Classic Sermon #6063: Strangers and Pilgrims

(Audio: Spanish)

SUMMARY: The passage from James chapter 4 speaks about our relationship with the world as Christians. The Apostle expresses that the friendship with the world is enmity against God and that anyone who wants to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. The world, in this context, is the culture, customs, and daily efforts that are not subject to the life of God. It is the life of society outside the redeeming grace and transforming power of God. The speaker emphasizes the importance of divorcing ourselves from the world and declaring our total love only to Jesus Christ and to things of the spirit. The world and the Kingdom of God are mutually exclusive, and we must make a decision which of those two Lords we are going to serve. The speaker urges us to submit ourselves to God, resist the devil, and draw near to God. We must clean our hands and purify our hearts, and humble ourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt us. The word of God must govern our lifestyle, values, ethical decisions, family structure, thinking life, and interpretations of what is beautiful, well, and kind. We also need to submit to the discipline of a congregation, establish long-term relationships, and incorporate ourselves into the life of a church to grow and prosper in the ways of the Gospel.

The speaker is expressing a desire for a church that is not just focused on being respectable and part of the bourgeois lifestyle, but rather a church that has had a total experience with Jesus Christ and is completely committed to the interests of the Kingdom of God. He warns against having a love for the world and its desires, as they are temporary and will not lead to the fullness of the Father's love. He encourages a radical commitment to Christ and turning away from the world, as the presence of God cannot land within one if the runway is covered with love for the world. He emphasizes the importance of doing the will of God, which will lead to eternal life.

We are in the world, but not of the world. We can work, strive, and enjoy the good things in life, but our love should not be in them. Our hearts should be in the heavenly citizenship that God has called us to enjoy. We should strive to be better than the world, but our ultimate goal should be to be citizens of the city that God has prepared for us. We should see ourselves as foreigners and pilgrims on earth, longing for a better homeland. This is the moment of definition for our hearts.

I want to talk about our relationship with the world, chapter 4, and in my Bible I have a heading that says, Friendship with the world, and the Apostle Santiago rhetorically asks a question, he says, and remember one thing, he is addressing to Christians, converted Jews who already know the Messiah, and he is addressing a congregation or several congregations under his apostolate and his ministry, so this is a message for the church, it is not for the unconverted, so do not get too comfortable with me . This is for you and me on this day. Says:

“…Where do the wars and lawsuits among you come from, is it not from your passions which you fight in your members? You covet and you do not have, you kill and you burn with envy, and you cannot achieve, you fight and you fight but you do not have what you want because you do not ask. You ask and you do not receive because you ask badly to spend on your delights. O adulterous souls, you do not know that the friendship of the world is enmity against God….”