What Does It Mean to Be in the World but Not of the World?

In John 17:14-16 the Lord Jesus, speaking to God the Father, says this about His followers:

‘14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.’ (ESV)

There are a few points that need to be made immediately about this passage.

First, in verses 14 and 16 Jesus is explicit that His followers ‘are not of the world’, and He clearly approves of them not being of the world.

Second, in v. 15 He tells His Father that He is not asking Him to take His followers out of the world. This obviously implies that His followers are in the world and that this is where they should be.

Third, the Holy Spirit inspired this passage to help Christians throughout the Christian era, and it would be a big mistake to limit what it says to Jesus’ followers who were on earth at the time He spoke these words. Instead, we can be sure that what the passage says also applies to Christians living at any time since.

If we sum up these points, then, we can say confidently that it is the will of God for Christians today to be in the world but not of it.

So what does it mean to be in the world? And what does it mean not to be of the world? Let’s take each of these questions in turn.

In the world

As far as being in the world is concerned, I would suggest that the main idea is that Christians need to be in quite close contact with non-believers who live in the world. Rather than isolating ourselves, we should be people who live lives and speak words that can be seen and heard by those around us as a means of drawing them to Jesus Christ.

We find this sort of thinking in Matthew 5:14-16, where Jesus teaches:

‘14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.’ (ESV)

Verse 16 shows that letting our light shine is about letting people see our good deeds. And this verse is also clear that the goal of letting people see our good deeds is that God will be glorified.

Another passage that is relevant here is 1 Corinthians 5:9-10, where the apostle Paul writes:

‘9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.’ (ESV)

Although Paul is about to go on in the following verses to say that Christians should keep away from people claiming to be believers who are unrepentant of various sins, in verses 9 and 10 he is clear that we should not keep away from unrepentant sinners who make no claim to Christian faith.

In fact, in Acts 19:31 Luke even says that Paul had ‘friends’ among the provincial officials of the Roman province of Asia. Importantly, no one could possibly have become a provincial official in Asia unless he supported the idolatrous temple of Artemis at Ephesus, which was in Asia. So, reading between the lines, Paul must have had friends who were serious idolaters. Of course, this doesn’t mean that they would have been his close friends, but they are still called his friends.

The combined weight of these passages suggests that it is always or at least almost always a bad move for Christians to live in some sort of isolated community, detached from society. Instead, we should be out there, living shoulder to shoulder with non-believers. This seems to be the main idea of what it means to be in the world.

I would also say that in any way that doesn’t involve us compromising on our values, we should live lives that are the same as the lives of non-Christians in the societies in which we find ourselves. We should do what our culture does except in areas where we think our culture is offensive to God.

The more similar our lives are to those of our neighbours, the more easily we will be able to build bridges with them.

Not of the world

As far as not being of the world is concerned, this is essentially about how followers of Jesus are aligned with God over against godless people. And this difference is perhaps most noticeable in the values of each group.

We should be in no doubt that in every part of the world, the value system of most people is a million miles from Christian values.

In Luke 16:15 the Lord Jesus even goes so far as to say:

‘For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God’s sight.’ (CSB)

This doesn’t mean that literally everything that the majority of people admire is revolting to God. But it does mean that a great many things are.

Take money as one example. Everywhere in the world we can find huge numbers of people chasing after money, hoping to gain satisfaction from it. Wealthy people are treated with awe, and wealthy countries are admired.

This is a tragic deception. God is not impressed one tiny bit by wealth, whether of a person or a country. This whole way of thinking is like some sort of dazzling light show that has no substance to it.

Or take the pursuit of pleasure. Vast numbers of people channel their efforts into gaining as much self-centred pleasure as they can, whether in sexual relationships or by other forms of self-indulgence.

This is another road to nowhere. It is true that God created pleasure, and in many contexts God-honouring pleasure is not a bad thing. However, when it is treated as a goal to be pursued without reference to Him, it is very harmful.

As another example, we can think of prestige. For many people, it is extremely important that others think highly of them. They will go to great lengths to impress people, and they love nothing more than to see the looks of respect on people’s faces at their achievements.

Again, this is a chasing after the wind.

What impresses God is a set of qualities that is vastly different from the above. What He wants to see in human beings is morally upright qualities and values, and especially love, both love for God and love for other people.

