"Forbidden Love"

And if you would open up your Bibles, please open up your Bibles to 1 John 2, verse 15-17.

1 John 2:15–17

And let me read this passage to you.

This is not an easy passage to listen to and take to heart.

Hear God's Word. This is God speaking to you, child of God.

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, 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, child of God, is doing the will of God, is abiding forever.

May God bless the reading of his Word and now may God bless the preaching of it.

Have you guys heard about the frog in the kettle?

Apparently, if you heat up water in a kettle to a point of boil and then you drop a frog in it,

that frog jumps right out of it.

But if you take a frog, put it in lukewarm water in a kettle,

but you gradually heat up the water,

unbeknownst to that frog, that frog gradually gets cooked.

Brothers and sisters,

are we being gradually cooked

by the godless passions and priorities of the world?

Unbeknownst to us?

This past Thursday,

our life group gathered on Zoom

and we were talking about this very passage.

This passage is about how a Christian is to relate to the world.

And in the study that we're doing,

it started with two questions.

What do you think is the main failing of churches today?

And then things got really kind of uncomfortable.

What is the main failing of your congregation?

So, think about it.

Could you imagine being in a life group with me

having to answer that question?

What is the main failing of your church and your pastor?

We had a great conversation.

They were very kind and gracious.

But what those two questions get at

is raising how we evaluate ourselves

as Christians in relationship to the world.

Have we blended in to the world?

Are we virtually indistinguishable

from the world around us

and we don't even know it?

Have we gone back to the world?

Have we given ourselves back to the world?

The very system God in His mercy and His grace

has called us out of.

God in His great love towards us

when He poured out His love to us

through the cross of Jesus Christ.

He called us out of the world

for Him.

And now we're in the world

but not of the world.

So here's the big idea.

Child of God,

don't give yourself back to the world.

Child of God.

Christian,

don't give yourself

back to the world

to the very place

you were called out of.

To the people

who you no longer are of.

Child of God,

don't give yourself

back to the world.

So in this passage,

you can see it in your bulletin

the way I've structured the sermon,

the bulletin outline.

There is a loving command

that's in verse 15

and then that's followed

by two reasons.

Two reasons why

you should not love the world.

that you should not give yourself

to the world.

Child of God,

don't go back to the world.

Don't give yourself

to the world.

So let's look at this

loving command.

The loving command.

Do not love the world.

You see it in verse,

chapter 2, verse 15.

Do not love the world

or the things in the world.

Right from the get-go,

we need to spend some time

saying what does John mean

by the world?

That word, world.

If you look in the three verses

that we're looking at,

that word, world,

is used six times

in three verses.

That's a lot of real estate.

And then if you count

its desires in verse 17,

there are seven explicit references

to the world

in these three verses.

And so I don't know about you,

but I have this sense

upon reading this

that what John is telling us

not to love,

what is being forbidden

for us to give ourselves to,

to set our affections on,

is something a little bit

more complicated

than just the planet.

God is not saying

you cannot love koala bears

and zebras

and baby bunnies.

It's a little bit more

complicated than that.

And so to help you see

just exactly what John means

by the world,

let me show you

in 1 John

other references

to the world

and what we learn from it.

So look at 1 John 3,

1 John 3:13

verse 13.

We read this.

Do not be surprised,

brothers,

Christians,

those called out of the world,

that the world hates you.

Mountains don't hate people.

We're talking about

something more complicated

than that.

Already out of the gate,

we realize the world

is not neutral

to Jesus

or those who follow Jesus.

If you look down

at chapter 4,

verse 1,

and verse 5,

beloved,

do not believe every spirit,

but test the spirits

to see whether they are

from God,

for many false prophets

have gone out

into the world.

There are people

who are proclaiming

false gospels

in the world,

to the world.

And if you look down

at verse 5,

these false prophets,

they are from the world.

Therefore,

they speak

from the world

and the world

listens to them.

We,

brothers and sisters

in Christ,

are from God.

Whoever knows God

listens to us,

John the Apostle says,

into the truth

of the gospel.

Whoever is not from God

does not listen to us.

So you see

what's going on here?

