When Love is Wrong

Mike Beck

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1 John 2:15–17 (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. 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.

Now the Christian is not supposed to love everything. He’s only to love that which God loves. Let me give you some scriptures to jot in the margin. Psalm 97 and verse 10: “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil” (Psalm 97:10). That’s a good one, isn’t it? Let me give you another one—Romans chapter 12 and verse 9: “Let love be without [hypocrisy]. Abhor that which is evil” (Romans 12:9). And the love that does not hate evil is a hypocritical love, the love that does not hate evil. If a man says, “I love God,” and he does not hate sin, that man’s a hypocrite. That’s what the Bible says, “Let love be without [hypocrisy]. Abhor that which is evil.”

You see, dear friend, if you love health, you’re going to hate germs. If you love flowers, you hate weeds. If you love cleanliness, you hate dirt. If you love God, you hate sin. And so the Bible says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.”

And so what in the world is worldliness? And why should a Christian not love this world? Well, three reasons. Number one: because of the character of the world—what it is. Number two: because of the corruption of the world—what it does. Number three: because of the condemnation of the world—where it is headed. These are three reasons why we ought not to love this world.

I. The Character of the World—What It Is

Now let’s think for a moment about the character of the world—what it is.

A. The Meaning of the Word World

When the Bible says, “Love not the world,” what does the Bible mean? Now there are at least three meanings of the word world in the Bible.

*Not the Physical World

In the first place, the Bible speaks of the world as the planet earth. And there’s nothing wrong with loving that. There’s nothing wrong with loving what God has made. Not the physical world is wrong. The Bible says in Acts chapter 17, verse 24, “It is God who made the world and all things in it” (Acts 17:24). So physical, material things are not bad. There are some people who think that if you love physical, material things you’re sinful.

Oh no, dear friend, there’s nothing wrong with loving God’s creative act—the birds, the bees, the fleas, the trees. They are all from God, and God made all things. And when God made this world, God stepped back, and God said, “It is good” (Genesis 1:31). And so don’t equate sinfulness with physical, material thin

*Not the Populated World

And when the Bible says, “Love not the world,” he’s not talking about the physical world, and he’s not talking about the populated world. He’s not talking about the world of people. Now the Bible says concerning that world, in John chapter 3 and verse 16—you know it—“For God so loved the world,”—that is, the world of people—“that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16). That’s how much God loves that world. And let me tell you there is no man on the face of this earth that you ought not to love if you’re a Christian—no man on the face of the earth that you ought not to love. And when the Bible says, “Love not the world,” he’s not telling us to hate people.

Well you say, “Some people are not very lovely.” That’s right. Look around and you’ll meet some of them. And go look in the mirror and you’ll meet one. Now let me tell you something, friend. None of us are lovely by nature. The Bible says, “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). And so we’re not to hate people. We’re to hate whiskey, but we’re to love the bartender. We’re to hate pornography, but we must love the pornographer. We’re to hate dope, but we love the dope pusher. And we’re to love all people, because they’re precious in Jesus’ sight.

* A Cosmos

And so when the Bible says, “Love not the world,” he’s not talking about the physical world; he’s not talking about the populated world. But the word that is used here is the word cosmos. “Love not the [cosmos].” Now what is he talking about here? This word cosmos means “a system”—“a system.” It’s a word that brings to mind an organization. And here when the Bible uses the word cosmos, it’s talking about Satan’s system that is organized against our Lord, or against our Lord and God’s Christ. The word cosmetic comes from this word. What’s a woman doing when she’s putting on her cosmetics? She’s systematizing her face. She’s putting it in order. The word cosmos means “order.” We talk about a cosmopolitan place. What does that mean—cosmopolitan area? That is an area that’s organized. You see, when the Bible uses the word cosmos, it means “an order,” or “a system.” In this particular sense, it means Satan’s order that is set against the things of God.

And so I want you to notice some things about the character of this satanic system that is set against God.

B. The Purpose of This World’s System

First of all, notice the purpose of the world. And let me say, incidentally, we use the word world in that sense all of the time. We talk about the world of sports. We talk about the world of politics. We talk about the world of business. Now I’m not saying the world of sports, politics, and business are evil, in and of themselves, but I’m just saying that’s the way we use the word world. We mean the system of business, the system of sports, the system of politics.

Well there is a satanic system also that the Bible calls this world. And I want you to notice the character of the world.

