The Worldling's Fleeting Pleasures vs. The Abiding Love of God - What's Fueling Your Life?
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Do you know what happens when you put diesel in a car engine designed for regular gasoline. Or if you put jet-fuel in your lawn mower, it won’t fly. Or a gas mixed with oil into four stroke engine in your boat. You can pull at that rip cord all you want, you can make the engine with the starter go through the motions but it won’t take off and really start singing. It is going to splutter out. Well at the end of our passage we get to the main point, the argument and logic of both John’s letter and of living the Christian life. Yes John has spelled out his aim in the introduction - joy and fellowship - assurance. Yes, he has spelled out the context of the problem with false teachers and in contrast to them, begun laying out tests of light (ethical test of purity), and of relationships (Love test). But now John at the heart of his letter with the main argument, says way you pass these tests not for salvation remember, but for fuller joy fellowship , assurance, is to realize you’ve got a different engine in life, now, and you got to make sure you are putting the right kind of fuel in it! The false teachers, who neither recognize Jesus Christ as God’ Son, nor see the need for Christ’s forgiveness once for all and ongoing, the false teachers, who lack real love of brethren and of God - they have an old type of engine of life, hasn’t been transformed, but John is now shifting gear. He’s no longer addressing the false teachers - if we say, but we don’t do, if claim - No now for the first time he directly addresses those true believers in a struggling church, and he gives them the direct command: DO NOT LOVE THE WORLD. (For sure in the purity test and the love test, indirectly saying - not stumbling stone to people, not hating particular brothers and sisters but loving in action, obeying commandments in way that love of God being perfected in the same way it was in Jesus. The direct commands more diagnostic tests to see what kind of engine you’ve got. But now comes a direct command - in light of the false teacher problem - just have a little spirituality and keep living to please yourself, I need to give you this direct command. - are you putting worldliness in the fuel tank of your life - or this new super fuel the love of God? Like someone gave me lawnmower with a great Kawasaki engine, - said make sure only put supreme gas in it!
But notice that John doesn’t say - the type of fuel you put in your life determines whether you’ve got the great engine or not. He doesn’t say - do all these things and then your engine will change. He isn’t saying, if you repent really well, if you believe hard enough, if you love better, if you avoid sin disciplined enough then you your life and engine changes, then your are saved. The logic is completely the other way around isn’t it. John isn’t scolding these true believers and telling them to try harder to live by love of God and not the lesser loves of the world. No, assures them of their new status with God, and of all the benefits of the new transformed engine of life they have in him, and its only grounded in that new reality that he tells them - now you’ve got the confidence to live differently. You’ve got the courage to face this danger of living for the worldlings’ pleasure.
So that’s the big idea:
Based on the engine of a vital relationship with God the Father,
Key Truth: Believers must fuel their lives by the love of God, not wordly pleasure!
Let’s look at the basis by which you can actually keep this command, it has everything to do with what is the engine of your life now that it is transformed by Christ.
A. John is writing to those whose .. because gives the spiritual condition, status we have in Christ!
A. Assurance: Our new engine is forgiveness, relationship with the Son God, & overcoming Satan.
To understand this you’ll have to see the poetry with John shifts gears from simple instruction. Do you see it, the parallelism, the repetition, the building crescendo of who we are now as Christians? There are two stanzas there that follow the same strange order. You’d expect John to say children, young men, fathers. As if addressing growing levels of spiritual maturity, three different groups of believers. But both stanzas begin with children, The whole letter, this aged apostle addresses the whole church as his dear children. Picking up not only on his relationship as experienced Christ follower to younger one s who need to learn, need a model encourager, but picking up on new status that Jesus promises all who walk with Him, no longer children duped and in a sense owned by the devil, not children under the influence and dominion of the darkness - believers in Christ by just believing - become children reborn who experience s a re-birth in the light of Christ. And what is it that he says is ground zero the very foundation of our new life - 1 John 2:12
i. Children
1 John 2:12 ESVI am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.
I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.
