|
Forsaking Worldliness
|
"Be ye in the world,
but not of the world."
This quote does not
actually appear in scripture, but it represents the teachings of Jesus
and of the prophets and apostles.
|
“Blessed
is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in
the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is
in the law of the Lord, and on this law he meditates day and night.” -
King David, Psalm 1, verses 1-2
|
Psalm 84
[10] I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
|
Proverbs 23
[17] Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear
of the LORD all the day long.
|
Ecclesiastes 1
|
[1]
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
[2] Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity
of vanities; all is vanity.
[14]
I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all
is vanity and vexation of spirit.
|
|
Ecclesiastes 5
|
[10]
He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that
loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.
[11] When goods increase, they are increased that
eat them: and what good is
there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their
eyes?
[12] The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether
he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer
him to sleep.
[13] There is a sore evil which I have seen under
the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
[14] But those riches perish by evil travail: and he
begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.
[15] As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked
shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour,
which he may carry away in his hand.
|
|
Isaiah 5
|
[20]
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for
light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for
bitter!
|
|
Isaiah 48
|
[20]
Go ye forth from Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans; with a voice of
singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth;
say ye: The LORD hath redeemed His servant Jacob.
|
This verse is
both literal and symbolic. Babylon respresents worldliness.
|
Isaiah 51
|
[7] Hearken
unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my
law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their
revilings.
[8] For the moth shall eat them up like a garment,
and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be
for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.
|
|
Matthew 16
|
[24]
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
[25] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:
and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
[26] For what is a man profited, if he shall gain
the whole world, and lose
his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
|
|
Mark 4
Jesus teaches the
parable of the sower:
|
[3]
Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
[7]
And some (seeds) fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked
it, and it yielded no fruit.
[18]
And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
[19] And the cares of this world, and the
deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in,
choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
|
See also Matthew 13
|
Mark 8
|
[34]
And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he
said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross, and follow me.
[35] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it;
but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the
same shall save it.
[36] For what shall it profit a man, if he shall
gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
[37] Or what shall a man give in exchange for his
soul?
[38] Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and
of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall
the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father
with the holy angels.
|
|
Luke 16
|
[13]
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and
love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.
Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
[14] And the Pharisees also, who were covetous,
heard all these things: and they derided him.
[15] And he said unto them, Ye are they which
justify yourselves before men;
but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among
men is abomination in the sight of God.
|
|
Luke 21
|
[34]
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be
overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life,
and so that day come upon you unawares.
[35] For as a snare shall it come on all them that
dwell on the face of the whole earth.
[36] Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye
may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to
pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
|
|
John 12
|
[42]
Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; bu t
because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be
put out of the synagogue:
[43] For they loved the praise of men more than the
praise of God.
|
|
John 15
|
[17]
These things I command you, that ye love one another.
[18] If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me
before it hated you.
[19] If ye were of the world, the world would love
his own: but because ye
are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore
the world hateth you.
|
|
Romans 12
[1]
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service.
[2]
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
|
1 Corinthians 7:31
...for the fashion of
this world passeth away.
|
|
Ephesians
4
[17] This I say therefore, and
testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles
walk, in the vanity of their mind,
[18] Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life
of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness
of
their heart:
[19] Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto
lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
[20] But ye have not so learned Christ;
[21] If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as
the truth is in Jesus:
[22] That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man,
which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
[23] And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
[24] And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in
righteousness and true holiness.
|
|
1
Thessalonians 5
[22]
Abstain from all appearance of evil.
|
Titus 2
[11]
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
[12] Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and
worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this
present world;
[13] Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
|
Hebrews 13
[5]
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such
things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee.
[6] So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my
helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
|
James 1
[26]
If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue,
but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
[27] Pure religion and undefiled before God and the
Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction,
and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
|
James 4
[4]
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the
world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the
world is the enemy of God.
|
2 Peter 1
[1]
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that
have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of
God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
[2] Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through
the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
[3] According as his divine power hath given unto us
all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge
of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
[4] Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and
precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
|
1 John 2
[15]
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any
man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
[16] For all that is in the world, the lust of the
flesh, and the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world.
[17] And the world passeth away, and the lust
thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
|
1 John 5
[19]
And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
|
See vision of the tree
of life in 1 Nephi chapters 8 and 11.
1 Nephi 11
|
[33]
And I, Nephi, saw that he (Jesus Christ) was lifted up upon the cross
and slain for the sins of the world.
[34]
And after he was slain I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they
were gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lamb; for
thus were the twelve called by the angel of the Lord.
[35]
And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I beheld that
they were in a large and spacious building, like unto the building
which my father saw. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again,
saying: Behold the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the house
of Israel hath gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles
of the Lamb.
[36]
And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and
spacious building was the pride of the world; and it fell, and the fall
thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me
again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds,
tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of
the Lamb.
|
|
2 Nephi 4
[34] O Lord, I have
trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my
trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth
his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust
in man or maketh flesh his arm.
|
2 Nephi 8:7 (See also
Isaiah 51:7)
Hearken unto me, ye
that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my
law, fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their
revilings.
|
Alma 5:57
And now I say unto you, all you that are desirous to follow the
voice of the good shepherd, come ye out from the wicked, and be ye
separate, and touch not their unclean things; and behold, their names
shall be blotted out, that the names of the wicked shall not be
numbered among the names of the righteous, that the word of God may be
fulfilled, which saith: The names of the wicked shall not be mingled
with the names of my people;
|
Alma 39:14
Seek not after riches
nor the vain things of this world; for behold, you cannot carry them
with you.
|
Moroni 8:16-17
. . . and I fear not
what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear. And I am filled with charity, which is
everlasting love . . .
|
|
Doctrine
& Covenants 38
[40]
And again, I say unto you, I give unto you a commandment, that every
man, both elder, priest, teacher, and also member, go to with his
might, with the labor of his hands, to prepare and accomplish the
things which I have commanded.
[41]
And let your preaching be the warning voice, every man to his neighbor,
in mildness and in meekness.
[42]
And go ye out from among the wicked. Save yourselves. Be ye clean that
bear the vessels of the Lord. Even so. Amen.
|
Doctrine & Covenants 53
[2] Behold, I, the Lord, who
was crucified for the sins of the world,
give unto you a commandment that you shall forsake the world.
|
Doctrine
& Covenants 59
[9]
And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world,
thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon
my holy day;
|
The following story can
be used as a methapor for the dangers of worldliness.
The Sirens were sea
nymphs in Greek mythology. They were represented in early Greek art by
birds with the heads of women.
The Sirens lured
approaching sailors by their enchanting singing. In some depictions,
the Sirens also played the lyre and flute. The overpowering music
caused the sailors to crash their ships against the rocky cliffs and
drown.
Odysseus had all his
sailors plug their ears with beeswax to that they could escape the
Sirens. Odysseus himself wanted to hear the Siren's melodies so he had
his sailors tie him to the mast. He then ordered the sailors to untie
him when he heard the Siren's beautiful song, but the sailors ignored
him. The sailor released Odysseus when they were no longer within
earshot. (Odyssey XII, 39)
The Germans had a
similar legend about a Siren name Lorelei who lured boatmen in the
Rhine to destruction.
|
The American people are
increasingly becoming immoral, fat, lazy and stupid. - Joseph Farah
|
|
|
If you live in another
country and cannot afford a Bible, then please contact:
|
|
|
Inspirational and
Religious Books
|
Other Vibrationdata Pages:
Home
| Bibles
| Search
|