First thing I want you to notice is the purpose of the world. What is the purpose of the world? It is to oppose the Word of God. Look in verse 16: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father.”

Now anything that is not of the Father is a part of this world system. Anything that does not further God’s plan and God’s desire and God’s purposes. And so the purpose of Satan’s system is to oppose all that is godly and all that is righteous. And that system is working. Sometimes people foolishly say, “Well, God’s in His heaven and all is right with the world.” Well, God is in His heaven, but all is not right in this world, I’ll guarantee you that. For further information, read any newspaper. The purpose of the world’s system is to oppose the work of God, to be against that which the Father is for.

C. The Prince of This World’s System

Now I want you to notice not only the purpose of this world’s system, but the prince of this world’s system. And the prince of this world’s system is the devil himself. Look to the back of 1 John—1 John chapter 5 and verse 19:

1 John 5:19 ESV

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

Now literally this says, “The whole world lieth in the wicked one”—“in the wicked one.” And who is the wicked one? The devil himself. Jesus called him “the prince of this world,” in John chapter 12 and verse 31 (John 12:31). And as “the prince of this world,” he has organized it. The Bible says, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, [and] powers…[and] spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). And so Satan is the organizer and he is the motivating force behind this system that we call the world.

D. The People of This World’s System

It’s purpose? To oppose God. It’s prince? The devil. Now I want you to notice its people. Because this world’s system has many people in it. And we are to love the people, but we are not to love the system. Notice in Ephesians chapter 2—let’s just turn to that because it’s worth turning to—Ephesians chapter 2. I want you to notice how that Satan uses people to work out his system.

Now how does the Holy Spirit work in the world? Well, the Holy Spirit uses people. The Holy Spirit is in me right now. The Holy Spirit is speaking through me right now. Someone has well said, “He has no hands but our hands. He has no feet but our feet. He has no eyes but our eyes. He has no lips but our lips to do His work.” And God the Holy Spirit in the human spirit is energizing my mind, my body, my emotions, my will, to preach and to bring the message.

Now in the same way, the evil spirit of Satan works in the hearts and the lives of the people who are a part of this worldly system to oppose the work of God.

Ephesians 2:1–2 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

Now the sons of disobedience, those are the people of this world. And the Bible tells us that just as the Holy Spirit works in the hearts and lives of those who are saved, the spirit of Satan works in the hearts and lives of those who are unsaved. And therefore the unsaved will never understand the saved. Go back to 1 John the third chapter and verse 1, and you’re going to understand why we’re so easily misunderstood.

1 John 3:1 ESV

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

This world’s not going to understand you. Friend, when you try to explain spiritual things to an unsaved man, he’ll think you’re crazy. And he’ll look at you, and he’ll say, “I don’t see that.” And he’s not lying. He doesn’t see it.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:4, “The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.” He can’t see it. You might as well be trying to explain a sunset to a blind man. They think we’re crazy.

This is what John says. He says, “the world does not know us” That word knows means it doesn’t understand us.

John 15:19 ESV

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Christians are not supposed to be in some sort of a popularity contest. And we’re not supposed to get all upset with the heebie jeebies if suddenly we discover there’s somebody that doesn’t like us. Jesus said, “Beware when all men speak well of you” (Luke 6:26).

This world that hated the master is also going to hate the master’s servant. And so dear friend, we are in the world, but we are not of the world. We start at a different source. We follow a different course. We’re going to end at a different conclusion.

Remember this: that the people of the world are unsaved people. And a Christian is a twice-born man in a world of once-born men and he’s going to find himself going against the tide most of the time. We’re members of the human world, we live in the world, but we are not a part of Satan’s system of doing things.

To me, it’s like a deep sea diver who’s beneath the sea and that cord that goes up his life supply is from above. And while he’s beneath the water, he’s out of his element. He’s down there, he’s getting along, but that’s not his element. And he knows that his life is above and he stays in link with that life.

That’s the way we are, dear friend. We are in the world, but we are not of the world. Now it’s one thing for the diver to be in the world, but it’s quite another thing for the water to be in that suit. Now friend, it’s one thing for us to be in the world, but it’s quite another thing for the world to get into us. We are to stay in link with Jesus who is our life.