The world

sends out

false prophets

to the world

to proclaim

a false message

that the world

says,

yeah,

I'll listen to that,

but the world

does not listen

to the truthful

preaching of Jesus Christ

apart from

a working of God.

The world

is not

a neutral

place.

It's not

neutral

to Jesus.

It's not

neutral

to those of us

who belong

to Jesus.

And if you want

the convincer,

turn to chapter 5,

verse 19,

the three verses

away from the very

end of this book,

we read this.

We know

that we are

from God.

Again,

he's referring

to Christians.

We know

that we are

from God

and the whole

world

lies in the

power of

the evil

one.

It's a reference

to Satan,

the devil,

the prince

of the power

of the air,

Ephesians chapter 2,

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

the Antichrist

that's all over

1 John.

And this

is the God

of this world

according to

2 Corinthians 4.4

who has blinded

the minds

of unbelievers.

So let me try

to bring this

all together

for you.

What is the world?

The world

is sinful

humanity

in organized

rebellion

against God

under the power

of the evil one.

It's a

complicated

system

of opposition

to God.

And just

to let you know,

this world,

this organized

system

of human

rebellion

against God

under the evil

one,

it transcends

cultures.

It transcends

governments.

The world

defined this way

works great

under communism.

It works great

under socialism.

It works great

in a democracy.

It adapts

fine

in all of its

various

oppositions

to God.

what you need

to understand

is the world

is actively

opposing God

and His purposes.

The world

disconnects

everything

from God.

The world

is seeking

to distort

God's good

design and

gifts.

The world

empowered by

Satan

is deceiving

and it

is passing

away.

It's on its

way to

destruction.

So what

we're being

prohibited

to love

is the very

system that

opposes

God.

Don't give

yourself back

to the rebellious

system under

the power of

the evil

one that God

has called

you out

of.

And it's to

that end I

just want to

remind you of

who John is

writing to.

He's not

writing to

the world

to not love

the world.

He's writing

to those

called out

of the world

by His grace.

He's writing

to Christians.

We see that

in 2.1

My little

children

family of

God

2.7

beloved

it's a reference

to Christians

2.12

little children

2.13

fathers

2.13

young men

2.13

children

2.14

fathers

2.14

young men

He says

the word of

God abides

in you all

you have

overcome

the evil

one

greater

is he

that is

in you

than he

that is

in the

world.

