Adrian Rogers - Your Friendly Enemy
Be finding First John the second chapter, and when you've found it let me tell you something that you may not know. When you're a Christian, the Lord fills your heart with love but you are not to love everything. As a matter of fact, there are some things that you cannot be a child of God and truly love. As a matter of fact, you cannot truly love without hating some things. Now today, hate is an ugly word and there is some hate that is ugly hate. But let me give you a Scripture. Even before we read in First John, put down Psalm 97 verse 10, "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil".
And then again, Romans chapter 12 and verse 9, the Bible says, "Let love be without dissimulation". Do you know what the word "dissimulation" means? That's a big word. It just means, don't have hypocritical love. Let love be not hypocritical. "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good". Now, you cannot cleave to that which is good without abhorring that which is evil. You cannot love the Lord without hating evil. I mean you know this in the natural world. If you love health, then you're going to hate disease. If you love peace, you're going to hate war. If you love cleanliness, you're going to hate filth. If you love people, you're going to hate sin. If you love life, you're going to hate death and killing. And our Lord here tells us there's something we're not to love.
Look if you will in First John 2 verse 15 through 17, "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. And the world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever". Now the Bible tells us here in First John that we're not to love the world.
The title of our message today is, "Your Friendly Enemy". You have an enemy and that enemy is the world and the Bible says you're not to love the world. Now what do we mean by that? Obviously he's not talking about the planet Earth. Now the Bible also calls that: the world, but there's nothing wrong with loving this planet, what God has made. When God made creation, God said, "That is good". And you can love the rocks, the hills, the trees, the fleas, the bees, all of the rest of it, you can love it. You can love the flowers. Jesus said in Luke 12:27, "Consider the lilies, how they grow. Solomon in all of his opulence was not dressed up like one of these".
And nothing wrong with loving God's creation. Thank God. "This is my Father's world," Amen? He made it and you can love it and you ought to enjoy it. And when He says, "Love not the world," He's not talking about the world of people. We're to love people: red, yellow, black and white, there's to be no prejudice, there's to be no hatred of any person. Whether they're saved or lost, we're to love all people. Why? Because the Bible says in John chapter 3 verse 16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son". So if God loves the peoples of this world, we're to love the peoples of this world. What is he talking about, therefore in First John the second chapter when he says, "Love not the world"? Well, it's tied up in that word world, which is the Greek word cosmos.
Now, you know what the cosmos is. That is the order of things. The very word cosmos means: a system or an order of things. It is a way of doing things. For example, today we do the same thing. We talk about the world of finance, or the world of sports or the world of fashion. That is, there's a certain system, the sports system or the finance system, we call that a world. That's the way the word world is being used here. It's the word cosmos. What is a cosmopolitan area? It's a system made up of two words: that one means a city or populace, and people come together to work in an orderly way. We call that a cosmopolitan area. When a woman puts her makeup on, what's she putting on? Cosmetics, she's putting her face in order.
Somebody said, "Do you think it's a sin if women wear makeup"? I think it's a sin if some women don't. She's putting her face in order. And so those are cosmetics. Cosmic. All of these words come from this word where the Bible says, "Love not the world". There is a system that we are not to love. That's what He's talking about. He's not talking about planet Earth, He's not talking about the people, but He is talking about an ungodly, devilish system that is set against our Lord and His Christ, and you're not to love that world, although that world may be very friendly to you, it may cozy up to you, it is a friendly enemy.
And so we're going to look at the world and see what the Bible has to say about the world. And we're going to understand why we're not to love that world. We're going to think about the world and its character. We're going to think about the world and its corruption, what it does, and we're going to think about the world and where it is headed, what the conclusion of this whole thing is and the consequences of following and loving the world. What is the character of the world? When the Bible says here in First John 2 verse 15, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world". What is the character of this world? Let me give you some words that begin with the letter P so you can remember them. First of all, this world has a prince, it has a prince, a dark, devilish, diabolical person, the devil, who is the prince of this world.
Now put these Scriptures down if you will, as we think about this. For example, Jesus speaking in John chapter 12 verse 31 says, "Now shall the prince of this world be cast out". He was talking about the cross that would break Satan's back. "Now will the prince of this world," this system, "be cast out". And then in John chapter 14 and verse 30, Jesus speaking of the devil, said, "The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in Me". That is, "I don't have any itch the devil can scratch. The prince of this world, the devil cometh, but he hath nothing in Me".
