1 John chapter 2 and verse 15. Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride
of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the
world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the
will of God abideth forever. Amen. May God bless to us this
reading from his word. So as I say, just a very short
reading today, but I trust that the Lord will no less bless it
to us. These verses supply us with a
stark contrast between those whom John describes as the Lord's
little ones. Remember, we've spoken about
those little children over the past couple of weeks. These are
the ones that John is writing to. He is writing to believers
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And as we come together and as
we think about this letter that John has written and sent to
the churches, It is a letter which is designed to encourage
the Lord's people and to bless us and help us. And so when John
writes to these little children, he is addressing us that we might
have faith, that we might trust, that we might believe the things
that God would have us know and the things that God the Holy
Spirit has directed and instructed this the Apostle John to write
to us for our instruction, for our encouragement, for our direction. And he is writing to those who
both love and are loved by the Father. The contrast that he is making
is between those little children who love and are loved by the
father and others whose affections are dominated by the attractions
of this world and by the lusts of the flesh. And I mention that
because I want us to realise at the outset that John's epistle
here, these words that we are reading together here, they are
not designed to be a heavy yoke upon us. They are not intended
to bear down upon us, on our shoulders, to weigh us down.
but rather he is writing to us as little children. And we know
that little children are to be supported, little children are
to be nourished and helped and encouraged along the way. And so these are not to cause
us distress, but designed to comfort us, these words, to encourage
Christ's pilgrim people as they face the challenges of life. And certainly John says, love
not the world, neither the things that are in the world. And I
spoke a little bit about that in the note that I sent out to
you yesterday. But these injunctions, these
directions, they are intended to show us the source of our
reassurance, and to provide us with protection and help. This is wise counsel from John,
bestowed upon or directed to little children. It is not a
big hammer that he is bringing to bear upon the Lord's people. He is not here telling us what
to do. so much as showing us what we
are. So what we will not do today
is beat ourselves up over these words or knock ourselves down
because we find our affections in this world more entangled
with the world than they should be. We will not employ John's
words to discourage ourselves, but to refocus our eyes upon
the Lord Jesus Christ, whom John has already described as our
advocate and the propitiation for our sins, the one who speaks
on our behalf before God. as we struggle in this flesh
and in this body with the affections that are around us and the challenges
that we face. You know, I've mentioned this
before, but one of the most important principles of Bible understanding
is to read Scripture in its context. not to take verses out of context,
but to read them within the passage that the writer delivers them
to us. As you know, there are very few
heresies in this world that are not based on one text or another. And most people that have their
heretical views can find Bible verses for their theories and
their ideas. John has already spoken to us
of the Father's love. So we know, because we read it
together in verse five last week, that whosoever keepeth his word,
that is, whosoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, whosoever
has faith in Christ, whosoever trusts in the completeness and
the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ believes the Gospel. and keeps the word of God. So when the apostle says in verse
five, whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of
God perfected. Hereby we know that we are in
him. John is telling us that we have
the love of God. The very fact that we trust the
Lord Jesus Christ is evidence of the love of God within us
because the love of God brings these blessings to sinners. John is telling us that he knows
that we can only love God because God first loves us. Now we haven't
read that verse yet, but it comes to us in the fourth chapter of
this little epistle, where John tells us there that we love the
Lord only because he first loved us. So we can say with certainty
that God's love for his people is not conditional on their obedience,
but rather and I am pleased to know this, that our desire to
serve and honour God rises and falls to the extent that we see
and know the purpose of the Lord Jesus Christ in salvation and
his sacrifice for us. That's the gospel and that is
why we distinguish between the gospel and the demands of the
holiness of God's law. Because God's law and the commands
of scripture can never bring us into the experience of God's
love and God's grace. It is only the goodness of God
and the mercy of God that enables us to experience God's love and
his mercy. And it's the gospel that therefore
motivates our Christian obedience. The law measures our faults. It has a purpose, it has a role. We do not disparage, we do not
deny its validity, its veracity, its usefulness, but its usefulness
is limited to the purpose that it was given, and that is to
measure our faults and to show us our need of the saviour. It is the gospel that motivates
our Christian obedience. Good works never earn grace,
but grace enables good works. So John is saying to us here
in these little verses, the love of the Father wins believers
from the love of the world. And that's the contrast that
he is setting up before us in these verses. And he's also explaining
a contradiction that believers, you and I who trust in the Lord
Jesus Christ, who believe in God and his way of salvation,
he is explaining a contradiction that believers often feel in
their hearts. The battle. between their flesh,
which is drawn to the sensual experiences and the sensual pleasures
of this world, and the mind, which knows the transformation
of grace. So here in the believer, in every
child of God, in every one of these little ones, these little
children to whom John writes, John is aware that there's a
battle going on, that there's a contradiction at work in the
lives of these people, such that there is a lust and a passion
that exists in our flesh for the things that we see and touch
and hear and feel in this world around about us. and that transformative
grace that has entered into our souls and our spiritual experience. It's what Paul talked about in
Romans chapter 7 and verse 25, where he speaks about, with the
mind I myself serve the law of God. We serve God not with our
actions, not with our flesh, not with our works, but rather
with our heart, with our mind that has been touched by faith
and grace. So let me point something else
out here that John's speaking to us about. He is reminding
us that as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, our lives are full
of activity. Now it's true that we are passive
in what we call the new birth. The Lord Jesus explained that
very capably to Nicodemus in John chapter three. We are passive
in the new birth. but we are called to be active
in living for the Lord Jesus Christ. So that when John says
and speaks about not loving the world, he is speaking about the
way that we live and how we act and about our activity in life
towards God. And when we read the New Testament,
we discover that it is full of activity verbs, instructions
if you like. For example, we talk about rising. Rise up. We talk about walking,
walking after the Spirit, walking after the Lord. We are to follow
the Lord. We are to study to show ourselves
approved. We are to run. We are to fight
the good fight. We are to praise the Lord. We are to pray for one another.
