The Love God Hates

Intro: I love books!

I love to read mainly non-fiction. One of the qualities which I appreciate most in a book is if they just come right and say the reason or purpose they wrote the book.

For example, a book I am reading now “A Beautiful Constraint” does this.

*Present Example*

The reason I bring this up is because, the Apostle John helps us out in the book of I John and lays out the reason he is writing this book to us… How does John start off this letter, ‘ that which was from the beginning” The Word of Life was made manifest to us, we have seen and our hands have touched and our ears have heard of Jesus, this Jesus that we proclaim to you, is so that

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3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

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4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

John goes on to say in vs 4,

at the end of this letter John gives us another reason why he is writing this book,

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13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

So John is writing this book to believers and churches that are experiencing persecution, there is a rise of false teachings concerning Jesus which is causing doubts, people are struggling with life and beliefs as John see’s what is going on he writes a letter, to encourage believers, revive their hearts and assure them of their fellowship with the church and the Father and the Son, to remind them joy can only be complete in Christ, everything else is a cheap imitation and finally he writes to them so they can be assured that they possess eternal life, not when they die, but right now!

How does John do this? If we can put it in modern terms, it almost as John creates a test to gauge where our hearts are. There is

The Belief Test - What do you believe about Jesus?

The Moral Test - Do you live like you believe in Jesus?

The Social Test - Do you love people like Jesus loves?

John will cycle through these 3 test as he continues on in his book and he will continue to define what it means to believe in Jesus, to live like you believe in Jesus and loving people.

Today we come to a very serious topic and it it is in the realm of the moral test, because John talks about a love that God hates. Love for the world.

We see this love addressed in the other parts of the Bible, we learn of Demas a companion of Paul, who served in ministry with Paul, but later we read

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10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia

James tells us

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4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God

The Apostle John writes,

Read 1 John 2:15-17.

English Standard Version Chapter 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. 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. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

I. Do Not Love The World or the Things of This World

This is the main command, everything else written in these 3 verses gives us the reasons why we shouldn’t love the world.

A. What does John mean by “Love”?

1. This Greek verb for love—ἀγαπάω: in our passage means to cherish, have affections for, to find satisfaction in, to take pleasure in.

2. John is saying you do not have this kind of love for the world because if you do you cannot have this same kind of love towards God it is either one or the other.

B. Now that we know what John means by love, What in the world does John mean by the world? (context, context, context)

When the bible uses the term world it could mean 3 things and the only way you know the difference is the context of the passage.

1. The Physical World (Psa 19:1)

2. The People Who Live in the World (John 3:16)

3. The World System and Beliefs

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2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

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8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

When John says “do not love the world” he is talking about the world and its systems, beliefs, philosophies and actions, things in our culture that is contrary to Christ.

As John Frame puts it, “World is the bad part of culture”

“Worldliness is whatever makes sin look normal and righteousness look strange.” Kevin DeYoung

C. What are the things of the world?

English Standard Version Chapter 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

1. The desire of the flesh - this is what our sin nature craves, no one has to teach a child to do wrong, do you ever wonder why, because sin is natural to us, that is why we need Jesus to save us from our sin problem. Paul describes this in Galatians 5

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19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

2. The desire of the eyes - This is what our eyes desire, when you see it and sinfully crave it. It could be anything men, women, pornography, cars, houses this is coveting

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if my step has turned aside from the way

and my heart has gone after my eyes,

and if any spot has stuck to my hands,

3. The pride of life - What is this mean? Pride of Life? The word John uses is bios, which we get the english word for biology the study of life.What does John mean? Whenever you want to find out what an author means when he uses a word you try to find other places he uses it. which if we turn to 1 john 3:17 this word bios shows up again

English Standard Version Chapter 3

17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?

The word bios is translated here as “world’s goods”. The pride of life is seeking to acquire wealth and position because you find pleasure, satisfaction and identity in possessions, image and the stature/power they provide you.

4. Temptation in the Garden/Temptation in the Desert

a. The desires of the flesh -

i. Eve - Gen 3:6 - So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food

ii. Jesus - Luke 4: 3 - And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’ ”

b. The desires of the eyes -

i. Eve Gen 3:6 - and that it was a delight to the eyes

ii. Jesus Luke 4: 5 - And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time,

c. The pride of life -

i. Eve - Gen 3:6 - and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise

ii. Jesus - Luke 4:9 - And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,

D. Why? What is the big deal?

1. Love for the world pushes out love for the Father. The two loves cannot co-exist. You will serve one and get rid of the other. No one can serve two masters.Love for the Father pushes out love for the world

2. The love of the world is not from the Father.

a. the world killed Jesus

b. Christ overcame the world and now in Christ you can overcome the world.

c. If that is true of us, why do we get entangled with loving the world?

3. the world is passing away

II. Application

As I was preparing for this message and thought about the application, what can get us Fellowship Espanol thinking about application.

