Living in an Apostate World
1. Introduction
What a world!
A world with little or no regard for God
A world that mocks its Maker and gives no regard to His righteous standards
A world full of greed, unbelievable level of immorality and shamelessness
A world where sexual perversion, adultery, pornography, drugs, ungodly music and lustful entertainment abound
This generation is like the days of Noah when the thoughts of human hearts were evil continually (Gen 6:5)
It is like the days of Lot when homosexuality, lesbianism and all kinds of sexual perversion permeated the society.
It is an apostate world. A world that is experiencing a falling away both from the personal faith in Christ Jesus and from Scriptural truth (1 Tim 4:1). This is when church ministers who are gifted and anointed by God and accomplished great things in God’s kingdom will depart from the faith and gradually turn to seducing spirits and false doctrines. It is when denominations that once stood for sound doctrine, and upheld God’s righteous standards become complacent and compromise in an unguarded desire to be like other denominations with “very large congregations”.
An apostate world is that which is experiencing a greater intensity of Satanism, spiritism, the occult, demon possession and demonic deception in the world and in the church.
It is a world where people embrace unbiblical teachings engineered by Satan’s demonic hosts against the truth in God’s Word.

2. What should true believers do?
Although true believers live in this apostate world, they are not part of the system (John 17:14,16). The true church made up of only true believers and the world (those opposed to Christ and His righteousness) are two distinct, separate groups of people. While the true church is under the leadership of God and belongs exclusively to Him, the world on the other hand is under the control of Satan. To remain a member of the true church in this apostate world, a true believer must:

i. Be separate from the world (Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 6:14-17)
Believers must not be in voluntary partnership or intimate association with unbelievers. We must stand against the prevailing and popular forms of the spirit of this world and refuse to yield to the various types of worldliness surrounding the church such as greed, pride, humanistic thinking, political manoeuvrings for power, envy, hatred, filthy language, ungodly entertainment, immorality etc.

ii. Must hate the world’s values, norms and system (Rom 2:2; 1 John 2:15-17)
The present world system is under Satan’s rule (John 12:31; 2 Cor 4:4). It is based upon human wisdom and values and has unbiblical worldview. It is therefore hostile to God, His people and all that God stands for (John 7:7; 15:18-19). Believers as members of the kingdom of Christ are called to shine as light in the midst of darkness, resist the temptation to yield or conform to the many forms of worldliness. Christ and His Word must renew our minds so that our vision, values and plans are governed by God’s revelation and eternal truth.

iii. Abstain from every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22)
To abstain means desist, refrain, withdraw, go without, non participation etc. The Bible describes the man who does not walk not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor stands in the path of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of the scornful as blessed (Psalm 1:1). Brethren it is always better to avoid than to be caught in the net. Joseph fled from Potiphar’s wife instead of waiting to conduct deliverance on her. I wonder what would have befallen were he to be like some of us today. Brethren we cannot toy with fire and not get burnt. It is very easy to fall into immorality, especially in these days of internet technology, where there are loads of chatting sites. We strongly advise believers to be cautious of how they chat with those of the opposite sex.

iv. Accept whatever God accepts and reject whatever He rejects (2 Cor 6:14-17)
Believers must not compromise God’s righteous standards. We have to accept only those things that God accepts and reject whatever He rejects, no matter what it costs us. The Bible warns us against approving the immoral and perverted practice of the world (Rom 1:32). Many ‘have pleasure’ in sin because they take pleasure in the actions of others as dramatised in books, cinema, home videos and TV entertainment. By reading these books or watching these movies, they consent to or sympathise with what is done and therefore participate in their sinful activities. This invariably places such believers under same judgement as those engaging in such evil practices. Be Warned!!!

v. Draw near to God (2 Chronicles 15:2; James 4:
Believers must draw near to God in a close and intimate fellowship through prayer, worship, the Word and loving service. This will enable God’s people to persevere in faith, purity and godly love. The presence of God through the Holy Spirit brings strength and comfort to believers leading them in to truth, righteousness and power. Those who draw near to God and seek Him will be able to stand firm against Satan and his spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:10-18).

vi. Desire to grow in the likeness of God (2 Cor 3:18)
God’s utmost desire for His children is for us to be like Him. As we experience Christ’s nearness, love, righteousness and power through prayer and the Holy Spirit, it results into our being transformed into His likeness. We are changed into the likeness or image of what we behold, look at and think about. Our desire to be like God will help us to focus and think of Him at all times. This will remove our thoughts from wealth, fame and opulence (which are characteristics of worldliness).
NB
In this age the transformation to be like God is progressive and partial. But when Christ returns, we will see Him face to face and our transformation will be complete.

Conclusion
The apostle Paul in Rom 8:35 asked “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Shall we allow worldliness or the love for it to separate us? Shall we allow the lust of the flesh, the pride of life and deceitfulness of riches? Shall we allow the fear of being persecuted, hunger, poverty etc to make us compromise our Christian beliefs and values? Brethren, Paul the apostle was persuaded that nothing will separate him from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This world is passing away and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:17). It is only by remaining in Christ Jesus as our Lord can we have the certainty that we will never be separated from the love of God.

I beseech you to repent and forsake your sins so that you enjoy a time of refreshing with the Lord. Have your totally surrendered unto the Lord Jesus Christ and made Him your Lord and personal Saviour?
Take the following steps of faith in order to be saved and receive strength to serve Him.
A – Admit that you are a sinner (Rom 3:23)
B – Believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is able to save you from your sins and sins’ problems (Mathew 1:21)
C – Confess your sins and invite the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour (Romans 10:9-10)
D – Depart from doing evil and live a righteous life in Christ Jesus (Titus 2:11-14)

I encourage you to watch these ministers on YouTube: Leonard Ravenhill; David Wilkerson; Zac Poonen; Gbile Akanni; Keith Daniel and Samson Jebutu. Also you can watch Moment of Truth Ministries on Ustream every Sunday at 5:00 pm.

God bless you.