II. The Corruption of the World—What It Does

And so one reason we are not to love this world is because of the character of the world, what the world is. It is a system. It is a system of things that opposes all that is good and godly and righteous. Now the second reason we’re not to love the world, not only because of the character of the world, what the world is, but because of the corruption of the world, what the world does.

Go back to our text now, and look in verse 15 again:

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.

Now what does the world do? The world is here to draw away our affections from God the Father, to keep us from loving God the Father. No greater duty, no greater joy, than to love God. “This is the first and great commandment”: to love God. It is the greatest thing that you can do. The greatest sin is not rape, or adultery. The greatest sin is to fail to love God. “This is the first and greatest commandment.”

Love God: that’s number one. But this world is here to keep our love for the Lord from being all that it ought to be. That’s the reason James said in James chapter 4, verse 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.

And so this world is here like a flirtatious harlot to steal away our love from our Lord and Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. It is here to corrupt us. And we’re not to love the world, number one: because of what it is, the character of the world; number two: because of what it does, the corruption of the world.

1 John 2:16 ESV

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.

number one—“the desires of the flesh,”—number two—“…the desires of the eyes, and”—number three—“the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

And now you see the world’s three methods for stealing away your love from your Lord and your God and your Savior.

(see old Rick Warren notes-chart)

A. The Lust of the Flesh

The first of these is the lust of the flesh, and that deals with doing. The second of these is the lust of the eyes, and that deals with having. And the third of these is the pride of life, and that deals with being. All temptation is made up in one of these three areas—doing, having, or being—as we’re going to see in just a moment.

Now what does the Bible mean when it says the lust of the flesh? The lust of the flesh is that which appeals to man’s fallen nature. You see, the flesh is what you are in Adam. Now when the Bible says flesh, the Bible doesn’t mean “skin and bones,” the Bible doesn’t mean “hide and hair.” That’s not what the Bible means when it says flesh. He’s talking about the old nature, that nature that you receive from Adam.

See, the Spirit is the nature that you receive from the new birth; the flesh is the nature that you receive from the old birth.

And the Bible says in Galatians chapter 5, verse 17,

Galatians 5:17 ESV

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

And everybody who has been saved has felt this battle going on, this civil war within the forces of man’s soul. You’ve felt it, and so have I—everybody who has been saved. You know that you love God and there is that Holy Spirit within you bearing witness with your spirit that you’re a child of God. And you want to sing and praise and serve God, and yet you feel that old fleshly nature, as we sing it, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it; prone to leave the God I love” (Robert Robinson). And there is that battle that’s going on: “the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh.”

Someone said, “It’s like I have two dogs within me, a bad dog and a good dog, and they are always fighting.” Someone else said, “Who wins?” He said, “The one I say, ‘Sic ’em to.’”

And so it is with you, dear friend, that God gives you the choice that you can live according to the spirit or you can live according to the flesh. But the flesh is that principle that would draw away your love from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now the flesh is not the body, but the flesh many times operates through the bodily impulse. When God made you and God created you, God gave you certain impulses, good impulses, like the impulse of hunger and thirst and the need for rest and the need for achievement and the need for pleasure and sex. And all of these are God-given instincts. And there is nothing dirty or impure about any of those, but when the flesh takes these things over, the flesh takes these things and distorts them and perverts them and twists them and misuses them.

So hunger turns to gluttony, sex turns to immorality, the need for recreation turns to botchery, and the need for rest turns to laziness. Because then the flesh, that old nature, comes and takes the things of God and perverts those things and twists and distorts those things and tries to get us to fulfill a legitimate desire in an illegitimate way. And that is the lust of the flesh, and it deals with doing—just simply doing the wrong thing. I would say it’s what the young people call “doing what comes naturally.”

B. The Lust of the Eyes

Now there’s the lust of the eyes. And here’s the second tool Satan has in this world’s system to draw our love away from the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the lust of the eyes doesn’t deal primarily with doing; it deals with having. You see, the eyes have an appetite too. Have you ever thought about it? We know that the body has an appetite, but your eyes have an appetite. Have you ever heard anybody say, “Feast your eyes on that”? You see, there are some things we love to feast our eyes on. Now God made beautiful things, and God gave us eyes to behold beautiful things. And Jesus said, “Consider the lilies of the field…they toil not, neither do they spin…[but] even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Matthew 6:28–29). And yet there is a way in which the lust of the eyes and the desire to behold things and to have things and to look upon things and to fondle things can be perverted and distorted until we get very worldly.