Mark 12:28-34 tells us that on one occasion a Jewish scribe asked Jesus what the most important commandment in the Law of Moses was. We might have expected Jesus to reply with some cryptic or indirect statement as He sometimes does when He is questioned elsewhere in the Gospels. But on this occasion the reply was direct and to the point:

‘29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”’ (ESV)

This is what God wants to see. This is what it means not to be of the world, when people pursue love, firstly for God and secondly for other people.

A renewed commitment

Writing this article has encouraged me to renew my own commitment to being both of the things I have talked about. I want to be thoroughly in the world, and I also want to be thoroughly not of the world.

I would encourage readers of the article to join me in renewing their own commitment to these things.

 

See also:

The Radical Nature of the Normal Christian Life

The Importance of Telling Others about Our Experiences of God

What Counts as True Success in Life?

God’s Values Don’t Change with the Times

Don’t Underestimate the Value of Little Acts of Kindness

I was talking recently to a Christian friend of mine who is suffering a lot from poor health. He was lamenting how little he is accomplishing for God, and I think it would be fair to say that he viewed his life at the present time as a failure in God’s sight.

I took, and still take, a very different view on what this man is achieving for God. It is certainly true that he is restricted in what he can do. However, he does what he can. He is able to help other people in various little ways, like by walking their dogs, and I think God is very pleased and glorified by all this.

Matthew 10:40-42

When we turn to the Bible, we find the Lord Jesus speaking very highly of little acts of kindness.

One key passage is Matthew 10:40-42, where Jesus says:

‘40 Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.’ (ESV)

The first two verses of this passage refer to ‘receiving’ various people: apostles, Jesus, God, prophets and righteous people. In this context to receive a person must mean to welcome that person positively and to act so as to benefit or please them.

In verse 40 ‘you’ refers firstly to Jesus’ 12 apostles, as Matthew 10:5 makes clear. So this verse is saying that to receive an apostle counts as receiving Jesus and God.

However, there is no doubt that receiving Christians other than apostles would also count as receiving Jesus and God. Note how verses 41 and 42 both refer to receiving or helping a wider group of Christians than just the 12 apostles, and there should be no doubt that the principle in verse 40 should also be expanded to include Christians generally.

This means that when we do good to a fellow Christian, in a real and deep sense there is a Godward dimension to what we are doing. We are pleasing God Himself, and the importance of this can hardly be overstated.

We can note also that v. 41 tells us that when a Christian receives a prophet or righteous person because that person is a prophet or righteous person, that Christian will receive the reward due to the prophet or righteous person. This is quite astonishing. Just welcoming a Christian who is in one of these categories entitles the welcomer to the reward due to the person in that category! Again, we can see that the value Jesus puts on welcoming and helping fellow Christians is enormous.

Verse 42 also points firmly in the same direction.

In this verse ‘little ones’ is surely a reference to Christians generally rather than to children. See how ‘little ones’ and ‘because he is a disciple’ refer to the same group of people. And children are not mentioned in the context.

Note how Jesus goes out of His way in this verse to describe the smallest possible gift. The recipient of the gift is not a group of Christians but just one Christian. The gift is not wine but just water. The amount of water is not a barrel but just a cup. And the water isn’t even heated but is cold.

So in human terms this gift is minuscule. But Jesus is adamant. Whoever gives a gift like this to a fellow Christian will in no way lose his reward. Once again, we can see that the importance Jesus attaches to performing little acts of kindness for fellow Christians is huge.

Helping non-Christians as well as Christians

The passage we have looked at teaches about the importance of practical acts of help for fellow believers. And it is true that we should normally prioritise helping fellow Christians over non-believers (Gal 6:10).

However, there is no doubt that God is also very pleased by similar acts of kindness towards those outside the family of faith. In Matthew 5:43-47 the Lord Jesus teaches how we should love even our enemies, i.e., those who oppose us. If we should do good even to those who oppose us, it is certainly right for us more generally to help non-Christians when they are in need.

Pleasing God for eternity

As we have seen, God is pleased by acts of kindness, even by ones that are humanly speaking very small.

