This is a chapter from J.C. Ryle's classic book Practical Religion.
WORLDLINESS
"'Come out from among them and be separate,' says the Lord." 2 Corinthians 6:17; Isaiah 52:11
Separation from the world is a Christian duty and a grand evidence of a work of grace in the heart, but is often misunderstood. I therefore invite attention to God's Word on these 4 points: 1. The world is a source of great danger to the soul, 2. What is not meant by separation from the world, 3. What is meant by separation from the world, 4. The secrets of victory over the world.
World in Holy Scripture refers to two things: God's creation and something else that is fallen and dangerous. All that God created in this material world is "very good" by God's own declaration (Genesis 1:31). The sun, moon, and stars; mountains, valleys, and plains; seas, lakes, and rivers; animal and vegetable life are full of resources and lessons that proclaim daily, "The hand that made us is divine!" World in the bad sense refers the effects of the Fall on this world's people in their ways, habits, customs, opinions, practices, aims, spirit, and tone that lead them to think more about time than eternity, more about the body than the soul, and more about what pleases themselves than what pleases God.
1. The world is a source of great danger to the soul. Let us first hear from the apostle Paul: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). "We have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God" (1 Corinthians 2:12). "Christ gave Himself for us that He might deliver us from this present evil world" (Galatians 1:4). "You He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world" (Ephesians 2:1-2). "Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world" (2 Timothy 4:10).
Here is what James, the half brother of our Lord, says: "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27). "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God" (James 4:4).
The apostle John wrote the final words on this subject in the New Testament: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:15-17). "The world does not know us because it did not know Him" (1 John 3:1). "Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which ... is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them" (1 John 4:3-5). "Whoever is born of God overcomes the world" (1 John 5:4). "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19).
Let us hear last from our Lord Jesus Christ: "The cares of this world choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful" (Matthew 13:22). He said to unbelieving antagonists, "You are of this world; I am not of this world" (John 8:23). To His disciples He explained that the Father "will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him" (John 14:16-17). "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 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" (John 15:18-19). "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Shortly before going to the cross, Jesus prayed saying this about His people : "They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world" (John 17:16).
Those 21 texts speak for themselves that the world is an enemy to the Christian's soul. There is utter opposition between friendship with the world and friendship with Christ. Turning to matters of experience, what turns more people away from Christ than the cares, business, money, pleasures, prestige, and favor of the world? That is the great rock on which thousands of young people are continually making shipwreck. Many do not object to any doctrine of the Christian faith. They do not deliberately choose evil or openly rebel against God, but they cannot give up their idol: they must have the world, so they go down the broad way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). To prevent that is the reason for this order from our Lord: "Come out from among them and be separate" (2 Corinthians 6:17; Isaiah 52:11).
2. What is not meant by separation from the world. You will sometimes see sincere and well-meaning Christians doing things God never intended them to do in the matter of separation from the world, yet honestly believing they are in the path of duty. Their mistakes often do great harm. They give occasion for the wicked to ridicule all religion, and supply them with an excuse for having none. God's Word cautions us that some zeal for God is, from His perspective, "not according to knowledge" (John 16:2; Romans 10:2).
A. Separation from the world does not mean Christian ought to give up all worldly callings, trades, professions, and business. The New Testament says no such thing! Luke the physician, Cornelius the Roman centurion, and Zenas the lawyer are examples to the contrary. Work is a good gift from God, established before the Fall. Since idleness is a sin, a lawful calling is a remedy against temptation. As Paul said regarding the idle, "If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10). The right plan is to carry our religion into our business or service, not to give it up under the specious notion that it interferes with our religion.
B. Separation from the world does not mean Christians ought to avoid interacting with unconverted people. Think about the examples of our Lord and His disciples! They did not refuse to go to a marriage feast and share meals with a wide variety of people up and down the social scale. When Paul was asked what to do about dinner invitation from unbelievers, he did not say not to go, but gave instructions on how to behave (1 Corinthians 10:27-33). It is a dangerous thing to begin judging people too closely, and settling who are converted and who are not, and what society is godly or ungodly. We are sure to make mistakes. Who wants to be cut off from many opportunities of doing good? If we carry our Master with us wherever we go, by His grace we "might save some," blessing them and ourselves in the process (1 Corinthians 9:22-23).
C. Separation from the world does not mean Christians ought to take no interest in anything except religion. To neglect science, art, literature, and politics—to know nothing about what is going on among mankind and care nothing about the government of one's country, utterly indifferent to the persons who guide its counsels and make its laws—is a neglect of duty. Paul urged us to pray for our leaders, knowing the value of good government as one of the main helps to leading "a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way" (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Paul was not ashamed to read Pagan authors and quote their words when relevant. He did not think it beneath himself to show an acquaintance with the laws, customs, and callings of the world.
