“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. 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. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17 NASB1995)
To love (agape) means “to prefer.” Generally it is used in the context of preferring God and what he prefers, choosing his choices, and obeying them in his power. And what God prefers is all that is obedient to him, godly, morally pure, righteous, honest, faithful, and self-sacrificial, according to his word, and according to his will and purpose for our lives. But it is used here to teach us to not prefer the world, choosing its choices, and obeying them in the power of the flesh, according to the will of human flesh; not of God.
For the world represents all that is sinful and of the flesh and not of God. So if we love (prefer) the world and the things that are in the world, we are preferring the lusts of the flesh, and the lusts of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life in place of God and what he prefers for our lives. It means that we prefer our sins over obedience to God, which is then obvious by how we live our lives in daily practice, in heart, mind, and action. It means that satisfying the sinful lusts of the flesh gets preference over obedience to God.
Sadly that probably represents the majority of those professing faith in Jesus Christ here in the USA. For it appears that the majority of those claiming faith in Jesus Christ are following after a false gospel of salvation which is teaching them that all they have to do is to profess faith in the Lord Jesus and now all their sins are forgiven, and heaven is guaranteed them when they die, but with no reference to what the Scriptures teach about those who decide to continue living in sin and not in obedience to God’s commands.
We have a lot of people here who are malicious, morally unclean, deceivers, manipulators, opportunists, liars, untrustworthy, and egocentric (prideful), who fake their Christianity, who, on a spiritual level, are failing and declining. Yet they have inserted themselves (their character) into the gospel message, presuming upon themselves that they are Christians, that God has saved them from their sins, and that heaven is now guaranteed them when they die, but regardless of how they live. And many are deceiving other people.
Many of these people who are cunning, crafty, and predatory, are those who prey upon the vulnerable, the naïve, the trusting, the unsuspecting, the weak, and the non-discerning. They spin their webs of deceit by cleverly blending the truth with the lies to where the lies begin to take on the character of truth, to where many people are now believing the lies as though they are truth, while they are rejecting the truth as though the truth is now the lie, so that good is being called evil, and evil is called good.
These liars and deceivers are multiplying greatly as they continue to use cunning and craftiness to deceive the people. And they are those who deliberately teach the Scriptures out of context, who then twist the Scriptures to their advantage to make them say what they do not say if taught in the correct biblical context. And they alter the gospel to make it more acceptable to the flesh and less offensive to the ungodly, for they are trying to win the world to their worldly “church” (business) gatherings.
But Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2-3]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
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Warnings Against Worldly Living
An Original Work / September 25, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