It is helpful for us to try to grasp the magnitude of what it means to please God. God is the Creator of time, dwelling outside time and eternal. So if a human being pleases God in any way, the pleasure God derives from that action is eternal. It will never fade away.

Therefore, if you or I perform an act of kindness to someone, even a minor one, God is more pleased than He would be otherwise, and He will remain more pleased eternally. It is a kind of infinite thing.

In view of this, let us renew our efforts to be the sort of people who are often taking opportunities to help others with acts of kindness.

 

See also:

The Ministry of Kindness

Christians Must Be Generous in Giving to the Poor

The Importance of Sympathy and Empathy in Christian Living

In What Order Should Christians Choose to Help People?

Nothing Is Sinful Because It Is Pleasurable

It is not that uncommon to come across non-Christians who think that the Christian faith is, to some extent, against people experiencing pleasure. And this thinking is one reason why some are put off our faith.

Reasons why some people think that the Christian faith is negative towards pleasure

There are two reasons why some non-believers connect our faith with a negative attitude towards pleasure.

First, there are some Christians who, to a certain extent, really do view pleasure negatively. So when non-Christians encounter Christians who think this, they sometimes assume that this attitude towards pleasure is a standard part of the Christian faith.

Second and more importantly, some non-believers see Christians opposing various things that give pleasure, such as getting drunk or having sex outside marriage, and they often just assume that the reason we oppose these things is because they are pleasurable.

The result of these two factors is that there is an impression among some non-Christians that the Christian faith is, to some extent, against people experiencing pleasure.

God is positive about pleasure

It can hardly be overstated how wrong it is to think that the Christian faith is against pleasure.

To begin with, we need to understand that God Himself experiences pleasure. The Bible is full of references to God taking pleasure in people and things.

For example, in Psalm 149:4 we read:

‘For the LORD takes pleasure in his people . . .’ (ESV)

What is more, even before God made the universe, the love relationships in the Trinity between Father, Son and Holy Spirit undoubtedly caused God a tremendously deep source of pleasure.

Secondly, a major part of God’s purpose in creating humans was so that we could experience pleasure – first and foremost pleasure in God Himself, but also pleasure in human relationships of various kinds and in other aspects of creation.

To put it bluntly, God is thoroughly in favour of people experiencing pleasure.

Things are not sinful because they are pleasurable

If something is against God’s will, it is important to understand that there is always some reason other than it being pleasurable that makes it sinful.

So, for example, getting drunk is not sinful because it is pleasurable, but because it causes people to lose self-control. Losing self-control can lead people to do unwise things, and it also fits poorly with the dignity of human beings as creatures made in the image of God.

Similarly, sex outside marriage is not sinful because it is pleasurable, but because God designed sex to cement the marriage relationship between husband and wife that mirrors the relationship between Christ and His church.

It is crucial to understand that God is not a kill-joy. He isn’t against pleasure. There is no activity that is sinful because it is pleasurable. The world as God made it is simply not like that.

A special case

Despite what I have just said, there is one kind of situation where pleasure is a problem in and of itself. This is when people treat pleasure as an idol and seek it more than they should.

Sometimes a person can become obsessed with seeking after pleasure, and in that sort of situation there is a sense in which pleasure itself is a problem for that person.

However, the point still stands that in terms of what any particular activity involves, it is not the pleasure derived from an action that makes it sinful. It is always something else.

Living in a time of war

If Adam and Eve had not fallen into sin, and if there had been a human race that had never sinned, everyone would have experienced nothing but great pleasure all the time.

Similarly, after we die or Jesus returns to earth, our lives will be nothing but pleasure, and this is what God will want.

However, the reality is that the human race has fallen into sin, those of us now on earth have not yet died, and Jesus has not yet returned. This means that it isn’t possible right now for us to experience pleasure all the time. Although pleasure should be a part of our lives, suffering is also unavoidable to a certain extent. We are living in a kind of wartime, when normal peacetime activities can’t always be enjoyed.

In 2 Timothy 2:3-4 Paul tells Timothy:

‘Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.’ (ESV)

There should be no doubt that these words are meant to apply to all Christians. We are all soldiers of Christ Jesus, and soldiers can expect to experience hardships of various kinds. A time will come when suffering and hardship become things of the past, but that time is not yet.

