The World and a Warning

If you don't have a Bible, you can turn in your bulletin.

It's printed there for you.

So we've been kind of making, or I've been making my way through 1 John with you guys

in little breaks and chunks from Mark.

But we're coming to the next section, which has some spicy stuff in it.

So let's give our attention to the reading of God's Word.

1 John 2, verses 15 through 27.

1 John 2:15–27

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.

For all that is in the world, all the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and

the pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world.

And the world is passing away along with its desires.

But whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Children, it is the last hour.

And as you have heard, that Antichrist is coming.

So now many Antichrists have come.

Therefore, we know that this is the last hour.

They went out from us, but they were not of us.

For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.

But they went out, that it might become plain that they are not of us.

But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you have all knowledge.

I write to you not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it.

And because no lie is of the truth.

Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?

This is the Antichrist.

He who denies the Father and the Son.

No one who denies the Son has the Father.

Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.

Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.

If what you heard from the beginning abides in you,

then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.

And this is the promise that he made to us, eternal life.

I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you,

but the anointing that you have received from him abides in you.

And you have no need that anyone should teach you,

but as his anointing teaches you about everything,

and is true and is no lie,

just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Let's pray.

Lord, we're thankful this morning for your word.

We pray that you might bless it,

especially the preaching of your word,

and that it would take root in our souls,

and that we might see Christ as more glorious.

We pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

The anticipation of a big championship fight,

a highly touted contender

who comes in with all the brashness and arrogance of a champion,

dressed maybe like Uncle Sam.

He looks at his opponent,

and he mocks him.

Back-to-back titles, dressed to the hilt,

everyone shouting his name, music blasting.

His opponent does not stand a chance at all.

Skinny, scrawny, unproven.

Why is there even a fight after all?

He's going to win.

It's a foregone conclusion.

And then comes the underdog,

and he knocks the champion to the floor.

Never been done before.

Never happened.

Completely taken off guard

because he had underestimated his opponent

because he thought

that there was no chance that he would win.

That's the opening,

or really the culmination of Rocky.

It's not opening.

It opens the series, and it continues on.

You know Rocky,

the story of Rocky Balboa from the south side of Philadelphia.

You know, he works in a meatpacking plant,

and he trains for this big fight

by punching big slabs of meat.

And here is Apollo Creed,

the champion who lets down his guard

and then is taken off his pedestal.

Not by any decision,

because he actually wins the fight,

but his name, his recognition,

all of that comes with a champion,

is taken away from him.

All the support of all the on-watchers

and adoring fans

are now Rocky fans.

That's a similar story

that plays over and over,

no matter if it's history,

politics, and upset victories.

The war in Ukraine.

Whoever thought Ukraine would last this long?

Or, in literature,

think of Cinderella.

Cinderella.

No one would have thought

anyone would fall for Cinderella,

unless they would have

surely sent her to the ball.

Her stepmother and all those

mean, nasty sisters

would have supported her.

But that's even where we get that term,

the Cinderella story.

It's because it's an unlikely outcome.

But whether it's politics,

or history,

or literature,

the underdog,

the Cinderella story,

is something that resonates with us.

But oftentimes,

what happens

is the champion,

or the supposed victor,

who is certainly going to win,

lets down their guard.

That's what's going on in this text

this morning.

John is reminding Christians

that they can't let down their guard,

but they're going to end up,

like Apollo Creed,

knocked to the mat.

John is saying,

don't let down your guard,

because there's something out there.

The world.

Don't let down your guard,

because I'm warning you

about the enemies of Christ.

Those are two kind of things

that influence Christians.

And John is reminding these people,

and us,

that those two things remain

even for us today.

So those are the headings

that we're going to look at this morning.

This idea of the world,

and this warning against

the enemies of Christ.

So,

if you turn your attention

back to God's word,

let's look at verse 15.

Do not love the world,

or the things in this world.

If anyone loves the world,

the love of the Father

is not in him.

John's really clear here.

Don't love the world,

or the things that are in the world.

That's a trickier statement,

than at first glance.

Remember,

these instructions are coming on heels

of John repeating,

over and over,

that there's these things,

there's this group of people,

that these Christians

are going to have to endure,

that they're influenced by,

and they have to remember

what God has done for them.

They have to recall to mind,

and live out of that,

that is the gospel,

what Jesus has done for them.

They have to rest in that alone,

because all these things

are going to assault them,

and challenge them.

But John reminds them,

that they're loved,

they're called to abide in him,

they're kept by Jesus.

And on the heels of that,

he's saying,

if you're doing all these things,

you don't love the world,

or the things in it.

In typical John fashion,

he's going to restate this idea.

He says,

those that do love the world,

do not love the Father.

They do not love the things,

that he loves.

In fact,

his love is not in them.

But there's a couple of ways,

in which scripture uses the word,

world.

This is my Father's world,

we sing that song here.

Is that what he's talking about?

What about the famous,

scripture that you hear,

or you see,

at all those sporting events?

For God so loved the world.

Right?

Is it that sense of world?

That he gave his only begotten son.

Remember,

that's the same author,

that's right here,

that penned these words,

telling us not to love the world.

So how can he tell us,

that God loves the world,

that he gave his only son,

but he's telling us,

as Christians,

not to love the world?

Those two don't seem,

to fit together.

It's this.

When John uses the term,

world here,

he means not the created order,

and all the things in it,

including us,

that were created by him,

and that he's called good.

Think about Genesis 1.

He means,

it is this.

Look at verse 16.

For all that is in the world,

the desires of the flesh,

the desires of the eyes,

and the pride of life,

is not from the Father,

but it's from the world.

The desires of the flesh,

the temptations that we all face,

the desires of the eyes,

the things that we want,

that we see,

and we must have.

The pride that we have in possessions,

that's what he's talking about.

Those are all euphemisms.

That's sin.

He's saying,

those things that are in the world,

that are sinful,

whether they're good,

distorted to be evil,

because we place them on the pedestal

of the most important thing in the world,

or whether they're actually bad.

Those things are the world.

It's the same sense in which we often echo Paul

when we say we're called out from this world,

that we're in this world,

but not of it,

or the words of Christ when he reminds us

that he is not of this world.

Yes, he's physically there,

but he is not of this world.

John defines it here for us in verse 16.

And scripture affirms that the world

and the way of godliness

are two separate ideas.

And he's calling us to the way of godliness.

The world and all that's in it

is at odds with the Father.

The irony here is that all of this,

the allure of the world,

is something we struggle with

because we're in the here and now.

And we struggle with it

even though we know that it's fleeting,

even though we know that it's passing.

But why do we do that?

Why do we continuously struggle

when we know that the will of God

abides forever?

That that is made by a God

that is infinite and eternal.

Who doesn't want those things?

And yet we settle for that,

which is far less.

The British writer C.S. Lewis reminds us

when he describes his own struggle

in the weight of glory.

He says,

You and I have a need

of the strongest spell

that can be found

to wake us

from the evil enchantment

of worldliness,

which has been laid upon us

for nearly a hundred years.

Almost our whole education

has been directed

to silencing this shy,

persistent inner voice.

Almost all our modern philosophies

have been devised

to convince us

that the good of man

is to be found on this earth.

This idea

that we have to wake ourselves up

from this,

this slumber,

and this idea

that we have to fight against

finding all of our good

on this earth.

God is infinite, eternal.

That is the thing

of lasting worth and value.

It's not these things

that tempt us

in this world.

There are many things

in this life

that are fleeting.

They're alluring,

promising that they'll

never,

never actually deliver on.

I have a friend like this

that's always tempted.

He's tempted

by something

in his normal

day-to-day

appeal

that this thing,

this action

will actually lead

to his ruin.

He knows

that it's not for his good,

but he does it anyway.

He knows

that it's not for his good

because I remind him

of this.

I remind him

of this

when I discipline him

and give him

a cold bath

outside in the front yard.

My friend

is man's best friend.

His name's Otter.

It's not my pet.

I don't have a pet Otter.

That's really confusing.

I have a dog,

German short hair pointer

named Otter.

And the thing

that he struggles with

more than anything

in this world,

the thing that he's tempted

by

are these fluffy

black and white things.

See,

Otter is from

South Alabama

where

they don't really exist

that often.

He's not had that many

experiences with them

until he came here.

But those tempting,

fun,

black and white things

have this nasty smell.

And even though

he knows at this point

through various interactions

that this will not

turn out for his good,

that playing with that

fluffy black and white animal

is not going to be fun

in the end,

he still does it.

He's done it

on normal days.

He's done it

on Christmas Eve.

He's done it

by himself.

He's done it

with his friends,

his litter mates.

He's done it

with my older dog

who knows now

to avoid those skunks.

But Otter does it

every single time.

He's mesmerized by it.

Even when they warn him.

Even when they warn him

with their teeth.

He's still tempted.

He doesn't learn

from experience.

He doesn't learn

from the wisdom

of his elders.

He doesn't learn

from correction from me.

He doesn't learn

from the effects of it.

Having to get that cold bath

of peroxide and water.

Tomato juice doesn't work.

He doesn't learn.

He keeps going back

again and again.

It's because they're cute.

Yeah.

Yes, they are.

He goes back

and he pays the price

every time.

But we are kind of like

Otter the dog.

We play with the skunk.

We play with the stench

of our own sin.

And we know

that it will not be

for our own good.

We know it from experience.

We know it from the words

that we hear on Sunday.

We know it from God's word.

We know it from others.

But yet,

we return again and again

to something that's empty,

vain, and fleeting.

But why?

Why do we do that?

It's because we're made

of flesh and bone.

We live in this

created world

that we're finite creatures.

We're part of this world.

But we are called

to something more than now.

We're called to resist

those impulses of our flesh.

We can't be deceived

by this world,

by our eyes,

by what we can see,

by our pride,

by our sin,

by our own apathy

to that which is lovely,

to God himself.

There is an Anglican pastor

who wrote this

about this passage.

And it's so fitting.

He said,

the world is the great rock

on which thousands

of young people

are continually

making shipwreck.

Now, I think the qualification

that we would make

is not just young people.

It's all people.

We don't object

to any article

of the Christian faith.

They do not deliberately

choose evil

and openly rebel

against God.

They hope somehow

to get to heaven at last.

And they think it proper

to have some religion.

But they cannot give up

their idol.

They must have the world.

And so running after well

and bidding fair for heaven

while boys and girls

turn aside

when they become men

and women

go down the broad way

which leads to destruction.

We love the world.

We are marked

by worldliness.

But we are called

to seek after things

that are eternal

and to abide

with the Lord forever.

We are called

to delight

in who God is

and what He has done.

That we have to

reorder our priorities

and not see

these good gifts

as ultimate things

and worship them.

But worship Christ.

That's what we are called to.

That's what John

is calling these people to.

And that's a struggle

and we will fail.

But we must remind

one another

to return again

and again

to Christ

and not to the things

in this world.

John reminds us

to stand against the world

but he also

reminds us

through this section

that there's this other thing

going on.

He warns us

to be on our guard

not just against the world

but against the enemies

of Christ.

Let's turn our attention there.

Remember that John

is writing to a people

that he loves.

So in verse 18

when he says

children

it's not like

they're their little child

but children

I love you.

I want the best for you.

I'm going to warn you

of the impending danger.

It's not demeaning at all.

He's reminding them

because he actually

cares for them.

He's reminding them

because something is looming.

It's not simply

a battle of ideas.

It's ideas that

influence their lives

and train wreck

or shipwreck

their faith

against the rock.

It's a battle

of theological ideas

and he's reminding them

these real people

that he loves them.

Now I know

in this first verse

there's something looming

that we want to jump to

and it's that antichrist.

But before we do

we have to remember

we have to look at

all what's going on.

There's also this term

last hours.

What does he mean by that?

If John's writing

in the last hours

and we're still here

was he wrong?

Were those the last hours?

Are these the last hours?

John's talking about

a quality of time

not a quantity of time.

So quickly we move

to quantity

but not quality.

Think about the use

of the term all

in scripture.

all men.

It's really all types

of men

that it's often used.

We should be concerned

though

because

this

can often be

an attack

against scripture.

It's not the last hours

he's talking about

in terms of time

but the quality of time.

These hours are different

or these last days

are different.

How are they different

from before?

Think on the timeline

of scripture.

At one time

God spoke through prophets

and through signs

and types

and shadows

and now he speaks

by his son.

That's what the writer

of Hebrews reminds us.

In these final days

and these last days

that are different

because we have Christ.

That's how they're the last.

So they're different days

by which Christ

now speaks.

It points

to something though

that will have challenges.

In verse 18

he reminds us

that we've heard

that the Antichrist

is coming

so now

many Antichrists

have come.

I have to admit

when looking at this passage

I was tempted

to just be like

hey

I can just preach

another passage

right?

Because this word

comes with all kinds

of baggage

and immediately

in context

we see

we know that term

Antichrist

but then

we're reoriented

because then

it uses it

in the plural

and we have to think

what's going on?

But it gets

our attention

and most often

we think of that term

we think of Paul

or Revelation

this idea

of this man

of lawlessness

a singular figure

who opposes

Christ

and his kingdom

but here

it's plural.

It's very different.

simply put

it's these people

that are against

the cause of Christ

against him

against his kingdom

it's not a singular

individual

in this context

it's all those people

that are against

Jesus.

Now remember

1 John

is a letter

written to a church

written to Christians

to assure them

to remind them

to comfort them

as they faced

all these challenges

and the challenges

were those

that were swirling

around the community

of Christ

whether they have

been part of them

and then had gone

out from them

as we'll see

or they were still

within them

promoting their ideas

all about

confusion

over who Jesus

was

and what he had done

those are those

antichrists

that he's talking about.

