1 John 2:15-17 : What's Not to Love?
1 John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 34:24
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· 112 viewsToday's sermon discusses what not to love and Whom to love
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Introduction:
We live in quite the modern age - especially in America. What’s not to love about today? We have washing machines and dryers with more buttons than we know what to do with. We have computers that remember everything for us that we can carry in our pocket and talk on! We have cars that have climate control and some even with heated and air-conditioned seats. We have entertainment in any arena you could imagine. There are places to go and things to do around every corner.
Yet, why is our country at the the highest level of suicide, depression, and alcohol and drug dependence that we have ever seen. What’s not to love about today? Let’s see what John writes to us as we turn to 1 John 2:15-17:
Read Full Scripture:
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 desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Prayer
Today we are going to discuss some things that John tells his readers not to love.
When these points are made today I want to be clear that the things of this world and the pleasures we experience in this world are not all inherently sinful. Do not misunderstand this message to be a message that says don’t have fun. Don’t enjoy your spouse. Intimacy is sin. Don’t enjoy food. Don’t ever go on vacation. Sleep on a rock instead of a soft mattress. Absolutely not. God has given good gifts to His children as seen in James 1:17.
The word love used in this section of Scripture is the word agape. It is unconditional love and a love that is described as a pre-eminent love. Pre-eminent is how we describe Christ. He is before all. There is nothing and there is no one higher than Him. The love we are discussing today is describing the danger of loving these things above everything else. It is loving these things more than Christ. The love we are discussing is the love of idolatry. Which brings us to our first point today:
I. Do Not Love… The Possessions of this World (2:15)
I. Do Not Love… The Possessions of this World (2:15)
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.
We see John warn us to not love two different things here. The first is - Do not love the world. At first glance this can seem a bit harsh. Does this mean that we go around and hate the world. We cast out all unbelievers and form our own communities? We shun our neighbors? Absolutely not.
As we have discussed time and time again - we use Scripture to interpret Scripture. We see that this is a false teaching because if this view of not loving the world were true then God would be sinning as we see in John 3:16:
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Obviously hating the people of the world is not a correct interpretation because God loves the people of this world and desires to see them saved and God cannot sin!
The word for world here is kosmos (koz-mos). It is used 6 times in these 3 verses. It this context, it means world order and refers to the system of the world. It is the system of the world that is opposed to God. It is dominated by Satan. It is the part of human society that is controlled by evil.
The great preacher Adrian Rogers once said, “The greatest sin of the world is to not love God.” Every other sin stems from this. The love of the world is not the greatest problem. The sin of rape, murder, coveting, adultery etc is not the main problem. These all stem from not loving God.
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.
Friends - would you be classified as loving the world? Do you march to the orders of this world? Do you fit in without trying. Do you fall in line with the twisted and sinful order of the world? Is your worldview any different than a lost person’s view of the world?
These are difficult questions we must ask ourselves. Where is our allegiance? Is our heart for God before all? Where is our pre-eminent - above all - love?
John moves from the overarching question of where our heart is - to the reason our heart may not be for God. The things of this world are often what snares sinful man into the evil world system in which we live.
13 No servant 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.”
Money and possessions have become the pre-eminent love our culture. Don’t believe me? Look at advertising campaigns. Look at what is exalted on billboards and commercials. We live in the culture of upgrade. Everything has to be the cream of the crop. We must have the newest…pretty much the newest everything in order to be happy.
Don’t hear me saying that getting a new car or a new gadget is sinful.
But what I’m saying, brothers and sisters, is please do not let this world system blind you into thinking that happiness and joy comes from money or possessions. Your marriage will not be made better by more money. Your children will not be more joyous because of more money and possessions. These possessions may bring a temporary happiness, but as everyone has seen - what made you excited one day - is off in a closet and not being used a few days later.
Our joy can only come from one place - Jesus Christ. He must be pre-eminent and first in our lives if we are to have true joy.
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.
John ends this section with a grave warning to those who do love the world and the things of this world. He states that they do not have the love of the Father. They are not a true child of God. True children of God may sin and fall in the trap of consumerism. I would venture to say we all have my friends. But true children of God repent and turn away from that sin. True children of God do not continue loving the world’s system of idolatry and opposition to God. If this is an area that you are struggling with today, please humble yourself before the Lord and repent. He is faithful to forgive you. Ask Jesus to keep your eyes on Him and not the on seducing possessions of this world.
John then moves on to warn us:
Scripture References: James 1:17, John 3:16, Luke 16:13
II. Do Not Love… The Pleasures of this World (2:16)
II. Do Not Love… The Pleasures of this World (2:16)
16 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.