Correcting wrong ideas

When we come across non-Christians who have wrong ideas about the attitude of the Christian faith towards pleasure, it is worth trying to correct those ideas if we have an opportunity.

As I have already noted, some non-believers are put off our faith because they think that it views pleasure negatively to a certain extent. When people decide not to follow Jesus and reject the salvation that is in Him because of wrong thinking like this, it is a real tragedy.

If we can help them to view things correctly on the real Christian attitude towards pleasure, for some it may make the difference between the decision to accept Jesus as Saviour and Lord and the decision not to.

It is also worth trying to correct the thinking of Christians who have a poor understanding in this area. Some believers view God as more severe than He really is, and they seem to imagine that to some extent He is against us experiencing pleasure. If we can help them see reality better on this topic, it could only aid them in their relationships with the Lord.

 

See also:

Charismatic Churches and Their Attitude to Hardship

Is There Any Place for Entertainment in Church Services?

How and Why Should Christians Rejoice?

What Is the Christian Faith Really All About?

Missing Out On Things In Life Doesn’t Matter At All

The Bible clearly teaches that there are some good and enjoyable things on this earth that will not exist after death.

Even though Scripture promises enormous blessings for God’s people after they die, it is clear too that some God-given and enjoyable things that can be found on this earth of ours will cease to exist.

Enjoyable things on this earth that will not exist after death

There are a number of things that fall into this category.

For example, the Bible teaches that after death there will be no marriage or having children (Matt 22:30; Mark 12:25; Luke 20:35). This means that Christians who never get married or have children here on this earth will never, ever have an opportunity to do these things.

Similarly, the Bible teaches that this earth will come to an end and be replaced by the new earth (Isa 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pet 3:10-13; Rev 21:1), and it seems very unlikely that the geography of both earths will be exactly the same. If this is right, it means that Christians who never visit amazing places on our earth will never, ever have an opportunity to visit them.

Sadness about missing out on these things

It seems clear to me that some Christians, who don’t experience some of these things here on our earth, have a certain sadness about the prospect of forever missing out on them. They understand that the blessings for God’s people after death will be enormous, but they feel disappointed to a certain extent that they will permanently miss out on things that exist here and now.

This especially concerns getting married and having children. These are obviously huge and life-changing events for those who experience them, and for some believers the thought of forever missing out on these things is a painful one.

This thinking is completely wrong

Although at first sight it might seem reasonable for Christians to think in this way, it actually doesn’t make sense.

I am not saying that it doesn’t make sense for Christians to feel pain about missing out on these things here and now. For example, a Christian might suffer being single and long to be married here and now. Or someone without children might suffer and long to be a parent here and now. Or someone who is unable to travel far from where they live might be disappointed that they are unable to do this here and now.

Suffering in these ways does make sense. I am not suggesting that Christians who suffer these things shouldn’t be suffering. Missing out on good things that God created does hurt and it makes sense that it hurts.

My point is that being upset at the thought of forever missing out on things doesn’t make sense. And the reason for this is simple. When we are with Jesus after death, from that time forward we won’t care at all that we missed out on anything while we were here on this earth, and from the perspective of the present almost all of our future will be with Jesus after death.

The vastness of our blessings after death

It is impossible to overstate the size of the blessings that will come our way after we die or the Lord returns to earth.

In 2 Corinthians 4:17 the apostle Paul says:

‘For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.’

In this verse Paul is contrasting the sufferings of Christians here on our earth with the blessings we will experience after death.

It is actually not straightforward to translate the original Greek of the verse into English. Paul seems to get a bit carried away with the language he uses, and he literally describes the size of the eternal weight of glory we will experience as ‘according to excess towards excess’. This could be translated as ‘absolutely incomparable’ or ‘utterly enormous’ or ‘unspeakably gigantic’ or ‘exceedingly vast’ or something along these lines.

It really is difficult to find words to describe how wonderful and joyful our lives will be when we get into the immediate and visible presence of the Lord Jesus after death or His return to earth. And it is not possible that in that state we will have any feelings of sadness about what we missed out on while we were on this present earth. And that state will last forever!

