- The love of the world
- God and the world cannot coexist in the heart
- Consequence or dangers of loving the world
- What to do
- Conclusion
- Food for thought
The love of the world
… for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
2 Timothy 4:10
When Paul wrote a letter to Timothy, his son in the faith, he reported to him on a Christian called Demas, saying that Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted him. Today, Bible readers easy identify Demas as an apostate. Take note that it is not because he deserted Paul that made him apostate, but that it is because he loved the world.
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1 John 2:15-16
God and the world cannot coexist in the heart
Two trains cannot be on the same track. Even if it were possible for two trains to run on the same track, there is yet another thing that can never happen; God and the devil cannot coexist in a person’s heart. A heart is either dedicated to God or the world. Therefore, a person cannot love God and the world at the same time. it is written
… for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial?
2 Corinthians 6:14–15
God identified Himself to Moses and the Israelites as a jealous God. He would not like to share the space in our hearts with any other. Therefore God, by His very nature, would not like you to divide your love and devotion between Him and another thing; He would like to have everything. Hence, a Christian has to choose one – either to love God and hate the world or love the world and hate God.
For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Exodus 34:14
Consequence or dangers of loving the world
1. You automatically stop loving God if you love the world
The Apostle John was inspired to teach about the effects or consequences of loving the world and he wrote,
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1 John 2:15
Clearly, he means that any Christian who loves the world ceases to love God.
The love for the world pushes away the love for God. And the love for God pushes away the love for the world. No Christian can love both God and the world at the same time. These two oppose each other and cannot coexist.
Therefore if a Christian loves the world, automatically, his love for God begins to dwindle until it is snuffed out completely. When your love for God dwindles, it translates to the loss of the desire to pray, fast, study the Bible, and attend church. And you drift away from God day by day until you completely fall away.
2. You become God’s enemy if you love the world
There is more to the effects of loving the world than meets the eye. I would like to remind you that the unbeliever and circular people and, in fact, anyone who is not in Christ is an enemy of God according to Romans 5:8. The world represents all that which is not of Christ, constituting all kinds of sins and abominable practices which are loathsome and unacceptable in the eyes of God. And a Christian is guilty of the sin of loving the world if he indulges in the things of the world just like the unbeliever. If the unbeliever is described as an enemy of God, then it is no wonder that professing Christians who love the world end up becoming enemies of God. James says,
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.
James 4:4
3. You commit apostasy if you love the world
There is something wonderful in store for anyone who makes the choice of accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. It is written,
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
John 1:12
This scripture is fulfilled in the lives of every person who comes to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Truly, truly, God has accepted believers as His sons and for such a reason, he has given us his Holy Spirit as the seal of our sonship. Hence it is written
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Galasians 4:6-7
The Scriptures categorically states believers are children of God; God is our Father and we are His children, sons and daughters. Sadly, this Father-son relationship can be ruined due to our choices and the Bible is not silent about those choices that can ruin our relationship with God. James 4:4 says,
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.
James 4:4
If a Christian who is saved, at any point in his life, chooses to love the world or befriend the world, he automatically becomes God’s enemy; the Father-son relationship between God and the believer is ruined. The devil is an enemy of God. And the world, which is a representation of everything that is inspired by the devil, is also an enemy of God. All sins: all abominations, anything that defiles the soul and spirit of man, and anything that is loathsome in the eyes of the Lord is glorified in the world. How do you become a lover and friend of the world and remain a child of God? You relinquish your sonship if you love the world; better said, if you love the world, the Father-son relation between God and you, the Christian, is broken such that God does not acknowledge you anymore as His child. And that is what we refer to as apostasy.
What to do
You cannot invent a synthesis of love; you cannot love God and the world at the same time. You would have to choose one. If you choose to love God, then you should hate the world. However, if you choose to love the world and the things in the world, you automatically express hatred for God and you become His enemy. Between God and the world, the Bible clearly teaches that we Christians should choose to love God, but we should not love the world, nor the things that are in the world, period! (1 John 2:15)
Conclusion
Day in, day out, Christians are being driven by many factors into apostasy. The love of the world and the things thereof is a strong factor that leads Christians into apostasy. If you profess to be a Christian and you really love God and want to walk with Him for life to your salvation, then avoid loving the world and the things thereof, for those professing Christians who love the world, only prove that they do not love God anymore and, eventually, they become apostates and enemies of God (1 John 2:15). If you are already in the sin of loving the world, repent and rededicate your life to Christ, never to return to the love of the world again.
Food for thought
- In the context of 1 John 2:15, how do you understand the term the world?
- What are some of the sinful things the world has to offer its followers?
- How would you avoid loving the world and the things thereof?
- What would you do if you have already fallen into the love of the world?