D. Separation from the world does not mean Christians ought to be singular, eccentric, or peculiar in their appearance and demeanor. Anything that attracts notice in those matters is to be avoided. There is not the slightest proof that the Lord Jesus and His disciples did not dress and behave like others in their own ranks of life. One of the charges our Lord brought against the Pharisees was making their phylacteries broad and enlarging the borders of their garments "to be seen by others" (Matthew 23:5). True sanctity and sanctimoniousness are entirely different things. Those who try to show off their unworldliness by wearing conspicuously ugly clothes, speaking in an exaggerated way, or affecting an unnatural gravity of manner miss their mark altogether, and only give occasion for the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.
E. Separation from the world does not mean Christians ought to prefer solitude. Monks, nuns, and hermits have made the mistake of assuming that holiness is to be obtained by retiring from the world. Separation of that kind is not according to the mind of Christ. He says distinctly in His prayer before His arrest, "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one" (John 17:15). There is not a word in the Acts or the Epistles to recommend such a separation; in fact, Paul speaks twice against asceticism (Colossians 2:18, 23). True believers are always represented as mixing in the world, doing their duty in it, and glorifying God by patience, meekness, purity, and courage in their various positions, not by desertion of them. True religion and unworldliness are best seen by bravely standing our ground and showing the power of God's grace to overcome evil.
F. Separation from the world does not mean Christians ought to withdraw from churches with unconverted people. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself deliberately allowed Judas Iscariot to be an apostle for 3 years and gave him the Lord's Supper. He taught us in the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares that the converted and unconverted will "grow together until the harvest," which is when they will be separated with divine accuracy (Matthew 13:30). In our Lord's 7 letters to the churches in Revelation and in all of Paul's letters, we often see faults and corruptions mentioned and reproved, but we are never told they justify desertion of the assembly or neglect of the Lord's Supper. We must not look for a perfect church, a perfect congregation, and a perfect company of communicants until the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-10). If others are unworthy church members or partakers of the Lord's Supper, the sin is theirs and not ours; we are not their judges. Seek to be content with the best and most faithful church you can actively attend.
I commend these 6 points to the calm consideration of all who wish to understand the subject of separation from the world. I have seen so much misery and unhappiness caused by these mistakes that I want to put Christians on their guard. For new or young Christians, resist the temptation to quarrel with your unconverted relatives, cut out all your old friends, and give up every act of courtesy and civility to supposedly devote yourself to the direct work of Christ. Know that there is such a thing as winning "without a word" (1 Peter 3:1). Strive to show unconverted people that your Christian principles make you cheerful, amiable, considerate of others, and ready to take an interest in things that are good and innocent. Let there be no needless separation between you and the world.
3. What is meant by separation from the world. What separation consists of is not always easy to show. On some points it is not hard to lay down particular rules; on others it is impossible to do more than state general principles for each Christian to apply intelligently to his or her own situation.
A. Separation from the world means steadily and habitually refusing to be guided by the world's standard of right and wrong. The rule of the bulk of mankind is to go with the stream, follow the fashion, and keep up with the way of the times. True Christians are never content to do that. On each issue of life they ask, What is written in the Word of God? They will maintain politely but firmly that nothing can be right that God says is wrong. They will never think lightly of sins just because they are common. Miserable arguments like, Everybody thinks so, says so, does so, or will be there count for nothing with the godly. If a Christian has to stand out from the crowd, he or she will do so rather than disobey the Bible. That is genuine Scriptural separation.
B. Separation from the world means being very careful about how one spends leisure time. Honorable occupation and lawful business are great safeguards to the soul, and the time spent upon them is comparatively the time of our least danger. The devil finds it hard to get a hearing from a busy man, woman, or child. But when the day's work is over and the time of leisure arrives, then comes the hour of temptation. If we love our souls and would not become worldly, let us mind how we spend our evenings. Tell me how a man spends his evenings, and I can generally tell what his character is.
The true Christian will do well to make it a settled rule never to waste his evenings. Whatever others may do, let him resolve always to make time for quiet, calm thought that includes Bible reading and prayer. This rule may prove hard to keep and bring charges of being unsocial and overly strict. Never mind, for it is far better than habitual late hours in company, hurried prayers, slovenly Bible reading, and a bad conscience.
