Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges
Week 17: Chapter 16 — Worldliness
Read Chapter 16 of Respectable Sins. Key Scripture: 1 John 2:15–17; Romans 12:2; James 4:4.
Previewing Week 17 of Respectable Sins
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 21-week guide when you’re ready.
Worldliness is one of the hardest sins in this book to define precisely — not because it is rare, but because we are so thoroughly immersed in it that it has become invisible to us.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Bridges is careful not to reduce worldliness to a list of forbidden behaviors (rock music, certain movies, particular fashions). How does he define worldliness more broadly — as a disposition or orientation of the heart? How does that broader definition land for you?
2.1 John 2:15–17 names three dimensions of worldliness: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. How do you see these categories showing up in the specific temptations of contemporary culture? Of your own life?
3.Bridges argues that worldliness is insidious because the world's values — materialism, status-seeking, entertainment as highest priority, radical individualism — have seeped into the church without resistance. Where do you see these values operating in your church community or in your own assumptions about the 'good life'?
a.What would a genuinely countercultural Christian life look like in your specific context?
b.What would you have to give up, and what would you gain?