Well, good morning, everyone. How is everyone doing?
Good? Yeah. You can do better than that. How is everybody doing? Okay, good. Well, I put up this splash screen here, which shows a summer picture. So we have winter on the the bulletin, but summer those days are coming
And so I can assure you that, well, unless Lord returns, then I'm trying to get my microphone on here.
Okay, can you hear me well? Okay, because people have told me I tend to drop my voice sometimes, so I'll get this on.
Okay, we'll get this out of the way. Thank you, Joel. Appreciate it.
So we wanted to continue in 1 John, the book of 1 John.
John is, first John, the book of 1 John is a tremendous book.
John is very, he doesn't mince words, very much like the book of James and so As we continue in the book, we need a little bit of review. And before you do that, let's open with a word of Prayer.
So our Father, we come before you in Jesus's name. We're so grateful, Lord. We're grateful to remember you in the Lord's Supper.
We think about this magnificent work that you did on the cross for us.
Think about… the results of that, which include the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the instructions that you give us about living the Christian life.
We are encouraged, we are encouraged mindful of your words, Lord, and we pray that these words from 1 John will be a deep encouragement for us. And we give you thanks.
In Jesus's name. Amen. So John began this book, if you remember, with a prologue, first four verses of 1 John chapter 1 and 1.
Prologue talks about John's experience as a disciple. And the most life-changing experience he had was seeing the Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh.
And he says in the prologue that he that we looked at and that we touched, that we heard and we gazed upon, gazing again is that verb that just implies a long gays were studying of the Lord Jesus Christ. They saw someone who lived
The human life in a godly way and it made a tremendous impact. And so when John is writing this book toward the end of his life.
He is dealing with heresy. The beginning of Gnosticism.
And other false teachers. And in the back of his mind, he understands what holiness is. He understands what holy conduct is.
And so reverberating throughout this book. Our sharp statements that he makes about living the Christian life, including multiple tests in determining if someone is a believer or not. And so if we look at the chapter one of 1 John, he talks about three lies of the Christian life.
Which we looked in depth last time. And then we turn into chapter two and he says, he begins in verse 1 by saying that my desire for you is that you do not sin, but if you sin, you have an advocate with the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, the righteous one.
And then after that, he begins with the first test, and that is the test of obedience. 1 John 2, verses 3 through 11. And in that, he mentions that If we love the Lord Jesus Christ, a natural extension of that is obeying his commands.
Again, with false teachers in mind who obviously didn't know the Lord and were not obeying his commands and habitually did not obey his commands.
And again, when you're looking at the book of 1 John and even the book of James, sometimes you look at it and if you're just reading through it in a cursory way, it can scare you half to death because you You realize in your own life, well, I've not perfectly followed his commands.
There are times where as believers we fail sometimes dramatically. But John's orientation is that we would continue to walk with the Lord and that if the Holy Spirit is within us, which is of course The mark of the believer. We continue on this path of growth, knowing Him, studying His Word, etc.
So after that first test. We come to several curious verses here, and so if I could just advance the slide.
The lesson point here is that John is looking to encourage his readers after strong statements from previous verses, and then he'll make further strong statements as we get through the book.
Let's read these verses together. Joel, could you hand me my Bible there?
This is 1 John 2, verses 12 through 14. This is the part of the portion that Joel had read for us.
1 John 2. And that is found in page 642 of the Pew Bible.
Let's read them together. It says this. I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
I write to you, fathers, because you have known him was from the beginning.
I write to you young men. Because you have overcome the wicked one.
Continuing in verse 13, I write to you little children because you have known the Father.
I have written to you fathers because you have known him who is from the beginning.
I've written to you young men because you are strong in the word of God abides in you.
And you have overcome the wicked one. So these verses have puzzled commentators.
And we'll just put that aside for a second. And I want to ask this question. Do you know that there is a hate or a love that God hates?
God has a hatred for evil. And the Bible says in Psalm 97, verse 10, you who love the Lord hate evil. And that's got an exclamation point after it.
