In June of 1819, Adoniram Judson, knowing he would spend his life devoting himself to spreading the gospel in a dangerous area overseas also knew he wanted to spend his life with a lady named Ann Hasseltine. Therefore, he wrote her father the following letter, asking for the hand of his daughter:

“I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean, to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left his heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God?”¹

Her father said, “Yes,” and twelve days after the two were married they left for India. And true to the picture painted by the Judson’s words in that letter, their first child died on the boat from India to Burma, their second died being only seventeen months old, and finally Ann herself died, leaving behind their third child who would die six months later at age two. And yet still, Judson pressed in order to fulfill his missionary calling.

“Why?” we might ask. Why did Ann’s father agree? Why was Judson willing to go and expose himself to such disease? Why didn’t they leave when their children died? And why did Judson stay even after the loss of his wife? The answer is in many ways simple. They were simply obeying the Lord and had cast aside their love for the world and all that is in it. They were simply obeying the exhortation we see in our text this morning.

In 1 John 2:15, John gives his first exhortation of the epistle. Thus far, he had been giving much instruction and teaching, but in verse 15, he gives an exhortation. Now, he does preface it with a word of comfort and encouragement to his hearers in verses 12-14, but the command itself carries the weight of this text. Therefore, I want us this morning to hear this exposition as well (a basic, but costly one) and then return to the words of encouragement before we come to the table this morning.

The exhortation is simply written, “Do not love the world or the things in the world” (15a). And so it comes to all those hearing the word today as a simple command that I will give us this morning as a warning:

We must not love the world

At the surface we might feel that we necessarily have problems with such a text. After all, was it not John himself who wrote in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son …”? Indeed, it was. But here we must understand that John uses the word “world” differently in his writings. At times, he clearly means this planet. Thus, he writes in John 21:25, “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” However, at other times he uses “world” to communicate the evil world system in rebellion against God. Thus, he writes in 1 John 5:4 of him who has been born again as having overcome the world. This latter use seems to be the use in 1 John 2:15.

Thus, this is not a command not to love people, even those who do not acknowledge our Lord. Such would be to go against the command of God to love our neighbor as ourselves. Rather, the exhortation not to love the world is better understood as a command not to strive after the things of the world. That is, do not set your affections on the things of the world.

“But why?” we might ask. John gives us three reasons:

Loving the world and loving God are absolutely incompatible with one another.

John follows his exhortation which begins verse 15 with an assertion with which he ends verse 15, namely, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” It’s pretty black and white with John. If someone loves the world (i.e. the evil world system in rebellion to God), then he does not love God.

But how can John be so definite and certain in his statement? It is because the world, with its rebellious attitudes against the Lord, does not come from God and is absolutely antithetical to God. He writes in verse 16, “For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions – is not from the Father but is from the world.”

These things that make up this evil world in rebellion against God, such as individuals desiring things only for themselves, desiring to have all their eyes see and desire, and a pride and arrogance in one’s possessions and standing in life (i.e. the “desires of the flesh, and the desires of the eyes, and pride in possessions”) is absolutely against what God commands.

Such a claim to love the Lord while striving wholeheartedly after the things of the world are absurd and yet are probably the claims coming from those who had gone out from the church. It is, again, a claim to love something and to love everything that is opposed to that thing. This is much more than claiming to be a Red Sox and Yankees fan. It is like claiming to love one’s wife with utter devotion to her while striving after adultery with every glimpse of an opportunity. Such things simply cannot exist together. This is the first reason why John tells us that we must not love the world. Yet he gives us another.

To love the world is to love something that is passing away

John writes in verse 17, “And the world is passing away along with its desires …” Thus, not only does loving the world mean one does not love God, but loving the world is to love something that is quickly passing away.

When Lili and I were looking for houses after getting married it was a frustrating time. Lili’s parents had given her a piano, so we knew that we needed room for a piano. Therefore, we were looking for houses with a formal dining room in addition to a kitchen and a place to put the table. This was a hard task because the other factor was that the house had to be in our price range, which wasn’t as high as we would have liked.

One day, however, we were looking at a house with our realtor when all of the sudden, just as Lili and I were thinking, “This house is great!”, she speedily walked up to us and said, “We should go.” As we hurriedly walked with her to the car she told us that she had been mistaken on the sales price and that the house was about $40,000 more than what we wanted to spend. We thought, “No wonder we were so impressed by it.”

We also then realized the reason she wanted us to leave in such a hurry. This house was simply not going to be ours. So there was no use in getting accustomed and falling in love with something that would not be a part of our lives in the future.

John is making a similar point. To throw oneself after the things of the world is to throw one’s life and heart after something that is simply not going to be around. It isn’t lasting. It’s passing away. Therefore, as we feel the lure of the world with its temptations, we need to quickly remind ourselves that the appeal is a lie. This world isn’t lasting. It promises us nothing tomorrow. In contrast to this, however, stands a third reason John gives for not loving the world.

