Worldly things that Pass away

Introduction:

The other day Krystle and I were at Kohl’s in Quakertown and we were surprised but what we saw, no, it wasn’t pumpkin spice creamer, or Halloween decorations, but, you guessed it, Christmas décor. If you do not want to think that far ahead, please do not go to the Quakertown Kohl’s. But as we quickly approach that season, what comes with it? There is the desire for gifts, more stuff, happiness, pleasure. There are also great joys as we look forward to the birth of the Savior of the world. No, this is not a Christmas sermon, but it got me to think about the passage set before us this morning. Why are Christmas things brought out this early? We all know the answer. And that is to get people excited to buy stuff. Considering that for a brief moment, let us turn our attention to 1 John 2:15-17. This morning I want us to put those things that the world promotes into its proper place. I have titled this sermon ‘Worldly things that pass away.’ I want us to see three points from our text which we will take verse by verse. 1. Worldly Association (v.15), 2. That which is in the World (v.16), and 3. The World that passes away (v.17). Read the verses.

1. Worldly Association (v.15)

We start, this morning, with verse 15. After John has written to the brothers in the previous 3 verses about why he is writing to them and describing them as they are, he starts verse 15 with a command. Look at verse 15. What does John say? He commands the little children, fathers, and young men to not love the world nor the things in it. Why does John start this way? If you would look up with me at verses 4-6 in chapter 2. There is a general hint that is given to us in these verses. In verse 4, John tells us the false convert and in verse 5, he tells us the true convert. What is the difference? The one who does not keep the commandments of God does not have the truth in him. What does the truth of God incline us to do? It bends us in a way that we would not run after the things of the world. Instead, we are to run to the truth. And that is what John speaks of in verse 5.

Now, back to verse 15. I want us to remove a particular thought from our minds that we might run to as we think of not being of the world. Verse 15 tells us to not love the world nor the things in the world. It can be easy for us to go to the extreme and say that we do not love the world or the things in it, and therefore, we are going to live in a way that reflects that. Beliefs held in the past held this belief. Here is the Stoics take. “Stoics view them (worldly goods) with indifference. To them, these are neither good nor bad in themselves. Instead, it’s our judgment and attachment to these externals that can lead to suffering. By understanding and practicing indifference, we can remain unaffected by external circumstances, focusing instead on our internal state” (mindbydesign). Sounds pretty boring, doesn’t it? I mean, never having any sort of emotion while using the things that God has given us to use and enjoy sounds boring to me.

There is another religious sect that takes this even further and that is the Monastics or the monks. Most monks are “ascetic” “which is the practice of the denial of physical or psychological desires in order to attain a spiritual ideal or goal” (Britannica). Not all monks live this way, but many of them are known for, as well as their history, for living quiet, singled out lives that are separate from the rest of society.

Is this what John is telling us? The answer is no! The other extreme is to say, I live in the world therefore, I should enjoy all the pleasures that I can while I am here because in heaven, I will no longer have these earthly pleasures. Joe Rigney, a writer for Crossway publishers, says that a statement like this is idolatry. He defines it as follows “(Idolatry) is when we feel that the things of earth are too precious to us, we love them too much. We don’t know what too much means but we love them too much and so we’re worried about idolatry.” The word love in this verse helps us to put into context the idolatrous thought. Love is an outward expression of feeling; it means to have care for. In the Greek, it is associated with the greatest expression of love ‘agape’. Therefore, this love is one that is held on to dearly. In some circumstances it also means to cherish. An example that comes to mind is money. 1 Timothy 6:10 helps us tie money and idolatry together. “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evils, and some aspiring to it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. We will look further into this later.