Now, John has told us already in 1 John 4, verse 8 that God is love. He stated in 1 John 1, verse 5 that God is light. And because he is light, he's also holy. And so we must walk in holiness We too must walk in holiest and need to walk in holiness. But what exactly…
Especially as it pertains to this first section in 1 John.
Are we looking at this morning with respect to what God hates.
And if you look at 1 John 2, verse 15, let me read this verse to you. It says, 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.
This is the love that God hates. Now, in section 1 of John today, we have a small parenthesis, the verses that I just read, and John breaks the flow of thought in the book. He's developed Previously, as he was pointing out, a test of those who claimed to know the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he begins to talk about a portion that is meant to encourage his readers. So he's just said some very strong things.
And so John does two things here. Number one, he declares the assurance of his readers salvation in verses 12 through 14. And the second thing, we'll look later in this portion is that He makes an appeal for us to separate from the world.
So today we'll cover two sections of these verses and you can advance the slide then, Jim.
So when we look at the section point, the lesson point is the love of the world and the love of God cannot coexist. If you can go back up to slide one then.
So if we look at this portion once again, let's just read it again.
I write to you little children because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
I write to you, fathers, because you have known him from the beginning. I write to you young men because you have overcome the wicked one.
I write to you little children because you have known the Father.
I have written to you fathers. Because you have known him who is from the beginning. I have written to you young men, because you are strong in the word of God abides in you and you have overcome the wicked one.
Notice in the verse I just read, that six times John uses the phrase, I write to you. He says, I write to you, I write to you, I write to you, I write to you. And then he says, I've written to you, and then I've written to you. So he's emphasizing, he's telling us why he is writing this.
And he wants to give them assurance of their salvation. And why does he need to do that?
Because he has given us tests for true believers in previous sections of the book. The test of obedience, the test of love the test of doctrine. And he doesn't want them to begin to doubt their salvation.
Or to begin to think that they're not saved. He's writing with all assurance that he is writing to true believers.
In the background of this book. And why is this? Because you need to put false teachers to the test, whether they're true believers or not. So he's writing to assure his believers, and he does He calls them true believers.
And he does three things here. He calls them little children. He calls them fathers, and he calls them young men.
Any commentary will mention that this is probably the most difficult portion in the book because It just seems to be inserted. But the way to overcome that is to realize that it's a parenthesis in the book.
John is giving parenthetical information here and he's broken away from the test of obedience outlined in the previous verses, and he begins to ensure and encourage his readers.
He comes up with three categories here All of these categories relate to Christians now. That's foundational. We can be sure of that.
Children here is the Greek word technon, which means born ones.
Literally, it's a reference to all Christians. Fathers are born ones, young men are born ones, children are born ones. To be a Christian, you must be born again.
Now, you don't want to be stillborn. I have a career in real estate and I remember I was probably in it about a year or two and I was pursuing a particular deal and that deal was owned by a couple of partners.
One of the partners was not a believer. One of them was.
And this man was not a believer, was talking to me and he said, you know, this deal has been nothing but trouble for me, this facility, because of my partner.
And he went on and on about the troubles. And he said, yeah, and then she's always preaching the word of God to me. She's talking about being born again.
But her behavior is so bad that I… I don't even believe it. And under his breath he said, yeah, she's born again, stillborn. And I just never forgot that. It just really made an impact on me.
Now, others may say they're Christians, and you can say… you're listening to what you're saying. If you do some evangelizing and such, you're talking to people and you try to start the conversation.
When you ask them if they're Christian, they'll say yes. But then when you ask them the question of whether they're born again, you may get various answers. You might get a puzzled look from people.
You might get an answer like, yeah, I'm born again. I've always been born again as if when they came out of their mother's womb, they were immediately born again. But that's not what we're talking about here.
Even in John 3, when Jesus is talking to Nicodemus. A Jewish super scholar, he says, you must be born again. There's no negotiation with the word must. You must be born again.
What's interesting about that conversation is that Nicodemus had profound knowledge of the Old Testament.
A Jewish rabbinical writing called him a star of Israel, even among his peers, he was respected as someone who had deep knowledge and was able to interpret the scriptures.
