Recently I addressed a pro-life meeting in which we were standing tall against abortion, while I observed the young women in attendance (and many of their mothers) dressed in the sensuous style of dress (with lingerie-looking, low-cut tops, short skirts, and otherwise tight-fitting garments) that contributes to the sensuous conduct that makes abortions likely (Mt 5:27-30). I was struck on another occasion by the irony of a group of Christian teens going to a Christian retreat in which purity was to be the theme, listening as they went to popular music that celebrated, as virtually all popular music does, rebellion, drugs, and promiscuity. I am constantly amazed by the entertainment choices of professing Christians who think nothing, it seems, of subjecting themselves to graphic displays of the most intimate of things, of secret things which the Bible says are disgraceful even to speak about, much less celebrated (Eph 5:12).

Worldly Evangelicals

A book by that title sums up the problem. Evangelical Christians are fast becoming indistinguishable from the world. Our speech, dress, patterns of consumption, and entertainment choices are carnal. Our attitudes, desires, ambitions, aims, priorities are increasingly those of the world. Surveys of Christian moral conduct document notoriously bad behavior. The Apostle John is aware of the problem and opposes it. “Love not the world,” he says, “nor the things of the world.” Love of the world, particularly its pleasures and approval, has always been a temptation for Christian people. There is to be a difference between the Christian community and the world. Understanding that difference will be our goal as we study 1 John 2:15-17.

Let’s first review the Apostle’s presentation thus far. John began the didactic portion of his letter with the fundamental gospel declaration that “God is light” (1:5). Fellowship with this God, inevitably, results in a “walk in the light” (1:7). What does this involve?

First, it means first that one confesses and renounces sin, and is forgiven and cleansed through the blood of Christ.

Second, it means that one keeps the commandments of God.

Third, it means that one loves the brethren (2:8-11). These are his three signs that one truly has fellowship with God, or to use his other descriptions of one’s relationship with God, one “knows God,” or “abides” in Christ, or “walks in the light” (1:6; 2:3,6,10). Apart from confession, obedience, and love, one’s claim to know God is spurious: it is a lie; it is deception; it is to make God a liar; it is to be devoid of His word and of the truth; it is to be blind (1:6,8,10; 2:4,11). John aims through these categories to distinguish the sheep from the goats, reassure the true believer, and rattle the hypocrite.

Because it is likely that some true believers may be unsettled by these high standards, John reaffirms Christian certainties in 2:12-14. Those whose lives are characterized by confession, obedience, and love can know that their sins are forgiven and that God is their Father. They know they have victory over the devil and can more on to a deeper, mature knowledge of God. John’s brand of Christianity is no easy-believism. We may have true assurance, and distinguish it from presumption, if our experience of Christ is followed by confession, obedience, and love.

John now adds a fourth sign confirming the validity of our Christian experience. A true believer is one who does not “love the world.” As with the other signs, this, too, is absolute. If anyone loves the world, he says, “the love of the Father is not in him” (2:15). It differs from the three previous signs of true Christianity only in that it is aimed more directly to his flock, “whose spiritual status is unquestioned,” as Marshall puts it, rather than to the false prophets whose claims he has been challenging throughout.1 The oft repeated, “If we say . . .” (1:6,8,10; 2:4,6,9) gives way to direct exhortation: “Do not love the world . . .” The Apostle John is warning us of the subtlety of the world and the flesh. Do not fall into the behavior of the false prophets and their counterfeit disciples. “Let the one who thinks he stands,” as Paul said, “take heed, lest he fall” (1 Cor 10:12). Do not allow yourself to envy the wicked, to covet their lifestyle, to desire their things and illicit pleasures.

Critical to our understanding of John’s warning is a correct interpretation of what he means by “world.” Err here, and we shall wander far off the track. In fact, this fourth sign of genuine Christianity is more susceptible to misunderstanding than the others. Interpret it too broadly, so as to include everything except that which occurs inside the walls of the church, and we end up with legalism (forbidding things that are permitted along with an unhealthy focus on external things) and separatism (removal from the “world,” again, as an external thing). Interpret it too narrowly, so as to exclude virtually nothing sinful, and one ends up with “worldly” Christians. Therefore, we shall examine what the “world” is, what it is not, and why we need to beware of it.