It doesn’t matter what we miss out on

So for millions and millions of years on into an infinite eternity we won’t care at all about what we missed out on here on this earth. Therefore, because our future here on this earth is as nothing in length to our future on the future earth with Jesus, and because our future on the future earth will be nothing but happiness, it makes no sense to feel sadness now at the prospect of forever missing out on enjoyable things that exist on our earth.

It would only make sense to feel sadness now about this, if after death the blessings we will experience will not be all that great. But Scripture simply won’t allow us to think that this will be the case. The blessings after death will be vastly greater than the most enjoyable thing here on this earth.

Or perhaps it might make sense to feel sadness now about this, if after death from time to time we were going to feel some regret about what we had missed out on while we were on this earth. But, again, Scripture won’t allow us to think that this regret will exist.

As Christians we need to be people who set our hopes fully on the unspeakably colossal blessings that God has promised us after we die or Jesus returns to the earth. Compared to that, it just doesn’t matter what we miss out on while we are on this earth.

So, although it may hurt us in the here and now to miss out on some of these things, a time will come when we couldn’t care less what enjoyable things we missed out on while we were on this earth. And because, from the perspective of the present, almost all of our future will be in that glorious state, it makes no sense to feel any sadness at the prospect of forever missing out on things that can be found on this temporary earth of ours.

 

See also:

Becoming a Christian Is the Ultimate Bargain

What Counts as True Success in Life?

How and Why Should Christians Rejoice?

Some Things for Christians to Do When They Are Hanging on by Their Fingernails

What to Do If You Feel Like Blaming God for Something

I think it would be right to say that it is common for Christians to feel like blaming God for things. Sometimes sufferings arise in our lives that we just don’t understand, and it is easy to feel unhappy with God as a result.

A little technique to use

I think if we feel like blaming God for something, it is helpful to do the following.

Imagine that Jesus, the God-Man, is sitting with you. And imagine that He is there to defend how He has treated you. In other words, imagine that He is speaking to you, explaining exactly why you have suffered the things that have made you upset with Him.

In His infinite wisdom, He would know exactly how to convince you that He hasn’t treated you badly.

You know that He would succeed in convincing you of this, don’t you? You don’t really think, do you, that if Jesus were trying to defend how He has treated you, He would fail to persuade you?

Deep down every Christian surely knows that this is true. If the Lord Jesus were to give a defence of how He has treated any of us, a defence tailor-made to what each of us can understand, what He said would be totally compelling. We would be sitting open-mouthed, amazed at how perfectly He had defended everything He had done to us and let us go through. We would see crystally clearly that He had not treated us badly and that what we had suffered made sense.

Of course, when we do feel like blaming God, Jesus isn’t actually sitting down with us, talking to us face to face. But what we need to do is accept by faith that His defence of how He has treated us would be totally convincing. Deep inside we know it’s true. So, walking by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7), we need to decide that we are going to trust His wisdom even if we can’t physically see and hear Him defend how He has treated us.

Blaming God is a sin

Although it is common for Christians to feel like blaming God, we need to be clear that blaming Him for anything is a sin. He is morally perfect and totally blameless in every way.

It is true that, when we are suffering, God wants us to tell Him all about how we feel. This means that if we feel blame towards Him, we should be honest and say this. We must always be one hundred per cent honest with Him about everything.

Of course, He won’t be shocked or even surprised by what we say. He already knows how we feel in every detail. But it is good for us to express our feelings to Him in this way.

Nevertheless, a Christian should never remain for an extended period of time with feelings of blame towards God. We know that blaming Him doesn’t make sense. Deep down we know that how He has treated us in no way conflicts with His goodness.

The example of David

Instead of blaming God for things in our lives, we do very well to follow the lead of David as seen in the Psalms.

When David was suffering, he poured out his heart to God. He pleaded with Him. But he stopped short of blaming Him. He never went so far as to actually say that God was to blame for anything.

For example, in Psalm 13:1-2 David says:

‘How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?’ (ESV)

It is true that at first sight, when David uses the words ‘Will you forget me forever?’ he seems to be blaming God for forgetting him. But it would be a mistake to take this too literally. This question needs to be interpreted in the light of verses 5-6, which end the Psalm:

‘But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.’ (ESV)

We could perhaps say that in this Psalm David gets close to blaming God. We could maybe even say, because he was sinful like we are, that he experienced some feelings of blame towards God. But he stops short of actually blaming Him. He is expressing His frustration in a very vivid way. But he doesn’t go so far as to blame the Lord.