And then Jesus, speaking of the prince's final judgment in John chapter 16 and verse 11, He says that, "The prince of this world is judged". That means that Satan sails a sinking ship and rules a doomed domain, this dark prince. And the apostle John, in this same passage of Scripture that we're in, in First John, if you go on over back toward the back, you needn't turn to it right now, but he says in First John chapter 5 verse 19, "And we know that the whole," cosmos, "the whole world, lieth in wickedness". Williams translates that, "In the lap of the wicked one".
That is, this whole world is just being rocked, cradled in the hands of Satan. This dark prince. There is a mastermind behind this world system. Sometimes people ask, "Do you believe in the conspiratorial theory of history"? They have some dark, Machiavellian scheme; there's a conspiracy here and a conspiracy there, and I'm sure there are some of those conspiracies, but there is a bigger conspiracy than people dare dream. That is, there is a mastermind, there is a prince, his name is Satan. He has a whole system of people that work beneath him, for the Bible says in Ephesians 6 verse 12, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities".
You see, the principality is the "pality" over whence the prince rules. Over principalities and powers. He is a mastermind. He has myriads of underlings who do his bidding. There is an intricate organization, if you please, a world wide web of wickedness. Now there is a prince, this world has a prince. Not only does this world have a prince, it has, the second P, it has a philosophy. There is a networking of ideas and values that are skillfully woven together to entrap the most innocent. For example, First Corinthians chapter 3 verse 19. The Bible says, "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God". "The wisdom of this world".
This world is wise but it is wise to do evil. So there is a philosophy, and it extends from the schoolhouse to the statehouse, from Madison Avenue to Wall Street. It appears in recreational theme parks like Disney and other places. It may seem innocent, it may seem beautiful, it is often alluring. But the world has a prince, the world has a philosophy, and may I tell you that your friendly enemy the world has a purpose, that's the next P. What is the purpose? Well, there's a calculated plan, an unwavering purpose, and what is that purpose? It is to draw you away from God, very alluringly. Now, therefore, the world is against the Lord Jesus Christ.
Put this Scripture down, John chapter 7 and verse 7. Jesus, speaking to His disciples, said, "The world cannot hate you, but Me it hateth". Have you ever wondered why the world hates Jesus? The world doesn't hate Jesus because He healed the sick; the world doesn't hate Jesus because He blessed the children. The world doesn't hate Jesus because He turned water into wine or broke bread and fed the multitudes. The world doesn't hate Jesus because He walked on the water; the world doesn't hate Jesus because He died on the cross. But Jesus said in John 7:7, "The world hateth Me because I testify of it that its works are evil". That's why the world hates Jesus. I mean, today you're not supposed to say anything is evil.
Friend, today we are supposed to be tolerant of everything, isn't that right? Just be tolerant. Do you know what the sin today is? The sin today is to call sin sin. You call sin sin, hey friend, you're spitting against the wind in today's society. And Jesus said, "The world hateth Me because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil". And then Jesus said in John chapter 14 verse 17, we're talking now about the purpose of this world, and Jesus said in John 14 verse 17, speaking of the Holy Spirit, and He calls Him, "Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him, but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you and shall be in you".
"Dwelleth with you," that was Jesus Christ Himself, "shall be in you," that is the Holy Spirit coming to represent the Lord Jesus. John 15 verse 18, "If the world hate you," and by the way, it will. Don't get the idea if you get right with God they're going to make you the mayor of your city. I thank God for godly mayors, but friend, don't get the idea that this world is going to praise and pat and flatter you if you get right with God. It'll break your neck if it can. "If the world hates you," Jesus said, "know that it hated Me before it hated you".
And then old James says in James chapter 4 and verse 4, "You adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be the friend of the world is the enemy of God". If you are a friend to this world that hates Jesus, you are an enemy of God and a traitor to Jesus Christ who died on the cross and was crucified by this world. This world has a prince, this world has a philosophy, this world has a purpose, and that purpose is to draw away your heart, to seduce you from loving the Lord Jesus Christ as you ought. Jesus said it in John chapter 15 verse 19, "If you were of the world, the world would love his own, but because you're not of the world, but I've chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you".
Sometimes we use the term: worldly Christian. Billy Sunday said, "You might as well speak of a heavenly devil; it's a contradiction in terms". We hear a lot about the separation of church and state. I believe we need to hear a little bit more about the separation of church and world, don't you? I mean, today you can't tell the difference between those who name the name of Jesus and those who don't. They look alike, they talk alike, they go the same places, they smoke the same things. No, we're to come out from the world. So, here is a world. It has, friend, a prince. It has a philosophy. It has a purpose, and it has a people. Luke chapter 16 and verse 8, Jesus said, "For the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light". "The children of this world".