Definitions

Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 Jn 2:15)

The word “world” (kosmos) has shades of meaning in Scripture. It can have a positive use, meaning no more than the created universe (Jn 1:10). More frequently, it refers to the “world” of humanity (e.g. Jn 3:16). But with greatest frequency it refers to “man organized in rebellion against God,” to the fallen, disobedient, devil-dominated earthly system.2 Satan is its prince (Jn 12:31; 14:30: 16:11); it is under his dominion (1 Jn 5:19; cf. Jn 1:5; 12:46); it is ignorant of God (3:1); it is the source of false prophets (4:1); it hates Christ and His people (Jn 15:18,19; 17:14; 1 Jn 3:13); and it will not hear the gospel (1 Jn 4:5,6). To be “worldly” is to be characterized by the aims, priorities, perspectives, lifestyle, and thinking of fallen, Christless humanity. “To love” the world is to give to created things an inordinate or excessive affection and attention. It is to give exalted status to what we see and our bodies crave. “To love” is to give our hearts to things rather than to God; it is to give ourselves to the world rather than to our Lord. We are not to love this world “nor the things in the world.” The “things” are the commodities, the benefits, the pleasures and powers that this anti-God humanity produces that encourage anti-God attitudes and behavior. They are the “things” that are not consistent with godliness. They may dominate the world at a given time. They may be “mainstream.” They may characterize what the majority thinks or does. Typically, they are what “makes the world go ‘round,” what dominates the world. Regardless, Christians cannot love this world, its lusts, or its idols.

We may love the world in the first two senses named above. Created things may be loved. People may be loved and should be loved. But the fallen world order may not be loved and must be shunned. “Worldliness,” as we ought to speak of it, is to be characterized by qualities of this fallen world system. As John Stott put it,

Viewed as people, the world must be loved. Viewed as an evil system, organized under the dominion of Satan and to of God, it is not to be loved.3

What love of the world is not

The Apostle John goes on immediately to clarify what he means by love of the world: the lusts of the flesh and eyes, and the boastful pride of life. But before we move on, we should pause to clarify what the world is not. There is so much that is called “worldly” that should not be, that our use of the term begs for clarification. Misunderstanding here, as we have said, has often led to both legalism and separatism. Without exception the forbidden “world” is not the things in themselves, but the same either out of proportion (an idolatrous love of sports for example) or in an illicit context (as in extra-marital sexual relations). It is their “lusts,” not the things in themselves. What does he not mean?

1. It is not the love of created things. Kosmos may mean “created things,” as stated above, but that is not his meaning here. It is perfectly permissible to “love” and enjoy trees, and rivers, and mountains, and oceans, and all the beauty that God has put into this world. To hear some people you would think that the devil had created the world. God looked at His creation and said, “It is good.” The coastal redwoods, Yosemite, Niagara Falls are all the handiwork of God, gifts to us which we can enjoy. Can one make an idol out of nature? Certainly. Does extreme environmentalism sometimes approach being a false religion? Indeed it does. But love of nature is not inherently idolatrous.

The Apostle Paul said,

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. (1 Tim 4:4,5)

2. It is not love of material things. Taking the above principle a step further, neither is the “world” the things which are derived from the creation. Cars and clothes, food and homes, even nice cars and clothes and food and homes, are not the “world” which is evil and to be avoided. They can become such when pursued with disproportionate interest, or idolatrous intensity, but they are not inherently such, and are not necessarily what John has in mind.