Now this is a more of a sophisticated sin; it is more of an intellectual sin; it is more of a cultured sin. Some of you ladies who would never get caught in a discotheque could be very worldly. You’re worldliness may not be the nightclub; it may be the garden club. Now let me say I’m not saying the garden club is wrong. No, no. I’m not saying it’s wrong to grow flowers or to have a social, but I’m saying that when you accept a certain value system, and that value system is pressed upon you, and you’re so concerned about the lust of your eyes and the things that you see and the things that you have, then, dear friend, you have been caught up in what we call the system of this world. And that deals with having.

C. The Pride of Life

And then the third temptation is the temptation of being. And this is what the Bible calls “the pride of life.” And this Greek word is the word that we get the word braggart from. This is the person who wants to be number one. It deals with being. We want to be somebody.

That’s the reason that people are constantly gossiping. Do you know why people gossip? Well, they are trying to pull someone else down to their level. What they are really trying to do is not pull other people down, but push themselves up.

Do you know why it’s dangerous to try to save a man who’s drowning? He’ll drown you. Do you know why he’ll drown you? No, he’s not mad at you. He’s trying to push you down to push him up. That’s right. That’s why he will drown you. He’s trying. He thinks, if he can push you down, he’ll rise up. And there are a lot of people who are drowning in a sea of insecurity, and that’s why they gossip: trying to pull other people down in order to…

Why do people buy things they can’t afford? Have you ever thought about that? Why do they owe their soul to the country store? It is not primarily the sin of doing. It’s not because they want to do something with those things. It’s not even primarily the sin of having. It’s not the lust of the eyes that they particularly want those things. It’s the sin of being—they want to be important. They think that things will make them important sometimes. It’s keeping up with the Joneses. You know, we buy so many things we don’t need. We buy things we don’t need and buy things we don’t want with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like. And then we’re just keeping up with the Joneses, and about the time we catch up with the Joneses, then the Joneses refinance. And then we start all over again. And that’s the pride of life: wanting to be up with my neighbor, wanting this, wanting that.

Now you see, this is a system, a system of this world. And how vain it is and how foolish it is! And it’s passing away. But this is what the devil is using to draw away our love from the Lord Jesus Christ. “If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh,”—that’s doing—“and the lust of the eyes,”—that’s having—“and the pride of life,”—that’s being—“is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

* Jesus Met These Same Three Temptations

Now the Lord Jesus Christ met these same three temptations. Remember when the Lord Jesus Christ was tempted there in the wilderness? He met the same three temptations (Matthew 4:1–11; Luke 4:1–13).

For example, what was the temptation of the lust of his flesh? That was to turn the stones into bread, to satisfy his viscera, his craving for food. That was in the realm of doing. But Jesus overcame that temptation.

And then what was the next temptation? It was the lust of the eyes. Satan took Him up to an exceeding high mountain and showed Him all of the kingdoms of the world and said, “I’ll give you all of this if you’ll worship me.” And he showed it all to Him—the lust of the eyes. That’s the sin of having. But Jesus whipped Satan again.

And then the third thing was the temptation to the pride of life. He took Him to an exceeding high pinnacle of the temple and said, “Cast yourself down and God will give his angels charge over thee to bear thee up, lest thou cast thy foot upon a stone.” Well, the Bible had already said, “The LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple” (Malachi 3:1). Can you think what a publicity stunt that would have been if Jesus had just come wafting down into the middle of the temple, just floating Himself down there on angel wings? Why, that isn’t the way He came. Oh, He was the humble Galilean, but the devil said, “Be somebody; be somebody.” That’s the pride of life. “Pull one of the grandest publicity stunts that’s ever been known.” But Jesus refused to do it.

And I’ll tell you why Jesus refused to do it. Jesus said, “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me” (John 14:30). Do you know what that means? Satan couldn’t find any foul nest in the Lord Jesus in which he could hatch these eggs of rebellion. You see, Jesus was sinless. He wasn’t like we are.

You see, Jesus overcame the temptation of doing. He overcame the temptation of having. He overcame the temptation of being.

Now get me right here. It’s not wrong to do. It’s not wrong to have. It’s not wrong to be. But just do the right thing, have the right thing, and be the right thing, you see. Now everybody wants to do something. Everybody wants to have something. Everybody wants to be something. Why not the best? Why not the best?