The world has its people. Now you might as well understand it. Folks, when you got saved, you came out of the world and you are different. You are twice-born in a world of once-born people, and so you are going to find yourself swimming against the tide all the way. Don't get the idea that over here is the broad way, and over here is the narrow way, and the broad way is going this way and you're over here on a little side road going this way in the same direction. No, no. If the broad way is coming this way, this is the way you're coming, just like that. You're swimming against the tide all the time, and what you have, what you know, what you believe, it starts at a different source, it follows a different course, and friend, it's headed toward a different conclusion.
I want to tell you something, now. If you were of the world, the world would love you. You are twiceborn; this world is not your home. You are a pilgrim, you are just passing through. We are not a part of this world system. Now folks, that's a forgotten message in today's church, did you know that? But it's not a forgotten message in the Word of God. The Bible says in First John 2:15, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world".
Do you know what the devil's purpose is? Romans chapter 12 and verse 2, it is to conform you. That's the reason the apostle Paul said, "Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed". The world wants to take you and squeeze you into its mold. The world doesn't want you to be different. The world wants you to follow its prince. The world wants you to believe its philosophies. The world wants you to join it's purpose, and the world wants you to be a part of its people, to be conformed to this world.
So why does John say, "Love not the world"? Well, number one, because of the character of the world. Number two, because of the corruption of the world. Look at this passage of Scripture right here now. Look in First John 2 verse 16, "For all that is in the world," are you ready for this? "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". So we see not only the character of the world, what it is, but the corruption of the world, what it does. Now this world, that would seduce you from loving the Lord Jesus, has three main appeals. They're right here in this verse, in verse 16. They are the lust of the flesh, do you see it? The lust of the eyes, do you see it? And the pride of life.
I want us to look at those. I want to look at them very carefully. What is the lust of the flesh? What does that mean? Well, that is Satan's appeal to your old nature. When the Bible says, "the flesh" here, it doesn't mean your hide, your hair, your skin, your nerves, your sinews, your bones, your avoirdupois. It doesn't mean that. But when the Bible says, "the flesh," that means your old Adamic nature. The flesh is what we have received from our first birth. Spirit is what we receive from our second birth, and so Galatians chapter 5 verse 17 says, "For the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh".
That is, when you get saved, a Civil War begins on the inside. Have you felt it? Of course you have. There's that new nature that wants to serve God, there's that old nature that doesn't want to lie down and be dead, and so you're going to have a battle on the inside. Now, the Bible calls this old nature, the desires of the old nature, "the lust of the flesh". Now these are desires primarily in the area of the material, the physical, normally in the area of gluttony, laziness, drunkenness, immorality, perversion.
You see, God has given you certain normal hungers. Appetite is normal and good. Thank God if you have a good appetite. Ambition is normal and good. The sex drive is a gift from God because it is the part of the glue that holds the family together. But what Satan wants to do is to take normal, God-given proclivities and appetites and corrupt them and pervert them and he wants us to pamper our flesh with food and sleep and sex and drugs and liquor and laziness. What sin is, is primarily an abuse of something that's good. The devil doesn't have any raw materials. God made everything, so anything bad is a perversion of something that is good and it is a misuse of good things.
For example, you can misuse food, you can misuse sleep, you can misuse sex. Good things are bad things, listen to me, good things are bad things when they are out of place. Matthew chapter 6 and verse 33 says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you". God's not going to take second place. But the world says, "Just pamper your flesh, satisfy your flesh". And so there is the lust of the flesh, now listen carefully. That deals with our passions, our passions. That's the lust of the flesh.
Now, the next thing he speaks of is the lust of the eyes. That doesn't deal with our passions, it deals with our possessions. You see, your eyes have an appetite also. Have you ever heard anybody say, "Just feast your eyes upon that"? Now if the lust of the flesh deals with doing, the lust of the eyes deals with having. And this temptation may be a lot more refined than the lust of the flesh. The lust of the eyes may be sophisticated, intellectual, beautiful, and it's the desire, not merely to have and to own things, that is a legitimate desire, but to want more than we need and to be dissatisfied as the Bible tells us in First Timothy chapter 6 verse 10, "For the love of money is the root of all evil". Now it doesn't say money is the root of all evil.
Let me ask you a question and be honest but don't answer out loud. What really motivates you? I mean, what are your personal goals? Is the first thing in your life to be a godly person? To seek the kingdom of God? Or are you trying to be a successful person? Are you more consumed with the things, material things than spiritual things? Have you tried to put God in second place when the Bible says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God"? Your eyes are looking around, and you see things and you say, "I want that, I want that, and I need this and I want that". That's the lust of the eyes.