3. It is not love of non-Christian people or places. One is not necessarily “worldly” because one has lots of non-Christian friends or attends the gatherings of these friends. We are to love the worldlings and all our “neighbors,” remembering that Jesus, in telling the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 11:30-37), interpreted our neighbor to be anyone whom we are able to help. Jesus Himself mingled with the “wrong crowd” and was sharply criticized for befriending the Zaccheus’ of the world (Mt 11:18,19; Lk 19:7). Bad company can corrupt good morals (1 Cor 15:33). It may be that we find the social life of the unbelieving attractive because it appeals to our pride or lusts. This would be contrary to godliness and to make an idol out of one’s social life. But contact with the unbelieving world is not necessarily corrupting; indeed we are commanded to be “in the midst” of our wicked and perverse generation as “lights in the world” (Phil 2:15; cf. Mt 5:13-16; 1 Cor 5:9ff).

4. It is not love of a “secular” vocation or avocation. Because a job or hobby is not “Christian” or fails to contribute directly to advance the kingdom of God does not make it “worldly” and inappropriate. Didn’t’ Adam till the soil, even in Paradise? Wasn’t Jesus a carpenter? Wasn’t the Apostle Paul a tentmaker? Wasn’t Peter a fisherman? Wasn’t Cornelius a soldier and Lydia a seller of purple (Acts 10:1ff; 16:14)? God calls His people to differing tasks. Whatever we are called to do, we are to do our work “heartily, as to the Lord rather than for men,” further, “it is the Lord Christ whom (we) serve” (Col 3:23,24). Can one make an idol out of work? Can one become a “workaholic,” as it is said, and work to the exclusion of other important and more important considerations? Yes one may. But it isn’t necessarily so. We were made to work, and work we must.

5. It is not pursuit of a “secular” education. One needs to be very careful in receiving a non-Christian education. It cannot but be laced with principles and morals which are contrary to the Bible. Children, especially, are vulnerable to the influence of their teachers and their views. But “plundering the Egyptians” has long been an acceptable principle for the people of God. If you can get an excellent education from pagans and edit out their paganism, then it is not “worldly” to do so.

6. It is not success. Success is a good thing. Excellence is commended by God (Phil 4:8). Success can be worshiped; it can become worldliness; it can be pursued to the detriment of other duties; it can be sought to the exclusion of other priorities, but it is not necessarily so.

7. It is not love of recreation and pleasure. We have natural, built in God-given appetites, desires, and needs. God approves our meeting those needs in proper contexts and proportions. Nature teaches us that we need exercise if we are to care for our God-given bodies. God has given us, the Apostle Paul says, “rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying (our) hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17). Food and gladness. It’s okay to enjoy food. God built a day of rest and refreshment into the calendar every week, called the Sabbath. He gave us marriage even ordering husbands to “rejoice in the wife of (our) youth,” among other things more explicit, and we can assume, wives to rejoice in the husbands of their youth (Prov 5:18,19). The whole beautiful, tasty, enjoyable creation proves that God approves of recreation and pleasure. True, many have made a god of entertainment or pleasure (2 Tim 3:4). The Apostle speaks of those whose god is their belly (Phil 3:19), their appetites. One can be a glutton and abuse the gift of food. One can be a drunk and abuse the gift of drink. One can make an idol of sports or a religion out of bodybuilding. One can bow before the idol of sex, and indulge in it out of its sacred and approved context. All the world’s pleasures are subject to abuse. But not necessarily so.

The physical world and physical things and secular environments and pleasure are not what constitute “worldliness.” Indeed, the Apostle Paul speaks of those who say, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch,” and then condemns them saying,

These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. (Col 2:23)

Those who “forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods” preach the “doctrine of demons” (1 Tim 4:1-3). Dr. Packer once said that he suspected that evangelicalism, with its tendencies toward separatism and legalism, was, in effect, “monasticism’s last stand.”4 Are we monks? Are we so fragile that we cannot stand the influence of the world? Must we flee not just sin, but anything that possible might lead to sin, and wrap ourselves in sheets and live in caves, like the hermit monks, or atop stone columns, like the so-called “pillar saints,” among whom was the noted Simon Stylites, who lived for 40 years on top of one? Several years ago William Still of Aberdeen rebuked the isolationist tendencies of Christian people saying,

