Do Not Love The World

Introduction

1 John 2:15–17 KJV 1900

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Last Sunday morning, we looked at the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 13…The message was all about love. We have spoken a lot on love during Wednesday Bible study as we have been seeing what the Christian response to authority, and government, and just simply, the world around us is supposed to be...

The life of a Christian should be characterized by love, Jesus taught us to “love our enemies,” to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” That’s the greatest commandment, but the second is like it as Jesus commands us to “love thy neighbor as thyself.”

He tells us, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.”

You think about it, our love for one another is how the world knows we are Christians...

Jesus says, “love one another, as I have loved you.”

I think it’s safe to say that as Christians, we are called to love like nobody’s business!

We are to love because “God is love” - We love God because He first loved us!

The greatest verse on love would have to be:

John 3:16 KJV 1900

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

So, when you think about all that, our text today can seem awful confusing, can’t it?

This is a shock to the Christian system of love…Remember from last week, 1 Corinthians 13 says, you can speak well, you can give everything you have to the poor, you can do all sorts of wonderful things, but without love, it’s all for nothing. Right?

But here in 1 John 2, we have a resounding DO NOT LOVE!

This is a command! If we violate this, we sin…You know what that means?

It means there is a love that can be sinful.

The world needs to understand this! They are coming at us with the whole love is love mentality, and saying nobody can be against love, and certainly Christians cannot be against love because as a Christian, that is what they are characterized by. They can’t possibly be against love, so how on earth could you possibly stand in the way of two people who are in love?

So, how do we know when love becomes sinful, what type of love is sinful?

It has to do with the object of love…When love is directed toward toward the wrong object, it becomes sinful...

There are many things a Christian is to love, but the world is not one of them.

God has a message for us today, Do not to love this world because...

1-The Description of This World

1 John 2:15 (KJV 1900)

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world...

What does God mean not to love the world? The word translated “world” is the Greek word “Kosmos”, which means the order; the system of things.

He is not talking about planet Earth or people, but He is talking about an ungodly devilish system that is set against the Lord. We should love people and try to win them to Christ. We should desire to be a blessing to others.

What John is referring to is the world system of philosophy and lifestyle that is anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-Bible.

The world in this context is actually a spiritual system that embraces wickedness such as abortion, homosexuality and other forms of sexual immorality, drunkenness, the drug culture, rebellion against God, murder, and idolatry. The “world” is a Satanic system that opposes Jesus Christ and His work on earth.

We can see the world system illustrated in Genesis 11 with society’s united rebellion against God at the tower of Babel.

There was an anti-God leader of humanity named Nimrod. There was an organized rebellion against God as they refused to obey God’s command to disperse over the whole earth. There was even direct distrust of God’s word and promise in that they were building a tower up to the heavens, so high they would be protected against a future flood.

The whole story of the tower of Babel gives us another fact about the world system. The world’s progress, technology, government, and organization can make man better off, but it can’t make man better and because we all like being better off, it is easy to fall in love with the world.

Finally, the story of the tower of Babel shows us that the world system – as impressive and winning as it appears to be – will never win out over God. The Lord defeated the rebellion at the tower of Babel easily. The world system will never win out over God.

The system of Babel is alive and well today, Babel is where we get Babylon; and many of you know that in Revelation, Babylon is a picture of the world system that will ultimately come to an end as it is judged by God for it’s deeds.

The first thing we see in these verses is the description of the world, but then we see:

2-The Corruption of This World

1 John 2:16 KJV 1900

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

This world that would seduce you from loving the Lord Jesus has three main appeals right here in verse 16.

A-The Lust of the Flesh

What is the lust of the flesh? This deals with our PASSIONS. Something we do...

The word lust means “desires, cravings, or longings.” The word flesh is a reference to our sinful nature we are all born with.

Feeding the lust of the flesh does not simply mean that we try to fulfill our sexual desires with ungodly means. Indulging the lust of the flesh means simply satisfying a legitimate desire in an illegitimate way. Our passions, pleasures, and projects can be lusts of the flesh. We can never satisfy the lusts of the flesh.

God has not called His people to feed the flesh, or submit to the flesh, but He’s called us to crucify the flesh. We are to die to ourselves and live for our Savior.

The world tells us: to be all you can be, do all you can do, get all you can get, look out for number one, live life to the fullest and enjoy the pleasures and passions of life.

The Bible tells us that the lust of the flesh is not of the Father.

Friends, we are to bring all of our goals in life, all of our ambitions in life to Jesus and let Him change us, guide us, and use us for His purposes...