There is no chastising, or holding a carrot before them, you’ll be forgiven if you stop being wordly and selfish, and hating and try harder. But justified and forgiven, reborn - why. For his name sake. In the Bible the name’s sake - based onthe characert and the weson and work of a person. John is saying - you don’t have to be perfect, don’t have to earn acceptance, loved you as you were, a broken sinner - for sake of Christ his work on the Cross - fundamental security, all that the Father has given to me - I’m dying for, and no one can snatch them form my hand. Not how much you are holding Christ, how strong He’s holding you, its not how holy you become that matters when it comes to acceptance, its Christ work and person. Atonement he won. And look at the result in the second stanza, when you are a child by faith like that to God
1 John 2:13d I write to you, children, because you know the Father.
I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father.
Everyone knows God in one sense, general idea God is there in charge, answerable, good to world; may even call out to him. But don’t know Him as Father - hard-nosed negotiator , judge, impersonal power life force, maybe but not Father - who is ultimate source of what? protection and provision. Father loves personally, passionately, Forgiveness - total at your conversion , not ongoing cleansing - but total forgiveness results in this confidence of a child with God relationship!
ii. Fathers
But surprisingly - John moves from that confidence not to next stage of life - full flower, strongest, but he moves next to fathers. He is saying that this maturity is available to all, and all men and women, boys and girls, with experience of fathers in life - what is the result in our new Christian life - What kind of new engine of life do we have, when we know the Father like that? Look at it in both stanzas repeated exactly the same:
1 John 2:14a I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Now who is from the beginning? John 1:1 Proverbs 8 The Son who was with God Father, who is God - who is the word, exact representation of God sent to us. This is what false teachers denied - that Jesus Christ was God incarnate come to us - that he is and has the very life of God from above, and sent down here not only to forgive our sins, but to share that life of God from above with us, as we are reconciled and drawn close to the Father through him, so that as we saw last week - the love with which Father loved the Son, not only have Jesus loving us like that, but that same love in us - and we can radiate that out to others. John is saying, that’s the second part of this new engine of life, not just forgiveness and acceptance, but knowing God in this one who is the Son who mediates life and light , - Jesus whom we can abide and in doing so we are abiding in God. Do you know Jesus like that - not just a person in history 2000 years ago, but the One who is beyond time, true God from true God, proceeds to shine all Godness into our world and lives, Do you know Him as the One rose from death - with God life now making human life eternal - come share it with him, step into the heavenly united to me - everlasting life … but one you know Now as God who is your friend and companion in whom you abide. Have communion with Jesus.
But the climax of this poetry isn’t with children or father, the point that John is leading up to is the young men. Like fathers just an image not so much a persons age maturity or whether male or female. All Christians as the engine of their life are to be overcomers - warriors on the earth - that’s twice repeated too: 1 John 2:13c
iii. Young Men/Overcomers
I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father.
1 John 2:13c I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. … because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Here too just like our forgiveness it is important to note the result of being a young man strong in the Lord - is that something has been completed and reached fruition, and now will continue to have lasting results. That’s true of our once for all forgiveness, but it is also true of our power to overcome the evil one. In Christ, not only forgiveness of sins as he took the results of sin upon him, but there is also a new power, as Christ in hour human nature took on the root of our sins, he became sin for us, and he overcame the evil one, in our human nature he defeated the power of the devil and the temptations and the dominating power of sin.
That was something Christ had to perform in our human nature - in his temptations, in his struggle not to take the glory of the world, to take the easy root of let the world make me king, but the path to the Cross of suffering for others. There is something about the end times in this passage - the evil and the evil one - decisively beaten in Christ on the Cross - disarmed, Christ WAS THE ULTIMATE STRONG MAN, TIED UP AND PLUNDERED TEH DEVIL, SET US FREE. But John says that new way of living in victory over temptation over evil over the devil, Christ didn’t just perform that for himself, so could save, us, He also performed it on our human nature, he also breathed out His life by the Spirit in us, so that ultimate victory - we could each one of live that out in our lives . This is why the Bible calls all Christian - overcomers - why the cry through the book of Revelation from John is people like you and me - as Satan dethroned but still seeking to destroy our joy fellowship or , deceiving others - overcame through suffering and trial by the blood of the Lamb and the testimony of Jesus!
