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THE LOVE GOD HATES
I JOHN 2:15-17
What a strange title for a sermon – The Love God Hates. How can God hate any kind of love? God hates love for the world and He forbids a christian to love the world. He says, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world." Why? God forbids love for the world because of what the world is and because of what love for the world does to christians.
Love for the world is worldliness. Have your ever heard one person say of another person, "He is worldly?" What did that person mean? What does the term worldly mean? To some people, to be worldly is to participate in certain questionable activities. However, worldliness is not so much a matter of activity as it is a matter of attitude. It is possible for a christian to stay away from questionable activities and still love the world, because worldliness is a matter of the heart.
I read an illustration of an attitude of worldliness or love for the world that I would like to share with you.
A senior student in a christian college was known for his excellent grades and his effective christian service. He was out preaching each weekend and God was using him to win people to Christ and challenge christians to greater growth in the faith.
Then something happened to this young man. His preaching was no longer effective, his grades began to drop, and even his personality seemed to change. Noticing that something was wrong, the president of the college called him into his office for a conference.
"There has been a change in your life and your work," the president said, "and I wish you would tell me what is wrong." The student was evasive for while, but then he told the story. He was engaged to a lovely christian girl and was planning to get married after graduation. He had been called to a fine church and was anxious to move his bride into the parsonage and get started in the pastorate.
"I have been so excited about it that I have even come to the place where I do not want the Lord to come back," he confessed. "And then," he added, "the power dropped out of my life and ministry." This young man’s plans, as good and beautiful as they were, came between him and the Lord. He was worldly.
This message deals with worldliness—love for the world. It will be an examination of God’s command not to love the world. When christians love the world, it is a love that God hates.
I. THE COMMAND EXPRESSED (I JOHN 2:15a)
God expressed His prohibition against christians loving the world in pointed language. Since God has forbidden love for the world and the things of the world, it is essential that we understand clearly what love for the world is. If it is a love that God hates, we need to avoid it at all costs. Let us turn our attention then to the source of the command, the substance of the command, and the scope of the command.
A. The Source of the Command
We must understand that the source of this command is God Himself.
The Bible is not just a record of what christians of the first century thought about matters. It is the authoritative, eternal Word of God.
When the Bible speaks, it is God speaking and we should receive it as such. Hebrews 4:2 admonishes us to mix the Word of God with faith as we hear it. "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." That the Word did not profit them means that it did not produce the desired effect because they did not mix it with faith. In other words, they did not believe it and act on it.
When God’s man gives an exposition of the Scriptures, it is not just a man speaking, but it is God speaking through the man.
Therefore we must heed this command because it is God who gives the command.
B. The Substance of the Command
We must thoroughly understand this command in order to obey it.
Perhaps the best way to come to grips with the command is to define some terms.
We will start with the verb "love." This is the same verb that is used in Matthew 22:37, where we are told "to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." To "love the Lord thy God" in this manner is to love Him above all other loves. It is to give Him first place in our lives.
The verb is used here in I John 2:15 with the particle of negation forbidding love for the world and the things of the world. To love the world is to give it first place in our lives. It is to court the world’s favor, follow its customs, adopt its ideals, covet its prizes, and seek its fellowship.
Because of what the world is, loving the world in this sense is the equivalent of deserting God. James 4:4 warns us that to be the friend of the world is to be the enemy of God. "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." This verse constitutes a sharp rebuke to worldly mindedness or worldly thinking. As a matter of fact, it equates worldly mindedness with idolatry. The worldly-minded are called "adulterers and adulteresses." "Know ye not" denotes that these people knew better than to be friends with the world. "Friendship" with the world" denotes an attitude that is marked by kindly regard and affection for the world. "Friendship" comes from a verb which means, "to love, to have affection for" something or someone. The word also means, "to kiss" as an indication of affection. The phrase "of the world" marks the "world" as the object of this affection. Clearly the recipients of the rebuke are entertaining a feeling of affection for the world. The message is that to be controlled by the spirit of worldliness is totally incompatible with loyalty to God and renders one guilty of spiritual adultery. "Enmity" denotes an attitude of personal hostility, the opposite of friendship. The statement "whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" declares that by the decision to foster friendship with the world, the individual takes his stand as an enemy of God. The present tense of the verb "will be" points to the continuing condition, while the middle voice makes it a self-chosen position.
As we are able to see, then, christians are strictly forbidden to love the world and the things of the world.
What does the term "world" mean? "World" is used in three different ways in the writings of the Holy Spirit through the apostle John. First, the word world is used to refer to the world of nature, the created order, the material universe (Jn. 1:10; I Jn. 4:17). Second, the word is used to refer to the human race which because of sin is in need of redemption. This world God loves (Jn 3:16). Third, the word world refers to an unbelieving pagan society thought of as a rebel order embodying the influences and forces hostile to God. It is this world that christians are forbidden to love. John spoke of this world, an invisible spiritual system, as being in opposition to the people of God and threatening their very existence. It is the love for this world which God hates.
