DO THE WILL OF GOD

         By A. W. Tozer
 
             Let an apostle say it for us: "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"                  -  -
/1 John 2:16, 17

/             This is the world by which we may test the spirits.  It
is  the  world  of  carnal
          enjoyments,  of  godless pleasures, of the pursuit of earthly
riches and reputation
          and sinful happiness.  It carries on without Christ, following
the counsel of the
          ungodly and being animated by the prince of the power of the
air, the spirit that
          works in the children of disobedience  (Eph. 2:2).

             Its religion is a form of godliness, without power, which
has a name to live but
          is dead. It is, in short, unregenerate human society romping
on its way to hell,
          the exact opposite of the true Church of God, which is a
society of regenerate
          souls going soberly but joyfully on their way to heaven.

            Any real work of God in our heart will tend to unfit us for
the world's fellowship.
          "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" (1 John 2:15).
"Be ye not unequally
          yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath
righteousness with
          unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"
(2 Cor. 6:14).

            /It may be stated unequivocally that any spirit that permits
compromise with the /
/          world is a false spirit. Any religious movement that imitates
the world in any of its /
/          manifestations is false to the cross of Christ and on the
side of the devil and this  /
/          regardless of how much purring its leaders may do about
"accepting Christ" or /
/         "letting God run your business."/
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          Yours in Christ,
           Paul N. F.