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The World Is Not Your Friend
by Henry Miranda John 15:19 (NKJV) "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. " If you were like the world, vain, earthly, sensual, given to pleasure, wealth, ambition, the world would not oppose you. But because you are influenced by different principles then the world the world hates you. You are different from them therefore the world is not your friend. You are motivated by the love of God and holiness. But the world is motivated by the love of sin. In Genesis it speaks of the creation of the world and the Garden of Eden which is the biblical "garden of God". It is described in the book of Genesis chapters 2 and 3, and also in the book of Ezekiel. God decided to create Adam and Eve to have fellowship with them. God places them in the Garden of Eden and forbids them to eat fruit from the "tree of knowledge" good and evil. When God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden they were both innocent and pure. Everything was good until Satan the fallen angel came into the picture. He convinced them that God was wrong and so they disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit. God had given them only one commandment and that was that they were not to eat the fruit of the tree in the center of the garden. Then Satan convinced them that it was good for them to eat the fruit and that they would become wise and be like God. So Adam and Eve took and ate the fruit that had been forbidden by God. So it was because of their disobedience that God removed them from the garden He had prepared for them. The other trees, were designed for their use, to support and maintain their natural life, which would have been continued, had they persisted in his obedience. After they sinned in Genesis 3, God sentenced them to die as per Genesis 2:17 (Genesis 3:19), and this was in part why they were forbidden to take from the Tree of Life. But consider God's statement here: "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:1617) That is why they were removed from the Garden of Eden. After the rebellion of Adam and Eve the world was in a fallen state and suffered the degrading and deadly spiritual, moral, and social consequences of sinfulness. From friendship with God to proud estrangement from Him and enmity with Him leaves us diseased and dying in every part of our personalities and bodies. This world and this world's kingdoms are currently under the domain of Satan (Ephesians 6:12). Satan is presently called the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4). Even Jesus refers to this world kingdom belonging to Satan (Matthew 12:26) When you were in the world you did things as the world does things. And as long as you kept doing the things of the world Satan had no need to interfere in your life, because you already belonged to him and you were an enemy of God. It was not until you decided to leave the things of the world and follow Christ that Satan started coming around to try to turn you back to the things of the world. Satan tries to make life difficult for Christians because he is always trying to separate them from God. Satan is not your friend he only pretends to be your friend so that he can distract you from the things of God. Remember that Satan is already spiritedly dead and will never be reconciled with God. He has nothing to lose since he already lost his place with God. Just as he deceived one third of the angels he is trying to deceive you into believing that there is no God. As Christians, we must be deeply rooted in our faith. And we must walk only by faith and not by sight. Does Satan exist? The answer is yes. He has been around since he was thrown out of heaven. He stays out of sight, but not out of your mind or your life. If you allow him, he WILL wreak havoc in your life. We live in a fallen world. As a result of Adam's sin, the world has to contend with sickness, sorrow, evil and death. Everyone born into this world has the sin nature already in him or her. Therefore, nobody is born truly innocent and pure but has the internal desire to sin. Those who repent and turn to Christ for salvation, though living in a fallen world, have the promise of eternal life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." Evangelist Henry Miranda earned a Bachelor of Christian Ministry degree @ Christian Leadership University. Evangelist Henry Miranda is a Bible Teacher, Author, and Guest Speaker and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, has written ten books. You can reach @ //www.evangelize-for-jesus-ministries.co Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |