“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.” 1 John 2:15
September 1, 2022
Affection for that which stands in opposition to God is spiritual adultery. Loving “the world” is not enjoying the planet God has created or loving non-Christians. “The world” is all thinking, values, opinions, standards, and aspirations that exist anywhere and held by anyone untouched by the Word of God. It is a system of deception that would have us push God out of the picture, crown ourselves as the center of the universe, go with whatever helps us to feel better about ourselves, and make up our own rules. We were born into this kind of world which tells us we need to love ourselves more. To live by such a standard pulls the Christian away from love for the Father. This means heading in the opposite direction from where the follower of Jesus Christ should be going. Obviously, this is a serious matter. Jesus said we can’t serve two masters (Matt. 6:24). Before we go further in examining the system of unbelief we are up against, we need to ask ourselves to what degree are we letting this alien, enemy system take over our thinking, affections, values, and goals in life. This is not meant to cause us to live doubting the assurance of our salvation in Jesus Christ, but to keep us alert to the dangers that surround us. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us and the Word of God to light the way in which we are to walk. H
A point to ponder from the Puritans: “A godly man preferreth grace before goods, and wisdom before the world.” Richard Bernard