But in John chapter 3 verse 10, Jesus said this. Jesus answered and said to him, Nicodemus, are you a teacher of Israel? You do not know these things?
So even the teacher of Israel had to be schooled by Christ by learning that all must be born again if they wish to have their sins forgiven and to have eternal life.
So professing to be a Christian or calling yourself a cultural Christian doesn't cut it. You must be born again or born from above.
So category one, verse 12, John chapter 2, he describes little children or born-again ones or born ones.
And he says two things about this first category. Number one, he says they are forgiven.
They're forgiven. Remember those first days when you were saved? You encounter the gospel and it's like a giant weight was lifted off your shoulders.
I remember when I read… The final thing that happened for me was that I was at a Bible study and someone gave me a tract and I was paging through that tract. I remember as a businessman thinking, this is a really good deal.
This is a tremendous deal. My sins can be forgiven. And that weight can be rolled off of my shoulders.
And in those initial months afterwards and years, you just have this feeling of elation that The payment for sins isn't placed on you, but it's Lord Jesus Christ that does it.
And it's just a tremendous feeling, and it's awfully cool, isn't it? Can I get an amen on that? Amen.
All of the darkness, all of the sin, all of the wickedness, all of that has been forgiven.
And the idea is that God carried them away, the sins.
Carried them away, never to be remembered again. We were forgiven as far as the east is from the west. If you think about that, east never meets west. It just keeps going around and around.
That's how God sees our sins. We confess our sins as we saw in John chapter 1, and he's faithful to forgive us our sins. Why? Because of Christ Jesus's work. We've been saved and Christ imputed righteousness is given to us.
Think about that. I still cannot get over the fact. I remember a friend of mine talking about salvation. He's like, you know, there are times I just have to stop the car and pull over and think about the gravity of that statement.
And God isn't… He isn't a stingy God. He's a gracious God.
Wiping away everything, the record of wrongs. So we're talking about salvation, and John says they are forgiven.
These little children We have this first consciousness when we're first saved of being forgiven. And by the way, it's a good thing never to lose that consciousness consciousness of this fact as a Christian moving forward.
You have been walking with Jesus for a long time. Please never forget the initial time where you were first forgiven by Jesus Christ.
Second, in verse 12, he says this that you've been forgiven for his name's sake.
For his name's sake, not for your goodness, not for your righteousness, not for your works, not because you go to Wauwatosa Bible Chapel or you're tithe here or you serve here.
It's for his name's sake. Now we, in the Lord's Supper, we're talking about the title Son of Man.
The glorious Lord Jesus Christ, all-powerful, all-knowing. Did this work on your behalf?
Wow. Thirdly, in verse 13, he says this about little children.
He says this, because you have known the Father, this could be translated as have come to know the Father. So at first, being saved, you realize your sins have been forgiven. Then you realize that you're a child of God.
And God is your father. The Bible says the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit has been given to us.
Whereby we cry out abba father Not Abba, the Swedish rock group, started in Stockholm in 1972. That's not what I'm talking about. Abba Father.
Which would translate as papa or daddy God. Sometimes parents will try to get their baby to say its first words like mama.
Sometimes one parent will want them, the mother might want the baby to say mama first But might say, and you go back and forth, but whatever it is, but that's what you're trying to do. Mama, dad, the child recognizes
His or her parents. But when you get born again, you say, Abba Father.
So my sins have been forgiven. I'm a child of God and he is my Father in heaven. He will provide for me. He will watch over me.
He says to them, for his name's sake you've been forgiven and you have known the Father or come to know the Father.
Next, he addresses the fathers. Now, you would think that he would proceed in order, little children, young men, but he reverses the order and he begins with fathers.
And this is what he has to say about this. They're mentioned in verse 13 and 14, John chapter 2.
And he says the same thing two times to them. I write to you fathers because you have known him who is from the beginning.
But who is he that is from the beginning? I believe it's a reference not to God the Father, but to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Go with me to 1 John. Chapter 1, verses 1 and 2.
And by the way, I have the New King James here.
It says this, that which was from the beginning which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes.