The ‘love’ that John writes of does not only consist of worldly items or an accumulation of stuff. He also talks about the love of the world system. Notice, John uses the word world two times. The first use of it is in regard to the world system and the second use of the word is the physical, material items on earth itself. Since we have looked at the material, let us look at the system aspect of the world. The other day I was reading an article and I saw that the US is under a 15% chance of sliding into a recession. I bring this up because there are many people who center their entire lives around the stock market because of the impact it has on their money. But what does Jesus say about this. Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Before you may say, I have no issues with that, there is something else that Jesus describes as part of the world system. In Luke 14:26, Jesus says, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” Now, before we run away with this and start hating one another as Jesus has seemed to command. We know that He did not mean this literally. But what He is getting at is that if there are people in our own families that desire for us to stay as we are (in our sin) and not to live godly lives we must forsake them and follow Christ. I remember watching an older version of Pilgrim’s Progress. One of the early scenes of the movie is a flashback of what it looked like for Pilgrim as he was heading off on his journey to the Celestial City. The scene was his wife, children, and all of his friends mocking and laughing at him because he was seeking that which was better, a heavenly realm where nothing destroys it. What Jesus is telling us is not to run from our families in the literal sense, but to stand strong firm in the faith as an example of godliness to those in our families who do not believe.

For those who are in that situation or know someone that is, may this calling be ever more pertinent to you. Colossians 3:1-2 “Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not the things that are on the earth.”

So, what do we do with this as Christians? Look at the end of verse 15 with me. John says, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” This does not mean that we do not love the ‘people’ who are in the world. It means that those who love the world system do not have the love of the Father in them. There is the love that God has with His people and that is ‘agape’ love. He has close affection, care, and compassion toward His people. For the person who loves the world, it is impossible for him to have God’s love bestowed upon him. This also means that there has been no oath between God and the unbeliever. This is not just that the love of God does not reside in Him, but this person has not been bought by the precious blood of Christ. Turn with me to James 4. And let us read verses 1-4. Listen carefully to the warning here. Consider the question, is there a middle ground for Christians? Read the verses. As we see, this verse is clear that there is no middle ground for the believer. The believer is to not be a friend of the world. In other words, you and I are not to so closely aligned with the world that we blend in with what the world is doing. James warns us that if we are a friend of the world, then there is no way that we can be a friend of God. It is not wrong for us to enjoy the things that our gracious God has provided. Again, from Joe Rigney, “It’s through the gifts that we come to know him more fully. That’s what might be called an integrated approach—where we’re enjoying everything in God and we’re enjoying God in everything because everything is a revelation, manifestation, expression, declaration of who he is, what he’s like. The created world reveals. It makes invisible attributes visible. The heavens declare the glory of God.” Christian, enjoy what God has given you. But see the blessings of possession as they are a gift from God, not as an idolatrous possession to hold on to.

2. That which is in the World (v.16)

Let us move on to verse 16 and look at what John tells us that resides in this world. He tells us that the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life reside in this world.

First, what is the lust of the flesh? Lust denotes strong desire of any kind. Romans 6:12 uses this word in that it “refers to those evil desires which are ready to express themselves in bodily activity.” One verse that came to mind as I thought of lust was Matthew 5:27-28 which reads “You have heard it said, YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” However, the lust of the flesh is not driven in one particular direction.

The context that the word lust is used in this verse is “a phrase which describes the emotions of the soul, the natural tendency toward things evil.” The context in verse 16 is adequately descriptive of this definition. The lust of the flesh is evil because it is “inconsistent with the will of God.” Therefore, the lust of the flesh does include adultery of the heart. Proverbs 6:23-25 reads, “For the commandment is a lamp and the law is light; and the reproofs for discipline are the way of life to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the foreign woman. Do not desire her beauty in your heart, nor let her capture you with her eyelids.”

There are other forms of lusting in the flesh which includes greed and ungratefulness. Consider Numbers 11:4, 34 “And the rabble who were among them (Israel) had greedy desires; and also, the sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? So the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah because there they buried the people who had been greedy.” There was a faction in Israel that wanted more than what the Lord had provided. They caused an uproar, and several people followed them and died as a result. These people had a lusting of the flesh that was centered on greed. This does not escape John’s mind as he is writing about the lust of the flesh that exists on the earth.

And, yet one more example of the lust of the flesh concerns food. In Psalm 78:18, 30, Asaph recalls the Israelites putting God to the test because of their sinful fleshly desires. They desired food and sustenance instead of God, although God had always provided for them. The great sin that Israel committed was that they were ungrateful for all that God had given them. So much so, that they said God surely God cannot do it. In fact, verses 21 and 22 of Psalm 78 say, “Therefore Yahweh heard and was full of wrath; and a fire was kindled against Jacob and anger also mounted against Israel, because they did not believe in God and did not trust in His salvation.” In other words, the people of Israel were only out for what God could give to them. They did not care about His love and compassion. They did not care about His laws and statutes. As long as they were provided for, they were “satisfied”. This, too, is lusting after fleshly desires.