What are you more concerned about? What school your child graduates from and his degree and his success, or his holy, godly character? I mean, really what is more important to you? Well let me ask you another question. Is there any, any, any material possession you would not depart with for the glory of God? Now, just answer that question in your heart. Are you more interested in the lives of the rich and the famous than you are the righteous and the faithful? Had you rather be invited to lunch by Bill Gates or some soul winner? I mean, what really melts your butter? What really motivates you?
There is the lust of the flesh, that's our passions, it deals with doing. There's the lust of the eyes, that's our possessions, it deals with having. And then there's the pride of life, that deals with being. That doesn't deal with passion or possession; it deals with position. Ho, boy, this world says, "Be somebody". I mean, be recognized, get a name for yourself, and the whole world is just wrapped around these things. That's the reason so many of our young couples, listen to me, young couples, you are in difficulty today because of the pride of life. You are trying to keep up with the Joneses. You buy things you don't need with money you don't have to impress people you don't like.
About the time you catch up with the Joneses, they refinance. And off you go again. That's the pride of life! That's the pride of life! You think that you have to be noticed, that's the reason that people dress sometimes outlandishly. That's the reason you buy an automobile when you don't need it. That's the reason people gossip. They think that somehow if they pull others down like a drowning man, drowning in a sea of insecurity, if they pull others down that somehow they elevate themselves. That's the reason people take drugs and drink. They're ten feet tall, they're the life of the party, they are somebody, at least for a little while.
There's a system! There is a system! It deals with passions, possession, and position. It deals with doing, and having, and being! Folks, Madison Avenue knows this. They will write to you a letter, and they will say, "Mr. Rogers, our research shows us that you are a man of discriminate taste, that you're a man of above average intelligence, that you like the finer things of life, and you've worked hard and deserve these things. Now let us tell you something. I hope you'll be interested, Mr. Rogers". Well, of course I am, since they've described me perfectly. I mean, listen, folks, they know exactly how to get inside your head. That's the way Madison Avenue makes millions and millions and millions of dollars. Passions! Possession! Position! Doing! Having! Being! That's the world's system. That's what's in the world.
Now, folks, that's now new. That was in the Garden of Eden. Read Genesis 3:6, when Adam and Eve fell for that Satan's appeal there in the Garden of Eden. What did he do? He says, "There's the food that's good for the taste". All right, what's that? That's their passions. "It's pleasant for the eyes". What's that? Their possession. "It's desired to make one wise". What is that? That is position! Do you see how old it is? There's nothing new. The Bible says in Hebrews 4:15 that, "Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are". How? Well, you say, "Was He tempted to take drugs? To ride a motorcycle a hundred and ten miles an hour"? No. That's not what it was. Well those three things, right away, the devil said in Matthew 4 verse 43, "Turn these stones into bread". What's that? Satisfy the flesh, that's your passions. That's doing.
Then what's the next thing he said? He said to Him in Matthew 4 verses 8 and 9, "He taketh Him up and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world". What's that? That is not doing, that's having. That's not his passions, that's his possessions. He said, "All these kingdoms I'll give You". And then what was the next temptation? He said in Matthew 4 verse 6, "Cast Yourself down from the pinnacle of the Temple and He'll give His angels charge over Thee to bear Thee up lest You cast Your foot upon a stone". That is, make a dramatic entrance. What is that? That is position. Be somebody important, do some magical thing, make a grand, dramatic entrance. Let me tell you, folks, the devil is working on you in the same three areas; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. It is of the world.
"Well," you say, "Now wait a minute, Adrian. Are you trying to tell me I'm just going to sit in the corner and suck my thumb"? No! What I'm telling you is this, that every temptation is a perversion of something that is good. The devil is a pervert, a pervert. But God wants you to be in the business of doing, and He wants you to be in the business of having. And He wants you to be in the business of being the right way. You want something to do? Serve God. You want something to have? Give your heart to Jesus Christ, and the Bible says in Matthew 5:5, "All things are yours. The meek shall inherit the Earth". You want to be somebody?
Friend, let me tell you something. You give your heart to Jesus. You're a child of the King. You're next of kin to the Holy Trinity. Jesus Christ is not ashamed to call you His brother. You are a royal blue-blood, a prince and a king. Why take second best? Doing and having and being are found in the Lord Jesus Christ. The devil's a liar and a pervert. That's what he is. The world has a system that will try to draw you away from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, we've talked about why you're not to love the world, because of its character, what it is, and because of its corruption, what it does. And now the third reason I want you to see, friend, is you're not to love the world because of its condemnation, where it is headed. Look if you will in First John 2 verse 17. Now look at it, "For the world passeth away," do you see that? "The world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever".