Which we have looked upon and our hands have handled concerning the word of life.
And that life was manifested, verse 2, and we have seen and bear witness and declare to you that eternal life which was with the father and was manifested or shown to us.
That which was from the beginning is a reference to Jesus Christ. And you fathers, you know the Lord.
And you have walked with him for many years. In the family of God in this church at WBC, there are baby Christians, infants.
And you're excited that your sins are forgiven, that God is your father. You're not thinking about pre-trib, post-trib, mid-trib.
You're not thinking about eschatology, the hypostatic union, doctrine of angels, Calvinism.
You're just happy you're saved and God is your father, right?
And then you mature and you walk with God and you become a spiritual father and you've known him, that is Jesus Christ, from the beginning. We can thank those or at WBC who are mature Christians.
And by the way, you mature saints of God are helping to care for and nurture and mentor and disciple baby Christians. You're the example to them. You share with them. You put your arm around them. You build them up.
Hey, come and pray with me. There's a hymn that might be good to call out in the Lord's Supper.
Or meet me for coffee and let's discuss the Christian life together. Or invite people to your home for fellowship.
Or pour into them and pray for them and encourage them. So the spiritual fathers But then John speaks to young men, verses 13 and 14, and John says three things about them.
The first thing he says, you are strong. What an encouragement that is. You are strong.
Now, it's the natural virtue of young men to be strong. I look at the young men in this assembly.
Young men can stay up all night and have the energy to go to work the next day.
Young men can run 20 miles in the morning and carry their mother's piano up eight flights of There's boundless energy to do all kinds of things. I remember There was a poet that said that the youth are young and immortal.
Oh, for those days. Now, as you get older, you're like, well, you know, that's, you know, I'll leave the piano moving to somebody else, or I've got to strap on a belt or something, you know.
Even Michael Jordan, perhaps the greatest basketball player to ever play the game.
Later in his career was talking to his fellow team men. He was watching these new draftees do dunks and three-pointers. And he said to this teammate, do you remember jumping that high? I don't.
Because your knees get hammered on your ankles and stuff. But John says to them, be strong.
I'm sorry, you are strong. This is John's assurance of their vitality and strength, spiritually speaking.
Second thing that John says about the category of young men is in verse 14, and the word of God abides in them.
There's that word abide again. You know why they're strong? Because the Word of God abides in them. The Bible is the secret of strength spiritually. We elders at Wauwatosa Bible Chapel are committed to the preaching and teaching of the Word of God because it's true and it's what works.
Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. This is what works, not Paul's ability to articulate words, even though he's profoundly intelligent, it's the gospel that punches through the depravity of man.
Whether you're a man or a woman, you can't grow spiritually apart from the word of God.
And you're not going to grow by just listening to sermons on Sundays. You have to open the Word of God daily and feed your soul. Study it. Apply it.
And pray to make it real in your life. Apprentice yourself to the Word of God because it's a lifetime study.
Again, with respect to young men and women, note what Psalm 119 verse 9 says.
How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed to his word.
Or your word. I believe that it's the commitment to studying the Bible with all the tools that we have today, and especially that study.
Alone with the Lord yields the greatest insights into his will. He's speaking to us.
As we're studying, we're spending time with him. Or as we sung a hymn where we're talking about spending time with the Lord.
And it helps us to stay on track and not get sidetracked in the life of faith.
I remember going to Founders Week at Moody. Actually, Marty joined me a long time ago.
And then a friend of mine And Moody had this saying.
About the Word of God or the Bible. This book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book. A great way of crystallizing statements that were true. I believe it's the commitment to studying the Bible
That helps us to keep on track. So how can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed to his word. Again, Psalm 119 verse 11 says this, the word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Heeding God's word in our hearts makes us strong Christian. The third thing John says about young men is in verse 13, you have overcome the wicked one.
Wow. In sum, you are strong spiritually. The Word of God abides in you, the secret of your strength.
You have overcome the wicked one, their victory. The Christian life is not about enjoying the forgiveness of sins or the fellowship with the Father. It's also about resisting the wicked one.
