A Christian's Relationship to the World

by Pat Hackney

God's word has a great amount of instruction about a Christian's relationship to the world. Some of these passages are as follows:

A Christian is:
Matthew 5:14 ". . . a light to the world."
John 17:14-16 " . . . not of the world."
John 15:19 ". . . chosen out of the world."
John 17:18 ". . . sent into the world by Christ."
Romans 12:2 ". . . not be conformed to this world."
Galatians 6:14 ". . . crucified to the world."
Titus 2:12 ". . . to deny ungodliness and the desires of the world."
James 1:27 ". . . to keep oneself unspotted from the world."

AND TO HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS

All of the above scriptures should help us understand our relationship to the world. Certainly, we should never attempt to bring any sin of the world into the Lord's church. Especially, we need to be careful of our dress when we come to worship. Paul admonished the women of his day to "adorn themselves in modest apparel" ( 1 Timothy 2:9). Peter taught that the world could be won by "a woman's chaste conduct" ( 1 Peter 3:1-4). Brothers and sisters, the wearing of shorts to worship is just not appropriate.

Our Lord said that "whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" ( Matthew 5:28). Surely, no Christian woman or man would want to be a stumbling block before a fellow Christian by coming to worship dressed in an inappropriate way. May a word to the wise be sufficient, and may our love for the Lord and each other increase daily.

• Dress in Worship Revisited - Aug 03, 2003
• Discretion/Modesty - May 20, 1990