Jesus prays for the ones the Father has given him: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:15–16). The request is not extraction. It is protection while they remain. They are in it. They are not of it.
That distinction matters for a Christian who makes music, builds projects, and lives in a city. Being in the world means the ordinary places—studios, markets, farms, conversations—are where the work happens. Being not of the world means those places do not become the source of identity. The people Jesus says he never knew are the ones appealing to activity. Genuine believers already belong to him. Once saved always saved. The security is not contingent on how cleanly the surrounding culture is avoided.
Paul tells the Corinthians he wrote not to associate with the sexually immoral of this world, then clarifies that he did not mean the people of this world at all, since then one would need to go out of the world (1 Corinthians 5:9–10). The instruction is inside the community. It is not a command to remove yourself from ordinary life. The same letter says that if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). The newness is already true. It is not earned by the degree of separation maintained.
I am in the world. I make music in it. I am not going to pretend the music or the life is free of sin. I am also not going to treat the surrounding culture as the thing that decides whether I belong to Christ. Readers can examine the passages. They can disagree. The claim is that the text keeps the two things distinct: location and belonging.