Only the one who obeys God’s commands will live forever

John finishes verse 17 writing, “ … but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” That is, not only does loving the world mean that you are striving after something that is passing away, it also means that you yourself will not live eternally with the Lord. For, again, picking up the logic from his first point, only the one striving after the commands of God and not the world can be said to love God and only one who loves the Lord can be said to have been born again, to have eternal life.

Thus, it is simple, as believers we cannot strive after the things of the world but we must love the Lord and pursue him and his commands.

This is the basic, foundational choice of following Christ. This is Christianity. If you have a heart that strives after the things of the world, you cannot be said to love the Lord. And if you do not have a heart that has been transformed so as to love the Lord, then you cannot be said to belong to Christ.

Therefore, I plead with you today to stop striving after the things of the world and to strive after the Lord and his commands. For this is the basic call to Christian discipleship. The fundamental decision in following Christ is to not love the world but to love the Father. We must consciously decide to obey this command today and to labor to obey God in all his commands. We cannot expect Christian maturity to happen simply with the passage of time. And you will not just drift into holiness, self-denial, and a disciplined prayer life over time.²

And one more thing on this exhortation. John does not lift this up as some super form of Christianity but as Christianity itself. Therefore, we should not look at those whose obedience to the call of Christ draws great attention (e.g. those who go to the mission field and even give their lives) as something special but as Christianity itself. They are simply obeying 1 John 2:15, and we must obey this command as well.

But I want to end on a note of encouragement, even as John gives us in this text. It is this:

If you’ve been given a new heart and have placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord, then you have been given the grace to obey the command on 1 John 2:15

See, I think that’s what John’s doing in verses 12-14. Before giving them this exhortation, which may be overwhelming to them, he reminds them who they are. He does this first by addressing the group as a whole as children, then the older believers as fathers, and then the younger believers as young men. I don’t think this is some distinction of Christian maturity, but it is simply acknowledging that some of the believers in the congregation are older and some younger.

Thus, to the whole he writes in verses 12 and 14a, “I am writing to you, children, since your sins have been forgiven you on account of his name” and “I wrote to you, little children, since you have known the Father.” He reminds them that they have forgiveness of sins and know God himself. Then, to the older individuals in the church he writes in verses 13a and 14b, “I am writing to you, fathers, since you have known him who is from the beginning.” Finally, he writes to the younger individuals in the church in verses 13b and 14c, “I am writing to you, young men, since you have overcome the evil one” and “I wrote to you, young men, since you are strong and the Word of God abides in you and you have overcome the evil one.”

You see, before John gives the command, I think he is combating a tendency that he knows exists among people. We’re prone to do two things when we hear a call to wholeheartedly invest ourselves in Christ’s commands, striving after him and not after the things of the world. First, we often tell ourselves that we would serve the Lord if gifted or in the position of another. That is, we might say, “If I were as articulate as John Owen or creative as John Bunyan or had a heart like Jim Elliott, then I would give my life in service to the Lord.” We think, “Well of course Paul served the Lord as he did. If I had all of Paul’s gifts and abilities I would too.”

The second thing we are tempted to do in light of the command to discipleship is to think that there is another time that serves better. Thus, if you’re older, you’re tempted to think, “If I had my youth again, then I would be more passionate about serving Christ.” Or, if you’re younger, you might be tempted to think, “If I were a bit older, or married, or had children I would serve Christ more fervently. In fact, when that day comes I will.”

However, John cuts through all those excuses by reminding us what makes one qualified to obey Christ. It is that we’ve had our sins forgiven, that we know the Father, that we know the Son, and that we have overcome the evil one. And John makes clear that this is the case of all who are believers, no matter their age, abilities, or position in life.

Paul followed Christ as he did because he knew what it was like to have the Lord give him a new heart that he might follow Christ. If you are a believer, there is nothing that differentiates you from Paul in this respect. Therefore, I urge all of us this morning, do not wait for some coming time or for some talent or some position in life.

Right now, this morning, repent from striving after the things of the world and strive after the things of Christ. Obey him with your everything. Be someone who is passionately devoted to the glory of Jesus Christ in all things. And if you refuse to obey that call this morning, then realize that you cannot claim to love the Lord, you’re striving after that which is passing away, and you give no evidence that you will live forever.

Therefore, this morning, as we come to the table, may it be a reminder that God has given us the grace to obey. Let us obey because, by God’s grace, we can. And may our participation in this meal be our visible proclamation that we have heard and received this basic, costly, and crucial exhortation from the text this morning.

May God’s grace be with us. Amen.

¹ Courtney Anderson, To the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1956), 83.
² D.A. Carson, in a sermon preached from his series on 1 John available at www.christwaymedia.com.

A BASIC BUT COSTLY EXHORTATION