You want to do something? Serve God. There’s no greater thrill. You want to have something? Well, when you serve Him, all things are yours. “The meek shall inherit the earth” (Psalm 37:11). You want to be something? What could be better than being a child of the king, a royal blueblood? Oh, you see, why take second best? In the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the fulfillment of these basic desires. It’s God that gave you the desire to do something. It’s God that gave you the desire to have something. It’s God that gave you a desire to be something. But don’t take second best. This world is not the real world; it’s passing away. And it is a world that will steal away your love from the

Lord Jesus Christ, and it is a world that will keep you from the fulfillment that God wants you to have.

III. The Condemnation of the World—Where It Is Headed

And so why does the Bible say, “Love not the world?” Number one: because of the character of the world, what it is. Number two: because of the corruption of the world, what it does. And then number three: because of the condemnation of the world, where it is headed.

Notice again verses 15 through 17:

1 John 2:15–17 ESV

Friend, I want to tell you about this system that Satan rules. It’s doomed. Satan rules a doomed domain. Satan sails a sinking ship. Why follow a loser? Listen. This world is passing away. Give it enough time and even the mossy fingers of time will pull down this world’s monuments. The foul breath of decay will destroy this world’s achievements. And it’s all passing. It’s going. You cannot keep it.

That’s the reason the Bible says, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36–37). Friend, if you could gain the whole world, it wouldn’t satisfy. You can’t gain the whole world, anyway. But if you could, it wouldn’t satisfy you.

Somebody asked J. D. Rockefeller, “Mr. Rockefeller, you’re a wealthy man. How much money is enough money?” Do you know what he said? “Just a little more.”

Friend, if you gained the whole world, it wouldn’t satisfy you; you’d want the moon fenced in for a potato patch. And I want to tell you something else. Even if it would satisfy you, you couldn’t keep it. This world is passing away; it’s going. How foolish we are to follow something that cannot last.

Now the pleasures—are you living for time, or are you living for eternity? Which are you living for? “Well,” you say, “I don’t know. How can I tell?” Well, if you are living for the pleasures of the flesh, you are living for time. If you are living for the joys of the Spirit, you are living for eternity. If you are living for what is seen, you are living for time. If you are living for what is unseen and therefore real, you are living for eternity. If you are living for the praise of man, you are living for time. If you are living for the glory of God, you are living for eternity.

To live for this world is foolish. It’s like painting the deck of a sinking ship. Dear friend, I want to tell you, Satan rules a doomed system. And long after this world’s system with it’s vaunted culture and with it’s proud philosophy and with it’s materialistic intellectualism and it’s godless ways have been forgotten, long after this planet has been replaced by new heavens and a new earth, those who do the will of God will be sharing in the glory of God for all eternity.

That’s what the Bible is saying here: “This world passeth away, and the lust therefore, but he that does the will of the Father abides forever.”

All right, step number one to knowing the will of God is presentation. And if you’re not willing to make that presentation, then go no further. The second word I want you to write down is the word transformation. For the Bible says, “And be not conformed to this world.” Remember what this world is? The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

Don’t be conformed to this world. That word conformed means “squeezed into a mold.” Don’t be squeezed into a mold by this world. “But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Now what does that word transformed mean? It comes from the Greek word that we get our word metamorphosis from. It means a change where the inner nature of something comes to the surface.

For example, an ugly, repulsive caterpillar crawls up a limb out on a leaf somewhere and spins a cocoon, and out of that cocoon comes a beautiful Monarch butterfly. Now really, that butterfly that comes out of that cocoon is that worm that’s gone through a metamorphosis, a transformation. What is the inner nature of a caterpillar? It’s a butterfly. And so a metamorphosis is when the inner nature comes to the surface. What is the inner nature of a Christian? Jesus Christ. Christ is our life.

But you see, dear friends, unless we present ourselves to Him, that transformation will never take place, and the Jesus that is in us will never shine forth, and we’ll not be transformed. There are many people who are saved, but rather than being transformed they are conformed. And they’ve been saved, but their inner nature never comes to the surface.

Most Christians need a metamorphosis. They need to present themselves to the Lord in such a way that their inner nature, the Jesus Christ in them, will shine out of them, and they will be transformed into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. We’re here to confront the world with Jesus Christ. That’s our job: to be rescuing men out world, to be telling them about the Lord Jesus.

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