When the World Gets in the Way
- Pastor Rick Brooks
- Feb 10
- 4 min read
Many believers sincerely believe they are growing as Christians, yet their spiritual growth has quietly stalled. Not because they stopped going to church. Not because they rejected the Bible. But because a subtle danger has been allowed to remain—unchallenged, excused, and even defended. Scripture has a name for it.
The Bible calls it worldliness.
In Romans 12:1–2, the apostle Paul pleads with believers:
“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.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.”
Worldliness is one of the most misunderstood sins in the church today. Some define it so narrowly that it becomes nothing more than a list of external rules. Others define it so loosely that it barely exists at all. Scripture does neither.
Worldliness is not primarily about what you do. It is about what is shaping you.
Paul does not give a checklist of do’s and don’ts. Instead, he warns us not to be conformed—not to be pressed into the mold of the world around us. That word matters. It tells us there is pressure, influence, and shaping constantly working from the outside in.
What the Bible Means by “the World”
Scripture makes this even clearer in 1 John 2:15–16:
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world…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.”
Worldliness is not about hating God’s creation—the mountains, oceans, or beauty of the earth. It is about loving a systemthat leaves God out. It is a way of thinking, valuing, and living that puts self at the center instead of Christ.
The Bible identifies three driving forces behind it:
The lust of the flesh — living for sinful cravings
The lust of the eyes — wanting what we see and desire
The pride of life — seeking approval, status, and self-exaltation
This is not new. It is the same shift that happened in the Garden of Eden when Eve’s thinking slowly moved from what God said to what looked good.
Worldliness does not usually arrive suddenly. It seeps in quietly. If it were obvious, we would resist it. Instead, it comes little by little, until the heart drifts long before the behavior ever changes.
When Affection Begins to Shift
Worldliness competes for our affection. It does not always ask us to stop loving God—it simply asks us to love something else more.
There are things in this world that are clearly sinful. But there are also things that are not sinful in themselves that can become idols when they capture our hearts. When anything—comfort, entertainment, success, approval, pleasure—means more to us than obedience to God, our affection has shifted.
Lot’s story reminds us of this danger. He did not move to Sodom overnight. First, he looked toward it. His heart went there before his feet ever did.
The enemy does not object to religion. He does not mind church attendance, Bible reading, or religious talk—so long as it never leads to real surrender or transformation. Worldliness has goals, and those goals leave God out.
The Damage Worldliness Causes
Worldliness is not neutral. It always produces consequences.
Scripture warns us that friendship with the world puts us in opposition to God. It dulls spiritual sensitivity. It weakens testimony. It divides loyalty. It slows spiritual growth until stagnation sets in.
James explains how temptation works: it draws us away, step by step, until sin takes hold. The world whispers before it grabs. And once sin gains ground, it hinders our usefulness for the Lord.
This is why many believers feel stuck. They know the language of faith, but they have lost the sharpness of it. Their hearts are divided.
Separation Is Not Legalism
The word holiness can make people uneasy today, but holiness simply means set apart to God.
Biblical separation is not about isolation or pride. It is about affection. It is turning away from the world because we are drawn closer to Christ. It is not loving sin less—it is loving Jesus more.
Avoiding sin alone is not holiness. Loving Christ deeply enough to desire what He desires—that is holiness.
There Is Deliverance
The good news is this: deliverance from worldliness is possible.
Romans 12 shows us the way forward.
It begins with surrender.
God is not asking for a dramatic sacrifice. He is asking for a living one. A daily offering of our bodies, our minds, our choices, and our direction. This is not extreme. Paul calls it reasonable.
Transformation follows surrender, and transformation happens through the renewing of the mind. God uses His Word—not magically, but powerfully—when we read it prayerfully and allow the Holy Spirit to apply it personally.
The goal is not behavior modification. The goal is heart transformation.
Paul explained it this way in Galatians 2:20:
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…”
When we see ourselves as dead with Christ and alive through Him, the pull of the world loses its grip. We begin to live by faith, even when it is costly, even when obedience is misunderstood.
A Question Worth Asking
Worldliness does not shout. It whispers. It does not demand hatred for God.It simply asks for greater affection elsewhere.
So the question is not whether we live in the world—but whether the world is living in us.
What is shaping your thinking?What is feeding your desires? What is setting your direction?
God is not calling His people to withdraw from the world. He is calling us to be transformed within it.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
That transformation is still possible. And it begins with surrender.
This article is taken from Pastor's recent sermon, "When the World Gets in the Way."
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