B-The Lust of the Eyes

Your eyes have an appetite also. Have you ever heard anyone say, “Just feast your eyes on that?”

“The lust of the flesh” has to do with DOING “The lust of the eyes” deals with HAVING.

This temptation may be a little more refined than the lust of the flesh.

The “lust of the eyes” may be sophisticated, intellectual, and beautiful.

It is the desire to have and own things, which is a legitimate desire, but the problem with us is our “things” end up having us! You possess your possessions or they possess you!

Many a man has fallen due to the lust of the eyes...

You don’t need everything you see and want:

Achan lusted after the gold and garments of the Babylonians and it cost him his life and the life of his family.

David lusted after Bathsheba, coveted his neighbor’s wife, stole his friends wife, sent his friend out on the front line and had him murdered all because of his lust.

Your eyes are looking around and you say, I want that and I want this and I need this. That is the lust of the eyes.

Satan and the world knows what to use to lure us. They know what bait to use and how to use it. The lust of the eyes has caused many families to split, many marriages to end, many churches to compromise, and many nations to be conquered.

C-The Pride of Life

There is “the pride of life” that deals with POSITION…This has to do with BEING.

This world says, be somebody; be recognized; get a name for yourself and the whole world is wrapped around “these things.”

That is the reason many people are in trouble today. They are trying to keep up with the Jones’. You buy things you don’t need, with money you don’t have, to impress people you don’t like and about the time you catch up with the Jones’, they refinance and off you go again. This is the pride of life.

The pride of life is why people gossip—to pull other people down…it’s like a drowning man drowning in a sea of insecurity. If they pull others down they elevate themselves.

The pride of life is the reason people take drugs and drink. When they do, they are ten feet tall, they are the life of the party, and they are somebody…at least for a little while.

D-The System

There is a system concerning the corruption of this world. It deals with PASSION, or DOING, POSSESSION, or HAVING and POSITION or BEING.

This is not new.

It was in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve fell from Satan’s appeal. What did he do?

He said, “It was good for food”—“Good for the taste.” What is that? He appealed to their Passions.

“Pleasant to the eyes.” What is that? He appealed to their Possessions.

“Desired to make one wise.” What is that? He appealed to their Position.

Do you see how old the strategy is? There is nothing new about it.

The Bible says Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are.

In Matthew 4, those three things were used against the Lord Jesus. “Turn these stones into bread.” What is that? That is your Passions.

Next thing “he taketh Him and sheweth all the kingdoms of this world.” What is that? That is Possessions.

What was the next temptation? “Cast thyself down from the pinnacle of the temple. He shall give His angels charge concerning thee…” What is that? That is Position.

The Devil is working on you in these same areas. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is of the world.

What I am telling you is that every temptation is a perversion of something that is good. The Devil is a pervert!

God wants you in the business of DOING and HAVING and BEING the right way.

You want something to do? Serve God.

You want something to have? Give your heart to Jesus Christ.

You want to be somebody? Give your heart to Jesus. When you do, you become a child of the King. You are next of kin to the Holy Trinity. Jesus Christ is not ashamed to call you His brother. You are a royal, blue-blood, a prince, and a king.

Why take second best?

DOING, HAVING, and BEING are found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

This passage tells us about the description of this world, the corruption of this world, and then we see:

3-The Folly of This World

1 John 2:17 KJV 1900

17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Back in Genesis 13, 14, and 19; Lot attached himself to a true spiritual man, named Abraham. Yet he was selfish and chose for himself what seemed the most lucrative, without considering the spiritual implications of what he was doing.

He became financially prosperous, but pitched his tent toward a wicked, worldly city called Sodom. After a while, he was sitting in the gates of the city as one of Sodom’s civic leaders.

He had worldly status, influence, wealth, and comfort. Yet, it was all taken away in a moment when the judgment of God came upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot put all his eggs in the wrong basket, and was burned by the fact that the world is passing away.

The world system is passing away…It will perish. The will of God, however, is permanent, it will abide forever.

Long after this world, with its fashions, fads, and fancies are turned to rust and dust and mold and corruption, all those things you dreamed for and schemed for and sold your soul for, will be nothing.

Conclusion

Friends, God is calling for us to forsake this world and the love of this world!

He says, “DO NOT LOVE THIS WORLD”

The word of God and the will of God ought to consume the child of God. Have you been consumed with the things of this world?

Do others around us know that we love the Lord or that we love the world?

God calls us to forsake a worldly love and have a love and passion for Jesus.