C. The Scope of the Command
The prohibition takes in the world and the things of the world.
The phrase "the things that are in the world" refers to the lusts, ambitions, motives and dominating principles of the world.
The things that are in the world are summarized in verse sixteen.
II. THE CHOICE EXPLAINED (I JOHN 2:15b-16)
Christians are faced with a choice concerning love for the world or love for the Father. We cannot love both because they are mutually exclusive. As we consider the choice that we face, we will consider the exclusive nature of love and an exposure of worldly appeal.
A. The Exclusive Nature of Love (2:15b)
The statement "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him," means that love for the world excludes love for the Father.
The use of the present tense makes it clear that love for the world and love for the Father are ruling principles of life. As such, they are mutually exclusive. Where one is, the other cannot be.
Since God and the world belong to two different spheres, love for one excludes the other.
It is impossible to seek God’s favor, follow His commandments, and seek His fellowship while courting the world’s favor, following its customs, and seeking its fellowship.
B. The Exposure of Worldly Appeal (2:16)
"The things that are in the world" are totally different from and directly antagonistic to all that is "of the Father."
God has one plan or program of life for His people and the world has another.
In saying that these things are "not of the Father," the writer means that they do not originate in God, show no likeness to His character, and are contrary to the life which He wills for His people.
As we have noted previously, the things that are in the world are summarized in verse sixteen.
"The lust of the flesh" refers to unlawful desires which are produced by the flesh nature. The word "flesh" describes the human nature as corrupted by sin. It is the "lower nature" or "the unregenerate nature." The lust of the flesh includes all those desires and appetites which are centered in man’s physical nature and are exercised without regard to the will of God.
"The lust of the eyes" speaks of unlawful craving for that which entices our eyes. This phrase is broad enough to include every kind of unlawful desire which appeals to the eye. It covers ungodly entertainment, seeking after materialism, and the desire for things. The eyes are a gateway to the mind. Therefore the lust of the eyes can include intellectual pursuits that are contrary to the Word of God.
"The pride of life" means something like pride in, or a pompous display of, material wealth and worldly advantages. The phrase implies an arrogant spirit of self-sufficiency and a vain sense of security, both of which are based upon a false estimate of the stability and value of worldly things. The word "pride" suggests arrogant display. It stems from a vain assurance in one’s own resources, or in the stability of earthly things, which issues in a contempt for divine laws. "Life" denotes the means of supporting life and may be understood as "livelihood" or "possessions." "Pride of life" then describes an attitude which ignores God and His will for life.
The world appeals to christians through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. When we understand this truth and submit our lives to God’s control of these matters, we will be victorious in our christian lives. Remember that these things can lead us into a love for the world—a love that God hates.
III. THE CONTRAST EXHIBITED (I JOHN 2:17)
God commands christians to "love not the world, neither the things that are in the world." Christians are faced with a choice in the matter. The world attracts christians through our flesh natures. These things that attract us are not of God, however. God gives us the contrast of the result of choosing the world or choosing the Father. He does so by pointing out the passing world system and the permanent will of God.
A. The Passing World System
The verb translated "passeth away" is in the present tense pointing out the fact that the world is already passing away. The world system which is opposed to God is already failing or passing away.
Remember that the "world" refers to the organized system which is marked by hostility to God.
"The phrase "the lust thereof" may be understood as lust for the world, as lust which the world stimulates, or simply as the lust or desire belonging to the world.
B. The Permanent Will of God
It should be noted that worldliness not only affects one response to the love of God, but it also affects one’s response to the will of God.
One of the fringe benefits of being saved is the privilege of knowing God’s will. In fact, God wants us to be "filled with the knowledge of His will" (Col. 1:9).
God reveals His will to us through the Bible, the Word of God.
The one who "doeth the will of God abideth forever."
The word "doeth" is a present active participle and has the sense of "he who keeps on doing the will of God" or "he who practices the will of God."
The will of God is not something that we consult occasionally like an encyclopedia. It is something that controls our lives.
We are to practice the will of God for our lives.
The one who does practice the will of God "abideth forever."
The verb "abideth" is in the present tense and means that one goes on abiding.
The term "forever" means for time and eternity.
CONCLUSION:
There is a love that God hates. It is love for the world or worldliness on the part of christians. He commands us to "love not the world, neither the things that are in the world." It is really a command to stop loving the world or to not have the habit of doing so. Love for the world excludes love for the Father. Therefore God hates it. We are foolish when we love the world because it is even now passing away. We are to practice the will of God by loving the Father and keeping His commandments. Those who do so abide forever. Let us beware of the love that God hates. We are to love God, not the world.
Sermon From Dr. David Clark