And that brings us to the subtle little poetic change that John slips in to the second stanza. Each time int the first stanza he says this is why I am writing you present tense. As he writes that letter. But in the second stanza as they are reading it, he is saying: I write to you because, and it the point isn’t the cause of him writing it, but he is declaring who we are in Christ now, and the verb tense is less about tine, and more about this is compete now in you - forgiven, knowing/abiding in the Cosmic Christ, and what is the climax - what is true now about you and me in Christ - ovecomer. You don’t have to perform anything to be this, you are this at the moment of your conversion in Christ - new status new engine of your life . And he even with the last one adds the mechanism by which we experience this: because you are strong and the Word of God abides in you.
Now you put that poem together, and I’ve got to ask you how do you feel about yourself. No tin yourself but in Christ how do you feel - loved, secure, empowered - that's John’s goal get this one side of this strong poetic bridge secure - before you go to the central point and command that John has for Christians living in dangerous times. Dangerous because of how a church falling apart because of false teachers could get you tripped up to start living, out of step with the engine you’ve been given!
And now we must shift gears, not who we are in Christ and can confidently and assuredly know ourselves to be, but what is this danger. and what is the command that forms the buttress on the other side of this bridge? And we will take this in two steps. Firs the danger of worldliness - that would be just like having brand new transformed engine, but taking a whole bag of sugar, dumping it into gas can, and then filling your tank with that. John with Jesus says this is the clear and present danger that will tall your Christian living and if you don’t have that foundation in Christ will see you just make a false start with Christ, but fall away and loose your very soul.
Do you know and feel the
B. Fuel Warning: The Danger of Worldliness
Here we must be very careful because misunderstanding John’s words here can result in the worst kind of legalism - frigid cold hearts, uptight holier-than-thou type religion people - all self effort and so little Christ and so little love in them. And misunderstanding his words in the opposite direction - can result in people who presume they are saved and have the life of Christ in them but have never been transformed and will so sadly here Jesus say you say Lord Lord … but I say depart from me I never knew you… So how are we to understand John warning of a clear and present danger in Christian living - that will rob our joy and fellowship - if we don’t heed this warning.
The first word in the warning to be understood is love. And here we must be clear that love can be either a good thing or bad thing depending on the object of that love. Luther used to picture it as your life is a horse and its either being ridden by living God or it is being ridden by the Evil One. What does your heart overflow and gush towards, what do you crave, what makes you sigh a relief awe yes this is so good. John says there is an antithesis in this life. Can’t love every and anything willy nilly.
In 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
He says there is a love of God as Father on one hand. And if that is what your tank is filled with engine is going to run amazingly well - each day, direction, fuel emission; but the opposite is a very particular sense of another word; the kosmos. The world. And it is in your understanding of this particular use of world that everything hinges.
The NT uses the word kosmos, world in three senses. John 1 the Son of God with the Father, and the Holy Spirit make the created world, the make the material world. And though some religions think material is lesser than spiritual, that the body and soul are not a beautiful unity, Christ came to redeem the this whole world, the created, material world included. The direction our sinful hearts now steer the world and our bodies and creation - is the problem not the created material world itself. Rule that use out. John has also spoken of how God is loved the world, speaking of the mass of human persons - and there is something wrong with you and me if we don’t love the world in that sense - erosn ones you like ones you don’t, ones who are friends, ones who are your enemies - love in same self-giving way God loves. But the third and most frequent use of the word, world in the NT, is 3) an evil organized earthly system controlled by the power of the evil one that has aligned itself against God and his kingdom (4:3–5; 5:19;
concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
Most people are blinded from seeing the world this way. The devil if they believe he exists or not, is remote and only in extreme cases. Not the way the Bible sees it. John in next part will speak of Anti-Christ in his day and that will continue in our day. And John is saying, in your identity in Christ, there is a new life, with new engine, but it has to be fueled by love of the Father not love of this world in that htird sense. See if you love the world with its pleasures, the orientation of your lie turns from God to temporary fleeting and ultimately judged and destroyed things that won’t last.
But that kind of worldly orientation and love of fleeting sinful pleasure sneaks into the church and shipwrecks it. That kind of love of the world in the 3rd sense gets into your life and mine and handicaps and renders the wrok of Christ fruitless and powerless. Do you think the worldliness of you and I the people of Christ ‘s church in this age, it his time of pandemic when ts harder to meet with and worship with and serve with , when its easier to let love of God drop off the radar of your daily living, do you think worldliness is a threat today?
