Not Worldliness But Godliness

“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 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.” (1 John 2:15-17 ESV)

We are to love the people of the world with agape love which prefers what God prefers, which is what is holy, righteous, morally pure, upright, kind, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his New Covenant Commandments. When we love God with this love we prefer to live through Christ and to choose his choices and to obey them in his power. And so we will love other humans with that love which honors God and his Word, and which does not deliberately and habitually sin against God and other people.

So, when this instructs us to not love the world, this is not talking about the people of the world. We are to love all people, even our enemies, even those who hate us and mistreat us and do all sorts of evil against us. We are to love them and pray for them and do good to them and speak truth to them that will be of spiritual benefit to them, and with love and kindness, considering their true needs as greater than whether or not they will like us or approve of us or treat us kindly, in return. Love speaks the truth.

So, what does it mean then that we are not to love the world? We are not to prefer (favor, desire, choose) worldliness and godlessness and selfishness and sinfulness. We are not to live according to the desires of our human flesh, but we are to live according to the Word of God and according to his will and purpose for our lives, and in walks of holiness, righteousness, moral purity, uprightness, and obedience to our Lord. We are not to copy the patterns of the world (of the ungodly) but we are to be like Jesus in character.

The Lord’s desires are now to be our desires, not the sinful pleasures of the flesh, and not idolatry and adultery and idleness and wickedness and all that this world has to offer in the way of pleasing the flesh and fulfilling our sinful and selfish desires. For when we believe in Jesus Christ, with faith that comes from God, and is gifted to us by God, and that is persuaded of God, we die with Christ to sin so that we can now live for him in walks of obedience and in holy living. And now we want to do the will of God.

So, how do we know if we are loving (preferring) the world, which includes the sinful pleasures of the world? Well, first of all if our actions are contradictory to God’s requirements for us in holy living, then we are preferring the world, not God. And if our lives are consumed by the world and all that the world is offering us in the way of entertainment and information and activities, etc., but God gets very little of our time and attention and affection and service and obedience. That tells it all.

That is why Jesus called us to come out from the world and to be separate (unlike, different) from the world and to be becoming like Jesus in character and thinking and in actions. For that is what it means to be holy. We are not to adopt the ways of the world and our culture and the attitudes and practices and thinking and believing of those who are of worldly thinking and who are not following after the teachings of the Scriptures (in context). The Bible (Genesis to Revelation, in good translations) should be our only Bible.

So, as those who are of genuine faith in Jesus Christ, our lives are to be surrendered to the Lord to do his will. For our lives are no longer our own to be lived according to what we want, but they are to be lived according to what God wants for our lives, which he makes clear all throughout the Scriptures. And, although we who are old may retire from physical labor, we are never to retire from obeying our Lord and from doing his will. He is still to be boss over our lives, and we are still to do as he commands us to do.

[Luke 9:23-25; John 15:18-19; Romans 12:2; Galatians 6:14; Ephesians 2:1-3; Titus 2:11-14; James 4:4; 2 Peter 1:3-4; 1 John 2:15-17]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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