Worldliness

Good morning, welcome to NHCC. Please open your Bibles to 1 John 2.

Community Thanksgiving Service- Tuesday night, 7:00 PM, United Methodist Church

Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges.

Sin is sin, and sin is destructive.

Rather than looking outward towards the sins of others, our desire is to focus our attention inward.

Pride, discontentment, selfishness, irritability.

This morning, worldliness.

Read 1 John 2:15-17- 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. 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. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Pray.

Let’s focus our attention first at our text. Two words ought to stick out to us. The first is love, and the second is world.

Love- agape- selfless, caring and kind love.

Love, along with its derivatives, shows up 51 times in 1 John. All of those places are positive except one.

1 John is a book that focuses on the need for love, but a warning is given that such love must be aimed in the correct direction.

It is possible, then, for love to rest on the wrong object.

Imagine John’s face in writing this letter. So much encouragement, with one stern warning.

Like being a parent and reviewing a really good day, while observing that one area that needs work.

So what is this negative use of love? Do not love the world or the things in the world.

Do not have your heart, your desire, your affection set on the stuff of this world.

Do not immerse yourself in the mindsets, the priorities, and the cravings of the world.

Begs the question, what is meant by world?

Greek word- kosmos.

John uses over 100 times in his writings. Three main meanings.

First, the world, as the sum of all created things- the universe.

John 1:10- He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.

Next, the world, as the dwelling place of man, perhaps the way we consider earth.

1 John 4:17- By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

Finally, the world, as the dwelling place of sin and sinners. That which exists without thought or obedience to God.

C.H. Dodd- “That which is organized on wrong principles, and characterized by base desires, false values, and egotism.”

Robert Yarbrough- “As a whole it is a realm that does not recognize Christ and that despises people who follow Christ. In a sense, the whole world is under the control of the evil one. The world is a sinister sphere indeed: it is an image of life where God does not rule.”

1 John 5:19- We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

Interestingly, all three found in John 1:10- He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.

When John in our text speaks of not loving the world, he is speaking in this third use.

This is important- not calling us to not love creation, or to not love who is in this creation, but instead to not love the systems of this fallen creation which rejects the rule of Christ.

Introduce Samson- Robert Godfrey- The patron saint of Christianity in America today.

Incredible story, especially to a young boy growing up.

But as a grown man, the various failures of Samson are noticed. Consider his story.

Set apart for service to the Lord. Given mighty strength as a gift from God that we meant to be used to defend Israel from the Philistines.

Hebrews 11- Hall of Faith- Mention of Samson as one of faith. We may not think of Samson this way. Despite all of his failures, a man of faith in God.

Samson was a fantastic example of worldliness, one that we will follow throughout our time together this morning. But we must be reminded that worldliness possessed a man of faith.

1 John is written to a church. Worldliness is a threat to God’s people.

Worldliness has grim consequences for our very love for God.

1. What is worldliness?

Kevin DeYoung- “Whatever makes sin look normal and righteousness look strange.”

C.J. Mahaney- “It’s loving the values and pursuits of the world that stand opposed to God. It is to gratify and exalt oneself to the exclusion of God. It rejects God’s rule and replaces it with our own.”

Been hearing from folks, this has been convicting. I agree. But I believe this is the most convicting of these sins.

See how everything is tied up together in this concept of worldliness- pride, discontentment, selfishness, irritability- it is all traced back to this concept of worldliness.

Samson sets a good example of worldliness in a few different places.

Judges 14:1-3- Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.” But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”

Notice the signs here- it is a disobedience to the very command of God. Even when reminded.

How many of us listen to the Word of God, and when we don’t, how many are willing to welcome words of gentle rebuke?

Samson exemplifies worldliness- she is right in my eyes.

2. How is worldliness destructive?

Worldliness robs us of God’s blessings.

We become enthralled with what passes away.

Like rock climbing and grabbing on to crumbling and eroded rocks.

Calvin argues we become like wild beasts as we ignore God for the pleasures of the world- “A corrupt mode of life is here mentioned...when men become so degenerated that they are satisfied with the present life, and think no more of immortal life than mute animals. Whosoever, then, makes himself thus a slave to earthly lusts, cannot be of God.”

Worldliness removes what it is that makes us people of faith- our love for God.

As our love of the world increases, our love for the Father decreases. We cannot love and adore both.

Doug O’Donnell- “Our lifelong battle with worldliness cannot be won by sheer willpower or personal resolve, but only through replacing our love for the world with a love for someone far lovelier. The glory of Christ is the antidote for all that dazzles and sparkles but fades.”

As we lose our love for God and replace it with a love of the world, we lose our identity as the people of God, and thus lose our witness.

We lose our distinctiveness.

Have we considered the reason that faith in Christ is so poorly defined today? The world has stolen from the Church.

3. How is worldliness to be conquered?

Recognize the patterns.

How have we become like the world?

Schedules, wallet, thoughts, entertainment, etc. Do we differ from the world at all?

Find the patterns and repent of them.

Be willing to close our eyes to the pleasures that surround us.

Doug O’Donnell- “The devil wants our eyeballs wide open to all that is wordly on this terrestrial ball. He wants us to covet all that is opposed to God.”

Same temptation faced by Eve in the garden- Genesis 3:6- So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

It didn’t stop there- this has been the history of God’s people throughout all of recorded history.

Close your eyes to the world around you- don’t intermarry as it will take you from God’s plan and will for your life.

It was when everything was stripped away from Samson that he could truly place his faith back entirely on God.

What was of value to the world, namely sight, was removed to make space for what was of value to God, namely faith in God and obedience to his calling.

Open our eyes wide to the things of God.

Philippians 4:8-9- Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

There are no qualifiers here. It is meant to be as extreme as it sounds.

Has it ever occurred to us that our lack of peace, our lack of intimacy with God, could be a result of what we have been taking in?