1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
John graphically spells out why this is so using how language that Jesus used to show it was true when he was setting up his kingdom some 50 years before, so in the middle of a church with problems, and will be so unto Christ comes again.
Remember worldliness, loving the world and things in it, isn’t about loving the created things God made in their good order, including food , recreation, our earthly callings and jobs - they are to be received with thanksgiving and steward and enjoyed - they can be loved in proper measure. Remember worldliness is not a separation from people of this world who are not yet Christians - always a danger with zealous Christians - but zeal without knowledge. If we misunderstand that we are to be in the world and not of it, if we use “worldliness as an excuse to isolate ourselves . we are in even greater danger - some would say only Christian fellowship, activity,
So the late William Still said: Christian guest houses, Christian holiday homes, tours and camps, and all sorts of exclusive Christian pleasures are unhealthy inasmuch as they breed prigs, bores and evangelical sissies. We need the sharp winds of worldly reality to brace our nerves and keep us on our spiritual toes. The Christian who cannot stand worldly or ungodly company or immoral talk without growing hot or cold is not worth his salt, and is far too delicate to be of any use in this tough world. He should be safely shipped in cotton wool to the heavenly glory on the very day of his salvation clearly marked, ‘Fragile, with great care.’
But John says wordiness isn’t first of all about outward things, rules. As if have a list of I don’t smoke I don’t chew I don’t go with girls that do. If just get the right list and keep it you are OK. No worldliness, the love the world that Satan operates internally by by what your soul desires, what is lusts after, what it gets puffed up with pride with. In order there
i. the desires of the flesh
-not just bodily desires - like having food, sex, drink - all of those three things related to the body but good created things if pursued in their proper place, but pursued inordinately or pursued out their proper place - trying to get your fill of the flesh turned away from God - just to slake pleasure for pleasures sake thinking those things in themselves, and not God will satisfy and provide for me, they will be my protection. Those things become idols - and honestly can good taste of food, full stomach, buzz of alcohol or drugs, can mere bodily glorification really ultimately satisfy leave your empty. Yet that’s what happens when you love the world in that sense of this whole society craving for self and against God. Those false teachers in the church were saying, obedience to God’s way and real love to God and His people - that’s not what fuels life - live just like the society around us . What are getting your fill of each day - do you kw that’s fueling your life?
But he further specifies this love of the world is so dangerous because it we are so prone to fixate on
the desires of the eyes.
Greed and lusting after a worm without seeing Satan’s hook hidden inside. Love of the world gets us not only living for the taste of sinful pleasure s that don’t last, but also living on and by what we can touch! Sensual sins sexually including pornography reduce relationship and love to what my eyes can consume for my self pleasure - ravage a person for their body, and think that is my satisfaction. But its not just a sexual love of the world that can enslave and direct and orientate a person away from living for God. It is also the stuff of this world. Material possessions - attention to some prized type of home, Stu of appearance, some. What do you give your time too, what do you day dream about. Think very concretely about after your days duties, maybe the evening what is it that you purse and consume and seek satisfaction in?
But lastly there is
iii. the pride of life:
arrogance, of pursuing all these things for my pride, all the material possessions of life heaped up, all my popularity, all my accomplishments - I pursue those in themselves - and that is my identity. Nothing wrong with success , nothing wrong with nice cars and homes, but when they are pursued with almost an addiction, when our worth, what happens is that we end up with worldly lives, that are not running on the fuel of the love of God, nor is the new engine of life God really pumping gummed up. And you know what we find that we are living by the values of a world that not only forgets and pushes God out of the picture, we are living by the values of a world that rebels against God. And this right inside the new community, the new society of those who claim to be part of the kingdom of heaven on earth!
This command to not love the world in this sense is so urgent and at the centre of the book, but it is also John very last word: 1 John 5:21
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
That’s the problem with worldliness - we make an idol of the world that is tob e receive and used with thankfulness to the glory of God and our enjoyment of Him. But like Augustine put it we take the engagement ring and say I am so happy wit it, but forget about living with the finance who is giving it as token - let’s do life together. The ring the world becomes a poor substitute for God.
