BIBLE MESSAGES

The Christian And The World

“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” [2 Corinthians 5:14,15].

“We love Him for he first loved us” [1 John 4:19]. Loving God and Christ is a natural reaction on our part in return for the love shown us. If our service to God is prompted by our love for Him, and if our love for Him is a natural reaction in return for the love He has demonstrated for us, then our worship service to God will be a joy and not a chore. I am afraid we do not make enough effort to understand how dreadful our position was before Christ came. Paul painted a true picture of the position we were in. “....that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” [Eph. 2:12]. Repeat that last phrase: “Having no hope and without God in the world”. There is the vast eternity before us and here I stand without any hope and I have no God to help me. “But in Christ you who once were far off are brought near by the blood of Christ, for He Himself is our peace” [Eph. 2:13,14a]. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” [Eph. 1:3]. Now we go back to 2 Corinthians 5:15: Why did He die? And He died for all that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Simply put He says, I died for you, now you live for me!

  “Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer”. We knew Christ’s birth and earthly life, but now look upon Him as our risen Savior. We know His earthly life by the study of His biography. I take it that Paul means that He knew the man, Jesus Christ. We do not love Him for His earthly life; we love Him because He died for us. Look now at what a change has taken place. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away; behold all things have become new” [2 Cor. 5:1]. I know of no better summary of the things I have written than this: “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” [1 John 2:15-17]. When He is talking about the world, He is not referring to this physical universe. This universe is that which shows God to us by His wisdom and power. “For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. Even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” [Rom. 1:20]. The world He is talking about is a sphere of evil, an order which is opposed to God. The love he is talking about is not that tender love we cultivate for each other; it is that which men entertain for the things of this world that draw them away from God. Things that are good in themselves become evil when we choose to serve them instead of worshiping and serving God. If we let things of this world keep us away from God, the love of God is not in us. The sad thing is that everything we have loved and used remains a part of this world, left behind, when we answer death’s call. Jesus said to the rich fool, “Then whose shall these things be?” [Luke 12:20].

Written by: Clifford Sims