Christian guest houses, Christian holiday homes, tours and camps, and all sorts of exclusive Christian pleasures are unhealthy inasmuch as they breed prigs, bores and evangelical sissies. We need the sharp winds of worldly reality to brace our nerves and keep us on our spiritual toes. The Christian who cannot stand worldly or ungodly company or immoral talk without growing hot or cold is not worth his salt, and is far too delicate to be of any use in this tough world. He should be safely shipped in cotton wool to the heavenly glory on the very day of his salvation clearly marked, “Fragile, with great care.”5

We need to be wise and careful. We must be honest about our own weaknesses and avoid what may corrupt us or cause others to stumble. Still, we ought to be “world affirming” when it comes to created things and pleasure. The English Puritan Richard Sibbes (1577–1635) said, “God has given worldly things to sweeten our way into heaven.” Enjoy the Creator’s gifts. As for worldly people, it was Jesus who said,

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Mt 5:16)

Our call is to love that “world,” to stand firm in the middle of it, and let our light shine before it (Mt 5:15; Phil 2:15). Is it apparent how different true Christianity is from its sometimes confused perception? Dos and don’ts. Limits. Restrictions. Austere. Joyless. This is false. Jesus said that when we come to Him we come to the truth, and that truth is liberating (Jn 16:13). Here’s why. Our salvation is free. We don’t work for it. It is God’s free gift, not according to works (Rom 6:23). That in itself is liberating. The life we are then called to live is also liberating. We come to know our Maker and Redeemer, and with Him we come to know our own true selves. We’re able to identify our calling and purpose and pursue that with great energy and zeal. Of course, that means obeying God’s law, but that law was made for us and conforms to our nature. It is not something foreign to us and imposed upon us, but rather intended for the nature that God has given to us, and designed for our happiness. This means that we have a great big world to enjoy. “This is our Father’s world,” as the hymn says. In Christ Jesus not only are our souls saved; not only is our eternity secured; but we are free to enjoy life in the manner for which both it and we were designed, delighting in it, and by so doing glorifying our Maker.

What love of the world is

No, worldliness cannot be located in external things at all. If it were, being a good Christian would be greater simplified. Then we would just need to avoid certain things. We could abstain from A, B, and C and then we’d be okay. But, it is not a matter of things or places or people, but of attitudes and affections.6 It is the “lust” for, the disproportionate desire for the world’s commodities and behaviors, pleasures, and powers that is condemned. Thus, when John speaks of the “world” and the “things in the world,” he clarifies what that means in verse 16 in terms of lusts and pride, dispositions of the heart. In fact, each of the terms used, “world,” “flesh,” and even “lust,” are in themselves neutral, and can be used in a positive or negative sense. It is not the things themselves, but the use to which they are put, that makes them sinful.

To love the world is to make an idol of the world. It is to seek from the world and give to the world that which can only be found in God and given to God. When we seek safety from the world; when we seek provision in the world; when we seek identity in the world; when we seek well-being in the world and not from God, we have slipped into worldliness and begun to love it more than God. When we give to the world the bulk of our time; or the bulk of our energy; or the bulk of our affections, or the bulk of our resources, we have made an idol of the world. These belong to God alone. He is to be served above all else: above all things in this world, above all ambitions, above all persons. If we are serving our pride in the form of pursuing names and titles and recognition and honors; if we are serving our lusts in the form of devotion to food or drink or sex or sports, then love for the world has supplanted love for God and we have become idolaters.

Jesus told the “Rich Young Ruler” to sell all he had and give it to the poor if he wanted to enter the kingdom of God. He was making this point. God must come first, before our riches, before the things of this world. (Mt 19:16-26) He told his disciples that if they loved mother, father, son or daughter or life itself more than Him that they were not worthy of him! (Mt 10:37) What then is the world and worldliness? It is to place anything before pleasing and serving God. It is to crave the illicit, or the licit in illicit proportions. It is an unwarranted or disproportionate focus on the things that appeal to the senses or appeal to pride.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. (1 Jn 2:16)

Let’s examine the Apostle John’s terminology.

