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LOVE NOT THE WORLD

Christian Life, ,

LOVE NOT THE WORLD

“Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him…. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. “ 1 John 2:15, 17

Satan attacks us on two fronts. He comes at us directly from the outside through people and circumstances, illness, conflict, persecution, treachery, injustice, financial constraints etc. W know where these things come from but, if we keep our eyes on Jesus, we can use these trials to grow our trust in God and to build character – perseverance and hope, as James encourages us to do. We may not always understand what is happening, but we can be sure that God will give us grace to help us overcome the tests and not become angry or bitter.

We don’t always recognise the more subtle approach of the devil, to entice us to satisfy our natural human appetites and desires. We are physical beings who experience the world through our senses. We get pleasure through what we see, hear, taste, smell, and touch. In this way we connect with the world around us. God made us to enjoy the pleasures of our senses but…

Satan wants to trick us into spending so much time enjoying the pleasures of our world that these things eat away at our desire for the presence of God and the lasting pleasures of His kingdom. The difference between the pleasures that the world offers and the pleasures of fellowship with God is that worldly pleasures require more to satisfy us, while the pleasure of walking with Jesus is lasting.

Another problem is that, because worldly pleasures demand more to get satisfaction that does not last, we soon become addicted to things which master us, destroy us and then we land up on the garbage dump and Satan laughs because he has got his way. We only wake up when we are hooked.

The Bible has a lot to say about the shortness of life. We are like a vapour that is here for a moment and then gone; like flowers that bloom today and are thrown away tomorrow; like a blip on the radar screen of time. We only have that tiny moment in which to plot our course for eternity. Seventy or eighty years, or even a hundred and twenty, pass by like a flash of lightning and then we are gone, but our choice is made, and our course set forever. 

Our appetites develop according to what we eat. Give a child only junk food and he will refuse vegetables. The key is to eat the right food until we develop an appetite for it. If we choose to “feed” on Jesus long enough by eating His word and spending time with Him, our appetite for Him will grow. The more we look at the beauty of Jesus through His word, the more we are attracted to Him and lose our appetite for the world.

Troubled And Transient

Bible Study, , , ,

 

TROUBLED AND TRANSIENT

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2: 15-17)

The word “world” is used in different ways in the Bible. It is sometimes used of the geographical planet on which we live, sometimes of the people of the world and in this case, of the corrupt world system with its ungodly ways, pleasures and allurements to sin.

“When we are told not to love the world, the Bible is referring to the world’s corrupt value system. Satan is the god of this world, and he has his own value system contrary to God’s (2 Corinthians 4:4). First John 2:16 details exactly what Satan’s system promotes: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. Every sin imaginable can be summed up in those three evils; envy, adultery, pride, lying, selfishness, and more spring from those three roots . . .  

“In general, the term world in the Bible refers to the evil system controlled by Satan that leads us away from worship of God. John Calvin said, “The human heart is an idol factory.” We can make idols out of anything. Any passionate desire of our hearts that is not put there by God for His glory can become an idol (1 Corinthians 10:31). Loving the world is idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:7, 14). So, while we are commanded to love the people of the world, we are to be wary of anything that competes with God for our highest affections.”

http://www.gotquestions.org/do-not-love-the-world.html (retrieved November, 2015)

There are several reasons why we should not “love the world”, that is follow the ways of the world rather than walk in the ways of God’s Word. The first is given to us in Hosea 9: 10.

When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved.

God’s family held great promise until they showed their true colours when the opportunity came. They were lured into idolatry with the Midianites in the desert, disregarding God’s marriage covenant with them and worshipping false gods and doing the disgusting things associated with the worship of idols. They embraced the filthy ways of the idols they worshipped and became like them.

Secondly, we must not follow the ways of the world, because they are an insult to the God who bought us and made us His own. We are His sons and daughters, bought back from the slave market of sin at great cost. As His children, we are to reflect His nature to the world. God is holy love. He cannot have anything to do with what the world system represents. It is under the control of the god of this world. When we follow the ways of the world, we step back into the enemy’s camp and become enemies of God again.

Thirdly, the world and its ways are transient. God has reserved the devil and all who follow him for the Day of Judgment. He has appointed His Son, Jesus, as king on Zion, His holy mountain (Psa. 2:1-12). The nations were given to Him and He will sit in judgment over them and destroy everything that opposes God, including the devil and the world system he controls.

Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1 Cor. 15: 24-25)

It is foolishness to invest one’s whole life in that which opposes God, makes one filthy and will pass away when Jesus comes to set up His kingdom on earth. As much as Satan would dearly love to be God and take the Father’s place on the throne of heaven, he has already been exposed and defeated by Jesus through the cross.

Evil and the evil world system based on selfishness and greed, will collapse and pass away. God alone is eternal. Whatever He has created that bears the stamp of His nature and that functions in harmony with His ways, will be indestructible when the judgment falls and the fire destroys everything that is combustible.

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what had been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved – even though only as one escaping through the flames. (1 Cor. 3: 11-15)  

At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’ The words ‘once more’ indicate the removing of what can be shaken – that is, created things – so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’ (Heb. 12: 26-29)

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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