Summing up

The next time you feel like blaming God for something you have suffered or are still suffering, I would encourage you to do what I have suggested.

Imagine that Jesus is sitting down with you for the express purpose of defending how He has treated you, that He isn’t in a hurry, and that His defence is going to be tailor-made for what you are able to understand.

You know He would succeed, don’t you? You know you would become completely convinced that He hasn’t treated you badly.

So make a decision to accept this by faith. Apologise to God for blaming Him for anything, renounce the feelings of blame, and praise Him that He is with you to help you. And remember too that on the cross Jesus suffered more than you can imagine and that it was for you.

 

See also:

Some Things for Christians to Do When They Are Hanging On by Their Fingernails

Trusting God When We Are Not Sure What to Do 

How and Why Should Christians Rejoice? 

Taking Heart from the Apostle Paul’s Experiences of Setbacks and Failed Plans

Is It Right for Christians to Name and Claim Things in Faith?

Sometimes you will hear Christians speak approvingly of using a principle of ‘Name it and claim it’ when praying for things. They say that it is good Christian practice often to name something before God in prayer and claim the answer in faith.

It is also quite common to hear Christians speak disapprovingly of naming and claiming things in faith. They say that Christian prayer should not be like this and that it encourages believers to selfishly treat God like some sort of vending machine.

So who has got this right? Should we name and claim things in faith or shouldn’t we?

I would suggest that the principle of naming things before God and claiming them in faith is a good and biblical one, although it is important not to misunderstand this kind of prayer and to see its limitations.

Actually, although the principle of naming and claiming is a good one, because the precise label ‘Name it and claim it’ tends to be connected quite closely to the mistaken teaching that is known as the ‘Prosperity Gospel’, I think we do better to avoid using this label itself. But the basic principle is a good one generally as far as prayer is concerned.

Mark 11:24

An important verse on this topic is Mark 11:24, where Jesus teaches:

‘Whatever things you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and they will be yours.’

Here Jesus commands His followers to claim things in faith when praying. He is encouraging us to go boldly to God and say, ‘Lord, I ask You to do x, y and z, and I believe that You are going to do them.’

Jesus actually uses a past tense – ‘you have received’ – instead of a future – ‘you will receive’ – but the idea is that the person praying is so confident of receiving the answer in the future that it is as if they have already received it.

Although, as I have said, we do better to avoid the label ‘Name it and claim it’, Jesus is clearly encouraging us in this verse to treat prayer in this sort of way.

This only applies to things that are the will of God

It is interesting to note that although Mark 11:24 mentions the condition of believing/faith for a prayer to be answered, nothing is said about the condition of asking for something that is the will of God.

Importantly, however, language generally, as well as biblical language, often expects the reader to understand unexpressed conditions that are treated as obvious. And it should be obvious that Jesus means us to understand that this promise of God answering our prayers asked in faith only applies to prayers that are for things that are the will of God. If something isn’t the will of God, Jesus’ words certainly don’t apply.

So, for example, suppose that a certain Christian is somehow deceived into believing sincerely that God wants to give him a red Ferrari, although this is not the will of God at all. So he prays for this, genuinely expecting to receive it.

Will God give it to him? Absolutely not! Jesus’ words in this verse are in no way saying that God is somehow obligated to answer a prayer that is against His will, just because a Christian happens to wrongly think that it is His will.

Mistakes of those who approve of naming and claiming

There is no doubt that some Christians who say they approve of naming and claiming things in faith do try to abuse this principle for selfish gain. They have failed to understand that the approach to prayer outlined in passages like Mark 11:24 is essentially not about getting God to give us things we like (although that will happen sometimes) but about being involved in God’s work of building His church.

It isn’t that Christians are supposed to call the shots and get God to fit in with our prayers. Rather, we are supposed to claim things in faith that glorify God and advance His work in the world. It should be all about Him, not us.

Mistakes of those who disapprove of naming and claiming

On the other side, some Christians who say they disapprove of naming and claiming things in faith seem to throw the baby out with the bath water.