Satan. So the Bible tells us to flee from youthful lusts That's what Paul says to Timothy. It's a great application. But we're to resist the devil.
And we do that by the power of the Word of God. Remember when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness? Of course, Eve was tempted in paradise.
Where she had everything she could possibly want. It was the perfect setting. Jesus, however, is tempted in the wilderness after he hasn't eaten 40 days and 40 nights.
And three times the devil comes to Jesus with temptations and three times Jesus did what to resist those temptations. Anybody?
What does he use? The word of God. That's right. Three times it says it is written, it is written, it is written. The Son of God used the word of God to resist the devil.
If Jesus uses the Word of God to resist the devil, we should be using it too.
And we should hide God's Word in our heart so that when a temptation comes.
And Satan comes with all this subtlety. We should have a verse ready to come against the wiles of the devil.
That's how I memorize that verse, the wiles of the devil, that you may successfully stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil, the wiles are the schemes, strategies, and deceits of the devil, Ephesians 6, 11.
Well, now we come to the final section of what I'd like to look at today, and that is chapter 2, 1 John 2, verses 15 through 17. If you could advance the slide, Jim.
The lesson point here, the love of the world and the love of God can't coexist. So let's read these verses together once again.
You know, it never fails when I'm going to give a message that inevitably somebody in the Lord's Supper or someone on the radio along the way talks about a passage I'm going to speak on it of course I was late today because I have teenagers. Teenagers.
And I caught a message that I normally wouldn't, or a Bible teacher, he was great. And he talked about these verses here.
So let's read these verses, verses 15 through 17. It says, 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.
Verse 16, all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh The lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world.
And the world is passing away. And the lust of it. But he who does the will of God abides forever. Notice the command that John gives.
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. John gives us this imperative. It's a command to us.
God in his word commands his children, do not love the world.
Does this mean I can't love a tree or my dog or flowers?
John isn't talking about that. We can love the outdoors. We can love God's beauty. We can love art.
But what does John mean when he says do not love the world?
When you compare John 3.16, for God so loved the world, how do you reconcile that? God so loved the world and yet we're commanded not to love the world.
John uses the word world 23 times in this epistle. It's only five chapters.
Six times in these verses, more than any other New Testament writer, the Greek word here is cosmos, beginning with a K, K-O-S-M-O-S.
It denotes order or arrangement. It's the opposite of chaos.
We get our word cosmetics from it. When ladies use cosmetics, they don't want chaotic cosmetics.
When you put it on, you want it to be Cosmos, ordered and well applied.
When I was in the 80s, before I got saved. Going into the 90s, too, I listened to a lot of hard rock, all sorts of rock.
And then there was a category called glam rock. And that was where these guys would, you know, they dress up, they have big hair.
Poofed up hair. I don't know if they used an air compressor or something. It was just big hair and makeup on. And one of the groups was called RAT, R-A-T-T, to distinguish it from the rat, the animal.
And I read an article about RAT and the lead guitarist said I had to go to my sister to learn how to apply makeup correctly, you know?
Later on, later on in life, I found out there's an insurance commercial where there's a couple sitting on the couch And they're talking about their home and they're like, well, you know, it's a nice home. It's got lots of space, quiet neighborhood.
Except for we got a rat problem. The wife says the husband.
And then they go upstairs. They're going about their daily duties and there's this band Rat playing. But they're a lot older without makeup A rat problem. That's better than the group called The Cramps. Just try to figure that one out.
But the word is used in three different ways. The same word, three different meanings. It's used of the universe, the cosmos, C-O-S-M-O-S, John 1.10 says this. He was in the world And the world was made through him.
The second way it's used is for the love of mankind, the world of mankind or people.
Look at chapter 2 of 1. And verse 2.
It says this, and he himself says this is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
What kind of world is that? The world of people, the world of mankind.
And that's why in John 3.16 it says, God so loved the world. He's not talking about the cosmos. He's talking about the whole world. God loves the world.
The third way it's used, and this is the word that is used for our portion for today, it's used for the evil world system.
The evil world system, the world under Satan's dominance and influence.
