Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. (1 John 2:15)
Do you live in this world in such a way that people recognize that it is not your treasure?
The Puritans were greatly concerned with suppressing worldliness in the church. Today, worldliness is an even greater problem, exacerbated by the fact that so few dare to speak out against it. In this book, William Greenhill provides modern listeners with a healthy antidote to our love affair with the world. He explains what it means to love the world, exposes the dangers of cherishing it, shares how we ought to relate to it, and gives encouraging directions for removing our hearts from it. This is a book with a timeless message, demonstrating the relevance of the Puritans for today. By God's grace, it will help persuade you that the world and all its charms are not what you should live for.
A right old fire rocket up the bottom, particularly for any Christian living in the modern west. The lure of the world is real, but it delivers nothing but destruction. Christ is far more worthy of our desire and affection.
Solid reminder of one of the most important truths. That God and the things God calls us to set our minds on are far greater a reward than the pretty lies the world sells.
I was given a box set of 17 puritan books, and this is the first one I got to. I have always held an interest in the puritans, they are such a unique form of Christianity, that was so overwhelmingly popular, and yet somehow (the Salem witch trials certainly didn’t help) died off. While the tradition is no longer around, they have left many gifts (though the puritans did do a lot of wrong and that should not be forgotten). The writings of the puritans aren’t just systematic theologies like Calvin’s, Institutes of the Christian Religion, or Christian dogmatics, by Pieper, no, their writings are meant to be lived out. This book is a great example of that. Any faithful Christian should know that they should not worry about the things of the world, but it’s one thing to know, and another to apply. I already knew everything this book was trying to tell me, but I didn’t know how to apply it as well as I could have, and this book did a great job showing me how to apply it. But what I love most about the book is this, though it was written hundreds of years ago, if you handed it to me and told me it was written last year I would have believed you. It speaks of humanity so well that it practically transcends time.