First, he speaks of the lust of the flesh. “Flesh” here refers to fallen and sinful human nature (see 4:2 though for an example of a positive usage). It is probably his general category of which the next two (the lust of the eyes and pride) are elaborations. If nuanced, it refers to natural desires that have become bloated and controlling. The NIV renders it “the cravings of sinful man.” Fallen humanity craves food, sex, sleep, pleasure, power, recognition, wealth, position (cf. Rom 13:13,14). This is what drives the world. Follow popular culture and see how much of it is motivated by one of the above. The world is obsessed with sex and has made a god of it. Likewise, material things and power and success are gods in our society. Recreation and entertainment and sports are idols in our age. These are not “necessarily” worldly, but when they are out of proper place and proportion, they are sinful and “of the world.”

The next two items should probably be understood as elaborations on the first, and are instructive summaries of “worldliness.”7

Second, the Apostle John speaks of the “lust of the eyes.” The “lust of the eyes” is that which is stirred up by what one sees. It is “those sinful cravings which are activated by what people see, and lead to covetousness,” says Kruse.8 The eyes see an appealing item, a car or house or clothes, and crave it. The eyes are impressed with the external, with the outward show of things. It is “the lust after the superficial.”9 This is the world. The world is excited by what it sees. We crave nice things, beautiful things, rare things, expensive things. This is what makes so much of advertising work. Notice, if you will, how much of advertising has nothing to do with the value or effectiveness of the product, but is only a projection of eye-pleasing images; a beautiful woman, a handsome man, a lovely scene. This is what makes pornography sell. We see beautiful, sensuous, desirable people, and we lust for them. This is at the heart of what makes Hollywood a success. To say this is to say nothing new. But consider as well now how our newscasters have to be beautiful people. I recently read an article about the declining quality of female vocalists, which was attributed to the requirement in our visually oriented culture that she not only sing well, but look good. The world settles for the external and fleshly. A person can have no character, no integrity, no intelligence, no personality and no talent, and still make it in the world if appearances can be maintained. Celebrities almost completely devoid of talent still succeed because of eye-appeal. It is by the eyes that the flesh is stirred up. The world knows this, and so stimulates the eyes as much as possible.

Third, the Apostle John speaks of the “boastful pride of life.” These lusts are eventually expressed in the boastings of the proud. What they get they brag about. The phrase is difficult to translate. “Boastful pride” translates one Greek word (alazoneia), which hints at the emptiness of the boasts, the “make believe” or fantasies of the proud.10 The word “life” is the source of our word bio-, as in biology, the study of life, or biography, a life-story. It may be used to indicate “lifestyle,” as we call it, and one’s braggadocio regarding it. “Pride in one’s lifestyle,” Smalley renders it.11 It is pride in what one has and what one does and who one is. It is the “pretentiousness of life,” “things that encourage us to have a good conceit of ourselves,” says Bruce.12 “Life” may even be translated “possessions,” and the phrase as a whole, “boastful pride of life” may be rendered “pride in possessions.” (ESV, NIV)

If lust is one great driving force in the world, ego is the other. The builders of the Tower of Babel were out to make a name for themselves. This is fundamental to the world. Positions are sought because of power. Careers are chosen because of prestige. Money is given because of recognition. We feed our egos on our accomplishments. We work, play, join, give, go, and attend because of the glory gained from it. This may be even more fundamental to the world than the “lust of the eyes.” We want to be something! We want recognition! We want to make a name for ourselves. Like Diotrephes, we love to be preeminent (2 Jn 9). This desire for a name is what motivates athletes, businessmen, politicians, entertainers.

Reasons

If it is not obvious enough already, John give us two strong reasons for not loving the world.