1 John 5, verse 19 says this, we know that we are of God.
And the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
Wow, that's heavy. A literal translation of this is the world cosmos, K-O-S-M-O-S is in the lap of the wicked one, Satan. John is saying that the whole world or cosmos is under the influence of Satan.
In verse 15 of our portion, John is using the word to speak of the sphere of influence, the world's philosophies and the attitudes of the world.
A world under Satan's control. And he's implying that we're not to court the world's favors.
We're not to follow its customs. We're not to adopt its maxims. We're not to covet its prizes.
Paul alludes to this in Romans 12. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. In other words, don't let the world press you into its mold. It's constantly influencing us and the Word of God is able to help us discern those things.
Sadly, many Christians allow this to happen. I'm not making a blanket I'm not thinking of anyone in particular. I'm just saying that you can see that Christians have allowed this to happen.
Worldliness begins in the heart. Their heart is not right with God, and so the world just comes crashing in.
Subtly, little by little. You can be religious on the outside, but worldly on the inside. And as we'll see, John describes all that is in the world as the lust of the flesh.
The lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Again, John is addressing the philosophies and manners of the world.
This has even infected some churches and their ministries and their methods and their motives and their pursuits.
The last thing God wants is a worldly church that would greatly displease him.
What we want is a church that's doing the work of the ministry according to and influenced by biblical standards.
Our lives and our ministry needs to be Bible-centric and Christ exalting.
Now, why should we not love the world or the things that are in the world? That's the question we need to ask and answer in this section of 1 John.
There are three reasons not to love the world, three reasons not to love the world. Number one, because Love for God and the love for the world are mutually exclusive.
Notice verse 15, if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. So love for the Father and love for the world are antagonistic. They work against each other. They can't coexist in the same heart.
Now, back in chapter 1, John noted that God is light.
And you cannot say you have fellowship with God if if you're walking in darkness, if you say you know him and he's light and your walk is darkness, there's a disconnect there. There's no in-between. There's no middle ground.
I'm a Christian today, but a worldly one. Well, what kind of Christian is that?
In this case, John says there is no love of God in your heart.
Again, these strong statements that he's making to his readers, but also addressing false teachers. So you cannot have the love for the world and love of God at the same time, they can't coexist.
James, not a man to mince words, says this, adulterers and adulteresses. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?
Another very heavy and pretty serious statement. If you love the world, God's love is not in you.
Reason number two on why we should not love the world because of the things that are in the world, as he says in verse 16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
Is not of the Father, but is of the world. So John implies that the lust of the flesh refers to the passions of your sinful fallen nature.
He's talking about our lustful desires that come from our sinful, Adamic nature, the energy of Adam.
God created you with physical drives. For food, for sleep.
For thirst, of course, but when these physical drives become excessive, they can lead to sin. So your drive for food can become gluttony, which is a sin.
Your… you you… Your drive for sleep can become laziness and so on and so on. God has given us these drives, but they get out of control.
Then the person can become sinful. This could be rendered sensuality, or what Paul advises Timothy to avoid, again, youthful lust.
Remember when Eve was tempted in the garden? She wanted that fruit. She wanted to eat that forbidden fruit.
By contrast, when Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness.
He hadn't eaten for 40 days and 40 nights. Guess what the devil said to him?
This is one of the most amazing statements. He says, if you are the Son of God.
Doubting that, turn these stones into bread. Or in other words, you're hungry, you want to eat, turn these stones into bread. Eat out of the will of God.
And Jesus says, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Jesus trusted God his father to provide his needs no matter how long it took.
He was simply not going to get off the path of God's will.
He would not disobey God to meet its needs. A second characteristic of the world is the lust of the eyes. This is the possession of things.
The tenth commandment is you shall not covet. Do you know that covetousness This lust for things can lead you to break all of the other nine commandments.
If this lust gets out of control, you'll lie, you'll steal, the sound of your parents.
You will not set aside a day for worshiping God because you're working on that day to get more money to get more things.
Consider Achan in the Old Testament passage who saw the Babylonian garment He took it and the gold and silver that he came across and he hit them under his tent.
