The Cost Of Worldliness

THE COST OF WORLDLINESS – Why Friendship with the World is Enmity with God

By Rev. Samuel Arimoro

Main Text: 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.”

Supporting Text: 1 John 2:15-17

“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. 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. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

OPENING PRAYER

Heavenly Father,

We come before You today with hearts bowed in humility and gratitude. Thank You for the gift of life, salvation, and the privilege of gathering in Your presence. Lord, we acknowledge that You alone are holy, and Your ways are pure and eternal.

As we prepare to hear Your Word, we ask that You cleanse our hearts from every form of worldliness that seeks to distract or defile us. Remove from us the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Let the light of Your truth expose every hidden affection for the world that wars against our souls.

Holy Spirit, speak to us today. Convict us where we have compromised. Awaken our spirits to love what You love and hate what You hate. May Your Word purify our desires, renew our minds, and set our hearts on things above, not on the things of the earth.

Lord, as we listen, help us to respond in obedience. Make us pilgrims who live for eternity, not for the fading pleasures of time. Draw us closer to You and deliver us from every subtle chain of the world.

At the end of this message, may our lives reflect Your holiness and our hearts burn with love for You alone.

In Jesus’ mighty name we pray.

Amen.

INTRODUCTION

One of the greatest challenges confronting the modern believer is the subtle pull of worldliness. In every generation, the spirit of the world seeks to compete with the Spirit of God for the attention, affection, and loyalty of the believer. The Bible draws a firm line; there is no middle ground between love for God and love for the world. Friendship with one automatically means hostility toward the other.

Worldliness is not merely about outward appearance or social lifestyle; it is a condition of the heart. It is the inward inclination to seek satisfaction, identity, or pleasure apart from God. It is the slow shifting of our affection from the eternal to the temporary, from the spiritual to the sensual. The tragedy is that many Christians do not recognise when worldliness begins to creep in because it often wears a garment of sophistication. It comes in trends, ambitions, and desires that seem harmless, until they draw us away from the presence of God.

The Word of God makes it plain: friendship with the world is enmity with God. To be worldly is to adopt the system, values, and spirit of this age. It means living as if this world is our home, forgetting that we are pilgrims and strangers passing through. Worldliness is not just about what we do, but about what rules our hearts.

A. UNDERSTANDING WHAT WORLDLINESS MEANS

1. The Spirit of the World

Worldliness is the invisible force that governs human society apart from God. It is that unseen system of values, beliefs, and lifestyles that operates in rebellion against divine truth. Paul described it in Ephesians 2:2 as “the course of this world,” directed by “the prince of the power of the air.”

This spirit promotes self-exaltation, materialism, sensual pleasure, and pride. It celebrates independence from God while mocking holiness. It teaches people to measure success by possessions, appearance, and popularity rather than righteousness, humility, and love.

2. The World as a System

When Scripture says “love not the world,” it does not mean the physical earth or the people living in it. God Himself loves the world of people (John 3:16). Rather, it refers to the worldly system, a culture that rejects God’s authority. This system exalts human wisdom above divine truth and promotes the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

3. The Love that Replaces God

Worldliness is misplaced affection. It happens when our hearts begin to love the temporary more than the eternal; when we become more interested in being accepted by society than being approved by God. It is not what we have that makes us worldly, but what has us. A Christian can possess wealth without being worldly, yet be poor and still worldly if his heart craves material things more than God.