The War With Worldliness | 1 John 2:15-17 | Richard Caldwell

Scripture

• 1 John 2:15–17

About this sermon

Introduction: In 2002 pastor John MacArthur was preaching a series of sermons through this section of the book of 1 John. I haven’t had opportunity to listen to that series, but it was the title they chose for the series that caught my eye. The title for the series does an outstanding job of providing a snapshot of a truth that this section of Scripture teaches. The title was, “the love that God hates.” I love that title because I’m not sure that our culture even has that category anymore. I’M NOT THAT THE LORD’S CHURCH THINKS OF THAT CATEGORY AS MUCH AS SHE SHOULD. Do we know, do we remember, are we living our lives mindful of the fact, THAT THERE IS A LIFE SHAPING LOVE THAT IS OUT OF STEP WITH CHRIST, AND THEREORE, IS HATED BY GOD? What is the world in the context of 1 John 2:15-17? It is not the world in the sense of the physical universe. It is not the world in the sense of humanity (like John 3:16). The world, as it is spoken of here, can be defined as the COURSE, THE PATHWAY, THE SPIRIT, THE MINDSET, THE PRIORITIES, THE DEVOTIONS, THE AMBITIONS, THE DESIRES, THE WAY OF LIVING — that characterizes mankind outside of Christ. THE WAYS OF HUMANITY ESTRANGED FROM GOD. It is the satanic system that shows up in the way that lost humanity thinks and functions. The world system is that floating mass of philosophies, values, beliefs, fashions, judgments, popular notions, priorities, ambitions, and behaviors that characterize a lost and dying world at any given moment in history. And we know, from Scripture, that that spirit of the age is demonically informed. ESV 2 Corinthians 4:4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2Co 4:4 ESV) ESV Galatians 1:4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, (Gal 1:4 ESV) That world system is as near to us as the air that we breathe. It is all around us, in every direction that we turn, because it is — simply put — the way EVERYONE ELSE (everyone who is not a BIBLICALLY HEALTHY CHRISTIAN) lives his or her life every moment of every day. It is something deadly that can seem normal because IT IS NORMAL for most people. It is something lying that is almost UNIVERSALLY BELIEVED. It is so strongly in the majority that only the power of God can explain NOT WALKING IN STEP WITH IT. And the church has always been warned about, and had to fight against, the devastating effects of it — not the least of which is lukewarmness toward the very Savior we profess to love. We see people who profess love for Jesus but then live with self at the center of their concerns and priorities. SO, TONIGHT, I WANT TO REMIND US THAT THERE IS A LOVE THAT GOD HATES. BUT I ALSO WANT TO REMIND US THAT THERE IS A WAR THAT WE MUST FIGHT. WE MUST CONSCIOUSLY WAR AGAINST ¬— IN OUR OWN THINKING AND AFFECTIONS — THAT LOVE THAT GOD HATES. We must resolutely and consciously reject the loves of this world and listen to God. And what is at stake is our very soul. Because as we will be reminded tonight, someone who loves the world (this is ultimately their character) is someone who doesn’t truly know God. What we see here is simple and straightforward but timeless and of tremendous importance. We will see four things: A commandment, a statement of fact, an explanation, and a certainty. I. A COMMANDMENT (vs.15a) The fact that believers are commanded to not love the world is evidence that though love of the world will not characterize the Christian (vs.15b), the Christian must still do battle with the temptations that the world represents. The Christian is called upon to make a decision to reject the sinful ways of this world, and to go on making that decision. When it comes to how the Christian relates to the present evil age, the Christian cannot be passive. The decision must be made to not love it. This is very instructive because believers often get confused about this, and it sometimes causes doubts. Does it seem strange to you that the Holy Spirit would COMMAND us not to love the world, then in the very same context tell us that BELIEVERS WON’T?

Topics

• Christian Living