May 11, 2009 - Loving God Or The World, No Middle Ground!

Meditation on 1 Corinthians 16

After we have read the entire letter of 1 Corinthians, we get the impression that Paul really loved the Christians there in Corinth. This was the church he founded and spent some times there to build her up. In this letter, he answered their questions. He spilled his gut to them concerning himself. He counseled them on many things and corrected their problems and attitude. He defended himself. He emphasized his relationship with them as a spiritual father. Especially at the end, he shared with them his personal plan and exhorted them with intimate terms. He closed the letter with these personal words, "My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen." (v. 24 NKJV)

I believe it was in this kind of loving atmosphere that he also wrote in the ending that "If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!" (v. 22)  This was a very caring admonition from his heart.

It sounds very tough. But it is the truth. The word, love in the Greek here used by Paul was "Phileo", not the highest form of love, "Agape". If a Christian does not even have human kind of loving relationship with the Lord, he is actually against God. For the Word of God says that "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." (Matthew 6:24)  The Apostle John's letter says, "... If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15b) So if a person does not love God, he is loving the world. He cannot love both the Lord Jesus and something else at the same time. In other words, if a person does not love the Lord, it is an indication that he loves the world. There is no middle ground or neutrality before God. The Apostle James says, "...whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (James 4:4b)

A person who loves the world cannot love God. That also means that he is not keeping God's word. If a person does not keep God's Word, it is clear that God is not abiding with him. (John 14:23-24)

The consequence of that condition is tragic. That person is accursed! Therefore trusting Jesus means loving Him. For He is love and will pour His love into us also. (1 John 4:8, Romans 5:5)