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.
If we were to judge this passage by the headlines of this week (the Virginia Tech killings), we probably would have difficulty accepting the truth of verse 17, for it does not seem that the world and the lust of it are passing away. But in this passage, two opposing ways of life are set before us. The way of life and the way of death are contrasted.
The first contrast that John makes is in the opposite motivations behind these ways of life. Both ways are motivated by love, but of different things. The love of the world comes from our nature--it is basic to us. It is a love that everyone has. It is sinful rebellion against God. And those who are not children of God can only love the world. On the other hand, wherever there is a love for God, the love from the Father is there as well. The love of the Father stands in sharp contrast to the love of the world. The love of the Father is the same love that sent His Son, the love that saves and keeps us.
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life also motivate those who are motivated by the love of the world. Lust is the love of the world. It is a perverted love. It is self-centered and will never satisfy. On the other hand, the love of the Father is a selfless love that satisfies. The lust of the flesh has to do with our desires, which are at enmity with God. Second Peter 2:9ff. describes this type of lust in terms of an animalistic desire that rises from the flesh. Just as an animal gorges itself, given the opportunity, so do those who love the world. The lust of the eyes is described in Genesis 3:5, where the serpent tells Eve that if she eats the forbidden fruit, her eyes will be opened and she will be like God, knowing good and evil. We see evil and we desire it, and this is opposed to Adam and Eve before sin, who had an innocence that didn't think of or desire evil. The pride of life is described in Psalm 10:2, which says that we are filled with arrogance.
It is sobering to realize that Romans 3 is a description of all of us, apart from Christ, and we must not exalt ourselves. All of us have this evil in us, and it is only by grace that we are not given over to it. Interestingly, in one discussion of the VA Tech shooter that our pastor heard this week, a commenter noted that in order for a person to become a mass murderer, he would have to dehumanize his victims and detach himself from them, becoming desensitized. Our pastor observed that one who would favor partial birth abortion (and abortion in general) does just that: he or she dehumanizes the victim, detaches him or herself from the victim and becomes desensitized to the fact that this is the destruction of a human being who (in the case of a partial birth abortion) is very nearly formed to live outside the womb.
These two groups have opposite objects of affection: the world and the Father. And finally, as verse 17 points out, they have opposite ends. Those whose object of love is the world will not stand. All that is of the world will pass away. But the person who loves the Lord and trusts in Him will stand--he or she will abide forever.
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