Background of the Study
The Church is a member of the body of Christ; it is a body called out of the world to be separated, dedicated and devoted unto the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. Just as the name Church rendered in Greek "Ecclesia or Ekklesia", which means "People called out from/among others, or from/among the world to be separated unto Christ" or Church or Assembly of Christ. This implies that the Church is called to be holy, to be separated, to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. And as such, should not conform herself to the form of the world and should not be of/in equally yoked with the world. Though the Church is in the world, but she is not of the world, and as such, should abstain from the profane cultures and lifestyles of the world.

Contrary to this call of separation from worldliness and to be holy unto God, new teachings and theologies have sprang up and have also crept into the Church of today. Teachings that plays down on and make common the sacred things of God. The theology and doctrine of "Wholly Worldliness". Freedom or liberty to live by our will (the so-called free will), reasoning, thinking and dictate instead and against the will, instruction and word of God-the maker, redeemer and owner of the Church-His Church.

This contemporary teachings which aim at uniting worldly things with godly things in the Church of God today, have imposed great challenges to the contemporary Church. And are one of the major obstacles that are causing setback to the call of God to the Church to be holy and separated unto Him. What the Church must do if she must fulfill the plan, purpose and mandate of Christ for her. To combat these challenges, the challenges must first be identified and outlined. Hence, this study therefore investigates the challenges of Wholly Worldliness (Liberal) Theology in the Contemporary Pentecostal Church.

1.2. Statement of the Problem
“You and I have need of the strongest spell that can be found to wake us from the evil enchantment of worldliness.”1

Few distinctions are more clearly delineated in Scripture than the one between worldliness and godliness. In no uncertain terms, Scripture indicates that the character promoted by the world is diametrically opposed to the character promoted by God. This does not stop us from blurring the lines, though. As Christians, we often swallow, with ravenous enthusiasm, the poisonous lie promulgated by Satan himself that we can eat our cake and have it at the same time. We delude ourselves into thinking that piety and frivolity are symbiotic. Nothing could be further from the truth. Godliness and worldliness are not parallel paths; they are wholly divergent. And so we stand at a crossroads every time we make a decision. Either we will take the path that leads to life and godliness, or we’ll take the path that leads to death and worldliness. (cf. Deut. 30:15-20 ; Joshua 24:15) There is no middle ground. Only life or death. Only hot or cold. God will vomit out of His mouth those who are lukewarm (Revelation 3:16). At The Heart of the Distinction.2

The Bible clearly stated that the believers in Christ (Church of Christians) should be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:15). It  enjoins the Church to come out from among the world (sin and sinners or worldliness) and touch not their unclean things. Members of the Church are  called to submit totally to God, His will and word. This submission include her will, soul and spirit. The Church are to live in reverence, love and total obedience to God. Jesus Christ said, "If you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15) and one of Christ commands is Holiness and separation from worldliness. The Bible recorded that, "Abraham obeyed God and it was counted to him as righteousness" (Gen. 15:6). Abraham's obedience to God and walking with Him faithfully made God to referred to Abraham as, "My friend" (James 2:23) All those who obeyed God faithfully and did His will, commands or instructions never regretted they did. God manifested Himself greatly and unbelievably with and to them. The call to obey and submit to God and His will, is not call to slavery. It does not take away our free moral will, rather, it shapes, guides and directs it to the right path to the glory of God and the blessings of the obedient. Contrary to this, wholly worldliness, using man's reasoning and thinking to judge the ultimate will and word of God has insulted the immeasurable wisdom and knowledge of God by trying to do so. This is a problem because, wholly worldliness tries to question the will and word of God, and to eliminate from the Bible the spiritual expects of God's abilities which is questionable and hard or impossible to understand with man's reasoning and thinking. This is the contemporary theology being propagated today by Liberal Theologians who also claims to be part of Christian church.

According to Paul Enns, in liberal Christian teaching, which is not Christian at all, man’s reason is stressed and is treated as the final authority. Liberal theologians seek to reconcile Christianity with secular science and modern thinking. In doing so, they treat science as all-knowing and the Bible as fable-laden and false. Genesis’ early chapters are reduced to poetry or fantasy, having a message, but not to be taken literally (in spite of Jesus’ having spoken of those early chapters in literal terms). Mankind is not seen as totally depraved, and thus liberal theologians have an optimistic view of the future of mankind. The social gospel is also emphasized, while the inability of fallen man to fulfill it is denied. Whether a person is saved from his sin and its penalty in hell is no longer the issue; the main thing is how man treats his fellow man. “Love” of our fellow man becomes the defining issue.4

So many churches and her members, especially Pentecostal churches are falling prey and are being carried away by this erroneous teachings of wholly worldliness. Therefore, there is a need to address this issue to avoid the obvious consequences of misleading people with the erroneous teachings and challenges it has imposed on the churches and members of the contemporary Church.

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