BE EARTHBOUND

There’s a second way to die in your sin:

BE EARTHBOUND

In John 8:23 Jesus says, “I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.” Jesus draws another contrast. He tells the Pharisees that they are part of the world system of which He is not. The term “world” simply refers to the invisible spiritual realm of evil. We use the word to identify a particular system, such as the world of politics, the world of sports, and so on. The system Jesus has in mind here is the system of evil opposed to God and Christ. If you want to guarantee that you will die in your sin, just be a part of the world system and accept whatever it offers. Then you can be classified as “sons of this age” (Luke 16:8) entrapped in “this present evil age,” from which Jesus seeks to deliver man (Gal. 1:4). Opposed to the truth of God, the world propagates its own self-righteous systems.

You could characterize the system in this way: it is materialistic and humanistic, believing that man is going to solve his problems by himself and rule his own fate; it is lost in preoccupation with sex; it is plagued by carnal ambition, pride, greed, jealousy, envy, self-pleasure and selfish desire, murder, and so on. Its opinions are wrong, its aims are selfish, its pleasures are sinful, its influences are demoralizing, its politics are corrupt, its honors are empty, its smiles are phony, and its love is fickle. Furthermore, it is in the process of dissolution; according to 1 John 2:17, “the world is passing away.” It will self-destruct.

Jesus identifies those mocking Him as being a part of the world system. They were sinful, selfish, and earthbound souls, who were controlled by the dictates of the evil system run by Satan. They had separated themselves from Jesus Christ with a gulf in between that was impassible. Even though they were religious, and maybe even humanitarian at heart, they were still part of Satan’s evil system opposed to God. Jesus is simply saying to them, “You’re going to die in your sins for two reasons: number one, you are self-righteous, and number two, you are totally engulfed in the system—you buy whatever the world is selling.”