May God add his blessing to the reading and preaching of his Holy Word. Amen.

Prayer:

Lord God, our gracious heavenly Father, as your redeemed people on earth we desperately need the enlightenment of your Holy Word so we can know you and know your will for our lives, so we can see more clearly our sins and our lack of conformity to your Word. As we seek to open up this portion of your Word, teach us your truth and teach us how to think and to live as your servants in this world, we pray in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

To encourage and to warn

One thing we are seeing in this letter of 1 John is that it is a reality check on our Christian lives. It shows us the Christian life as it really is – the realities of saved sinners living in a hostile world that is opposed to Christ, and ourselves still struggling with indwelling sin.

John’s letter often alternates between assurance to believers and warnings to those same people, from being proud of them to telling them to “be careful, be alert”. This is consistent with the Apostle’s teaching in this letter on the Chrisitan life. It is a life secure in Christ’s salvation, but which remains in the world with all its allurements which would turn us away from God because we still have our remaining sinful tendencies that continue to dog us, to harass us. We are secure in the Lord throughout our Chrisitan pilgrimage, but we are never free from struggling against the world, the flesh (i.e., our sinful nature,) and the devil. We’ve been forgiven our sin by Christ’s blood, yet we still sin because we’re growing up and maturing in Christ, and we haven’t reached perfection yet.

The call of the Christian life is a calling into spiritual warfare. We have been drafted into Christ’s army of soldiers on earth – to bring in his kingdom and rescue people still enslaved to Satan and his will.

We see this pattern, these realities, presented continuously throughout 1 John. So the message is plain: be assured and be strong in your salvation, but be alert to sin that will try to trip you up - be alert to it, resist it, throw it off.

When we are called into Christ’s kingdom, we have traded slavery to Satan for servanthood to Christ. Christ is our king, we are his subjects; we are under his authority. We do not belong to ourselves anymore, but to him. We’re to live for his glory, to make known his fame in all the earth. Our consuming passion is to see the Lord Jesus Christ glorified through our lives, glorified in our church, and glorified in the world through the salvation of sinners.

In the previous three verses to our passage today, you may remember, that Brother Wayne opened up for us last week, we saw these three groups of believers called children, fathers, and young men – really a description not of three different age groups, but of three different levels of spiritual maturity among the believers in the churches to whom John was writing. Yet at the same time there is a sense in which all three groups share in the same realities: their sins are forgiven, they have come to know Jesus Christ personally, and they are strong in the Lord, having overcome the evil one.

Brothers and sisters, if you believe in Jesus Christ your sins are forgiven, you have come to personally know the living God through his Son, and you are strong in him and have overcome the evil one. You are not perfect, but these spiritual realities are true in your life.

But having given his people these great assurances, the Apostle John confronts them with another reality check – it may seem rather abrupt – he says, in 1 John 2:15, “15 Do not love the world…” O you spiritual Christian man or woman, “Do not love the world.” You whose sins have been forgiven, “Do not love the world!” You who have come to know the Son of God personally, “Do not love the world!” You who are strong in the Lord and have overcome the evil one, “Do not love the world!” You who live in Dallas, Texas, “Do not love the world!”

Every word of scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit and therefore is as authoritative as if God Himself speaks out of heaven and says to us today, “Do not love the world!”

Why would John say this? He says it because it needed to be said! Yes, these people had had their sins forgiven, and they had come to know Jesus Christ personally, and they were strong in the Lord, but there was a real danger constantly lurking around them and even inside them, in their minds and hearts – it was love for the world.

We had better stop now and be sure we understand what John is talking about when he says “the world.” We’re told not to love it, so let’s think about what John means by “the world.”

In the scriptures the word “world,” which is kosmos in Greek, can have different meanings:

It can refer to the natural world – to plant earth, as in Psalm 24:1:

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,[a]

    the world and those who dwell therein,

It can also refer to the whole human race, as in John 3:16, “16 “For God so loved the world,[a] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Or it can refer, as David Jackman says, to “an organized system of human civilization and activity which is opposed to God and alienated from him. It represents everything that prevents man from loving, and therefore obeying, his creator.” (Logos Bible Software).

John R. Stott says that the term “world” is “-“an inclusive term for all those who are in the kingdom of darkness and have not been born of God.” JRS p. 101

“The world and the Church are thus portrayed in sharp contrast to each other, two entirely separate and distinct groups of people, the one under the dominion of Satan, the other born of god and knowing God.” JRS p. 102

[The Christian] is to be neither conformed to, nor contaminated, by the world….He is not to escape out of it; he is to remain in it…he not only resists the allurements of the world but he positively overcomes it… by his faith. JRS p. 102-103

In the last chapter of 1 John, in 5:19 we read, We know that we are from God, and (A)the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. This is why we are not to love the world, because it lies in the power of the evil one. This is a reality we need to be aware of. We would not even know it, if it were not revealed in the Word of God.

