CONFIDENCE IN A CHAOTIC WORLD
(Do not love the world - July 25, 2021)
Series Big Idea: "Close fellowship with Christ silences the destructive beliefs and behaviors of this world"
Sermon Big Idea: "The love of the world is temporary, but the love of God is eternal life"
Key Scripture (1 John 2:15-17)
(1 John 2:15-17)
15 Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. 16 For everything that belongs to the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle—is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God’s will remains forever.
Last Sunday I told you that the thrust of this letter or epistle was not to tear down or discourage his readers. John was encouraged by the spiritual state of these people. He wasn’t questioning their salvation. They were a maturing group of Christians he was proud of. But, part of his reason for writing was because of their spiritual maturity. He knew there were dangers that existed for every Christian and it doesn’t matter how mature they are. He warned them and reminded them of these dangers. The most extreme danger was the love of the world.
John said "Don't love the world." It is the first command in this letter so far. This is not really a reference to the physical or material world but rather the invisible system of evil that is dominated by Satan. (2 Corinthians 10:3) For though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way, 4 since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments 5 and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ.
John identified three Desires that are from the world and not of the Father.
The desires of the flesh. These reveal themselves in thoughts, the will and actions. Although these human desires may be natural and are God-given, it is humans fallen nature that drives them to satisfy these desires in ways that are not of God. Yes, this could be gluttony, alcoholism, and sexual immorality. But they are much, much more than these. Such a self-centered life then is spent on things that have no lasting eternal value. But those people who align their lives with God's revealed Word have crossed over from the mortal to the eternal.
The desires of the eyes. This refers to anything seen. Someone defined this as "the tendency to become captivated by the outward show of things without inquiring into their real values." In John's Gospel he uses the word "eyes" at least 12 times in the story of the healing of the blind man in chapter nine. Jesus must be the One who heals our spiritual blindness. This allows us to see not just what is physical but what has been revealed from heaven. "Jesus has healed our spiritual blindness so that we can see the significance and scope of the salvation he has brought into the world."
The boasting of life.
The worldly person only wants to satisfy themselves. But John is saying that Christians will need to continually resist the influences of the world. The world, in it's natural state, wants Christians to desire it. But, John says that a friend of the world is hatred for God. He seems to be saying that those people who have their security in all their worldly things and wealth makes them so prideful that they overlook their need for God and their dependance on God (Proverbs 30:8). These people don’t realize that everything they have is not of God and will pass away and has no eternal value.
CONCLUSION
It is God, not the world, that must have first place in the Christian's life.
(Philippians 3:20) but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. What the world has to offer is temporary, but what God has to offer is eternal. Even the most permanent things of this life that are not of God have no eternal value.
Yes, we rally against all of our societies evils, as we should. But we must be careful not to only identify specific behaviors that are destructive and evil like drunkenness, addictions, and sexual immorality. These evil behaviors are not from God. But isn't John speaking on a deeper level here? He seems to be saying that we should instead question the entire value system of all contemporary life at its very roots.
The behaviors mentioned above are symptoms of a much bigger problem; The world being alienated from God. If we are not turning and directing our lives toward God in every decision of every day, it doesn’t matter how passionate we are about the needs and cares of this world; it is like polishing brass on the Titanic. We do a lot of things that make us feel good and think they are even important, but in the end we are just wasting our time. Let's stay focused on Jesus.
Pastor Beaver's thoughts and ideals for this message, are inspired by:
Holman Christian Standard Bible
English Standard Version Bible
King James Version Bible
Christian Standard Bible
Water, Mark, ed. Encyclopedia of Bible Facts. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004. WORDsearch CROSS e-book.
Barry, John D. et al. Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016. Print.
NIV, Archaeological Study Bible, eBook: An Illustrated Walk Through Biblical History and Culture
Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Duane Garrett, and Walter C. Kaiser Jr.
NIV, First-Century Study Bible, eBook: Explore Scripture in Its Jewish and Early Christian Context
Zondervan, Kent Dobson, and Ed Dobson
Hughes, Robert B. and J. Carl Laney. Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1990. WORDsearch CROSS e-book. Revised edition of New Bible Companion.
Vincent, Marvin Richardson. Word Studies in the New Testament. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887. Print.
Robertson, A.T. Word Pictures in the New Testament. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933. Print.
MacArthur, John F., Jr. The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006. Print.
Yarbrough, Robert W. “1 John.” CSB Study Bible: Notes. Ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017. 1995. Print.
Barton, Bruce et al. Life Application New Testament Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2001. Print.
Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Vol. 2. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. Print.
Smith, Jerome H. The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge: The Most Complete Listing of Cross References Available Anywhere- Every Verse, Every Theme, Every Important Word. Nashville TN: Thomas Nelson, 1992. Print.
Jobes, Karen H. 1, 2, & 3 John. Ed. Clinton E. Arnold. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014. Print. Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament.
Walls, David, and Max Anders. I & II Peter, I, II & III John, Jude. Vol. 11. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999. Print. Holman New Testament Commentary.
Manser, Martin H. Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies. London: Martin Manser, 2009. Print.
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