What's Your Choice?

Introduction

I have told you all about what it was like becoming a member of the Lutheran Missouri Synod Church growing up. The three years of studying, classes, memorization of Scripture, and the beliefs of the church all being integral and vital parts to what it meant to become a member. The importance of it, the seriousness of it, and the commitment behind what it meant, was all taught, learned, and placed on our hearts.

Well today this passage take a broader look at that commitment. As we begin our series this week called “Now What?” we begin looking at the most vital part of what it means to be a church member and that is believing in Jesus Christ, and choosing God over the world. We will dive into 1 John chapter two today, and look at \three short verses that give us a glimpse into what we need to do when it comes to calling ourselves members of the Body of Christ. Without today’s message the remaining four messages in this series have no weight behind them.

I want you to hear some numbers of a survey and research that was just done in 2019. 20% of those that attend church feel no connection to God, and a whopping 40% of those feel no connection to their faith. Almost 40% of millennials have no religious affiliation, this doesn’t mean they don’t believe in God, but don’t follow a set denomination. In 2017 only 37% of people said they regularly attend church. Why do I tell you these numbers? Not to make you say wow what is going on, or what can we do, but I want you to know that when I hear the above numbers I see a solution. For those 20-40% of people that do not feel a connection to their faith, I would ask how much of a connection they feel to the world? Of those 40% that don’t have an affiliation with a set of religious values I would ask, how many of them feel affiliated with the world? And of the 63% that don’t regularly attend church, I would be more than willing to bet, that for the majority the reason isn’t that they just don’t like church, but that something in the world holds their sight more prominently.

Today in 1 John we are going to see how the world can have such a negative impact when it comes to being a member of the body of Christ. We are going to see John come out and tell the people that he was writing too, that they cannot love the world and have the love of God in them. He is going to point out the contrasts between loving the world and loving the Father, what the world offers versus what the Father offers, and what is lasting and what will fade away. John writes this chapter not from a language viewpoint of a command, what we call the present imperative. It signifies not just a command that is expected to be done now, but one that is expected to be continuously lived out and obeyed. One that is a lasting commitment to God. He wrote it directly to Christians, and it was designed to get their attention, and point them to the only way, truth, and life that there is. He wanted them to understand and see the dangers of keeping themselves in the world.

Point 1: No Gray Area (Verse 15)

1 John 2:15 ESV

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.

The Warning

John warns the church not to pursue the world/worldly things, because these things are in contradiction to God

This is something that is echoed throughout Scripture. Often we hear Scripture talk about the dangers of the world. John knowing that the people could very easily not understand the dangers that lie within the world, starts this passage with a very upfront, no nonsense command. James states the same thing in his letter.

James 4:4

James 4:4 ESV

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.

What is the World?

But what is the world? To really understand what John is saying, as well as make sure that it is not taken out of context, we must look and understand what he means when he says world. John is essentially looking at the world as:

“The life of human society as organized under the power of evil”

This means he is looking at it, through the lens of all that is under Satan’s control. Sin, death, disease, hate, murder, envy, all these things, are from the world. They are in the world, and therefore, if someone is to love the world, it is to love these things.

Loving the World =?

This naturally leads to the fact that if you love the world then you do not have the Father’s Love in you.

Why? because your soul, heart, body is too full of the world, too full of hate, of greed, lust, envy. These things have no compatibility with God’s love. They cannot co-exist and just mingle next to each other within us.

What often times happens is when we place personal desires over God. We don’t feel we are outright rejecting God, just simply thinking in our minds that we love God, but we all also love these things of the world too. We try to let them sit on the same shelf with each other in our hearts. But what we need to grasp is that if we are believers in Christ and part of His body, we have so much more, and we don’t have to worry any longer about the world, because God is enough. Just listen to what John says later in this letter in Chapter 4:

1 John 4:4-6

1 John 4:4–6 ESV

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Not Contradictory

But some ask, isn’t this view against what God said? He tell us to love our neighbor, to pray for our enemy, to love one another, so how can John say we shouldn’t love the world?

Simple, think back to John’s view of what he means when he says world, he wasn’t looking at it like God was looking at it in John 3:16 . Viewed as people, the world must be loved. Viewed as an evil system, organized under the dominion of Satan and not of God, it is not to be loved.

The Christian is to love God and his brother or sister, but he is not to love the world.

Illustration of Point 1

Moses just said “No” to the things of the world.

He refused position in Egypt Heb 11:24

Hebrews 11:24 ESV

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,

He refused pleasures in Egypt Heb 11:25

Hebrews 11:25 ESV

choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

He Refused Promises of Egypt Heb 11:26

Hebrews 11:26 ESV

He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

Application

Brothers and Sisters if you part of the Body of Christ, if you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you belong to God. The first part of being part of that body is understanding that we can no longer love the things of the world.

How many people do you know that tell you they are Christians, because they attend church? How many people have you been around in life that sat in the same building as you on a Sunday morning, but you knew and others as well, that after they walked out the door, that there was no love of God in them?

If we are going to be effective members of the church. If we are going to call ourselves Christian, and make an impact for God’s kingdom, then we must make sure that we are loving God and not the world. As with all things it starts with a choice. You have heard me say my personal mission statement is, “Every day, choose God first.” There is a reason for that, and this is: I know that if I do not make the conscious choice to choose God first, each morning, before I do anything else, that I will fall back into my own selfish worldly desires. That apart from God and choosing Him I am nothing, and will choose the things of the world that lead to sin, which is what the next verse talks about.

Point 2: The Wold is Full of Sin (Verse 16)

All Things in the World are Not from God

The ancient audience was being wooed by Gnosticism which was prevalent during this time. This was the belief that the imperfections of the world were brought on because God was imperfect and made mistakes in creation. They believed in Jesus but didn't believe the need for salvation was due to sin, but instead ignorance of the spiritual realm, resulting in sin. They thought that there was a God, but that you could find a way to perfection through many different means to get to God.