We look out over our beautiful city with all its buildings and restaurants and sports arenas and beautiful people, but the Word of God tells us that it’s not so beautiful as it seems. Underneath and permeating all of human society is the power of evil, of Satan. What is Satan trying to do? He hates God and he hates God’s people. He is trying to turn people’s attention away from God and to get them to rebel against God, like Satan did to Eve in the Garden. Satan wants to lure and pull people away from the righteous and holy God and instead entice them to live unholy lives, lives immersed in all kinds of sinful thinking and behavior.

Instead of love for other people, Satan would have us immerse ourselves in jealousy, envy, and hatred.

Instead of loyalty to others, Satan would lure us into betrayal of others.

Instead of self-control, Satan would urge us to plunge ourselves into satisfying every bodily appetite, with no restriction, no limit – complete dissipation, throwing off all restraint.

Rom. 12:2 says, - 2 (A)Do not be conformed to this world,[a] but be transformed by (B)the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may (C)discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The world system, society, culture, will always try to get us to think like they do, to behave like they do. It is the “herd mentality” -you “go with flow.” But that is not our calling from God. Our calling is to “)discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

O the blessed will of God! To be in the will of God is to be in the place of peace and joy and fulfillment – to be in the place our God would have us to be.

In 2 Tim. 4:10 we read of a former companion of the Apostle Paul, - 10 For (A)Demas, (B)in love with (C)this present world, (D)has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. We hardly know anything about Demas, but we know he had been in association with Paul - then he deserted Paul. Why did he desert him? Because he loved something more than the blessed Gospel and blessed Savior – he loved the world and its way of thinking, it’s deceptions and jealousies and envies and rivalries – its boasting and arrogance and selfishness and wealth and pleasures.

Matt. 6:24 says, - “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” The Christian in this world cannot serve Satan; he must serve God. Satan and God are incompatible; they are opposites, they are arch-enemies.

You or I may say, “Oh, I wasn’t that bad before I became a Christian.” That’s not what the Word of God says. Hear Eph. 2:1-2, 3 – “…you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course[a] of this world, following the prince of the power of the air… carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind…”

The “world” here refers to humanity’s united effort to rule their own lives the way they want, to set their own rules and standards – out from under the rule and authority of God. “World” here refers to humanity’s crew on the ship of life in mutiny against its lawful captain, who is God himself.

John, as an apostle of Jesus Christ, commands us his people not to love the world – that is, the ungodly thinking and lifestyle of those who do not know God, who do not live by faith in him.

Now it’s significant that the word “love” here in v. 15 is the Greek word agapao, the same word Jesus used when he asked Peter if he loved him, after he had denied him. It’s the Greek word for love that is the deepest and strongest.

So, I believe John is saying here, don’t put your deep and strong love for something not worthy of such devotion, that is, the world, the worldly mindset of a society in opposition to God. And he says also in v. 15, don’t love the things in the world – don’t love the things of the world with deep and strong love. That kind of love needs to go to God and to other people.

Don’t love your car with agape love, don’t love your house with agape love, don’t love your sports team with agape love, and so forth. These things don’t merit your deep and strong love. They are all fading away. Only God will last forever. Set your deep and strong love on him and his people, on his church, on his Word.

So we’re not to love the world’s way of thinking which is in opposition to God. Nor are we to love the things of the world. How many people love material things so much? They love their cars and their clothes and their watches and jewelry and so forth. There’s nothing inherently wrong with material objects, but we shouldn’t make idols out of them – devote our lives to them – make them the supreme object of our affection.

Now there are, as I see it, three major truths the apostle is laying out before us in these three verses. The first is that…

I. The great sin of the world is its absence of love for the Father.

Look at verst 15, 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. 

To set our love on the world, on this sphere of operation that is resistant and rebellious toward God, that leaves him out of the picture, reveals a fundamental flaw in human life: the supreme love of our lives which should go to our heavenly Father has been thrown aside and a cheap substitute has been put in its place. We said earlier that Jesus said no man can serve two masters.

If a person loves the Father he will want to please the Father.

If a person loves the world, he will want to please the world and conform to all its thinking and behavior. Jesus said regarding his Father, “ I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” John 8:29.

As Jesus always pleased the Father in all that he did, so should we. Hear this exhortation from the Apostle Paul:

1 Thess. 4:1 - Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

How are we to walk in this world? To please God, our heavenly Father. If we are trying to please the world, we won’t be pleasing our heavenly Father.

The world says, “It’s okay to tell a lie to get the things you really want.”

Our heavenly Father says, “Speak the truth to your neighbor.”

The world says, “Don’t waste good time going to church.”

Our heavenly Father says in his word, “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as is the manner of some.”

The world says, “It’s okay to cheat on your wife.”

Our heavenly Father says, “You shall not commit adultery.”

So the world and it values are opposed to God and his standards. One cannot love the world in all its ungodliness and at the same time love the Father.