Look with me

at verse 19

they went out

from us

but they were not

of us

for they have

been of us

they would have

continued with us

but they went out

that it might become

plain

that they are

not all

of us.

They were part

of the covenant

community

they were part

of the church

and then they left.

John's saying

this is not

simply a clash

of ideas

that happen

in the classroom

this happens

in real life

and these ideas

have real big

effects

ramifications

for real people.

These aren't

just minor

theological

fights

you know

the nerds

have

that really

don't affect us.

These are important

in its life

and death

it's a real

struggle

over error

over truth

and lies

but what are they

struggling over?

If it's that big

of a deal

what are they

struggling over?

Look with me

at verse 20

he reminds them

they've been

anointed

by the Holy

One

that they have

all the knowledge

21

that I write

to you

because you do

know the truth.

It's not as if

you don't know it

there is no lie

in the truth.

He's writing

them

reminding them

they have

everything they need

they don't need

to be swayed

by these new ideas

they need to return

again and again

to the gospel

and that what

is contained

in the message

of their sin

being paid for

by Christ

who's both God

and man

that is true

that is lasting

and there is no

lie in them

if they believe

in that

there's no lie

in that

but there is

one that lies.

John tells us

that these enemies

of Christ

are those

that deny

Jesus

they deny

some aspect

of who he is

or what he's done

we don't know

exactly what it is

but it's probably

about him being

God and man

at the same time

or

him

paying the punishment

for sin

they're confused

but these

Christians

are called

to love him

if you remember

this isn't the first time

we've seen

this clash

of theology

these people

who are denying

who Jesus is

and what he's done

are the same people

back in chapter 1

that said

what?

that they had fellowship

with God

these are the same people

that said

they have no sin

not now

not ever

these are the same people

that said

they're walking in the light

and John says

more

he says

you can't walk

in the light

and then have fellowship

with the darkness

or he goes on

in chapter 2

and says

these are the same people

that said

they walked in that light

they've tasted

and seen

yet they did not know

who Christ

truly was

was it his divinity?

was it the fact

he was God

and man

as we just confessed

this morning?

was it the fact

that his death

had impact

for them

even though

they couldn't see

the effects

of his death

on the cross?

that he reigns

now in heaven

even though

it doesn't look like it

we don't know

what it is

but we'll see

in a couple chapters

what it is

we don't know

at this point

we don't know

exactly what it is

but we know

they have the wrong

view of Christ

and that is essential

for any person

that is saying

they're walking

with Jesus

and I'm putting

their trust

in this

God

man

to not know

who he truly

is

one theologian

has written

that when we

think like this

we're taking

the cross

and we're rounding

off the edges

whether making it

more palatable

or easier

to handle

we're reducing

the sharp lines

that bring about

the effects

in this world

that's what

they're trying

to do

they're trying

to reconcile

this

they're trying

to shape

the message

and by doing

so

they're losing

the cross

in all of it

John's correcting

this

he's saying

it matters

what you think

about Jesus

and little children

I'm going to remind

you of all these

things

so that you

aren't led

astray

because Jesus

matters

remember

he's calling

them to remember

now

tomorrow

is a

is a

day of remembering

it's memorial

day

it's not

something that

we struggle

with in

modern America

remembering

Israel

struggle

with that

and God

did miraculous

things and

brought them

out of the

land

and they

were told

to build

memorials

they were

told

to remember

through days

they were

told to

remember

through

celebrations

and what

do they

do

they forget

now

memorial day

is a

national day

that we're

called

to remind

ourselves

of the

sacrifices

of people

for freedom

in this

country

the ability

that we

have to

have liberty

to have

life

to have

the pursuit

of happiness

and we're

called to be

thankful for

those sacrifices

but more

often than not

it's a day

that we just

cease working

that we celebrate

the start of

summer

we dust off

the pool

noodles

we fire up

the barbecue

and we celebrate

because summer

is here

around the corner

it's a little

tricky in

Colorado

the pool

is not so

warm right

now

we might

see snow

right

but in

this day

we have

this clash

of ideas

maybe even

clash

in our

own

hearts

because

for some

memorial day

is this day

that's the start

of summer

but for some

it's kind of

haunting

it's a

struggle

it's marked

by sadness

marked by

loss

marked

by guilt

and maybe

decisions

that you've

made

or others

have made

that have

been led

to the loss

of Americans

that's hard

that doesn't

look like

the pool

and barbecue

right

but as a

nation

we're called

to remember

this day

but some

of us

were marked

by more

introspection

and lament

and that's

okay

and that's

a good

thing

as a

kid

I was

part of

a family

that was

never

really

patriotic

on memorial

day

which

we'd always

spend it

at the lake

we'd go

like catfishing

and swimming

and enjoy

the day

and it always

struck me

like why did

we do

those things

if it was

a day

for remembering

are we

remembering

and as I

grew as an

adult

I started

to challenge

that

I said

hey

we have

multiple

generations

of people

who've

given

their lives

to this

country

who've

given

all of

them

we have

cousins

that I

don't even

know

because we

live all

around the

world

and I

asked

I can't

remember

if it was

my dad

or granddad

I asked

them

why don't

we do

the things

that other

people do

on memorial

day

why don't

we go

to parades

why don't

we do

you know

go to

cemeteries

which are

all good

things

and I

remember

the response

being

every day

is memorial

day

that our

whole lives

as multiple

generations

of people

that have

served in

the military

are marked

by these

memorials

and that

each day

we were

to live

as honoring

those

who paid

the ultimate

price

whether they're

friends

family members

and that

shaped

each and

every day

I think

that's what

we're called

to in memorial

day

is to remember

those things

and John

in this

section

is calling

them not

just to

remember

and set

it aside

but to

live each

day

moment

by moment

remembering

what Christ

has done

that's what

he's calling

them to

remember

not just

one day

of the year

and then go

on about

your business

but remember

second by

second

what Christ

has done

and even

more than

that

I'm going

to send

you one

that you

might

delight

and abide

in me

so that

it's going

to help

you live

that moment

by moment

in light

of what

Christ

has done

look at

with me

at verse

24

let what

you heard

from the

beginning

abide

in you

if what

you heard

from the

beginning

abides

in you

then you

too

will abide

in the

son

and in

the

father

and this

is the

promise

he made

to us

eternal

life

this is

coming

on the

heels

of

understanding

what

they're

fighting

about

they

claimed

that

they

had

the

father

but

they

didn't

have

the

son

and

John's

reminding

them

that

they're

called

to

abide

in

God

and

abide

in him

because

they're

sending

them

the

Holy

Spirit

he's

sending

them

someone

to help

them

it's

not a

disassociated

remembering

it's

living

moment

by

moment

even

when

he

feels

far

and

distant

living

by

his

help

living

by

what

he

has

done

God

doesn't

say

just

think

real

hard

and

then

you

can

fight

against

the

schemes

of

the

devil

this

world

these

theological

ideas

he

says

no

abide

in

him

live

out

of

him

it's

not

simple

remembering

of

what

Christ

has

done

in

the

past

and

going

on

about

our

day

but

living

each

day

in

light

of

what

he

has

done

it's

not

facts

trapped

in

our

brains

but

he's

given

his

spirit

to

remain

in

us

to

live

with

us

so

we

might

abide

in

the

son

and

the

father

it

moves

past

memorial

and

it

moves

towards

transformation

that

each

day

has

a

component

of

remembering

but

each

day

is

being

renewed

then

we

can

see

the

beauty

of

this

world

and

we're

not

captive

to

it

we

can

see

our

highest

good

not

as

the

things

that

we

can

attain

or

the

things

that

we

want

or

the

things

that

we

don't

have

but

the

ultimate

good

is

Christ

we

see

that

when

we

live

moment

by

moment

abiding

in

him

we

see

that

most

clearly

we're

not

captive

to

our

eyes

we're

not

captive

to

the

desires

of

our

flesh

or

even

big

grand

theological

arguments

we

see

Jesus

as

he

truly

is

and

we're

freed

we're

freed

not

just

from

in

the

sense

of

having

liberty

but

we're

freed

from

the

power

of

sin

and

death

we're

freed

by

Jesus

himself

and

his

actions

on

the

cross

we're

freed

to

serve

him

we're

freed

to

stand

on

our

guard

by

abiding

in

him

John

reminds

us

that

it's

no

new

knowledge

that

we

need

it's

this

old

old

story

and

these

ideas

they're

going

to

assault

us

even

the

world's

going

to

assault

us

but

we

have

him

and

we

live

in

him

so

Christian

be

on

your

guard

be

on

your

guard

against

the

world

be

on

your

guard

against

these

things

that

the

enemies

of

Christ

espouse

these

new

ideas

that

seek

to

destroy

what

is

true

and

right

and

beautiful

that

seek

to

destroy

what

we

see

from

scripture

of

God

himself

stand

on

guard

that

we

might

remember

that

each

day

our

lives

have

been

changed

by the

glory

of

the

gospel

the

glory

of

Christ

let's

pray

about

those

who

want

anything

to