Didn’t God Himself love the world? To be sure, the Bible says that “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son . . .” But here is the dif ference— God loved the world that He might save it from its sin. Too often, the Christian loves the world because he wants to join in its sin. Think of the many ways in which we are tempted to love the world. Some want to be popular. Others seek undue success, position and wild acclaim. Do you recall that the death angel called on such a man at midnight and said, “Thou fool!” All too often those who are not solidly grounded in the faith look at the Christian and feel he is a slave and that the person in the world is a free man—especially young folk will feel this angle. That is false and remember it is the end view which the Christian, the pilgrim must always have. The trouble comes when we want things more than we want God’s will. Dissatisfaction is written throughout our lives—we are constantly pressing for some new toy which the world offers. But the secret of release from this urge is, “Delight thyself in the Lord.” When Satan tempts just tell him that you are finding your joy in the Lord! There are three principles of the world against which God’s Word warns us: 1—The lust of the flesh, 2—The lust of the eyes and 3-—The pride of Life. The lust of the flesh is not only crav ing for food, but cravings of fhe flesh. The drive of sex is not sinful when carried forth in the proper boundaries of a marriage blessed of God. Other than that it erupts into adultery, forni cation, homosexualism, etc. The lust of the eye is a step higher in its cravings—it is a driving desire for the materialistic society of the day. The pride of life signifies a pious exultation in the possessions and social standing which one may have achieved through various means. 18
Crisis in Morality (cont.) rose nearby. He looked rather shocked and replied, “I really do not know, you see that is a part of the world, and the Bible tells us that we are not to love such things.” This so-called spiritual person had forgotten that the Lord Himself is referred to as “The Rose of Sharon” and “The Lily of the Valley.” John does not refer here to God’s crea tive handiwork when he says, “. . . love not the world . . .” The Psalmist gives testimony to this in the 19th Psalm, verse 1, when in praise he writes, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork.” The “world” in this verse does not refer to the sphere on which we live, nor to any of God’s gifts of beauty to man. The Bible says, “Love not the social order of the day, the way of life which is practiced by those who run their own affairs with no place for or thought of God.” There is a growing trend of religion in the country, but it is a Christless, crossless type of teaching. The blood of Christ is offensive and His redemptive work is refused. There is still “the offense of the Cross.” If you were asked, “Do you love the world and the things of the world?” Would you answer that you never smoke, dance or drink? What the Spirit speaks of here is that the Christian is to hate the godless culture and social order of our time. Have you ever won dered why the Bible does not mention any specific thing such as smoking etc., which is on the list of Christian taboos? These are a part of the social order of our day! The world is diametrically opposed to God. Since we cannot love both at the same time, we must love one or the other. The sixth and eighth chap ters of Romans tell us that we need not bow to the whims of our own fancy so prevalent in our time—“Reckon the old nature as dead.” The Bible says, that we are to count it as if it were not even operating.
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