God is eternal; this world is temporary.

God is truth; this world is full of lies.

God is light; this world is full of darkness, especially spiritual darkness.

God is love; this world is full of exploitation, abuse and hatred.

I. The great sin of the world is its absence of love for the Father.

But secondly,

II. The chief sins of the world are the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life. Look at verse 16:

16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life[a]—is not from the Father but is from the world.

The word “desires” here in v. 16, “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes” is translated in the KJV as “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes…” The Greek word is “epithumia” which means a strong desire, a “longing for” something – the “strong desires of the flesh.” What does he mean by flesh?

The word “flesh” here in verse 16 means “sinful human nature” - the desires of sinful human nature. What are some of the desires of “sinful human nature?”

Paul tells us in Galatians 5:19-21, “…the works of the flesh (ie., sinful human nature) are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,[d] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do[e] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Paul is serious, God is serious, about us abstaining completely from these sins of the flesh, sins of the sinful nature.

Rom. 13:14 - 14 But (A)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, (B)to gratify its desires.

Gal. 5:16 - 16 But I say, (A)walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify (B)the desires of the flesh.

Rom. 8:4 - 4 in order that (A)the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, (B)who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Gal. 5:24 - 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus (A)have crucified the flesh with its (B)passions and desires.

Then the Apostle John goes on to mention a second category of “desires or lusts or longings,” – the “desires of the eyes.” This probably refers to the fact that we often see things around us, in our city, in the internet, that we may want, we want it for ourselves, we covet it – “I’d give anything for that thing,” we lust after it, we want it, we are consumed by desire for it.

The advertising business capitalizes on the desires of people’s eyes and sets many attractive things before the public’s eyes, trying to entice them into buying various products. A liquor advertisement, for example, can be especially alluring to a person who has a weakness for alcohol.

The third sin named here is “the pride of life.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones describes this sin as “pride in oneself…at the expense of someone else…that has nothing to do with the soul and spirit of man. [Such as] pride of birth, pride in your family, pride in your company…pride in social status… the jealousy and envy which arises – the pride of life.” P. 218.

The great sin of the world is its absence of love for the Father.

The chief sins of the world are the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life.

Now, in contrast to loving the world and the things of the world, and being captivated by the sins of the flesh, the apostle tells us in verse 17,

III. The world and its desires is fading, but the one who does the will of God abides forever.

The Apostle Peter echoes this in 1 Peter 4:2 - 2 (A)so as to live for (B)the rest of the time in the flesh (C)no longer for human passions but (D)for the will of God.

Matt. 6:10 -(S)Your kingdom come,

(T)your will be done,[b]

    (U)on earth as it is in heaven.

Matt. 12:50 - 50 For (A)whoever (B)does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Matt. 26:42 -42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, (A)your will be done.” Jesus is our model and example.

John 4:34 - 34 Jesus said to them, (C)“My food is (D)to do the will of him who sent me and (E)to accomplish his work. 

Job 23:10 - I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;

    I have (A)treasured the words of his mouth more than my (B)portion of food.

1 Thes. 3:8-10

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;

Hebl 13:21 - 21 (A)equip you with everything good that you may do his will, (B)working in us[a] that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, (C)to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

The great sin of the world is its absence of love for the Father.

The chief sins of the world are the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life.

III. The world and its desires is fading, but the one who does the will of God abides forever.

This is a reoccurring pattern in john’s letter: assurance and warning. Assurance of salvation, yet warning about sin. In fact, the whole letter ends up with this warning to these devoted believers, Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

Here the warning, the command is, “Do not love the world or the things in the world.”

Let me ask you this. Is there anything in this world that you love more than God and that you are devoted to? What is the driving force of your life? What is your consuming passion? Is it to conform to the thought patterns and lifestyle of popular culture, or is it to serve and honor and worship the Lord Jesus Christ, to seek his will and to carry it out in your life, to the best of your ability, by his grace and help?

What does Jesus say? “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…”

O, the blessed kingdom of God, O the blessed will of Christ, O to be pleasing to him, O to bring him glory through our lives.

This is our calling, this is our command, this is our solemn obligation.

Let us not be slack or neglectful of the will of God, but seek his kingdom, seek his will, that we might be pleasing servants in his sight.

And let us stand by one another, and encourage one another in the good fight of faith, in this great calling, this great privilege, to live all our days for the glory of our blessed Savior, who came from heaven and took upon himself our human nature so that he could die for our sins and rescue us from eternal destruction and bring us into his fellowship and communion.

To God be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus, forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer:

Most gracious God, what high privilege and calling you have issued to us in our lives. Help us, Lord, not to love this evil world system or the sinful things and activities all around us, help us deny the desires of our sinful nature and the desires of our eyes and the pride of life. Forgive us, Lord, when we have failed you in these matters. Give us grace and strength, we pray, to seek and do your will in all things. We pray with thanksgiving in Jesus’ name. Amen.