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Back to EpisodesSermon of the Week Paul Washer: Against the World: A Call to Holy Resolve
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In 1 John 2:15 John said, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.” But hear me—when John says “the world,” he’s not talking about the world of creation. He’s not warning you against mountains and rivers, against springtime blossoms or autumn leaves, against the golds and reds that paint the trees before winter settles in. No—that world is God’s handiwork. That world is God’s gift. That world is the stage on which His glory shines.
The world John warns us about is not the world God made— it’s the world humanity corrupted. It’s the world-system of rebellion, pride, lust, greed, and self-exaltation. It’s the world that pulls your heart away from God and tries to convince you that creation is enough without the Creator.
So don’t confuse the two. The beauty of nature is meant to lift your eyes to heaven, not enticement your heart away from it. The world God created is for your enjoyment— but the world John warns against is for your destruction.
John says, “Love not the world.” But hear me—he is not talking about the world of humanity. He is not contradicting John 3:16. When Scripture says, “God so loved the world,” it means the world of people, the world of souls, the world of men and women made in God’s image.
So, what “world” does John warn us not to love?
The Greek word is kosmos— not creation, not humanity, but the world system. The organized, coordinated, seductive system that operates under Satan’s leadership, that leaves God out, that opposes God’s rule, that rebels against God’s authority.
That is the world we must not love.
And believe me— that system is alive and operating right now. Jesus Himself called Satan “the prince of this world” (John 14:30). Not the prince of creation, not the prince of humanity, but the prince of the world system— the system embedded in the culture, woven into the values, hidden in the ambitions of the age.
When Satan offered Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world,” he wasn’t bluffing. He was offering the entire system— and he didn’t leave out the United States either. It all falls under his temporary rule.
But hear the good news: Jesus also said the prince of this world is judged (John 16:11). His system is doomed. His reign is temporary. His influence is limited.
Paul makes the same distinction. In Ephesians 1:4, “the foundation of the world” refers to creation. But in Ephesians 2:2, “the course of this world” refers to the system— a system driven by greed, fueled by selfish ambition, addicted to fleshly pleasure, marked by deceit, filled with danger, and hostile to God.
That is the world we live in. That is the world John says we must not love. We are living in a culture that is anti‑God, anti‑truth, anti‑holiness. And the child of God must not give their heart to it.
Yes, we move in the business world. Yes, we move in the social world. Yes, we live, work, and walk among the systems of this age. But we do not belong to it. We are in the world— but we are not of the world.
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