By all means, let us avoid the approach of those who want to abuse prayer for selfish gain. But let us be crystal clear too that the Bible contains passages like Mark 11:24 that teach us to name and claim things in faith, even if we avoid that exact label.

Here is the verse again:

‘Whatever things you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and they will be yours.’

Note how this verse contains not just a suggestion for how we should pray but a command. And there is not the slightest doubt that this command applies just as much to Christians living today as it did in the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry. It’s not optional for us to do this. It is the way that the Lord Himself has instructed us to pray.

 

See also:

Every Christian Should Be a Prayer Information Hub

Getting the Balance between Expecting Too Little and Too Much from Prayer

Christians Need to Put Everything to the Test

Fighting Tooth and Nail to Interpret the Bible Honestly

Is It Important for a Christian to Be a Member of a Local Church?

It is not that uncommon to meet people who say that they are Christians but that they don’t get involved in any local church.

Some of these people make no effort to interact with other Christians at all, not even on the internet. Others do things like join church services online but don’t physically go to services or meet with other Christians.

The value of meeting with other Christians

Importantly, the Bible knows nothing of Christians going it alone, and it everywhere assumes that they will physically meet with other believers as and when they are able.

On this topic, Hebrews 10:24-25 is especially relevant, where the author writes:

‘And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.’ (ESV)

This passage is clear about the value of Christians meeting up, presumably to do Christian things together like worship God and pray.

Unless someone is housebound, there seems to be no good reason not to go to church gatherings. And even in the case of someone who is housebound, they should typically have Christian fellowship by receiving other believers into their home.

Joining services on the internet is better than nothing, but it is very inadequate. Meeting online is just no substitute for fellowship in the actual presence of other Christians.

In recent times we saw something similar during the Covid pandemic. Friends and relatives were often separated for long periods of time and met up to video-chat on the internet, but it just wasn’t the same as meeting in the flesh. In the same way, Christian fellowship is just deeper and more meaningful when God’s people are physically together.

Complaining about the state of local churches

Sometimes people who don’t get involved in a local church try to justify this by pointing to what they believe are serious faults in churches in their area.

I have never been convinced by this, and I think these people tend to be very judgmental and have unreasonably high expectations. Often, many of their criticisms of churches are right, but they go too far in the way they rule out all churches in their area as apostate.

I can remember some time ago speaking to a Christian man in Edinburgh who said that he and his wife were not involved in any local church because ‘none of them preach the gospel’. In a city that had literally hundreds of local churches, this was just nonsense. Even if 90 per cent of them were very poor churches – something that may well have been true – that would still have left more than a few to choose from.

The value of having one local church as a home

There are some Christians who do meet up with other believers in their area at church services, prayer meetings, etc., but they aren’t members of any one church. Instead, they get involved in multiple churches without making any one of them their home church.

So what should we make of this?

I think, firstly, it is much better for Christians to be members of a particular local church, to have that as their base, as their home. If these people find themselves in difficulty, it helps to know which church is responsible for helping them. And if they need to be disciplined in some way, again, it helps to know which church is responsible.

But secondly, if someone does have one church as a home, there is certainly nothing wrong with also being involved to a lesser extent in other local churches too. It really makes no sense to think that God’s people in an area should avoid meeting up with other Christians at various times and for various purposes just because the other believers happen to be members of other local churches.

Formal or informal membership?

Another relevant issue is whether membership of a local church should be formal or informal. Should people sign a piece of paper to become a formal member of a local church, or should this all be informal?

I would suggest that making things formal is the better thing to do, for the purposes of church discipline.

If professing Christians in a church are unrepentant of serious sins, they need to be put out of the fellowship, to try to encourage their repentance (e.g., 1 Cor 5:1-5), and it is easier to sort all this out if these people are formal members of that church.

The Bible refers to non-Christians coming along to Christian gatherings (1 Cor 14:23-25). These people would typically be unrepentant of various sins, but they should not be discouraged from visiting.

In a situation where there is informal membership of a church, professing Christians who are unrepentant of serious sins might try to avoid being put out of the fellowship by claiming just to be visitors, hoping to take advantage of any grey areas that exist as regards who exactly is a member of that church. However, if they have formally entered into membership of that church, there would be no way for them to use this ploy.