There is one more note that I would like to make on this topic. There are many different meanings of the word ‘lust’ in the NT. This word literally means “the seat of sin in man.” This does not mean that the body is sinful or that man is sinful on the outside only, but it does refer to the indwelling sin nature that is in man. In other words, it refers to ‘sinful humanity’. Humanity as a whole is sinful because every human is a sinner. Ultimately, we can conclude that every human being apart from Christ suffers from the lust of the flesh in one way or another.

Look with me in verse 16 at the second practice that is in the world, the lust of the eyes. How is the lust of the eyes different from the lust of the flesh? Simply, the lust of the flesh focuses more on what can be gained and obtained. The lust of the eyes is more desire focused. We must make note that the word lust is used the same way as has already been seen. However, the word eyes take on a different meaning and they are “the instrument of evil desire, “the principal avenue of temptation.”” John is telling us that the lust of the eyes is a sinful craving that leads to wanting to fall to temptation. There is an internal desire for these wicked things. Although the eye is not wicked in and of itself. It is actually good, for God made human beings good and in His image. Remember what Christ said about human eyes and their usage? Listen to Mark 9:47. “And if your eyes causes you to stumble, gouge it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having who eyes, to be cast into hell.” He is warning those who stumble by what they see to run and flee from those things and to not put yourself or myself where temptation lurks, and sin waits to destroy. The difference, here, between the believer and the unbeliever is that for the unbeliever, temptation does not exist, it is a natural expression of the depravity of his heart. The believer seeks to live holy and godly in the sight of God.

Genesis 3:6 was one of the most interesting passages I found pertaining to the lust of the eyes. I had not put these two passages together. When Eve begins to fall into sin the ‘delight’ that she experiences is the same lusting of the eyes that we read of in 1 John 2. Her lusting after the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is an intense desire for something that she was told that she could not have. And yet, many years later, John is warning Christians of what these sins of the world are because mankind is still falling into them.

These lusts are not easy for us to pass by are they? I mean because we are Christians these things should just dissipate, right? Listen to Psalm 119:36-37 and see if this is true. “Cause my heart to incline to Your testimonies and not to dishonest gain. Cause my eyes to turn away from looking at worthlessness, and revive me in Your ways.” Do you still think this shouldn’t happen because we are believers in Christ? The Psalmist would argue a thousand times against this type of thinking! It is hard for the Psalmist to keep his eyes set on things above and not below (Col. 3:1-2). That is why he asks God to bring his eyes to look up toward God and not on the crude, despicable, wicked, and worthless things of this world. In other words, he is saying “Lord, please keep my eyes pure and not to fall to the lust of the eyes.”

The third way of the world is “the boastful pride of life.” This is a glory that is vain, it will not last, it is temporary, it is momentary. This pride is false in that it is not a lasting glory, even if it lasts for decades. There will be a day on the earth where the glory will fade, and it will have been in vain, for you can never go back to those days once they are gone. It makes me think of politics and sports. So quickly, the remembrance of presidents of the United States fades. I can remember as a kid hearing a lot of Bill Clinton. Do you hear much of him anymore? From time to time, you might, but he does not have, near, the notoriety he once had. The same is true for musicians and athletes. There is a time when they are at the top of the charts or at the top of their game. There may be some in your life that are at the top still. But for most people those who were popular even 15-20 years ago are irrelevant today.

‘Life’ is the subject of what the boastful pride is about. John uses the word life to mean ‘livelihood’ and wealth and assets acquired in that life. This pride is of glory, so it is plausible that John is talking about the vanity that comes with a short life on earth, and the short time that worldly wealth lasts. John uses this in the scope of someone that, even if they lived until 120, wealth in this life is enjoyed for a short time. So, not only does John say that the glory and fame are short-lived, but the wealth acquired, irrelevant to how it was, lasts for a short time. Listen to this familiar reminder from our Lord, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

These things are not from the Father but are from the world as the end of verse 16 tells us. Brothers, use this as the measuring rod of where our hearts are right now. Are we cherishing or holding on to any of these lusts? If so, forsake them! And may your heart and my heart be set on things that are eternal, that can never be destroyed.