We are even to wait and to stand fast, which of course are doing
words. We have to purposely wait upon
the Lord, purposely stand fast in the things that we have received. Don't anyone ever think that
they can get saved and then coast all the way to glory? The believer's
life is a rocky road and it is an uphill battle and John knows
this and so he writes as he does. He writes, love not the world.
Now loving not the world has nothing to do with appreciating
nature's beauty. We can go and look at the mountains
or look at the ocean or watch the beauties of the seasons unfolding
and we can say, I love watching these things. I love to see the
handiwork of God. That's not what John's talking
about. Nor is it inappropriate, we know from scripture, that
a man loves his wife, or that we love our neighbours, or that
we love the brethren. What John is speaking about is
knowing who our enemies are. about resisting sin, about resisting
temptation and the encroachments and the invasions of this world
against our flesh and our passions. It's about watching and being
aware of how Satan employs the attractiveness of this world
to attack our spiritual well-being. And in a very real sense, John
is just speaking to believers here. These are they to whom
he addresses his words, the little children, because only believers
can resist the temptations of the devil. And we do so by faith,
not in the strength of our own physical abilities or our own
commitment or dedication, but by faith. As we've already mentioned,
the law does not equip us to glorify God. It is grace and
the gospel that a Christian draws upon to help and strengthen him
in his Christian life's experience. And we are called to service,
to serve God, to love Him, to be active in pursuing His glory
and our holy calling, honouring Him, recommending Him in this
world to others. being ready to show our respect
to him, labouring in the things of truth and in the gospel, studying
to show ourselves approved, studying the Lord Jesus Christ as workmen
that need not be ashamed. That is why there is value in
attending to the gospel, to the word of God, to times of prayer
and praise and meditation and to hear the gospel preached.
because it is by such means that grace comes to us and enables
us, that grace creates in us and draws forth from us the responses
that God requires from his people. And that is why John is going
to say later on in this chapter, but I'm going to mention it now
because it's supportive of the different parts of what he's
telling us. He is going to say in verse 28,
and now, little children, you to whom I write, you believers
in Christ who are nevertheless weak and needy, and now, little
children, abide in him. Abide in him. that when he shall
appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him
at his coming. What a terrible thing it will
be, brothers and sisters in the Lord, if we are ashamed when
he comes, to be found engaged and impassioned by shameful things. Rather, let us abide in him.
Let us remember and realise where our strength is to be discovered
and obtained, in trusting him and in abiding in the gospel.