He's writing

to Christians

those who

belong to

God

who've been

called

out of

the world

He's saying

don't

give yourself

back

to that

system

now

I do

think

that there's

a possibility

of some

confusion

here

I don't

believe

John

is

forbidding

us

to love

the world

in a

redemptive

sense

I don't

think

John

is saying

hey

if you

are

burdened

for your

non-Christian

relatives

and neighbors

you shouldn't

love them

that way

that's

that's not

what he's

saying

I mean

we can

make a

case from

1 John

itself

I mean

if you

look at

1 John

2.2

Jesus

is the

propitiation

for our

sins

and not

for ours

only

but also

for the

sins

of the

whole

world

we read

the same

in chapter

4

where

Jesus

is sent

to the

world

in verse

19

Jesus

is the

savior

of the

world

for God

so loved

the world

that he

gave his

only begotten

son

that whoever

believes

in him

shall not

perish

but have

eternal

life

what is

being

forbidden

the kind

of love

being forbidden

is a

conforming

love

to the

world

a love

for the

world

that says

I want

to be

like

you

blending

in

being

like

who

you

love

you

become

like

who

you

love

you're

conformed

into

their

image

that's

why

in

John

17

Jesus

prays

for his

disciples

not to

be

taken

out

of

the

world

but to

be

sanctified

in

truth

that

they

would

love

one

another

and bear

witness

to the

savior

of

the

world

that's

why

Jesus

says

in

Matthew

5

you

are

the

light

of

the

world

a

city

on

a

hill

don't

let

Satan

blow

it

out

don't

put

a

bushel

over

it

let

your

light

shine

what

we're

being

we're

being

to

love

the

world

in

some

kind

of

conforming

way

where

we

become

like

the

world

in

its

values

passions

methods

priorities

they're

all

godless

disconnected

and opposing

god

and

i

just

want

to

finally

just

say

this

remember

why

there

is

a

not

do

not

love

the

world

it

is

a

loving

not

it's

your

heavenly

father

the

word

father

is

used

two

times

in

this

passage

to

remind

you

who

you

belong

to

and

your

father's

great

love

for

you

god

is

forbidding

a

love

for

the

world

because

he

loves

us

could

you

imagine

if

you're

a

parent

of

an

18

year

old

son

and

your

son

you

learn

that

your

son

is

leaving

your

house

to

go

visit

a

prostitute

what

are you

going to

do

oh son

please

don't

do

that

you

know

I

love

you

this

is

not

who

you

are

these

are

not

the

kind

of

desires

that

you

want

ruling

your

heart

this

is

not

going

to

end

well

son

I

in the

book of

revelation

the

world

is

called

the

prostitute

Babylon

we're not

to have

anything

to do

with her

God

in his

love

is

saying

don't

give

yourself

back

to her

and so

when you

hear this

command

what I

am

very

interested

that you

hear

is that

you're

hearing

your

loving

father

say

no

he

loves

you

this

is a

loving

command

not

to

love

the

world

child

of

God

don't

give

yourself

back

to

the

world

and

now

to

reason

number

one

incompatible

desires

we

start

seeing

this

at

the

second

half

of

verse

15

if

anyone

loves

the

world

the

love

of

the

father

is

not

in

him

the

love

of

the

father

talking

about

is

love

for

the

father

there

are

two

kinds

of

loves

here

love

for

the

world

if

you

love

the

world

you're

going

to

be

conformed

to

the

world

and

love

for

the

father

if

you

love

the

father

you're

going

to

be

conformed

to

the

image

of

the

son

what

you

love

you're

conformed

to

the

image

of

and

what's

being

said

here

they're

mutually

exclusive

you

can't

love

the

world

and

love

your

father

simultaneously

it's

either

one

or

the

other

they're

incompatible

loves

with

incompatible

desires

Jesus

talked about

in Matthew

6

when he

talked about

no one

can serve

two

masters

you'll

either

love

one

and

hate

the

other

you'll

be

devoted

to

one

or

despise

the

other

you

can't

love

both

you can't

serve

both

God

and

money

so

let me

just

give

a little

bit

of

a

warning

here

I

know

that

every

Christian

in the

room

right

now

would

say

this

I

agree

I

agree

that

no

child

of

God

should

be

loving

the

world

I'm

not

so

concerned

about

your

profession

I'm

concerned

about

what's

actually

functioning

in your

heart

because

I

think

it's

possible

for

you

to

say

I

don't

love

the

world

but

in

reality

you

actually

live

as

though

you

can

love

God

and

love

the

world

simultaneously

and

I'm

here

to

tell

you

you

just

drank

from

the

poison

of

the

Kool-Aid

of

the

world

doesn't

work

that

way

very

clear

here

it's

one

or

the

other

in

this

passage

John

says

do

not

love

the

world

or

the

things

in

the

world

and

when

you

hear

things

you're

probably

thinking

okay

I'm

not

to

love

slot

machines

I

get

it

but

that's

not

actually

what

John

has

in

mind

because

if

you

look

at

verse

