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Forsaking Worldliness
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Isaiah 5
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[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!
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Isaiah 48
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[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.
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This verse is both literal and symbolic. Babylon respresents worldliness.
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Matthew 6
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[19] Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
[20] But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
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Matthew 16
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[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?
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Mark 4
Jesus teaches the parable of the sower:
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[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.
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Mark 8
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[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.
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Luke 16
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[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.
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Luke 21
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[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.
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John 12
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[42] Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but 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.
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John 15
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[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.
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1 Corinthians 7:31
...for the fashion of this world passeth away.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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1 John 5
[19] And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
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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.
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The American people are increasingly becoming immoral, fat, lazy and stupid. - Joseph Farah
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