The Urgent Warning

John adds a warning and an incentive. The warning is: “and the world passeth away and the lust thereof” (v. 17). The things of the world are temporary, fleeting, and have no lasting value. The world offers pleasure, power, and the fulfillment of the lusts of the flesh, but one day these things will come to an end. There will come a time when you will not be able to enjoy them. However, it is almost impossible to convince a person infatuated with the world that this is the case. A worldly person lives for the moment, especially for the weekend, and it takes a miracle of grace to wrest his heart away from the world.

But by “passeth away” John means more than to underline the world’s temporary nature. These things pass away because they will be destroyed in the judgment. The worldly person will stand before God. The music will be silent, the sensual pleasure will be over, worldly friends will be gone and he will be sober. Then he must give an account to the Almighty: “I exchanged my Creator for the fleeting pleasures of creation. I had no love for God in my heart. The world was my god.” And if the worldly person has only his love for the world he will stand naked before God, stripped of everything except his sins, and will be condemned.

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March 15 Standard Bearer preview article

How could any Protestant go ‘home’ to Rome?

One year ago, I reported that many Protestants are ready to “cross the Tiber” into Roman Catholicism. The expression “crossing the Tiber” refers to fording the river that runs alongside Rome, symbolic of the barrier between Rome and Protestants. With grief, I had to report that even leaders in our mother church are talking about making the crossing.1 Some church leaders are sending not-so-subtle messages to members: It is permissible, and probably time, to unite with the Catholic Church. One Calvin Seminary faculty member wrote that Protestants and Catholics are “pilgrims on the same journey, serving one Lord with one faith” who “will come nearer to their goal if they walk together than if they walk separately.” If I had not read his words with my own eyes, I would have been disbelieving of such a report.

Our Natural Depravity

We received the following question: "Is a regenerated person still depraved?

Your question reminds me of two errors that often arise within the church: on the one hand, the error of perfectionism, and on the other hand, the error of antinomism.

The perfectionist argues that we are new creatures in Christ; old things are passed away, and, along with these old things, also our depravity. He appeals to such passages of scripture as I John 3:9: "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." The perfectionist will also refer to saints like Job, of whom it is written that he was a man, "perfect and upright, and one who feared God and eschewed evil.” The Pentecostals seem to lean in that direction when they speak of being baptized by the Holy Spirit, enabling them to live sinless lives. These perfectionists stress, of course, an outward perfection of "touch not, taste not, and handle not."

On the other hand, there are the antinomians who stress that we are by nature depraved sinners who cannot keep God's law. They remind you that Christ has fulfilled the law for us. In Him is all our righteousness, so that we can add nothing to that nor detract from it. Nor must we try with our good works to add to the righteousness of Christ. Some will, therefore, object to admonitions in the preaching, since we cannot fulfill them anyway. In extreme cases the antinomian will condone sin with the attitude, "Let us, then, sin, that grace may abound."

The Forbidden Love

John says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.” The meaning of this commandment is not, “Do not start loving the world,” but “stop loving the world.” The saints to whom the apostle writes had already begun to love the world.

There is much confusion here.

Love for the world is not the same as merely living “in” the world. Since this is the case, it is impossible to avoid worldliness by leaving the world or by abstaining from modern society. Some have tried that: the monks of the Middle Ages sought to escape worldliness by asceticism, an extreme form of self-denial, but a monk has worldliness in his heart which he cannot escape in a monastery. The Amish have tried to escape worldliness by avoiding the use of modern conveniences, by a simple unindustrialized farming lifestyle, and by not having electricity, but that is not the answer to worldliness. Electricity or the lack thereof has nothing to do with worldliness! Electricity can be used to the glory of God or it can be used in the service of sin. Jesus prayed, “I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil” (John 17:14–15). The solution, therefore, is not to depart from the world.

Love for the world is not the same as using or even enjoying the good gifts of God’s creation. There are some Christians who feel almost guilty if they enjoy pleasure. They seem to think that it is a Christian’s duty to be miserable and to make others miserable. Christians, for example, may enjoy food and drink, art, culture, and leisure with a clear conscience. There is nothing sinful in pleasure itself. Pleasure only becomes sinful when it satisfies the lusts of our flesh, the lusts of our eyes, and the pride of life. We must not love pleasure rather than God (2 Tim. 4:4), but God has given us all things richly to enjoy (1 Tim. 6:17). If one forgets that principle, one can become self-righteous and legalistic, proud that one is holier than the Christian who uses a TV or computer, or who reads certain books, or ___________ (the reader should fill in the blank).

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Coming this month...The Royal Sufferer

The Royal Sufferer, the second book in the series of Lenten meditations by Rev. Herman Hoeksema will be available in a few weeks!

As you commemorate Christ’s suffering and death, read this book and meditate on the kingship of  Jesus. He went to the cross, not as a convict or slave, but as a king. Think on him as the king who establishes his kingdom through his death, a king victorious in both his death and resurrection.

This book will NOT be automatically sent to book club members. Only Gold Star* members will automatically receive this title. Or order your copy today!

Man's Chief End

"My aim in life is in finding happiness!" It seems almost everybody these days says this. There is nothing really wrong in wanting happiness, is there? No, indeed; not if you want to obtain it in the right way. On this note there is much to be said. But pause for a moment and consider that the word "happiness" is not found in our King James Bible. Yet it is still the world's "best seller" book. (I wonder how that "grabs" modern joy-seekers!) The word "happy" is found in the King James Bible about twenty-eight times. But the word "obey," in all its forms, appears there about one hundred forty-six times. Why is that? Isn't the Lord telling us something in this comparative word emphasis? He sure is! For one thing, as the "happy" texts show, happiness comes to us only in the way of doing right. For example, it comes: in showing mercy to the poor (Prov. 14:21), trusting in the Lord (Prov. 16:20), keeping His law (Prov. 29:18), in knowing and doing the word of Christ (John 13:17), by enduring patiently (James 5:10, 11), and suffering for righteousness' sake (I Pet. 3:14) or for Christ's sake (I Pet. 4:14). Further, to be happy, would you be willing to sell all that you have and give to the poor? One rich young man could not do that, and, consequently, went away sorrowful and unhappy. Do you imagine that you could be happy in any enterprise in which you would not be trusting in the Lord? Is there happiness in any way of sin or transgression of the law of God? Could you be happy in ignorance, in not knowing anything of God's truth? (Is ignorance bliss?) Could you be happy intellectually knowing the truth, but never having a lick of godly conformity to truth? David has said, "Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk . . . Teach me to do Thy will", (Psalm 143:8, 10). Happiness comes by knowing the way, plus an obedient going in the way. Knowledge without obedience is lame; and obedience without knowledge is blind. Therefore, for lasting happiness, divine knowledge and holy obedience may not be separated. Could you be satisfied with a temporary happiness, one which does not endure? Do you imagine happiness would be obtained if only you could succeed in removing all suffering from your life? If happiness comes in the way of suffering for righteousness' sake and for Christ's sake, then are there, after all, many, or any, happy people in the world?