Why did he do this? Because he was acting on the lust of the eyes.
This is what the world uses through media and other things to captivate people. David also committed this sin with Bathsheba.
And note the progression in his life. From looking to lusting and ultimately to murdering Uriah.
Jesus said, if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it on and cast it from you.
Is this to be done literally? No, but the application is if there is a sin in the realm of the lust of the eyes, make it very inconvenient for you to commit it.
By taking serious measures to interfere with committing that sin. That's the application that Jesus is making there. Thirdly, the pride of life. John progresses in his list of sins from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and finally to the pride of life. The NASB translates this as the boastful pride of life.
It's an arrogant self-sufficiency or a state of pride or arrogance or boastful haughtiness. This is the braggart.
Modern translation would be a show off Look at what I've done, how wonderful I am.
Isn't the world into this? Of course it is. In a sense, it's the summing up of a life that incorporates the lust of both the flesh and the eyes.
Bible makes it plain we have nothing to be proud of regarding our own accomplishments and achievements.
Because the very breath we take is from God. I'm not saying that making accomplishments isn't satisfying and such. It's the boasting of them.
We needed to give him the glory and the credit, and that's what John is saying. So this show-off attitude, it's allowing what we desire and what we see in the pride of our hearts to control our lives.
Verse 15 makes it clear that if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. It's worldly.
But the good news is that as Christians, we're not of this world.
The moment you get saved, guess what? The world is no longer your home.
You are not of this world. It's lusts, its desires, its passions. You have a new identity in Christ. You can truly say, I'm not of this world. Now, here's a note of caution, though.
If you're going to evangelize. And you begin the conversation by saying, I am not of this world. It's not going to go very well for you.
But for the family of believers, the moment you're saved. You were placed in the body of Christ and you're sealed with a mark. You're God's own and you do not belong to the world.
Let me give you a reason, the reason number three on why you should not love the world.
And then we can conclude here. That reason is the world is passing away.
Why shouldn't I love this world? Verse 17 tells us, and the world is passing away and the lust of it.
Hugh does the will of God abides forever and ever and ever and ever.
If John says the world is passing away, then why should you love the world? 2 Peter says this, but the day of the Lord will come as the thief in the night.
In which the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in your holy conduct and godliness?
Do not live for this world. That's what John is saying.
You're in the world, but you're not of the world. This world is not your home.
So don't be controlled by your passions. Don't be controlled by your possessions. Don't be controlled by the pride of life.
Let God's Word mold and shape your heart and your mind, your motive, your philosophies.
Now you have a biblical worldview and let your conduct with the world be as light as possible.
Because you're a traveler, a pilgrim, a stranger, you're just passing through. Ever been on a long trip? Maybe our brother Matthew can speak of this.
After a while, you're going to long for home. You just want to be home. You want to be padding around in your fuzzy slippers.
Procs or whatever it is, go in the refrigerator, grabbing a snack, doing your daily exercise, opening the door.
Reaching in, closing the door, put it in the mouth. Open the door, reach in, close up. That burns easily a lot of calories. I mean, throwing your weight around would burn calories too. There's lots of exercises that you're unaware of.
But I digress. The thing is, you become homesick. We Christians have a tinge of homesickness in this world because this This home is not our home. Heaven is our real home.
And in this world, the world doesn't know us or recognize us.
The world doesn't know who we really are. Jesus said, don't be surprised if the world hates you because it hated me first.
They don't understand that God is our Father. And our sins have been forgiven and that we are children of God.
They don't know us. They don't understand us. They don't know why we're not into the things that they are into.
The world is passing away. And don't live for this temporary transient world.
John closes the section by saying, he who does the will of God abides forever.
Amen? How long is that? It says forever. Let's pray.
Once again, our Father, we come before us. We're amazed at the power of the Word of God.
How it reads us. Lord, you want the very best for us.
And you're encouraging us through the Word of God and fellowship.
And exercising our gift. Thank you, Lord, for saving us.
And for all that you have in store for us in the future.
We ask that you would bless the reading of your word in Jesus's name. Amen.