C. Separation from the world means steadily and habitually determining not to be absorbed in the business of the world. Faithful Christians will strive to do their duty in whatever position they find themselves, and do it well, but they will not let their occupations get between themselves and Christ. If a believer finds his business beginning to eat up his Sundays, his Bible reading, his private prayer, and to bring clouds between him and heaven, he will say, "Stand back! There is a limit. Here you may go, but no further. I cannot sell my soul for position, fame, or gold." Like Daniel, he will make time for his communion with God, whatever the cost may be (Daniel 6). He may find that he stands almost alone. Many will laugh at him and tell him they get on well enough without being so strict. But the godly man and woman will resolutely hold the world at arm's length, whatever present loss or sacrifice it may entail. Better to be less prosperous in this world than not to prosper in soul. To stand alone in this way, to run counter to the ways of others, requires immense self-denial. But this is genuine Scriptural separation.
D. Separation from the world means abstaining from all enterprises inseparably connected with sin. This is obvious, yet does require honest discernment of our particular situations and amusements. Things like sports and viewing entertainment may or may not be innocent, but often what flows from them is not, such as drunkenness, sexual immorality, violence, and the enslaving vices of gambling and betting. These are things God will judge. In the meantime, our friends and relatives are likely to judge us for being too strict in what we avoid. If we love our souls, however, we must have nothing to do with amusements or anything else that is bound up with sin. Nothing short of this can be called genuine Scriptural separation from the world.
E. Separation from the world means being moderate in the use of lawful and innocent recreations. In a world of wear and tear, relaxation is a blessing. Body and mind alike require seasons of lighter occupation. Exercise itself is a positive necessity for the preservation of mental and bodily health. Athletic recreations and games of skill strengthen nerves, brain, digestion, lungs, and muscles, making us more fit for Christ's work.
It is the excess of those innocent things that a true Christian must watch against if he wants to be separate from the world. He must not devote his heart, soul, mind, strength, and time to them, as many do, if he wishes to serve Christ. Healthful medicine that is good in small quantities is poison when swallowed in large doses. The use of innocent recreations is one thing; the abuse of them is another. Ask yourself questions like these: Is this interfering with my Christian faith? Does this occupy too much of my thoughts and attention? Is this having a secularizing effect on my soul? This matter requires courage, self-denial, and firmness. Such integrity will often bring on us the ridicule and contempt of people who do not know what moderation is, but instead regard serious things as trifles and trifles as serious things. But if we mean to be separate from the world, we must be sweetly firm.
F. Separation from the world means being careful in friendships and close relationships with worldly people. We will interact with many unconverted people throughout our lives. Paul pointed out the absurdity of thinking to do otherwise, saying it would require us to "go out of the world" (1 Corinthians 5:9-10). To treat these people with the utmost courtesy and kindness is a positive duty. But acquaintance is one thing, and close friendship quite another. To choose their company without good cause and cultivate intimacy with them is very dangerous to the believer's soul. Scripture warns plainly, "He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed" (Proverbs 13:20). "Do not be deceived: Bad company ruins good morals" (1 Corinthians 15:33).
If a Christian chooses for his friends those who either do not care for their souls, the Bible, God, Christ, and holiness or regard them of secondary importance, how can he live consistently for Christ and grow spiritually? He will soon find that their ways are not his ways, nor their thoughts his thoughts, nor their tastes his tastes. A separation must take place if he is to remain faithful to Christ. Of course, such a separation will be painful, but if we have to choose between the loss of a friend and injury to our souls, there ought to be no doubt in our minds. If friends will not walk in the narrow way with us, we must not walk in the broad way to please them.
To attempt to keep up close intimacy between a converted and an unconverted person, if both are consistent with their natures, is to attempt an impossibility. That is why Christians are to marry "only in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 7:39). "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14). When a Christian marries a person who takes no serious interest in true religion, what can the results be but injury to the Christian and immense unhappiness? Health is not infectious, but disease is. As a general rule, the good go down to the level to the bad, not the inverse. If you are at all serious in separating from the world, obey the Word of God here and elsewhere.
When in doubt on any of these 6 biblical principles of separation from the world, think about this: "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good" (Proverbs 15:3). Claim this promise from God: "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8). Ask yourself honestly, Do I want God to see me doing this or going there? Do I want to be found in this company or employed in this way? Make the effort to find out how the most faithful Christians have handled themselves in similar circumstances. If we do not clearly see our own way, we have good examples to follow.
4. The secrets of victory over the world. Separation from the world in the biblical sense requires a constant effort and sometimes conflict. That tempts many to shrink back with aching, dissatisfied hearts, for they have too much religion to be happy in the world, but too much of the world to be happy in their religion. Yet there are some in every age who seem to gain victory over the world. They come out decidedly from its ways and are unmistakably separate. They are independent of its opinions and unshaken by its opposition. They move like planets in an orbit of their own, rising equally above the world's smiles and frowns. Why?