John uses the word desires, or epithymia (epi-thee-mia) three times in verses 16-17. This word is is sometimes translated as lust or craving. This word, desire, can be neutral, but we see in this context that it is anything but neutral. John states that these desires are not from the Father but from the world.
The first desires given here are the desires of the flesh. This is an all-encompassing subject here. Many translations that translate desire as lust miss the wider application of this passage. Sexual immorality is most certainly included in this passage but it does not just stop there. The god of comfort is here. Slothfulness is here. Drunkenness. Gluttony. Excess of anything can be included in this.
The fleshly desires are all based on the self. They do not take God into account. Fleshly desires are all about filling a want in a person. It leads to one becoming inwardly driven instead of outwardly driven.
How quickly can we start to fall into this way of life? This temptation is at its worst when we are tired and/or hungry. If we are both - watch out! If you want to see someone who is living in the flesh - find someone who hasn’t slept well and hasn’t eaten in a couple of meals. It will become obvious where their mind and heart is!
We do need to care for our bodies and take care of our needs. Yet we must exercise self-control. When you get tired, hungry, exhausted - be sure to get your heart right with the Lord. Be in constant prayer and ask for strength to persevere. You can’t do it on your own, but our Heavenly Father can strengthen you and help you through the temptations you are facing.
This is the time when Satan is at his most effective. Remember - it was at one of Jesus’ weakest human moments ever - after 40 days of fasting - that Satan tempted Him in the wilderness (Matt 4/Luke 4). Yet Jesus was without sin. He persevered using the Word of God that He quoted back to Satan.
Note the next part of this passage: The desires of the eyes.
I was talking with my daughter on the way to breakfast with her this past week about how amazing it is that God created our eyes, colors, and light. God didn’t have to create us the way He did. He could have just made everything black and white. Or He could have given us a radar-like system to move without actually seeing. Yet He made so many beautiful things in creation.
In the book of Isaiah we see written:
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.
Our eyes can see the glorious creation that our God has made. They can cause us to fall down in humble adoration as we see the vastness of His created universe.
However, like any blessing, man finds a way to use it for sin. As the light enters our eyes, there is opportunity for temptation to enter as well. They can be misused for improper and impure purposes and lead us astray.
Lot’s wife found this out as she used her eyes to disobey God’s command to not look back as Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed and thus became a pillar of salt (Gen 19:17,26).
David used his eyes to lust after another man’s wife which led him into much sin which had grave consequences (2 Sam 11-12).
We can learn from these mistakes of those who have gone before us. May we instead be like Job who said:
1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?
He guarded his eyes. We must guard our eyes friends. We must guard from lust, from consumerism, from impurity, from sinfulness. The things that we see that go into our minds have a profound effect on us. The shows and movies that we watch, the magazines and books that we read, the websites we visit, the sales catalogues we browse, the beaches that we go to, the pools that we attend, the stores in which we shop. How do each of these affect your eyes? Are you guarding your eyes? Are you setting proper boundaries to resist sin? Or are you openly putting yourself into temptation and taking in the views that continually lead you into sin?
Be wise friends. Set proper boundaries in your lives. Don’t see how close you can get to the cliff’s edge before you fall. Set proper boundaries - not in legalism but in a desire to be holy unto the Lord. You are set apart brothers and sisters. You are not common. You are a son or daughter of the Most High God and He desires you to be separate from this world.
Do not love the possessions or pleasures of the world. And...
Scripture References: Matt 4; Luke 4; Is 40:26; Gen 19:17,26; 2 Sam 11-12; Job 31:1
III. Do Not Love… The Pride of this World (2:16)
III. Do Not Love… The Pride of this World (2:16)
16 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.
We find ourselves getting to the last phrase in this powerful verse. We get to the phrase pride of life. The word pride here is alazoneia - (a-laz-o-nia) which means arrogance, boastfulness, and false pretension. This is someone who pretends to be someone or something that they are not. The world pretends to be happy and yet suicide rates even among the most famous and popular continue to soar. The world pretends to have all of the right answers. Yet it is obvious that they do not have the answers to the most basic of questions such as why we are here.
This pride of life is the summation of the first two points. It is the pride of one’s status in society. It is measured by the world by the possession and power that one has.
This pride is ultimately an affront to God. It denies the need for God’s provision and blessing. It boasts in one’s own abilities and power devoid of their Creator. It is of the most serious of sins.
It all stems from a desire to be known by and praised by fellow man. We see it in children from the start. Mom...Dad... - did you see what I just did? It becomes less obvious but still present as we get older but you will hear it in the workplace with all of the sentences that start with the word ‘I.’ It can quickly become much less about the team that accomplished something and much more about the ‘I’ that accomplished something.