Of course the world in the first two senses, is from God and there is such a wonderful way to be worldly in those two sense for God’s glory and being satisfied in Him. But in this third sense of worldliness, Look at the end of of 1 John 2:16b
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
The source is from the devil, not the Father, and you orientated yourself to these things, whether sports, money, holidays, entertainment, sexual pleasure - and your orientation will be away from God and you will become less human and more distorted in yourself selfishness, be deluded in darkness. After making a sort of false start with Christ, you will be incapable of living in and by His Love. You remember how Jesus put it in the parable of the four types of soil, worries and wonders of the world. You remember how he put it to the rich young ruler - lack one thing - Not saying can’t have saving, or spending's - but if those are your idol - and your pursuit in life - can’t pursue the kingdom of God And so John concludes, not only does it show not have source and orientation of God, but look at
1 John 2:17a And the world is passing away along with its desires ...
And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Do you get it - worldliness is grasping for what this world can never itself provide - left with everything slipping though your fingers - treasures of your life not only rusted, turning to dust, but thief the devil has broken into your life ; How many people reach the ends - is this all that I lived for and its all gone. how dark how empty. Jesus ultimate punch line to such a life - gain the whole world, but lose your very soul!
But that leads us to the most glorious conclusion to John, warning here. He began on one side of the bridge with the assurance of who we are in Christ by faith, and now he spans this danger that would handicap believers and sink those who are not truly trusting Christ, and on the other side of the bridge he firmly bolts the span of our lives to a firm buttress.
C. The Promise: Christ & His Will abiding in you
In this life and the next! And on that other side is this promise:
1 John 2:17b And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Don’t downgrade the promise given to you here, by just saying, if I live by the love of God I will one day get heaven and live forever. That is true but that isn’t the great news of this promise and why you so desperately need this promise for daily life, in an empty dangerous alluring world. Like passing through Vanity Fair, so tempted to give up. Christian and Faithful have to remind each other .. there’s more than meets the eye. All that glitters isn’t gold! But what is real gold! What is a real treasure in this life?
Look at the promise. Things in the world are passing away. This physical world is heading to end times, all things judge purified as with fire and renewed. What will pass through those purifying fire. Heard the expression can’t take it with you; don’t pull u haul trailers. But what is it in your life and mine, in this church in your neighbourhood, what is the stuff that abides, remains, endures forever. It is people who, relationships, the things we do in relationships for those people, for God. Do you feel that believer, you and your brothers and sisters and this community of those made alive in Christ - we’re not passing away, We will out last the opposition, we add value every day to Christ’s name and glory and kingdom. When you tank up your life day by day with the love of God, the love for God, when that is your source, and the orientation of eferytin you do in the world - the promise is that you will outlast the opposition, you’ll lever be able to stand because the eternal one - has said never leave you forsake you, so I say with confidence the Lord is my helper. The Lord is by my side, and I will walk in His way.
It has been said that there is only one fear that drives out all other fears. Fear of the Lord But it is also true there is only one love, that puts in order all the other loves of your life That is the love of God. And John’s message from one side of the bridge of assurance to the other of warning command and promise, is that You have the anointing by the Holy One, you have knowledge , you are of the truth of God - live by His love - you are secure as his child, you are mature and really know Him you are an overcomer, participating in the victory of Christ. May it be that the Lord unveils this third sense of wordliness to you, that he exposes this orientation away from God where ever it presses in on you, and that you overcome the evil one and how he’d have you use this world as an idol.
There is a spiritual battle in each of our lives, but our neighbours without Christ - how they need your Christian example of your life, as you live your days leaning into what is truly lasting, lviing born of God to love and obey his good commandments … our lives are to show that victory:
1 John 5:4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Don’t you see the flighty restlessness of life in the pandemic, got all our projects, done, what’s left - spend ourselves in mere temporal trivial pursuits - enslaved empty and unproductive. The only way to be truly useful and loving of this world in the first two senses, is to be guided and empowered and be enjoying something, someone who is out of this world!
This is really the second part to the Love Test: do you practically and particularly love in action with brothers and sisters in Christ, but now in regards to God - do you love the world so that you are avoiding Your Lord , or do You love the Lord so that you can be truly in this world, not of it, transforming it for him, living with Him and for His glory!