After Wittenberg: The Reformation 500-years from Luther
1 John 2: 15-17
15-17 Don’t
love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes
out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the
world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear
important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him.
The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever
does what God wants is set for eternity. [MSG]
15 Stop
loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love these
things you show that you do not really love God; 16 for all
these worldly things, these evil desires—the craze for sex, the ambition to
buy everything that appeals to you, and the pride that comes from wealth and
importance—these are not from God. They are from this evil world itself. 17 And
this world is fading away, and these evil, forbidden things will go with it,
but whoever keeps doing the will of God will live forever. [TLB]
15 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, 16 because all that is in the
world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance
produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the
world. 17 And the world is passing away with all its desires,
but the person who does the will of God remains forever. [NET]
15 Do
not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world,
you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For
the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for
everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are
not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And
this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone
who does what pleases God will live forever. [NLT]
15 Do
not love the world [of sin that opposes God and His precepts], nor the things
that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not
in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust and
sensual craving of the flesh and the lust and longing of the eyes and
the boastful pride of life [pretentious confidence in one’s resources or in the
stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father, but are
from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and with it its
lusts [the shameful pursuits and ungodly longings]; but the one who does the
will of God and carries out His purposes lives forever. [Amplified Bible]
15 Do
not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love
for the Father is not in them. 16 For
everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever
does the will of God lives forever. [NIV]
15 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. 16 For
all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the
eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
17 And the world is passing away along with
its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. [ESV]
15 Love not ye the world, nor the
things in the world; if any one doth love the world, the love of the Father is
not in him, 16 because all that [is] in the world -- the desire of the
flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the ostentation of the life -- is
not of the Father, but of the world, 17 and the world doth pass away, and the
desire of it, and he who is doing the will of God, he doth remain -- to the
age. [YLT]
(My thoughts):
Pride, arrogance, ostentation,
confidence, isolation, independence, longing, self-reliance, desire, lust,
ambition, pretention, worldly pursuits; these things are not from the Father.
Loving the world usually begets desires for worldly priorities such as these. It’s
like the difference between light and darkness, or white and black. However, those
who do what God wants—His will—they are the ones who carry out His desires, and
not those of man. Worldly pursuits eventually fade away, Godly works remain
with Him forever, they have eternal worth. These two systems are incompatible. They were
incompatible 500-yrs. ago when believers paid the church “indulgences” in order
to buy their loved ones out of purgatory. The Reformation started a move away
from the worldly system into an age of the Gospel.
Broken people usually give up on
the worldly success they once thought was their destiny. Brokenness develops
humility and groundedness not usually found in the kinds of ascending,
ambitious, successful, worldly “superstars” described in these three verses.
The cravings of the flesh (e.g., gluttony, dissipation), the desire for that
seen by our eyes (e.g., pornographic images, greed), and our pride in life (e.g.,
status, class, success) are very natural, as easy as taking in the air we
breathe or the food we eat. But these verses are a simple mathematical
computation. One does not equal the other. You cannot live in both realms; the
Bible tells us. The world and the gospel do not mix.
As a believer it suggests to me another
question: “How do I keep all that is
going on in the world, and my human reaction to it, from overwhelming me and
squeezing the life out of me?” Can I let go of the worry that keeping up
with these worldly goals causes me? Will there ever be enough? Matthew 6:25. I believe that in this world which is filled with so much pain, dissension, injustice, violence, and oppression, it is the weak people who can become a source of renewal and salvation, for the world and those who serve them. This is a difficult place better done in community, which is life-giving, but also a place of pain and sacrifice. Many do not want that, but it is a place of truth and growth.
Or deeper, “how do I replace the natural desires of any man, with the willingness
to do his good works (which God prepared in advance for us to do), aka, the
“Will of God,” instead of pursuing my own priorities? In so many endeavors,
like a new job, new relationship, or moving to another town, we don’t know
what we don’t know. But in the case of the Bible, these things are clearly
told us so that we do know what God wants. This is a blessing. We know what we
need to know about the eternal things of God because he shared these with us in
His word. He tells us directly that the great commandment is to “love the Lord
your God with all your heart, all your soul, and with all your mind.” Matthew
22: 34-46. That is the beginning of all wisdom. (Paul would tell us as we look not to worldly things seen, but to things that are unseen, that the worldly things that are seen are transient; however, things that are unseen are spiritual, and eternal).
Conclusion:
I was fortunate enough to be taught the logic of the
Reformation, in that justification (being declared right with God), by faith
alone, is an essential point of the gospel. I learned that the real gospel was
what Jesus did for me by his work on the cross, that I could not earn or buy
for myself. These magnificent truths became clear over a long period of time,
by going to church, sitting at the feet of good teaching, and Bible study.
Since then it is clear: a church that doesn’t put this doctrine front and
center, even if accompanied by good discipleship, music, outreach, and/or
fellowship, is not where I want to invest time. Unfortunately, if one rejects
justification by faith alone, and seeks after worldly pursuits, they’ve rejected
the gospel, and that strategy will fail in the end. Church growth, like our own
growth, is dependent on a gospel-centered life. Celebrating the beginning of
the Reformation today, is celebrating gospel truth, the triumph of the people’s
church not the Pope, and the importance of recognizing what God did for us, and
by doing his will.
Thesis No. 62, posted by Martin Luther, October 31, 1517:
"The true treasure of the Church, is the most holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God."
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©Mark H. Pillsbury