I grew up in what is known as the “holiness tradition” so i didn’t want this to turn into a session of do’s and don’ts because loving the world is a heart issue.

So as i searched I came across a resource by Andy Nasseli, Professor of Bethlehem College and Seminary which is very helpful and touches every area of life at all ages. What he did was formulate questions on how we are tempted as believers to love the world. So as i read theses off think, which one tempts me, what pulls my heart away from God?

1. Thinking about Sex

• Do you love the world when you think about sex?

• Do you think of sex as something beautiful and sacred that God created exclusively for a husband and wife, or have you conformed to how the world thinks about sex?

• Do you think that marriage and sex would be better if you or your spouse looked sexier according to the world’s standards?

• How do you respond to the ubiquitous sexually explicit images that the world celebrates?

• Do you seek out such images?

• Do you take second and third looks when you suddenly encounter such images while going about your business?

2. Thinking about Sexuality and Gender

• There is a worldly revolution in our culture regarding sexuality and gender. The issues include the role of men and women in the home, abortion, contraceptives that cause abortions, sex outside of marriage, same-sex marriage, and transgenderism.

• Do you love the world when you think about sexuality and gender?

Do you let the world define gender or do see the world as God created it to be, male and female?

3. Using Money and Having Stuff

• There is a wise way to earn, spend, save, and invest money that glorifies God. But do you love the world when you earn, spend, save, and invest money?

• Are you letting the world influence what you think you need in order to be happy?

• Do you prioritize being comfortable and having “nice” things, or do you have a wartime-lifestyle that prioritizes giving generously and spreading the gospel locally and globally?

• Do you find your treasure in the gold of this world such as new iPhones or whatever the latest gadget is?

• Do you love the world when you plan your future?

• When you envision your future, does it look basically like the typical American dream?

4. Using Social Media

• Do you love the world when you use social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter?

• Are you so absorbed with social media that you are lazy in real life and neglect your responsibilities?

• When you see updates on social media, do they awaken the desires of your eyes with the result that you envy people and covet what they have?

• Do you vainly desire to have more “likes” and retweets and followers?

• Do you use social media to feed your ego?

• Do you mindlessly scroll through and absorb social media and thus let the anti-God culture constantly influence how you think about relationships and money and material possessions and social status and celebrities?

• Do you feel the pressure that you must always appear happy and successful on social media and thus create a façade of the real you?

• Do you view immodest pictures or post them of yourself or your spouse? (Immodest means “lacking humility or decency.”) The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 22.1 (2018) 5. Watching Shows, Movies, and Sports

• Do you love the world when you watch shows, movies, and sports?

• Do you watch so much that you don’t have time for more important activities?

• When you have some free time, is your habit to spend that time entertaining yourself rather than doing something more edifying?

• Do you allow what you watch to subtly shape your worldview to become more worldly?

• Do you laugh at what God hates?

• Do you view sexually charged nudity and rationalize it as OK?

6. Reading Literature and Listening to Music

• Do you love the world when you read literature or listen to music?

• Do you rationalize evil storytelling or lyrics by calling it art?

• Do you enjoy stories that celebrate immorality—that lead your emotions to root for people to have immoral sex or to murder?

7. Eating and Exercising

• Do you love the world when you eat and exercise?

• What motivates your eating and exercise habits?

• Do you simply want to be healthy so you can look good and feel good and live a long time?

• Do you want to have a body that looks strong or that other people think is “hot”?

8. Relating to Other People

• Do you love the world when you relate to your family, friends, and neighbors?

• Do you buy the world’s lie that life is all about you, that what matters most is that you do what’s best for you, that you should “follow your heart” and “believe in yourself ” as you selfishly pursue your dreams?

• Do you compare yourself to others and ruthlessly compete against them?

• Do you do everything you can to exalt yourself at the expense of others?

• Do you value having a prominent status more than you value serving others?

• Do you care more about what others think about you than you care about what God thinks about you?

• Do you shy away from sharing the good news about Jesus with people because you are afraid of what they will think of you?

• Do you do what you do because you want other people to accept you and think highly of you?

• Do you marginalize people you think are poor or ugly or stupid or socially awkward and give special treatment to people who are rich or good looking or smart or popular?

9. Finding Your Identity

• Do you love the world when you think about who you are?

• Do you find your identity in what other people think about you or how great you are or what you have or what you have accomplished?

• Do you find your identity in being an outstanding student or a model Christian or a powerful preacher or a critical thinker?

• When you realize what the world prizes—being brilliant or rich or beautiful or skilled or witty—do you try to get it, or if you have it, do you take pride in that and prominently display it?

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Lk 4:9). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Lk 4:5). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Lk 4:2–4). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

and that it was a delight to the eyes

English Standard Version Chapter 3

and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ge 3:6). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.