The World in the New Testament

Introduction

Did you know there is a kind of love that God hates?

“I thought God is love? I thought God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son? What do you mean there’s a love that God hates.”

(Read 1 John 2:15 and pray)

A. The Command Against Worldliness - 1 John 2:15

“love not the world” Imperative command. Imperatives don’t give us any liberty of choice, “you must do this.”

Command is to not love the world.

“Love” here speaks of our affections, the things we hold dear and have a great loyalty to.

Ill: Loyalty of a husband and wife. It is; affectionate, loyal, and committed.

Does this mean we can’t love the earth? Is this a verse we can point tree huggers to? No! It speaks of the world system rather than the physical world we live on. We are rather commanded not to set our loyalty on the world’s side or let our deep desires be for the things that are in this world (Expand that idea later).

If you take a closer look in this verse, there are two very opposite realities at war with each other. You have the world on one side, and the Father on the absolute opposite side. These two cannot meet in the middle. Who remembers how we defined the world?

“The spiritual world system, filled with unbelievers under the influence of Satan to love the values, beliefs, and practices that are in opposition to God.”

The truth is clear; God is absolutely holy, He is separate from sin and hates it. 1 Samuel 2:2 says,

There is none holy as the Lord: For there is none beside thee: Neither is there any rock like our God.

God is alone holy, He cannot allow sin in His presence. Yet the world goes headlong in everything that God hates.

So, when we look at these verses, it’s important we know the battle that is here. This is a battle of Light vs. darkness, the Kingdom of Satan against the Sovereignty of God. What’s the point of mentioning all this? We must make a choice. This no such thing as giving your allegiance to both sides, it is one or the other.

“Because the Father’s kingdom is at war with the kingdom of this world, the two will never coexist peacefully. To pledge allegiance to one side is to declare opposition to the other.”

No man’s land (NEW SLIDE)

WW1 = trench war. The trenches in the western front spanned 764 kilometers long; stretching from the English Channel to the Swiss Alps.

Constant artillery & machine gun fire, and poison gas between enemy lines created a nightmarish place. It’s infamous name was “No Man’s Land”

Going in there was suicide. No soldier in their right mind would have ever gone into the middle ground; all that awaited him there was a gruesome death.

Dilemma: “If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Does this mean that God doesn’t love us if we love the world? Do you think that’s what this means? I don’t think so.

The first sentence depends on the second to be complete. Thought 2 naturally follows thought 1. If you are loving the world, you are certainly not loving God. It’s natural for the person who loves the world to not love God. James 4:4 says,

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

The stage is set, our warning is clear, “DO NOT LOVE THE WORLD!”

Hard to apply this if we can’t discern how worldliness can be exercised...

B. The Ways of Worldliness - 1 John 2:16

This verse continues John’s thought from verse 15 and answers a big question left unanswered from the last verse. “What are ‘the things that are in the world.’?”

1 John 2:16 KJV 1900

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.

Not a comprehensive list of sins.

Not part of a bigger list of sins.

It is 3 avenues which we prone to sin in. All sin can be boiled down to one or multiple of these categories.

Lusts of the flesh: Frequently associated with gluttony, drunkenness, and sexual immorality. But it goes deeper than this, the desires of the flesh are all rooted in a love for self. Lust is self-centered. This self-centeredness involves the sins people may or may not see as much; idolatry, strife, jealousy, bitterness, quarrels, complacency.

The lust of the flesh includes the sins we struggle with on a daily basis. Ex. That frustration you showed your wife when she wasn’t doing you what you wanted her to do. That bitterness you’ve been bottling up against your relatives/co-workers. That jealousy that was in your heart when you saw Those unspoken obsessions we have for things that are meaningless.

Lusts of the eyes: The eyes are often the means through which we are introduced to temptation. The lust of the eyes is the tendency we all have to be caught in the trap of the external. We are lured in by the outward appearance of something, and we convince ourselves that it is something that we need.

First, we see the thing (or person), then we dwell on it, and finally our sinful hearts take over in ungodly action.

“The temptations of the world focus on enjoyment in the present without an analysis or understanding of the future ramifications.”

ILL: David’s sin with Bathsheba - 2 Sam. 11:1-4

2 Samuel 11:1–4 KJV 1900

And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house:

Was it wrong for David to be on his rooftop? No, David had not been confronted with temptation or been pursuing anything sinful at this point.

2 Samuel 11:1–4 KJV 1900

and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself;

Was this alone when David first fell into sin? I don’t think so. This is where the lust of the eyes makes it’s first step. From his high vantage point, David glances Bathsheba bathing herself, he has seen a sight which was none of his business to see. But at this point he was not in sin. It was not sin to see the temptation.

2 Samuel 11:1–4 KJV 1900

and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

What was once an accidental glance at the wrong place and wrong time turned bad quick. After seeing her, David should’ve quickly left his balcony and moved on, but he stayed there! A quick sight became a double take, and before you know it, David’s eyes were locked in. How else could he have known that she was a beautiful woman? Bathsheba was not in sin for being beautiful, she was fearfully and wonderfully made as Psalm 139:14 says. Once he was fixed on Bathsheba, he has already yielded to the flesh, and now only destruction awaits.

2 Samuel 11:1–4 KJV 1900

And David sent and inquired after the woman.

That first yielding to the lusts of his eyes just created a snowball effect, to the point that he was now pursuing a relationship he knew well he had no business being in.

2 Samuel 11:1–4 KJV 1900

And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.

What did David get in the end for all of this? He murdered one of his best soldiers, his child died, and his own son would be after his throat later on. The lust of the eyes looks on the present only, it considers no consequences.

Beware of the lust of the eyes...

Starts with the glance

Becomes a fixation

Then becomes a sinful desire in the heart

The end is destruction

The pride of life: Arrogance, boastful attitude. It is an empty pride, a self- absorbed ambition. The person walking in the pride of life wants everyone to know just how great they are. They make an idol of their career, their stuff, their achievements and their social standing.

“Pride, power, possessions, prestige, and position are what life is all about.”

Read James 4:13-16.

The man plans his life without any thought to the Lord. He makes all his plans, fully confident that he can achieve them because of his strength or position.

Who is Lord in this person’s life?

Christ is the best example of what it looks like to be the complete opposite

Pride in birth/family status: Born into a poor family (Luke 2:24, turtle doves), carpenter’s Son (Matt. 13:55), lived in Nazareth (John 1:45-46)

Pride in possessions: No home (Matt. 8:20)

Pride in Outward perception: Friend of tax collectors and sinners (Matt. 11:19)

Pride in intellect: Spoke what the Father taught Him (John 8:28) “As the Father hath taught me, I speak these things.”

Pride in self-will: Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane (Luke 22:42)

C. Our Choice - 1 John 2:17

Just like verse 15, there are two subjects at war with each other; the world, and the believer who wants to do the will of God.

We have two ways to live, the choice is ours. We all love something or someone, it’s a God-given trait of our humanity. We love, we desire, we long for.

(Chart)

Love the World:

Self focused

Make as much money as possible

Seek comfort above all

Make a name for myself

Do whatever makes me happiest

Have relationships/friendships only for the sake of your interests

Love the Father:

God focused (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Give! (2 Corinthians 9:6-7)

Take up my cross (Matt. 16:24-26)

Lift His name up (Psalm 29:2)

Please God (Ephesians 5:10)

Be a servant, even when it’s uncomfortable/inconvenient (John 13:1-17)

Conclusion

We all love something or someone, it’s a God-given trait of our humanity. We love, we desire, we long for. Who will you live for? Give room for the Devil and live for yourself? Or submit to God and pursue His will?