Now there's one sure thing about this world system: it's not going to be here forever; it is passing away. Only that which is in the will of God is going to abide forever. So let me ask you a question, I mean from my heart to your heart. Listen to me. What is more important to you? The pleasures of the flesh or the joys of the spirit? What is more important to you? That which is seen or that which is unseen? What is more important to you? The praise of man or the glory of God? What is more important to you? That which is temporal and transitory or that which is eternal and cannot pass away? If you're living for this world, you're painting the decks of a sinking ship. This world is passing away and the fashion thereof, and soon the mossy fingers of decay and the foul breath of decay are going to take away all those little toys and those little trinkets that you have.
Remember, Jesus said in John 16:11, "The prince of this world is judged". Satan sails a sinking ship. He rules a doomed domain. Long, long after this world system is passed away, and long after this world as we know it with its fashion is turned to rust and dust and mold and corruption, all those things that you've dreamed for and schemed for and sold your soul for will be junk, if they exist at all. Those who know the Lord will be sitting in the kingdom, praising Him.
You say, "Pastor, that's pie in the sky". Well, I like pie. But it's more than pie in the sky. Friend, those who live for Jesus in this world know what life is all about. I'd be a Christian if there were no Heaven, no Hell, just to know the Lord Jesus Christ in this life. Kind of fun to swim against the tide. It's good to be different, it's good to walk with the Lord, but friend, we're just pilgrims here on this Earth, and soon and very soon the trumpet will sound and we're going to be caught up to meet the Lord. And I want to remind you, when Noah went into the ark, he went in a minority, but when he came out, he came out a majority.
You see, listen, this world is passing away! First John 2:17, "They that do the will of God abides forever". Do you know why the world is such a problem to so many people? Let me tell you, folks, the world is not really your problem. Look if you will in the Word of God in First John 2 verse 15. Look at it, "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". Do you know why you love the world; do you want me to tell you why you love the world? Because that's all you've got to love. I mean, if I didn't know Jesus, I'd probably, I don't know what I'd do. I'd be a pessimist. I mean, hey, folks, if you look around and you don't know Jesus Christ, what is there?
"If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him". It doesn't say, that the love of the Father is not in him because he loves the world. He loves the world because the love of the Father is not in him. He doesn't have anything else to love. Friend, if you give me a good meal, a wonderful dessert and everything that I want and then you come to me with a plate of stale crumbs and say, "Here, Pastor, eat it". I'd say, No thank you, I'm satisfied. You don't have to be in a back alley eating tin cans with the devil's billy goats if you've been feasting on Jesus, Amen? "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him"!
Give your heart to Jesus. I'm telling you, folks, I'm telling you, the devil is a counterfeiter, he is a liar, he is a pervert, and this world will never satisfy your heart. You were made to serve God. If any man love the world, it's simply because the love of the Father is not in him and who is the love of the Father? Jesus Christ. First John 5 verse 4, "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith," that's what John says. You put your faith where God puts your sins, on Jesus.
Let the love of the Father come into your heart; you'll have joy unspeakable and full of glory and furthermore, you, my friend, will abide forever when this old earth with its system is gone. And Madison Avenue and the moguls in Wall Street are gone, you'll be with Jesus forever, but you'll have Him right now also, moment by moment.
Would you bow your heads in prayer? Heads are bowed and eyes are closed. One man was a godly man; he lived such a wonderful life. Another man looked at him and said, "You seem to have such peace and such joy. I'd give the world to have what you have". He said, "Well that's just what it cost me". You can't love Him and love the world at the same time. "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him". If you want to be saved, would you pray a prayer like this? Heads are bowed and eyes are closed. "Dear God," just pray out of your heart.
Dear God, I know that You love me. Lord, I know that You love me, I know that You want to save me. Jesus, You died to save me, You promised to save me if I would trust You. I do trust You, Jesus. I believe You're the Son of God. I believe You paid for my sin with Your blood on the cross. I believe that God raised You from the dead. And like a little child, I trust You to save me. I don't ask for a feeling, I don't look for a sign; I stand on Your Word. You are my Lord, my Savior, my God, and my friend. Thank You for saving me. And now, Lord Jesus, because You died for me, I will live for You, I will obey You, I will make this public, I will not be ashamed of You, my Lord and Savior. In Your name I pray, Amen.