Today's audience is met with somewhat of the same challenge, only this time finding themselves being told, that there is no God at all, and that the best way to find perfection, or goodness, is to do what makes you feel good. To love the world, and all the choices made in it, in the name of unity, harmony, and peace. John mentions three specific aspects of sins here.

Lust of the flesh

Lust of the Eyes

Boastful Pride of Life

Illustration of Point 2

There is a reason John breaks it down like this. you see.

Satan tempts us in three separate ways:

"The lust of the flesh is the desire to DO something apart from the will of God.

The lust of the eyes is the desire to HAVE something apart from the will of God.

The pride of life is the desire to BE something apart from the will of God."

The first desire appeals mainly to the body, the second to the soul, and the third to the spirit. Perhaps the most common manifestation of the lust of the flesh in modern western civilization is illicit sex (hedonism, idolizing pleasure). Perhaps the most common manifestation of the lust of the eyes is excessive buying (materialism, idolizing possessions). Perhaps the most common manifestation of the pride of life is trying to control (egoism, idolizing power).

Many have pointed out how the three aspects of temptation listed here parallel the way that Satan tempted Eve:

She saw that the forbidden fruit was good for food (Ge. 3:6), which was an appeal to the lust of the flesh.

She saw “that it was a delight to the eyes.” This appealed to the lust of the eyes.

She also saw “that the tree was desirable to make one wise.” This appealed to the boastful pride of life.

The same pattern occurs in Satan’s temptation of Jesus (Luke 4:1-12). Satan urged Jesus to turn the stones into bread (the lust of the flesh). He showed Him all the kingdoms of the earth, offering to give them to Him (the lust of the eyes). He encouraged Him to jump off the pinnacle of the temple, which could have been a source of pride in this miraculous accomplishment.

But you see we don’t have to concern ourselves with these things any longer. And the answer as to why is actually given to us in verses 12-14 before our passage today where it says:

1 Jn 2:12-14

1 John 2:12–14 ESV

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. 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. 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.

Application

Church, these are the things that will tear a body of believers apart. To be an active member of the body of Christ, the expectation of that member is that they will avoid these things of the world.

I know we are all sinners, I know we are all broken, and that we are not perfect, and accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior doesn’t make you perfect. But what it does do is give you the ability through the help of the Holy Spirit to be guided and directed and understand the difference between making a choice that is in line with God’s will and one that is not.

That is why church discipline exists. Not so power hungry pastors or lay leaders can act like Pharisees and point out all your flaws. But rather to help guide its members in love. To make sure that when someone drops the wheel of the car off the curb, that they are there to be the warning system, saying, hey you have to steer it back up here!

Church, this is where discipleship is so important, because when you have someone that is investing their life in you, spending time with you, checking up on you, holding you accountable, these sort of things get noticed early, quickly, and are easily corrected. And the reason for correction is due to the consequences that come from falling off the path, and that is what our next point is about.

Point 3: Temporal World v Eternal God (Verse 17)

The World is already passing away

Just like the moment you are born, your body begins its journey to the end, so too has the earth. God was not thrown off when man sinned, and thus he has known since the beginning that the world had started its journey down the path to passing away.

Its lusts are no different and are passing away with it.

And Anyone who is clinging to those lusts will swept away with it as well.

Think of Noah and the flood, all those people that loved the world and their own desires over that of God, found themselves swept away with the flood when God destroyed the earth. And He promised at that point he would never destroy the earth again by water. And He doesn’t lie, as the next time it will be by fire.

But to those that love God.

Those who abide in Christ will last forever

Only one kind of person will remain

The man who does the will of God.

Jesus had said that ‘whoever does God’s will’ was his ‘brother and sister and mother’ and as part of the family of God those people get the gift of eternal life and will never pass away.

The World is not Permanent

Because the world is not permanent believers should not grasp at it. As we read earlier in 1 John 2:12-14 We no longer need to think that the world is a reward, as we have been given an eternal reward in Heaven. We have been given that by an eternal permanent God.

God is Permanent

Revelation 22:13 shows us God saying that He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He existed before time, and will exist after it. He is the one that we need to cling to. He is the one that will lead us to fulfillment, peace, and joy.

Conclusion

Church the values of human societies should not define us as believers. Instead, our values should be shaped by Jesus’ values. I came across this saying in my studying of this passage: “John is in favoring of love, but acquiescing to evil is not love. The believer’s passion should not be for what culture offers but for what God desires.” What he means here is that loving people is fine, God tells us to, but giving into evil in the name of progress, peace, unity, acceptance, is not love. Allowing someone to continue down a path of destruction because the world tells us too is not love. Instead as the Body of Christ, as members of the Church, our passion should be to point people to what God desires, what His Word says, what His truth is.

This means as a member of the Church you are to remember the knowledge of the true God and His Son, Jesus Christ, and the need to avoid sin; and to avoid idols.

The major problem is thinking that you can love the world, and the pleasures that it has, while still loving God. This passage offered a very simple solution. That to love the world is to not have the love of God in you. That in order to have the love of God in you, you must be obedient too, believe in, and follow Jesus Christ with your entire heart, life, and soul.

Being a church member isn’t about being part of a country club. It’s not about being able to put a patch on a jacket, or a bumper sticker on your car to try and tell the world who you are. It comes with responsibility, it comes with making a choice to love God over the world. It comes with making a choice to choose God over yourself.

The world cannot lead you to anywhere but sin and decay, but Jesus Christ leads you to focus on the love of God, and leads to eternal life. Let’s pray.