3. The World that passes away (v.17)

Finally, let us look at the third point where the sermon title derives from and that is the world that passes away. Look with me at verse 17. The greatest eternal contrast is on display here. The us versus the world mentality is seen here. First, we see that the world and the lusts that are contained within it will not last forever. The world is in reference, once again, to the world system. There are two meanings for the phrase ‘is passing away’. One meaning is “to pass by” and the other which 1 John 2:17 uses it is “to pass away.” Synonyms for this are to cease, to end, to vanish, to leave. Thus, can be said of the world system, one day it will come to an end. John emphasizes in verse 17 that the goods and systems of this world will not continue. This is absolute and nothing is going to change this divine judgment against the world.

There is an implication that not everything in the world system is evil. There are many things about the world system that are good. Responsibility, care and love for others, stewardship, and others are found in the world system (they do not come from the world system, nor are they created within it by its own entity). God has blessed the world system, amidst its evils, so that man could flourish in the created universe. All of these things will perish as well. Just like the righteous with the wicked are blessed, both those things are not wicked in the world, as in those things God has created will perish along with the world system. Is a tree evil? Is the grass evil? Of course, they are not, but they, too, will be subject to being destroyed as well. The evil cravings, which lust is defined as, will cease to be no more.

The chapter that Noah read for us in Revelation 18 is helpful as we see the breakdown of civilization in short order at the end of the age. Remember verse 16 and 17? “Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls; for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!” What amazed me about that passage was the expediency that all things would come to an end. I mean, how many years has it taken mankind to make an electric vehicle? How about the interstate system? Or planes and jets? The list goes on and on. And yet the entire world system is destroyed in one hour! The point is, that the Lord is in absolute control, and He does not work on man’s time. God works on God’s time. And what He says goes and we see that in the quick destruction of Babylon in Revelation 18.

The Psalmist understood this concept much earlier than is recorded in Revelation 18. Listen to the similarities in Psalm 73:18-20. “Surely You set them in slippery places; You cause them to fall to destruction. How they become desolate in a moment! They are completely swept away by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.” In no way does the Bible give any hint that the current state of the world will last forever. Psalm 90:9-10 reinforces this saying, “For all our days have declined in Your fury; we have finished our years like a sigh. As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to might, eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and wickedness; for soon it is gone and we fly away.”

I would like to not finish on a sour note, but one that is uplifting. Look with me at the end of verse 17. John tells us that the one who does the will of God abides forever. The one who does the will of God refers to the inclination or disposition to do the will of God instead of the desires of the flesh. It is “an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others.” This person desires to carry out the will of God over all else. To abide in verse 17 is to continue on. This is the same way it has been used before (vv.6, 10, 14). It means to persist until the end. The word ‘forever’ that antecedes it gives the duration of the abiding. The abiding is to start on earth and continue on into eternity. In contrast to the world, it does not pass away or cease.

1 Peter 4:2 is our call to action this morning. “Therefore, since Christ has suffered (died) in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose – because he who has suffered (died) in the flesh has ceased from sin – so as to no longer live the rest of the time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”

Conclusion:

In many ways this is a practical text that is before us this morning. We have seen the dangers of worldly association, we have taken a broad look at what the things of the world are that strive to deceive us and carry us away, and we have seen what the end looks like for the world and the things in it. As we look at the world around us, may we not see it for what we can gain out of it, but might our eyes be fixed on Jesus Christ, who has provided us with all the things we need here as sojourners longing to be in our permanent dwelling place.

My prayer for those who have not turned to Christ this morning is to let these worldly things go. The world system will end one day, your life will end one day and what are you going to do with all the things that you have gathered here? You cannot take them with you, so, PLEASE, let go of the world and come close to God. He is eternal, He does not perish or fade away. Confess to God your sin and turn from them today while there is still time. Do not delay while you still have breath in your being.

My prayer for each one of us who believe in the risen Christ is that our love for Christ would grow more and more and that our love for and cherishing of the world and the things in it would diminish more and more. Just as God was with Israel, so is He with us today, be encouraged by Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will make you mighty, surely, I will help you; surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

Benediction:

Psalm 73.28- But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have set Lord Yahweh as my refuge, that I may recount all Your works.