Love Not The World
11.22.2020
11.22.2020
John tells us not to love the world because the things of the world or not from the Father. When we love the things of the world it separates us from fellowship from the Father. Is it possible to love God and live for the things of the world?
We find ourselves in a world consumed with self-absorption, materialism, and other viewpoints and values contrary to God’s will and Word. Where do we fall prey to the false and fading desires of the world? How can we as believers live differently? In this week’s message of the This We Know: A Journey in 1 John series, Drew Zeiler contrasts the seduction and destruction of following the world and the freedom found through fellowship with the triune God.
Point #1: You cannot love God and simultaneously be living for the world. (1 John 2:12-15)
In this section, John reassures his fellow believers of their positional relationship with Christ and the realities of that relationship and the real results he’s witnessed from their faith. From this place of reassurance, John confidently and compassionately commands them, “Do not love the world or anything in the world.” Why such a stern warning? Love for the world’s corrupt values and love for God cannot coexist.
Point #2: The seduction of the world draws us away from fellowship with the Father. (1 John 2:16)
In 1 John 2:16, John reveals “an evil trinity” (“the flesh, the eyes, and the pride of life”) that relentlessly works to draw us away from fellowship with the triune God.
Point #3: The things of the world will not last, but doing the will of God endures forever. (1 John 2:17)
Rather than living for the world that is fading and whose pleasures are fleeting, John calls his audience to live for what will last forever. God has lovingly rescued believers from the world and offers a new path for His people to forsake the world and its evil desires and follow Him.
Application