow to the worldliness within, or the worldliness within will destroy us. In 1 John 2:16, John names three ways in which we are lured into the ways of the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. In Christ’s strength, we must war against these forms of worldliness.

Lust of the Flesh

First, we must battle against the lust of the flesh. Faith refuses to love a world that delights in the lusts of the flesh. That means resisting temptations, such as illicit drugs, smoking, overeating, or excessive drinking. The Bible repeatedly warns against such excesses. We must not be brought under bondage to anything physical but are to exercise self-control, for our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19–20).

The prohibition against fleshly lusting forbids sexual immorality in all forms. It forbids any flirtation or physical intimacy outside of marriage. God has wisely placed sexual intimacy within the sanctity of marriage.

We must also be modest about the way we dress, so that it does not encourage lust. Clothing that calls attention to our bodies arouses fleshly lusts that offend God. He blames those who provoke lust as much as those who lust after them.

Refusing to love the world means keeping ourselves from worldly music, worldly parties, unedifying entertainment, nightclubs, and all that stirs the lusts of the flesh. We must ask of all forms of entertainment: Can I pray over this? Does it glorify God or ignite fleshly lusts? Does it pass the test of Philippians 4:8, being honest, just, pure, lovely, and “of good report”? We must avoid as much as possible whatever encourages particular lusts in us, even when what we should avoid may appear lawful in itself. We must “put . . . on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof ” (Rom. 13:14).

Lust of the Eyes

Second, we must battle against the lust of the eyes. Satan works very hard to engage our eyes in worldly entertainment. Just as he tempted our first parents to believe that their Creator was hard and unbending, so he whispers to us, “When did God say that you couldn’t enjoy movies or television shows that repeatedly break his commandments? Doesn’t he want you to know what’s going on in the world? Only a hard, legalistic God would deny those to you.”

Satan has been using such arguments since paradise. He knows his time is short, so he will do anything to persuade us to look at the temptations of worldly entertainment. Today Satan makes such fruit even more tempting by allowing us to see it in the privacy of our home—in videos or over the Internet. We must say no to all forms of entertainment which teach that man is in control of his world and that glamorize sin. Such entertainment makes adultery look innocent, commonplace, or even exciting. Murder becomes thrilling. Profanity is everyday speech. We cannot trust our own strength in this, for even the apostle Paul admitted, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Rom. 7:18–19).

Let us also rid our homes of unedifying magazines, trashy novels, indeed, all printed material that contradicts the Ten Commandments. How can we ask not to be led into temptation while we continue to play with temptation? As James warns us, “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:14–15).

Flee the lust of the eyes. Practice self-denial. Follow Paul, who said, “Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men” (Acts. 24:16).

Pride of Life

Finally, we must battle against the pride of life. As a sin, pride is unique. Most sins turn us away from God, but pride is a direct attack upon God. It lifts our hearts above God and against God. Fueled by a desire for self-gratification and self-fulfillment, the prideful man seeks to dethrone God and enthrone himself. How prevalent such pride is in our hearts. As George Swinnock said, “Pride is the shirt of the soul put on first and put off last.”

How do we mortify the pride of life? First, consider your own native sinfulness. The Puritan Richard Mayo questions: “Should that man be proud that has sinned as thou hast sinned, and lived as thou hast lived, and wasted so much time, and abused so much mercy, and omitted so many duties, and neglected so great means?—that hath so grieved the Spirit of God, so violated the law of God, so dishonoured the name of God? Should that man be proud, who hath such a heart as thou hast?”

Second, consider Christ. If we would kill worldly pride and live in godly humility, let us look at our Savior. Nowhere was humility so cultivated as at Gethsemane and Calvary. When pride threatens you, consider the contrast between such a heart of pride and our humble Savior.

Third, seek a deeper knowledge of God, his attributes, and his glory. Job and Isaiah teach us that nothing is so humbling as knowing God. Spend time meditating on God’s greatness and holiness in comparison to your smallness and sinfulness.

Fourth, remember daily that “pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18). View your afflictions as God’s gifts to keep you humble. View your talents as gifts of God that never accrue any honor to you (1 Cor. 4:7). Everything you have or have ever accomplished has come from God’s hand.

Fifth, practice humility. View overcoming pride as a lifelong process that calls you to grow in servanthood. Be determined to fight the battle against pride by considering each day as an opportunity to forget yourself and serve others. Don’t rest until you can confess with John the Baptist on a daily basis, “He [Christ] must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30), for that is the essence of humility.

Vivification in Christ

We must not look at our fight against worldliness in merely a negative way. Yes, we must put worldliness to death. But there is a counterpart to mortification called vivification. Vivification is the quickening, or bringing to life, of the new nature we have received in Christ. We must not only seek to put worldliness to death; we must also seek to do the will of God. For we have not only died to sin, but we have also been risen up into newness of life in Jesus Christ. As Thomas Boston writes, “So the sanctified sinner lives as one of another world, not conforming himself to the sinful courses of this world, but being transformed into the likeness of those of the better world.”²

The Public Means of Grace

Toward this end, we must give ourselves to the diligent use of the public means of grace. The preaching of the Word is our spiritual food and our medicine for spiritual health. With the Spirit’s blessing, ministers are spiritual physicians who apply the Word to our souls as earthly physicians apply medicine to our bodies. With the Word these spiritual doctors diagnose, prescribe for, and cure spiritual disease in those plagued by sin and death. The preached Word is used as an instrument to heal, cleanse, and make fruitful our souls which are so prone to worldliness.

