Dear Church family and friends,
I’m praying for you as you study this week’s “Refresco.” May the Lord challenge you to become more like Him as you spend time in His word.
Text: “15 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. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17) [ESV]
When we see scriptures like this we have the tendency to swing from one extreme to the other. We either read more into the passage that is intended or we dismiss it as not being relevant to the current times. Either way we can get into trouble IF we don’t come to an understanding about what John is trying to convey.
So is it wrong to love the things this world has to offer? Is it wrong to love ice cream? Or in my case, is it wrong to love nachos since both ice cream and nachos are from the world? Or since scripture says, “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful.” (1 Corinthians 6:12) Doesn’t that mean that I can enjoy ALL this world has to offer? It all has to do with living within God’s parameters, with what we love, what we are devoted to or what we value.
In our text for this week, John states our expected response to the message of Jesus, which is: we are to love the Father and not love the world. The world of course does not mean our planet nor does it mean mankind as in John 3:16, but it does mean the organized evil system with its principles and its practices, all under the authority of Satan, which includes all teachings, ideas, culture, attitudes, activities, that are opposed to God. It is everything and anything that opposes Christ and His work on earth. What are the marks of one who loves the world?
In v. 16, John lists two “desires”: “… the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes …” and one attitude, “… pride of life …”, which is pride in one’s possessions that we should not have towards the “… things of the world …” It’s not the things of the world but the love of those things that is inherently sinful.
List a couple of specific examples of modern sins belonging to each of these categories: “… the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life” (= pride in possessions].
What does John say about the world and its desires that helps us to see how abstaining from these sins is not a loss but is actually for our future gain? “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (v. 17)
These verses we looked at today introduce the main exhortation of John’s letter (vv. 15-17). Peek ahead to the command found in 1 John 5:21 that ends the letter. How do these opening and closing commands relate?
How has God challenged you today? What are things that you have fallen in love with that John calls “… the things in the world …”? List them. Have they replaced your love for the Lord or the things He loves? If so, how can you reprioritize your life and value the Father more? Start the process by confessing it to God.
May the Lord bless you as you try to live your life for Him and be sure to interact with me, ask questions or share prayer requests through this email thread. I look forward to seeing you THIS Sunday.