So when John speaks in verse 16 of the lust of the flesh and
the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, He is talking
about an antagonism that exists between the flesh and the spirit. He's talking about the passions
that are there in the flesh and the holiness that is implanted
in the believer's spirit. And there's a battle going on
there, there's an antagonism. and he's encouraging us to take
up the challenge of that battle, to be aware of our enemies, to
be discerning about our weaknesses, and serious about our allegiances. What he is saying, to put it
in the summarised form, is wise up, people, wise up, and own
your calling. He's saying, watch your eyes
what they see. Watch your ears what they hear. Watch your mouths what you say. Watch your feet where they go. Someone once said, you can't
wrestle with a pig and not get dirty. And that's true. And that's what John's telling
us here. Do you think for a moment that
you can play with the devil's charms without there being consequences? Would you take a rattlesnake
into your home and make it a pet? Of course you wouldn't. Do you
think that God will honour outward shows of piety when he clearly
states that he hates hypocrisy? John is encouraging us to remember
what is important and what endures for the believer. So he says
in verse 17, the world passeth away. Love not the things of
the world because they're passing. The world passeth away and the
lust thereof, the lust of the eyes, the lust and passions of
the flesh, the pride of life, it passes away. But he that doeth
the will of God abideth forever. Now perhaps, perhaps you think
that he that doeth the will of the Lord is you and me. Well let me show you something,
I think you'll find this interesting. We started at the beginning,
we talked about the wisdom and protection that John designs
these words to convey to us. And by these I mean the spiritual
wisdom that we obtain from them and the spiritual protection
that we get from them and how much we need both. When John
speaks about he that doeth the will of God abideth forever,
let me suggest to you that the principal candidate here as he
that doeth the will of God and abideth forever is the Lord Jesus
Christ himself. He only has done the will of
God. and he only has earned the everlasting
approval, praise and glory of the Father. This is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. So John is here calling upon
us, directing us to lift our eyes and look to Jesus. This
world's goods and this world's glory, this world's sins and
this world's sorrows, they're passing away. This world has
nothing that is lasting or substantive to offer us. The pleasures of
sin last but for a season and soon they are gone. and all they
do for the believer is to leave a bitter taste in our mouths.
You know that, and I know that. I'm not telling you anything
new here. The pleasures of sin last for
a season and are soon gone, and they leave a bitter taste. But the Lord Jesus Christ abides
forever. He supplies true grace and true
glory. That was what we read together
in Psalm 84 a little earlier. He supplies grace and glory. He alone deals with our sin. He alone removes our guilt. He cleanses our conscience. With his own blood he equips
us with such a righteousness that we need never fear what
men can do unto us. We can say with the psalmist
in Psalm 56 verse 4, In God I have put my trust, I will not fear
what flesh can do unto me. Now that verse is actually repeated
again in the New Testament. In the book of Hebrews, the writer
to the Hebrews says, I will not fear what man can do unto me. But I think flesh there has a
relevance because in many ways, for those of us who appreciate
these things, in many ways, the greatest battle that we have
is with our own flesh. But the believer can say, in
God I have put my trust. I will not fear what flesh can
do unto me. Later, David, because it was
he who wrote Psalm 56, later he is speaking to his son Solomon
and he encourages him with these words. If thou seek him, that
is the Lord, he will be found of thee. brothers and sisters,
these things are not, I keep trying to stress this because
I think we come out of an Arminian, a free will worldview because
it's our natural condition and for many of us it's been what
we were taught as children and young people and even as adults,
this free will idea. and we imagine that we make a
decision for the Lord and that's us converted and that things
are changed then and that it gets easy. That's not the experience
of the Lord's people down through the history of the church. We
are enjoined to be seeking the Lord every day. every hour of
the day and every minute of each hour. If thou seek him, he is
the one that is going to strengthen us, help us against these very
temptations and challenges, these falls, these failures that we
are encountering every moment of every day of our lives. That's the battle. If thou seek
him, says David, he will be found of thee. Our wisdom, our protection
in the world is faith. Paul reminds us, we are, in 1
Corinthians 1 verse 30, in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. That's what Christ is to us.
He is our wisdom. He is our righteousness. He is
our sanctification. He is our redemption. That wisdom
is faith. It's the wisdom that makes us
wise unto salvation. The righteousness is our fitness
for heaven, which he provides for us. Our sanctification is
our holy standing and separatedness unto God. Where do we get that? Not in our own efforts, not in
our own works, not in our own dedication and convictions, but
in Christ. And redemption is freedom. Freedom. Liberty. Ransom paid from the crippling
demands of debt and guilt for the sins of this flesh. Believers
draw their strength, their protection from the Lord Jesus Christ by
faith and that's what John is telling us here. What is this
world with its attractions and its pleasures compared to Christ? Regenerated souls are new creatures
in Christ. We have no need for the tinsel
and the baubles of passing sin when we possess durable riches
and righteousness which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is
what we enjoy by faith, durable riches and righteousness. Let
me just say those words again in closing. Durable riches and
righteousness. I think that's a beautiful phrase.
I came across it as I was preparing for the service today and I've
noted it down. Durable riches and righteousness. These are our inheritance in
Christ. These are our portion in God
the Son. Men seek the world's pleasures.
And for the price of their soul, Satan offers them everything. But he is a murderer and a liar
from the beginning. Rather, the Lord Jesus Christ
says this, and here's where I got that little phrase. Riches and
honour are with me. yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold,
yea, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in
the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment,
that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance. and I will fill their treasures. That is Proverbs chapter 8 verse
18 to 21. May God give us grace to receive
by faith the durable riches and righteousness of the Lord Jesus
Christ and to love not the world and the things of the world.
Amen.