In the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper God comes to his people, encourages them, enables them to know Christ better, builds them up, and nourishes them in him. Baptism promotes godliness as a symbol of how believers are engrafted into Christ, renewed by the Spirit, and adopted into the family of the heavenly Father. Likewise, the Lord’s Supper shows how these adopted children are fed by their loving Father. John Calvin loved to refer to the Supper as nourishment for the soul. As believers, we need constant nourishment. The sacraments, along with the preaching of the Word, repeatedly say to us: We need Christ; we need to be renewed in Christ and built up in him.

Corporate singing also subdues and retrains our wayward affections in the way of godliness. Like preaching and the sacraments, psalm singing disciplines the heart’s affections in the school of faith and lifts the believer to God. With the Spirit’s direction, psalm singing tunes the hearts of believers for the life to come, weaning the heart from this present evil world.

The Private Means of Grace

We must also be careful not to neglect the private means of grace. We ought to read, search, memorize, love, pray over, and meditate upon the Scriptures. More specifically, we ought to memorize those passages of Scripture which are most pertinent to our fight against worldliness and continually call them to mind. Such passages as Psalm 39:4–6, Galatians 6:14, Philippians 2:5–8, and Hebrews 12:1–4 are good places to start.

We must likewise be disciplined and steadfast in prayer, for prayer keeps us in fellowship with Christ. It is the way in which the Christian expresses his praise and adoration of God as well as asks for God’s help. We must pray specifically for the Lord to increasingly deliver us from the grip of this world. As we have seen, worldliness is not simply a matter of externalities. Worldliness is an issue of the heart and of faith. As such, we cannot merely regulate our outward behavior. In order to successfully beat back worldliness, we need the grace of Christ. Thus, we must go to him and ask for it believingly.

Obedience

As our faith grows stronger through the means of grace, we are increasingly enabled to trample the world under its feet. We do this by obeying God’s commandments. As 1 John 5:3–4 says, “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments . . . for whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world.” The aim of the world’s commandments is to gain wealth, fame, social standing, secular power, and human pleasure. Jesus Christ aimed for none of that. He overcame the world by obeying God’s commandments—loving God above all and his neighbor as himself. That is the goal of all those born of God. They yearn to obey God’s commandments.

Unconditional obedience to God’s will is the essence of godliness. We must be dynamically active in the pursuit of obedience, much like a long-distance runner, a diligent scholar, or a heroic warrior submitting to God’s will. Thus, we must draw from Christ grace to walk in the good works which he has given us to do. When pleasing God becomes more important than pleasing people, the believer overcomes his love for this world’s honor, riches, pleasures, entertainments, and friendships.

Anticipation in Christ

Along with mortification and vivification, the Christian who would overcome the world must also have a forward-looking anticipation. The number one theme that the Puritans loved to meditate upon was eternity. They were a future-oriented people, and this enabled them to, by the grace of Christ, live for another world. They saw themselves as pilgrims on their way to their true home.

In your fight against worldliness, it is essential that you stay your mind upon the future destruction of this present evil world. You must remember the ultimate curse that awaits worldliness. God curses worldliness. This world will one day be burned up, together with all of those who lust after it. What will be left when all the lusts for which people sell their souls, ruin their families, and stain their reputations have passed away? Nothing but dust, ashes, and the wrath of God. As Charles Spurgeon said, “If you had got all the world, you would have got nothing after your coffin lid was screwed down but grave dust in your mouth.” The world never gives what it promises. It is a gigantic mirage, a tragic fraud, a hollow bubble. And one day it will all come to nothing.

In your fight against worldliness, it is of equal importance to meditate upon the future glory of heaven. Faith values the eternal rewards that Christ has laid up in heaven far more than all the treasures of the world (Heb. 11:25–26). In abstaining from worldly pursuits, the Christian experiences true happiness, believing that in God’s presence there are “fullness of joy” and “pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11). By faith we believe that the best is yet to come. We look to a time when we will be saved forever from Satan, the world, and our old nature. Sin will be left behind; evil will be walled out. There will be no more tears, pain, sorrow, temptation, or death. We will worship and praise God, serve and reign with Christ, and fellowship with the saints and angels. Above all, we will be in perfect communion with the triune God, knowing, seeing, loving, and praising him forever.

Concluding Application

I want to close this message with an illustration: In part two of The Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan wrote that Interpreter took Christiana into a room where a man held a muckrake in his hand. Another person stood by him, offering him a beautiful, heavenly crown in exchange for his muckrake. But the man never looked up at the crown and paid no attention to the offer. Instead, he constantly looked down, raking in the muck and giving all his attention to gathering up grass, sticks, and dirt. Do you know who the man with the muckrake was? Bunyan said he is “a man of this world.”3

My friend, maybe you have been thinking as I described worldliness, “That is me.” Will you not trade your muckrake for Christ? Do you not realize that the fleeting pleasures and applause of this world is as dung compared with the glory of Jesus and the salvation that is found in him? If your life is characterized by the love of this world, cry to him immediately for a new heart. Without being born again, you will never overcome the world but will go to hell with the rest of the world. Turn from your sins and call upon Christ to save you—to give you faith and repentance, and to dwell within you by his Spirit.

1. John Owen, A Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit, inWorks, 3:545. 2. Thomas Boston, An Illustration of the Doctrines of the Christian Religion, in Works, 1:657.

3 John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress (1895; repr., Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1977), 233.

Joel R. Beeke is president and professor of systematic theology and homlietics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, a pastor of Heritage Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, MI, and a prolific author and frequent conference speaker.