RPG Adults
KEEP OFF THE WORLD
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18
1 John 2:15-17
Galatians 5:19-24
“And they that are Christ’s have crucified
the flesh with the affections and lusts.”
KEEP OFF THE WORLD
Heeding the counsel to keep off the world leads one to victorious spiritual life in the Father. The things of the world are sinful and the Apostle John gave the warning to keep away. Entanglement with the world is a departure from the Lord. The text gives a clear summary in verses 15 to 16: “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.” The depravity of the human heart leads to sin and this is the description of sinful living.
It was sin that led Adam and Eve to break God’s covenant. That sin was similar to what John was saying. Eve desired to eat the fruit without restraining her misguided appetite. The lust of the eyes caused her to admire the appearance and she got carried away by the look of it. The worst part is the pride of life. Satan promised Adam and Eve that they would be like God. However, a little reasoning would have informed them that they were blinded. There is no way in which they could compare with the Creator. The Apostle John gave this warning because he knew that all transgressions are anchored in this kind of sin.
There is a promise to those who do the will of the Father: they abide for ever. The Lord will reveal His will to those who are determined to follow Him. This determination is fulfilled when a child of God keeps the world and its lusts at bay. The world passes away and its lusts, but he who does the will of the Father abides for ever. The one who does God’s will manifests the reality of salvation in his life, that God is indeed his heavenly Father. He truly has eternal life and abides forever.
THOUGHT: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked …” (Jer 17:9).
PRAYER: Lord, give me a heart that loves to obey Thee.