The Love That God Hates

The Love That God Hates

1 John 2:15–17 NKJV

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 lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Introduction:

In Stephen Davey’s commentary on 1 John he uses a story about the Titanic to get his point across. While describing the horrors that people endured that night, he brought up the fact that a first class ticket to be on that boat would have cost around $75,000 in today’s money. He further brought up that not a single person would even pay seventy-five cents to be on that boat if they had known that it was going to sink that evening.

With that being said, there are a lot of people in this world that devote their entire lives to things that are fading away. We sacrifice time, health and relationships to pursue things that won’t truly matter in the end. Is that you today? Are you pursuing things you know you shouldn’t be chasing after, or things that you really know don’t matter? If so, this message is for you. This message is for all of us really. You see, God is calling us to take inventory of our hearts, to check up on our commitments, and to follow Him.

I want us to keep that in mind as we look at 1 John 2:15-17. It is here that John will teach us that the things of this world are not worth investing our love in, but that we are to be a people who love God. When we understand that, we will find our lives focused on things that won’t only matter for a moment or two, or things that make empty promises, but instead we will find ourselves focusing on things that will matter for all eternity. Today I want us to look into this passage remembering that loving the world is not a worthy investment, but why?

It Is Not Compatible With The Christian Life

Have you ever met someone that you’re not compatible with? They seem to like everything you don’t and they’re simply different than you are? Well, this is the description John is giving us of the Christian life and the life of someone who loves the world. They just do not fit together. Now, before we go any further, it’s important for us to know what it means to love the world. Does this mean you shouldn’t love the sunshine on a warm fall day? Does this mean you shouldn’t love the birds in spring or the smiles of children? Of course not! The word that John uses for “love” here is the Greek word “Agapao” and in this context it would mean “To place a higher priority on”. But what about the world? What does he mean here? Within the Bible there are a few usages of the word “world”; and in this context, John is using it to refer to sinful things. John is saying, “Hey, if you live a life that is sacrificially dedicated and obsessed with sin, that is the life of someone that isn’t right with God.” These things do not fit together. Stephen Davey writes, “This word [“world”’ is referring to the system of godless values, anti-God ambitions, and God-denying pleasures.”

Jesus said, “You cannot serve two masters because you will love one and hate the other.” And if we are people who say that we love God with our mouths yet live a life that makes sin our pride and joy, there is something seriously wrong. It would be like saying you’re obsessed with Duke but all you wear is tarheel blue and all you watch is UNC sports; your words and your lifestyle don’t line up. What we need to know is that when it comes to sin, it is like a thermometer that reveals the passion of our heart for Christ.

Now don’t fool yourself into thinking that you’re doing okay since you don’t cuss or have premarital sex or things like that, these are sins that not only sit on the outside of who we are, but also ones that reside within the inside of our mind.

Let me add here that I know that you struggle with sin, I know there is temptation and I know how hard that is. So what I’m not referring to is the Christian who is fighting hard and slips and falls but gets back up to fight again. What John is referring to is the person that lives a life committed to worldliness. What’s another reason the world isn’t a worthy investment of our love?

It Makes Promises It Can’t Keep

The ship of worldliness may seem like it checks all of the boxes for us, but the reality is that this thing is going down. It’s sinking. As a matter of fact, it’s already on its way down. 1 John 2:8 says, “Then again, I am also writing to you a new commandment, which is true in Him and also in you. For the darkness is fading and the true light is already shining.” But here in verse 16, John shows us a few empty promises that we should beware of if we’re going to avoid this sinking ship.

First, he mentions what is called “The Lust of the Flesh.” Now, most people would think that this is referring only to sexual sins, and that is certainly one of the things John may have in mind here. However, this word is a generalized term that has several things under its umbrella. What he is really communicating is the fact that we have a sinful and unsatisfying craving for things around us. We take the gifts that God gives us and in our sinfulness we take those gifts and turn them into little gods for us to worship. This can be with anything, sure it can be with sexual sins. But it can also be with gluttony and other things as well. One writer said, “The base cravings of the human heart pervert and distort all normal desires and send mankind into a relentless, unsatisfying pursuit of evil.” This world promises that it has the ability to satisfy the cravings of your flesh, but it’s a lie. You might be thinking that if you could just have one night alone with your boyfriend and girlfriend that you’d be satisfied, but it's a lie.

Second, he brings up “The Lust of the Eyes.” This has the idea of being captivated by what you see. This is really a big deal with advertisements today, especially on our phones. Have you ever noticed that when you’re on Facebook, you may see a cool little advertisement and when you click on it and look around, the next time you get on Facebook there are tons of advertisements similar to that one? That’s because Facebook learned what caught your eye. The lust of the eyes makes us think that if we could just have what we want so badly, we can finally be happy.

Illustration of Crashing Tahoe and losing Cell-phone and feeling that once I got new car and phone I’d be set.…

What John is asking us is “What are you craving” or better yet, “What matters the most to you?” I don’t know if I’m just weird, or if anyone else does this; but every now and again I sit in my office or at the house and this, “If something was on fire in here, what would be the things I’d make sure to grab?” That’s really a good way of exposing what really matters to us for sure.

Third, he makes mention of “The Pride of Life.” This is referring to the person who lives to brag about his achievements and possessions. This is someone who finds security is what they have and what they do. They don’t rest in the promises of God, they rest in the things they have. They have a god sitting on their hearts throne and it is self-glory.

One interesting thing that I found as I was studying this out, though there is some disagreement out there, is that this may reach back to Adam and Eve in the Garden. As Eve looks at the fruit she finds herself craving it, she finds its pleasing to the eyes and she wishes to possess knowledge to enhance her condition and ultimately it leads to the fall. And we find ourselves in the same condition don’t we? Before God saved us we were controlled by these things, and after God saved us we still fight them! So, let me encourage you to look to Christ! Remember Christ as He was tempted by Satan? He faced temptation from Satan. But when Satan tried to use these tactics, Christ prevailed over Him! And because Christ lived on our behalf, and because the Spirit that raised Him lives in us, we can fight back against sin. Now, the final reason the world is not a wise investment of your love is

It Is A Crashing Market

John encourages us to keep on fighting because this world is fading away. It may scream at you and tell you that it can fulfill all your desires, but it can’t even keep itself up against the death it is facing. And so, John calls us again to be like Jesus who came to do the will of the Father. Culpepper said, “Victory is certain, but resistance is required.” Guys, we who are in Christ win. The war has been fought and won, but we must be confident to fight the sin that remains until the Lord ends it all.

When I was a young Christian I would read the Old Testament and think to myself, “If God gave me a promise like He did to Abraham, or Moses, or Joshua; I wouldn’t be afraid of anything. I’d be so confident in His promise to me.” But then it dawned on me, God has made promises to me and to you. He has promised that He will strengthen us in this fight and that one day He will end all of the fighting. And because this is true, we can march into war against our sin knowing that the Lord is on our side.

So, as you find yourself feeling tempted to sin, whether it be to cheat on a test, to do something with a boyfriend or girlfriend that you shouldn’t or whatever it may be. Take a moment to realize that these feelings that are telling you that you’ll feel fulfilled, or accomplished, or secure in what they’re offering you is a lie. Instead, lift your eyes to Christ who is that living water that makes us never thirst again.