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. 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. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 1 John 2:15-17

One of the greatest mistakes the Church makes its to be more like the world instead of more like Christ. The Church is more concerned about attendance numbers than they are the holiness of their flock, so they compromise themselves, trying to cater the the ways of the world instead of showing the world the ways of God

So what does it mean to “love the world” Well as scripture tells us “the world is ruled by the evil one” (1 John 5:19) The world is under the influence of Satan, as the Apostle Paul called him the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4) That’s why pretty much all the agendas of this world are demonic in nature and will lead you astray from Christ. Don’t be deceived, the pleasures of this world, the things of this world, are all a trap to lose your soul

As the Lord Jesus said “What does it profit to gain the whole world and to lose your soul” (Mark 8:36) You want all the “things” of this world, all the pleasures of this world, but it’s going to cost you, it’s going to cost you your soul. Beware what you are spending your time in, are you doing the will of God or are you doing your own will?

The Apostle John warns us “Love not the world or the things that are in the world” this may sound simple, and when we look around this fallen world, it should be easy not to want to be part of it. But we get sucked into it, remember when Satan was trying to seduce Jesus with the things of this world (Matthew 4) He promised him power and pleasure, however all it would cost is your soul. 

We see the damage within the Church, the worldliness that has crept in, that has compromised our sacred space, that has compromised sound doctrine, just to gain a few false converts to add to our attendance sheets. As the Apostle John goes on to say “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father” The majority of things offered by this world are not from God but from demonic forces looking to destroy your soul

As the Apostle Paul said “Don’t conform to this world, but transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2) When your Born Again in Christ, you stick out in this world, like a fish out of water. Your not going to fit in this world, so stop trying to be like this world. The scales have been removed from your eyes, the Holy Spirit has transformed you into the image of Christ Amen!