1 John 2:15-17 “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
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the
Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of
it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
Some people say, "You
don't need to hate the things of the world to love God." However,
the scripture says, "Hate that which is evil and cleave unto that which is
good." James 4:4 says,
“Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world
is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes
himself an enemy of God.” They who
loves the things of the world, the love of the Father is not in them. Love
and hate according to the Word do not sit in the "emotions." Facing
the enemy is not a matter of emotions. To conquer the enemy means that you
must face the enemy at all costs. But fear not, we do not stand alone.
According to a Barna Group
survey, 95% of all Christians consider themselves "immature"
Christians. One person commented that this is comparable to taking a survey of
the armed services and finding that 95% of soldiers consider themselves Cub
Scouts. Be prepared! The Apostle Paul said, "You're
still babies stuck in the elementary doctrines of the faith and need the milk
of the word because you haven't grown enough to digest the meat of the depth of
the Word of God." Love is not an emotion.
According to John
3:16, love is a choice. For God so loved the world that he gave
his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life. He loved us in that while we were yet sinners.
The Greek word "agape" is a special word for “love”. According
to verse 19, men loved (agape) the
darkness rather than the light. Again, love is not an emotion. Agape
means commitment. Men and women who love inequity and are committed to
darkness cannot forsake their sin. God cannot do anything for them
because they are committed to darkness and cannot enter into the light. The
people of God must choose to hate sin for sin is transgression against God.
God says in Proverbs
8:35-36 “For whoever finds me
finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord; But he who sins against me
wrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death.”
God sent his son Jesus as
judgment for sin, as the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf. Until we
commit our lives to Christ, we cannot approach God's throne of grace. God has
no power to save us unless we love and commit our lives to Him. To return
his heart to God, King David was broken. God gave King David three options to
atone for His sin of numbering the people. The question is, how far will you
allow yourself to be broken before the Lord? There was a ritual for
cleansing prior to presenting a sacrifice in the temple before the Lord.
Likewise, in order to present our bodies a “living sacrifice”, holy and
acceptable unto the Lord, we need to cleanse our hearts and commit ourselves to
the Lord.
In the words of the old
hymn:
What shall wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of
Jesus.
O, blessed is the flow, that
makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know;
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
May God richly bless you!
Your brother in Christ, Michael
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