Lasting Treasure vs. Fading Pleasures

The world, the flesh, and the devil are major threats to our assurance and security in God’s love.  In his introduction, Pastor John the Apostle reminded us of our inclusion in the Fellowship of the Son—that through the eyewitness testimony of the apostles and the inward conviction of the Holy Spirit, we have come to believe in Jesus and be united to Him, experiencing His consistent faithfulness and continuing love.  In this Fellowship of the Son, we experience acceptance, a sense of purpose, solidarity and support of our family in Christ, and a joy that keeps on trending toward more joy.  But that fellowship can be threatened by inconsistency and stubbornness, by the external and fatal attractions of the world, and by the outright deceit of the devil.  Last week we saw how we are kept strong in the Lord as we admit and confess our sins and are forgiven and renewed through the blood of Jesus.  This week we move to the second major threat to our fellowship in mission, and that is the love of the world.  Pastor John draws out a contrast between the fading pleasures of this world and the lasting treasures of what we have already in Jesus.  This is written to believers, and we are given a strong Encouragement as to what we already have, which is followed by the Exhortation and warning of the danger of loving the world.  John shows us the strong positive of what we have and the correspondingly negatives of loving the world.