These are my notes for our 5/13/2012 church meeting.

Leader: Philip Weatherford

Assignment

Let’s consider the dangers of trying to keep one foot in the world, and one foot in God’s kingdom. I look forward to our discussion.

My Notes

Phil was out sick, so Raymond filled in. He asked us this additional question: “Am I focused on my purpose?”

Without question, the dangers of fence-riding or serving two masters are clearly explained by Jesus.

³⁴ Then [Jesus] called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. ³⁶ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? ³⁷ Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ³⁸ If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
(Mark 8:34-38 NIV) 

¹³ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. ¹⁵ He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.
(Luke 16:13-15 NIV) 

 Years later, the apostle John would warn us of the dangers of the glimmer and glitz of the world:

¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. ¹⁶ For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
(1 John 2:15-17 NIV)

Therefore, the answer to the question at hand is, if I love the world and fail to commit to the Father, then I have “saved my life” here and therefore lost it in eternity.