First, love for the world is incompatible with love for God. Once again we read,

If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 Jn 2:15b)

It is likely that John is speaking of our love for God, though the sense of “God’s love in us” and “God’s love for us” may also be present (after all, it is God’s love in us which is the source of our love for God). One cannot truly love God and also love this system which “is not from the Father,” and is the antithesis of all that He stands for. How can we love the world?, he is asking. How can we flirt with a system so corrupt, so superficial, and so contrary to God? How could it possibly be attractive to us?

Look at what the world advocates. It would have you live your life for the sake of external, temporary pleasures. Live for the flesh, the world says. Live for the sake of pleasure. Live for sex, or cars, or a big house, or nice vacations, or expensive clothes, or to make a name for yourself. Live, in other words, for the superficial, the external, the fleshly.

A while back we were passing through Sardis, Georgia on the way home from Savannah. Sardis, for all that I could see, consisted of a stop sign, a half-dozen houses, and a filling station. It did not have the marks of a boom town, nor, I suspect, has it ever. As we pulled away I turned to Emily and said, “I imagine some family here is know for being ‘old Sardis.’” Sardis has an aristocracy, or at least, a pecking order. Someone there has a name. This was Orwell’s point in Animal Farm. If the barnyard took on human personalities, there would be the pride of position even there. Not too subtly in his story, it was the pigs that were on top. This is what makes the world go round. Lust and pride. Is this all we want, to have our senses stimulated? Is our driving force in life to make a name for ourselves? These motives are the essence of the world, and they are contrary to the ways of God. So how can we be engrossed in the outlook and pursuits of a world which hates God and rejects Christ? James asks,

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (Jas 4:4)

We cannot live in both worlds. We may either love, honor, please and serve God, or we may love, honor, please and serve the world, which includes self. Yes, we must be in the world. But we are not of the world. We let our light shine before a watching world, but we are not to mimic its values and ways. Which is it? Do we love God, or do we love the world?

Second, do not love the world because the world is passing away.

And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever. (1 Jn 2:17)

Here is the ultimate absurdity of worldliness. All that we strive and work for in the “world” is “passing away.” It is not going to last. Its pleasures are fleeting. Its lusts are vapors, its honors are temporary. The one with the most toys at the end does not win because the toys are not there at the end. The grass wither and the flowers fades! (Isa 40:8) Moth and rust destroy all our treasures on earth. (Mt 6:19,20) Notice the tense of the verb. The world “is” passing away. In other words, it has already begun to pass away. Why put all our eggs in such a perishable basket? Bruce asks.13 “The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining” (2:8). So also the Apostle Paul said,

and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away. (1 Cor 7:31)

The world is all about appearances and never about consequences. It is all about glamour and glitz and never about impact and effects. What happens when one pursues pleasure without regard for God? What about unwanted pregnancies, social diseases and abortions? What about bankruptcies, ruined reputations and failed businesses? What about empty lives, purposeless living and those who “have it all” drowning themselves in drugs and alcohol? This world system, organized in opposition to God, is already passing away. Why would we live for it? Why would we seek its favors and benefits? It is all for nothing. It is all empty and worthless. The world cannot deliver what it promises. What do we profit if we gain the whole world? (Mt 16:26)

Here is what counts forever: doing the “will of God.” This is what will endure. This “abides forever.” Doing the will of God may not seem to be very glamorous. Or exciting. Or fun. It won’t provide sensual delight or erotic pleasures. We may not make a name for ourselves. But doing His will remains. Obedience counts. Notice the present tense. “The one who does.” This is to be one’s habitual and characteristic conduct. We also can say that there isn’t anything more satisfactory or fulfilling in all the world than doing the will of God. No life is more thrilling than that lived in conformity to the will of God. Boredom is banished. Every day presents new opportunities to explore the things of God, and to do that which is of eternal significance.

As always, the difference between truth and error is not a great gulf, but a razor’s edge. Christians are not to go “out of the world” (Jn 17:15), but to remain in it without taking on its characteristics. Do we love God? Don’t be conformed to this world. (Rom 12:1,2) Don’t pursue the world and its lusts and prizes. Are we doing His will? Then do not chase the world’s toys. Do His will, and that which we do shall endure forever.