16

he

says

for

all

that

is

in

the

world

now

he's

picking

up

where

he

started

in

verse

15

and

then

he

lists

out

a

bunch

of

desires

all

that

is

in

the

world

is

a

reference

to

operating

governing

motivations

for

all

that

is

in

the

world

he

goes

into

this

toxic

cocktail

of

worldly

passions

and

desires

it's

the

trifecta

of

godless

motivations

and do you

see them

the desire

of the

flesh

the desire

of the

eyes

the pride

of life

these

are the

governing

motivations

of the

world

and so

my

task

now

is to

help you

evaluate

yourself

in light

of

these

worldly

motivations

I want

you to

look at

yourself

I want

you to

take

stock

of

what's

rolling

around

in your

own

heart

now the

temptation

is to

think

about

you know

what

you need

to

preach

this

to

Jim

he

really

needs

to

hear

about

his

worldly

desires

Jesus

says

before

you

take

the

speck

out

of

your

brother's

eye

be

sure

to

take

out

the

log

out

of

your

own

God

the

next

temptation

will

be

this

when

we

start

drilling

down

here

you're

going

to

start

thinking

am I

even

a

Christian

how can

this be

in me

remember

what

John

writes

in 1

John

1

5

through

9

walking

in the

light

is not

denying

sin

it is

not

sinlessness

it is

being

honest

about

your

sin

to

God

so

let's

unpack

these

three

toxic

elements

to

the

worldly

motivations

that are

operating

around us

and what

you need

to see

is that

they're

incompatible

with love

for God

they're all

part of this

rationale

this is

why

you

don't

love

the

world

so

let's

dial

in

the

desire

of

the

flesh

the

flesh

is

used

all

throughout

the

New

Testament

to

describe

that

part

of

you

that

is

still

in

opposition

to

God

that

part

of

you

your

cravings

your

longings

your

desires

that

want

to

rebel

against

God

that

does

not

want

to

submit

to

who

God

is

and

what

he

calls

you

to

that's

your

and

what

you

need

to

know

brother

and

sister

in

Christ

is

that

when

you

became

a

Christian

you

you

became

a

walking

battle

zone

of

desires

because

the

moment

you

put

your

faith

in

Jesus

the

spirit

of

God

came

to

indwell

you

and

what

we

read

from

Galatians

Galatians 5:6

chapter

5

verse

6

17

and

18

is

the

desires

of

the

flesh

and

the

desires

of

the

spirit

are

at war

with

each

other

opposing

each

other

so

the

time

you

became

a

Christian

likely

you

became

even

more

aware

of

sin

in

you

that's

right

that's

normal

it

should

be

that

way

now

if

you

want

to

see

a

catalog

of

the

works

of

the

flesh

look

at

verses

19

through

21

Galatians

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

chapter

5

but

I

just

want

to

help

you

see

five

five

the

first

is

this

one

of

the

desires

of

the

flesh

that

we

regularly

encounter

in

ourselves

is

sexual

lust

desire

that

is

running

over

the

banks

of

God's

good

design

Matthew

chapter

five

Jesus

calls

it

the

adultery

of

one's

heart

this

can

wreak

havoc

it

can

rule

your

life

and

if

you

belong

to

God

that

desire

is

incompatible

with

loving

God

and

then

there's

the

love

of

money

greed

idolatry

Jesus

calls

it

a

master

that

you

can

serve

first

Timothy

six

talks

about

money

the

love

of

money

as

being

the

root

of

all

evil

the

love

of

money

can

rule

one's

life

and

it

is

incompatible

with

love

for

God

then

there

is

destructive

anger

your

need

to be

right

burns

bridges

it

destroys

it

wreaks

havoc

on

people

in

Matthew

chapter

five

Jesus

talks

about

anger

as

the

seed

of

murder

James

one

says

the

anger

of man

does

not

accomplish

the

righteousness

of

God

unchecked

anger

is

incompatible

with

love

for

God

and

then

there's

this

arresting

anxiety

that we

all deal

with

it's

it's

a fear

of

unknowns

it's

circumstances

ruling

our

lives

and

what

it

actually

is

it's

a

functional

atheism

because

we

become

so

aware

of

what

may

or

may

not

happen

we

totally

forget

that

there's

a

sovereign

God

reigning

over

it

all

carrying

out

his

purposes

it's

incompatible

with

love

for

God

you

feeling

this

I've

been

in

this

all

week

and

then

there's

the

fear

of

man

the

fear

of

man

proves

to

be

a

snare

problems

and

there's

one

particular

way

I

want

to

impress

upon

you

in

which

I

believe

the

church

in

America

is

being

tempted

to

fear

of

man

and

that

is

to

accommodate

to

the

moral

order

of

our

day

it's

to

say

no

no

no

you

can

talk

whatever

you

want

about

gender

issues

I'm

just

not

going to

enter

into

that

oh

no

no

no

you

can

redefine

sexuality

and

sexual

and

sexual

you

want

I'm

not

going

to

touch

it

because

I'm

afraid

to

touch

it

the

fear

of

man

proves

to

be

a

snare

in

light

of

that

I

want

you

to

look

at

2nd

Timothy

chapter

4

verse

3

the

fear

of