A. A right heart. The first secret of victory over the world is a right heart. By that I mean a heart renewed, changed, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. This is a heart in which Christ dwells (John 14:23), a new creation: "the old has passed away and the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). This heart has new tastes and affections. The owner of such a heart soon finds he no longer craves the things of the world and willingly gives them up. He no longer has an appetite for the company, conversation, amusements, occupations, and books he once loved; to come out from them seems natural. Great indeed is the expulsive power of a new principle! Just as the new spring buds in a bush push off the old leaves and make them quietly fall to the ground, so does the new heart of a believer invariably shed the old loves for new ones that please Christ. This is a process, but if the heart is really right, everything else will be right in time. As Jesus said metaphorically, "If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light" (Matthew 6:22). If your affections are not right, there never will be right action.
B. A lively, practical faith in unseen realities. "This is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith" (1 John 5:4). That involves looking steadily at invisible realities presented in Scripture as if they were visible, for soon enough they will be: our souls, God, Christ, heaven, hell, judgment, eternity. Cherish the abiding conviction that what we do not currently see is just as real as what we do see, but thousands of times more important! This is the victorious faith of the noble saints described in Hebrews 11. Armed with that faith, victorious Christians regard this world as a shadow compared to the world to come, caring little for its praise, blame, enmity, or rewards (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). If you want to come out from the world and be separate, but shrink back for fear of what you see, do this: pray and strive to have faith in unseen realities. Jesus said encouragingly to a struggling man, "All things are possible for one who believes" (Mark 9:23).
C. The habit of boldly confessing Christ on all proper occasions. To be clear, I want no one to blow a trumpet and thrust his religion on others at all seasons, but I encourage all who strive to come out from the world to show their colors: to speak and act as those who are not ashamed to represent Christ (Colossians 4:3-6). A steady, quiet assertion of our principles as Christians, an habitual readiness to let others see we are guided by other rules than they are and do not mean to swerve from them, and a calm, firm, courteous maintenance of our standards among all types of people will produce in us a settled, separate character. It will be hard at first, but gets easier with practice. Christ is eager to build good habits in us. Once our characters are known, we shall be saved much trouble. People will know what to expect from us. He who shows his colors boldly from the first and is never ashamed to let others see whose he is and whom he serves will soon find he has overcome the world, and is apt to be let alone. Bold confession is a long step towards victory.
Now that the danger of the world ruining the soul, the nature of true separation from the world, and the secrets of victory over the world have been presented to you, I conclude with words of application for your personal benefit. My first word is a question: Are you overcoming the world or are you overcome by it? Do you know what it is to come out from the world and be separate, or are you yet entangled by it and conformed to it? If you know nothing of such separation, I warn you with concern that your soul is in danger. This world is passing away, and those who cling to it will pass away with it to everlasting ruin. Awake to know your peril before it is too late! The time is short. The end of all things is at hand. The shadows are lengthening and the sun is going down.
My second word is a counsel. If you want to come out from the world, but do not know how to begin, go before Christ in prayer as a penitent sinner and pour out your heart before Him. Tell Him your whole story and keep nothing back. Tell Him you are a sinner wanting to be saved from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Ask the Lord Jesus to save you, remembering that He "gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver us from this present evil world" (Galatians 1:4). He knows personally what the world is like, for He lived in it as a man for over 30 years. He as God the Son became a man for our sakes. He is able to save to the uttermost all who come to Him. Hard as it may seem to you now to come out from the world and be separate, you will find by faith that with Jesus nothing is impossible.
My third and last word is encouragement. If you have learned by experience what it is to come out from the world, take comfort and persevere. You are in the right road; you have no cause to be afraid. The everlasting hills are in sight. Your salvation is nearer that when you first believed (Romans 13:11-14). No doubt you have had many a battle, and made many a false step. You have sometimes felt ready to faint, but your Master has never left you (Matthew 28:20) and will never let you be tempted beyond what you can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). Settle it firmly in your mind that the most decided Christians are the happiest; none have ever said at the end of their course that they had been too holy or lived too near to God.
Hear what is written in the Word of God: First, our Lord Jesus promised, "Whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God" (Luke 12:8). He also said reassuringly, "There is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the Gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life" (Mark 10:29-30). Therefore, "do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: 'For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry'" (Hebrews 10:35-37). These words were written for our sakes. Let us persevere to the end and never be ashamed of being separate from the world. We may be sure it brings its own reward.
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