The World

The goal isn’t to scare you this week.

I promise.

The reality is, Christ has already achieved the ultimate victory; what our spiritual enemies want to do is distract us from that.

The hope this week is that you’ll become more aware of their methods so you can seek Christ and fight back accordingly.

So, let’s get started with the first of the three - the World.

What is the World?

In his 2021 book, Live No Lies (which this series is essentially a summary of), pastor and writer John Mark Comer describes the Devil’s strategy as such:

“[spreading] deceptive ideas that play to disordered desires, which are normalized in a sinful society.”

Today, we’re talking about the “sinful society” or, what we’ll be calling, the World.

Now, when I critique “the World,” I’m not critiquing the planet and its contents.

God created Earth and called it good, and much of that goodness is still present around us today.

But the world has changed since God created it.

Sin emerged and changed things, infecting the world with patterns and norms contrary to the Way of Jesus.

This is what I mean when I say “the World” - the societal norms that have arisen from sin.

So, what roles does it play in spiritual warfare?

War of the World

The World grounds spiritual deception in tangible reality.

What I mean is, the sinful patterns in the World subtly influence us into accepting and embracing that which is contrary to Jesus.

Some examples:

• The glorification of wealth and materialism. 

• The acceptance of sexual expression outside consensual male-female marriages.

• The benefits of lying and cheating in furthering one’s career.

• The use of might, violence, and coercion by governments to achieve their goals.

• The widespread tendency to silence or ignore those with differing beliefs or opinions.

The World conditions us to accept and participate in these things.

When these behaviors are normalized then accepted by the Church, it harms our witness and ability to follow Jesus.

This is something we need to be aware of as members of the Church because it’s the Church itself that acts as the alternative vision for society in contrast to the World.

In other words, the World is the society of sin, the Church is the society of Jesus.

Do we always do it well? Absolutely not. But God has also imbued the Church with grace, giving us the space to make mistakes, learn, and grow.

By being part of a faithful community of Christ followers, we are able to present a healthier vision for life than what the World offers, enabling us to resist its role in spiritual warfare.

So, that’s the World. And the fight against it is tough because it has some support, namely, support from within each one of us.

More on that tomorrow.

For now, be blessed.

Jon,

Theophilus Newsletter