Don't love the world, but love lost people

As we heard this morning, if we love the world system and its values, love for God gets pushed out of our lives. Indeed, being controlled by our sensual desires, living for pleasure, will quickly blunt our love for God. Indeed, Paul says in 1 Timothy 6.6-10:

...godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Note that it isn't money or the "stuff" of this world that is a problem, but a live for them. Misusing God's good gifts, misplacing our priorities, will be sure to get our life out of whack and away from God's will.

If we live according to God's priorities, we will indeed look odd to the world around us. This doesn't mean, however, that we should try to be strange to the world. We shouldn't try to offend people by appearing as condemning, judgmental, prudish people, but instead we should love lost people. Jesus loved lost people, Jesus hung out with lost people. W ought to care enough about lost people that we are in touch with their needs, hurts, and hopes, and we ought to bring Scripture to bear on those things. We have real answers to the questions and problems people are facing, but if we're out of touch with lost people, we have fewer opportunities to share the hope Jesus gives.

There is definitely a balancing act to obeying our mandate to "Be in the world, but not of the world." The key in relationships with lost people is to frequently ask ourselves (and trusted Christian friends) whether we're influencing our lost friends more, or if they're influencing us more. I loved Pastor Perry's analogy to scuba diving. We need the "fresh air" of the Word, fellowship, and accountability. These things help remind us of God's priorities. But we still need to be in the water, living for Jesus as we encounter people who are drowning, who desperately need to breath the air.

More than a potluck

Christian fellowship is often associated with "fellowship suppers" or "pie fellowships," or something involving donuts. Now don't get me wrong, I love food. I'm actually salivating a little bit when I think of how many great pies I've had at our church. I also think food can play an important part in bringing people together: it gives us a great reason to sit around a table and chat. Lots of great ministry opportunities can arise as we learn about each other, discern each other's gifts and needs, and so forth.

However, Christian fellowship must go farther than this kind of thing. John says in 1 John 1.7 says,

"...if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

When we have a right relationship with Jesus, we can relate to others in a way that non-Christians cannot. One of the results of the Fall of humanity in Genesis 3 was that shame was introduced into human relationships, and with it all kinds of barriers. Only when we're made whole in Jesus can we start to relate to others in a more healthy way, with some of the barriers removed.

The kind of fellowship John invites us to includes confession and accountability (1 Jn. 1.9; James 5.16). It includes encouraging each other and reminding each other of our ultimate destination, heaven (1 Thes. 4.15-18). It includes all sorts of growth as we prefer each other above ourselves, learning about the unique way God made each of us (Phil. 2.1-4). Fellowship means bearing one another's burdens, praying for and serving one another (1 Cor. 12.26). And I could go on...

My point is that true fellowship is something deep, something infused with the Holy Spirit, something that brings edification and growth to us and others, and something that pleases the Lord. Since we've been covered by the blood of the lamb, we have the opportunity to participate in this kind of fellowship. Let's do the best we can to grow in this area. Because fellowship doesn't just happen, we need to seek out these opportunities, be these kinds of people, and in so doing become more like Jesus.