James wrote to the church, “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God”, 4:4.

How do Christians find themselves friends of the world and enemies of God?

Choosing “good” things over the best things – Jesus said to seek the kingdom of God & his righteousness FIRST. Instead, we see Christians sacrificing the assemblies of the church on a regular basis to seek all kinds of other things first. What are we teaching our children about God when we involve them in activities that demand to take precedence over the things of God?

* Consumerism – God bought us out of our sin with Jesus’ life blood (see Acts 20:28). We should be the most grateful, humble servants of the church. So how is it that we appoint ourselves critics & judges over her? We ask what the church can offer us when we should be laying down our lives for the holy bride of the one who laid down his life for us.

* Sexual Immorality – “Cohabitation” is the world’s norm. Marriage is the most holy relationship God has given us aside from the church. He has said that marriage is to be held in honor and the marriage bed is undefiled, but that He will judge the immoral & adulterous (Hebrews 13:4).

* Material over Spiritual – Sure, your soul is important, but you need to make a good living, right? You need to provide for your family (money & stuff) and get set for retirement (more money) because we all know that’s what really matters, right? Remember Jesus’ words, “God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God” Luke 12:20-21.

* Relaxed view of Biblical teachings – We live in a casual culture and many now take a casual view of the sovereign word of God as well. But it is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of both knowledge (Proverbs 1:7) and wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). To respect ourselves, we must first respect this eternal truth, that all good things begin with a reverent fear of the Lord.