Sincere Christians and Society

Faith and Life in Alignment

(Ephesians 6:5-9)

Many Christians live as though their life inside the church and outside the church are two separate things. On the Lord’s Days, they may have a form of godliness in the church, but during the week, they entrust themselves to worldly values, fully trusting in the voices of the world, and see worldly methods as the highest wisdom. But God does not want us to live two separate lives.

1. Where Faith Is Lived Out
The idea that “worldly affairs are outside the faith” may sound reasonable—but in truth, it only serves to justify a way of life stained by sin. God is not with us only inside the church. He watches us at our workplaces, in our homes, and throughout society. Through every part of our lives, He desires His righteousness to be revealed. What we confess in worship is not everything. The way we live after we walk out the church doors—that is what truly shows the reality of our faith.

2. The Invasion of Worldliness
Those who have grown used to living by the world’s ways outside the church naturally bring those same ways into the church. As a result, selfishness, opportunism, and the logic of greed begin to take root—not only in the world but also in the church. Those who use the church to satisfy their own desires! Those who say they love the Lord, yet bring pain to His body, the church! Their actions reject the grace of salvation and deny the very essence of the gospel.

3. Inner Change
When people feel that life is difficult, they often blame the problems on society or the system. But God tells us that the real issue does not lie in the structure of the world—but in the heart of the person. The reason He gave us the gospel was not to reform social systems, but to awaken us to sin and lead us to repentance. Above all, God desires that we not be shaped by the ways of the world but live in obedience to His righteousness.

Overseer Sung-Hyun Kim