 

See also:

Is There Any Place for Entertainment in Church Services?

What Should the Dress Code Be for Christian Worship Services?

Denominations and Christian Self-Identity

Is It Ever Right to Be a Secret Christian?

Are Christians Supposed to Tithe Their Money?

When it comes to financial giving, there are many Christians today who claim that it is God’s will for us to tithe our money.

For anyone who doesn’t know, to tithe means to give a tenth of something. So someone who tithes their money gives away a tenth of it.

Some of those who say that Christians should tithe believe that we should give a tenth of our income to our local church. Others believe that we should give away a tenth of our income but don’t specify that this should all be to our local church.

Tithing and the New Testament

So what should we make of this? Are Christians today supposed to follow a principle of tithing when giving away money? Does the Bible point us in this direction?

The answer to this question seems to be a clear ‘No’. There is no good, biblically-based reason for thinking that Christians are under an obligation to tithe.

It is true that twice in the Gospels we find Jesus accepting the validity of tithing herbs (Matthew 23:23; Luke 11:42). However, firstly, the topic here is herbs, not money. And secondly, in the context of each of these passages He is speaking to Jews who lived in Old Covenant times and who were under obligation to obey the rules of tithing found in the Law of Moses, something that is not the case for Christians today.

More importantly, it is striking that although the New Testament is full of instructions for Christians to be generous in giving away money, this is never connected to any principle of tithing.

For example, in the Gospels we frequently find teaching on the importance of giving money to people in need (e.g., Matthew 5:42; 6:1-4; 19:16-22; 25:31-46; Mark 12:41-44; Luke 3:10-11; 12:33; 19:8-9). However, no Gospel passage connects financial giving to tithing.

Similarly, in 2 Corinthians 8-9 the apostle Paul talks at some length about the importance of giving generously. If he had wanted to tie this to a principle of tithing, he could have said that God expects Christians to give a tenth of what they earn. Or he could have said that giving a tenth is the first step in giving and that it is also good to give over and above that. But he doesn’t mention a tenth at all.

In short, there are many places in the New Testament where it might make sense for a principle of tithing to be mentioned if Christians were expected to tithe. The fact that such a principle is never mentioned suggests that we aren’t under obligation to do this. The New Testament contains many instructions to be generous in giving money, but this is never connected with a principle of giving a tenth of what we have.

Problems caused by insisting on tithing

Insisting on tithing can cause various problems.

First, wealthy Christians can sometimes be led to believe that God doesn’t usually expect them to give away more than a tenth of their income, and that He is content for them to spend the rest on themselves.

However, this idea sharply contradicts the whole tenor of New Testament teaching on giving, where extreme generosity is encouraged.

See, for example, how in Luke 12:33 the Lord Jesus tells His followers, ‘Sell your possessions and give to charity’. Or see in 2 Corinthians 8:3 how Paul commends the churches of Macedonia for giving ‘beyond their ability’. Neither of these verses fits with the idea that rich Christians are supposed to keep hold of 90 per cent of their wealth or even close to 90 per cent.

Second, insisting on tithing can cause Christians in dire poverty to be led to believe that they must always give away 10 per cent of what little they have.

This is not a simple issue, because it is true that there is often a place in Christian living for poor believers giving away money and God giving back to them in return. God does work in this way at times.

But on the other hand, I would suggest that there are also times when it is better for Christians in serious poverty to use what little they have for themselves and their families, so that there is no danger they might become a burden on others, and so that they don’t put themselves under even more pressure.

Third, setting a rule that Christians should tithe could in some cases help to foster a legalistic frame of mind.

Christian living is not about following lots of rules and regulations. The Bible doesn’t encourage us to think in this sort of way.

It is true that it can occasionally be helpful for us to make a rule or two to live by on some issue or other, but this is not something that we should be doing much of. Lots of rules will become a burden weighing us down.

Focusing on generosity in giving

When thinking about financial giving, instead of focusing on a principle of giving a tenth, we do much better to focus on a principle of being generous without counting the cost. This really is something that the Bible supports in spades.

 

See also:

Christians Must be Generous in Giving to the Poor

In What Order Should Christians Choose to Help People?

The Prosperity Gospel Is a False Gospel

Is It OK for Church Leaders to Live in Luxury?