God’s view of man is much different that the world’s view. We see this fleshed out very clearly in an account told by Jesus in Luke 16:19-31. There is a rich man and poor man named Lazarus (not to be confused with the guy who Jesus raised from the dead!). The rich man lives in sin but lives in the pride of life. He has much wealth and possessions. Yet his heart is far from God. Lazarus is a poor beggar who eats some of the food that falls from the rich man’s table. Yet in the end we see the rich man in Hades and the poor beggar, Lazarus, in heaven.
God looks at the heart of a man. He is not impressed with your wealth, accolades, accomplishments, endorsements, looks, fitness level, or social status. He is all about humility and love. He is all about your obedience and submission to His Lordship over your life.
We cannot work our way to salvation. We cannot ever do enough to impress God. The real work has been done by Jesus Christ on the cross.
Do not love the possessions or pleasures or pride of the world. And finally...
Scripture References: Luke 16:19-31
IV. Do Not Love… The Progression of this World (2:17)
IV. Do Not Love… The Progression of this World (2:17)
17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
This world has an obvious progression today. There are some aspects of progress that can be helpful. Technological progresses have allowed us to communicate the Gospel to places that were very difficult to communicate with before. When using technology in a good way, we can actually create more free time to minister for the Lord.
However, we see another progression as well. This is not meant to be a political statement or an attack on either party - but we have progressives and a progression in our society and world that continues to push the envelop on sin. The progression of the world is one that continues to call good evil and evil good. Heterosexual-monogamous marriage is being shunned by this worldly progression. Morality and values are being shunned by this progression. Religious freedom and the right to life are being attacked by this progression. The Biblical mandate on marriage, gender roles, and family interaction are being undermined by this progression.
Beware of the progression of this world my friends. The desires of this world are the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life. These all lead to a progression into sin. And we know that this progression into sin will eventually lead to a destruction of this world system entirely.
Where do you invest your time and money? Is it on the things of this world? Are you running the rat race of corporate success and failing to serve in your local church? Are you spending hours and hours training your child in a certain sport or hobby and failing to train them in the fear and admonition of the Lord? Are you spending countless hours in front of a television and failing to evangelize your friends, neighbors, and coworkers?
My friends, we only have one life to live. Invest your money and time wisely.
Listen to Jesus as he discusses how we should invest our lives:
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
This world is passing away as John writes. The things of this world’s system will cease to exist. Your batting average won’t last into eternity. Your 401k won’t last into eternity. Your employee of the month plaque won’t last into eternity. Not that any of these are bad. But they are not where we are to put the majority of our invested time. Invest in the things that last.
My mentor and good friend Pastor Kenny once preached - There is only one thing that you can take with you when you to heaven. After a dramatic pause he said - other people. None of the possessions that you store up for yourselves will go with you after you die. However, when you share the Gospel with others and you train others to do the same and disciple them - your legacy will be much different.
As the old hymn states:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Let the things of this earth grow strangely dim as you look upon the beauty, majesty and glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. John ends this section stating that whoever does the will of God abides forever. As you put your focus on the Lord Jesus and abide in Him, you are freed from the loves of this world. The bondage of possessions, pleasure, and pride melt away in His Presence.
Scripture References: Matt 6:19-21
Conclusion
Friends, as we come to a close, let me ask you a tough question.
Is Christ enough for you? Don’t just answer it flippantly without thinking about it. Is Christ your true love? Or is it Christ plus something else? Christ plus my family. Christ plus my car. Christ plus my job.
Christ must be our pre-eminent love. He must be above all. Only then can we truly love our families in the first place. Only then can we truly enjoy our car as we thank God for His abundant blessings. Only then can we enjoy our job as we thank God for His provision.
If Christ is not first in your life, or if there is a close second that is causing you to stumble, take some time as we have some music played and give it to the Lord. We all have times in our lives where we may struggle to keep Christ as the focal point that He deserves. But we need to repent of this and ask God to help us re-calibrate our hearts to Jesus. As we bow our heads in a moment, spend some time in prayer to Jesus. Ask Him to help you love Him more. Ask Him to increase your faith and relationship with Him.
If you don’t know Him as your Lord and Savior - ask Him to be just that! It isn’t complex. Just repent of your sins, believe He is who he says He is - the Son of God who lived a sinless life on this earth, was crucified and rose from the dead three days later and now is at the right hand of the Father in Heaven interceding for His people - and give your life wholly over to Him. Acknowledge Him as the ruler and Lord of your life.
Let’s bow our heads and give some time of prayer to the Lord. Feel free to come up and I would be happy to pray with you as well.
Prayer
Have a blessed week!