Loving the World or Loving God 1 John 2:15
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Introduction
Introduction
Worldliness has always been a controversial topic in churches. What is worldliness? What does it look like? How can I know if I am worldly? Sunday’s message helps us answer these kinds of questions. Now we need to evaluate ourselves and adjust our lives accordingly.
Today we’re just looking at verse 15, the essence of these verses about worldliness. See if you can fill in the blanks in the sentence diagram below (just for the underlined part of the verse). Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Two commands and one warning
First Command
First Command
Do not love the world: attitudes
Sunday’s message defined the world as the fallen wicked system that leaves God out and lies under the influence of Satan. It was said that loving the world gives an attitude of worldliness.
Second Command
Second Command
Do not love the things of the world: Actions
Jerry Bridges defines worldliness as being preoccupied with the things of this temporal life, and going along with the values and practices of society around us (Respectable Sins, pages 174-175). The things of this world are the actions of worldliness.
Warning
Warning
Loving the world means you don’t love God.
One way of dealing with worldliness is by focusing on our love for God. We need more God, less world. The things of this world will distract us from our love for God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
All the verbs in this verse are in the present tense, which means we are looking at the habit of life. Chris Mueller called it a “lifestyle”. So we ask ourselves: is my lifestyle one of worldliness? Or is my lifestyle one of loving God? Perfection is not possible in this present life, but in what DIRECTION do we see ourselves headed? If we’re honest, at times we head the wrong way. So we need to focus on our love for God.
Is your life progressing toward loving the world and its things or towards Christ? What means of grace will you depend upon so that your heart will have Christ as your first love?