"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 for ever" (1 John 2:15-17).

What is the world that we are not to love? It is not the globe as such. The globe itself has nothing in it that can hurt our souls. We can love nature; we do not need to be afraid of a beautiful view or a lovely flower. I have seen some Christians who had an idea that John meant we were not to enjoy the world of nature. I said to one, "Isn’t that a beautiful rose bush?" and he replied, "I am not interested in roses; I am not of this world." That is not the world that is spoken of. This universe is but the expression of the Father’s wisdom and goodness.

My Lord loved the lilies of the field. He drew attention to the beauties of nature, they stirred His own soul, and He would have His people see in them the evidences of the wisdom and goodness of the Father. But what, then, is the world? It is that system that man has built up in this scene in which he is trying to make himself happy without God. You get it away back in Genesis, where Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and builded a city, and there what we call the world really began. It was a wonderful world; they were exercised in all kinds of arts, sciences, business, and pleasure, anything and everything to make them happy without God; but it ended in corruption and violence, and God had to sweep the whole thing away with a flood. The principles of the world that caused the corruption and violence before the flood were carried into the ark in the hearts of some of Noah’s children. They brought the world into the ark, and when the new world was started after the judgment of the flood, they brought the world out of the ark with them, and again set it up.

When some think of the world, they think of things that are abominable and vile and corrupt, the old-fashioned saloon and gambling place, and all kinds of violence. Things like that hold little to attract the Christian heart, but the world they need to beware of is the world of culture, the world that appeals to their esthetic nature. That world has no more place for the Christian than the corrupt, abominable world in the slums of our great cities. Do not imagine that if your world is a cultured world consisting of devotees of the arts and sciences, you are safe and free from worldliness. Even the business world may become just as great a snare as any other. But you ask, "Do not we have to go into business?" Yes, Jesus says, "I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil" (John 17:15). In all these things we have to watch against the evils of the world.

What is then the lust of the flesh (the gratification of the flesh), the lust of the eye (the desires of the unregenerate soul), the pride of life? I remember when I was a young Christian, my world against which I had to guard most was the world of polite literature. I used to love it, its poetry, its essays, its wonderful books, and appreciate them yet in a certain sense; but I had to remember this, that if ever these things came in between my soul and my love for this blessed Book, I had to turn away from them and give my time and attention to this Book, and so it is with many things. There was a young lady with great musical ability preparing to go on the concert stage when the Lord saved her. She said one day, "You know I have made a wonderful discovery; my very love for music is coming in between my soul and Christ"; and that young woman for eight years would not touch a musical instrument, for she was afraid she would become so absorbed that she would not enjoy the things of God. The time came when she said, "I cannot enjoy music for its own sake, but I can use it as a vehicle to bless the souls of men," and she gave her talent to Christ, and He used it in attracting people to hear the gospel. No matter what it is, if you lay it down at Jesus’ feet and use it for Him, you do not need to be afraid of it. But do not put your work before Jesus Christ. Sometimes a fine house is "the world." Here is a Christian, and while he is little in his own eyes and has not much means, he lives in a quiet little home; but the Lord trusts him with a good deal of money, and he immediately says, "I must have a better house now; I must have some style about me; I must have magnificent furniture and draperies." What for? Is he any more comfortable? He can eat just three meals a day, he can sleep in just one bed at a time, and sit in just one chair at a time, but he feels he must impress people.

What is "the pride of life"? The ostentation of living, trying to make an appearance before others, the vainglory of the world. I think sometimes if some Christians took two-thirds of the money that they put into a mansion down here and invested it in sending the gospel to a lost world, they would have a finer mansion up there…. As Christians, ours are the only joys that last forever; ours are the things that will never pass away; and yet how sad to think that we can be so foolish and invest so much in that which is simply fleeting and will leave us dissatisfied and unhappy at last!

"But he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." In obedience to His will there is lasting joy, there is endless gladness. In the light of that, who would not say,

"Take the world, but give me Jesus,
All earth’s joys are but in name,
But His love abideth ever,
Through eternal years the same."

Have you made your choice, Christian? You made your choice once when you turned from sin to Christ. Have you made the other choice? Have you turned from the world to Christ? There is many a one who has trusted Jesus as his Saviour from judgment, who has never learned to know Him as the rejected One with whom he is called to walk in hallowed fellowship. No one can ever put this world beneath his feet until he has found a better world above. When your heart is taken up with that world, it is an easy thing to heed the exhortation, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world."

(Reprinted from Addresses on the Epistles of John.)

The times of the Judges when "every man did that which was right in his own eyes" offered special opportunities for exhibitions of faithfulness to God. From the fact that his birth and manner of life were announced beforehand, as well as the work he was to do, it is evident that Samson was given the greatest opportunity to demonstrate faithfulness and to be a deliverer of his people. His superhuman strength was a gift to enable him to carry out his role as deliverer. This would mean he had special responsibilities. How he met them we will see as we trace his life.

Samson was to be a Nazarite. Such a man was to abstain from wine and from dead creatures, and was to let his hair remain uncut. Wine is a natural as well as scriptural symbol of festivity, exhilaration, and joy. Spiritually, it means the joy of earth as contrasted with the joy of the Spirit, the celebration of a rest here rather than of the time when new wine shall be drunk in the Father’s kingdom. The long hair tells of dependence and subjection. Such a place is humiliating to the natural man ("if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him" 1 Cor. 11:14), but such must be the place of one truly separated unto God.

The defilement of death is to be guarded against most jealously, not even the nearest and dearest being allowed to cause an exception to be made. Death is a reminder of sin, since death came by sin; and we should not allow anyone to tempt us into association with sin. The law made prominent the negative side of the Nazarite’s life, but grace gives us the positive side of the true Nazarite. In place of the wine of carnal joy, we have the joy of the Lord. The relinquishing of our independence and strength is met by that which infinitely exceeds all human strength and dignity. "My strength is made perfect in weakness." In place of that which has the stamp of death upon it, we have eternal life. In order to enjoy these blessed substitutes there must be a denial of self. This was the keynote of the Nazarite’s life_self-denial.

We have seen what manner of man it was God’s will for Samson to be as a Nazarite; we will now see what manner of man he actually was. A lack of unity or cohesion was a prominent aspect of his life. Brilliant deeds there were, but all was desultory. In a list of his recorded actions_slaying a lion, killing thirty Philistines in order to get clothes to keep a pledge, setting fire to the enemy’s fields, killing a thousand with the jawbone of an ass, carrying away the gates of Gaza, and overthrowing the temple of the Philistines_we look in vain for any earnest purpose running through his life. Some of his feats of strength seem almost ludicrous and some merely serve as signs pointing to his sins. We are compelled to say, "What a useless life!" It serves for warning, but there is little to imitate in it. He did judge Israel for twenty years, but nothing is said of those twenty years but the facts listed above. The question naturally arises, "Why was a life of such promise, so rich in endowment, so apparently useless? We believe the answer lies in the title of this article. There was a crisis, a turning point in his life, when he should have turned the opposite way from the one he pursued. That crisis in his life is marked by one word_self-pleasing. "Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well" (Judg. 14:3). The law of the Nazarite was characterized by self-denial; the life of Samson was characterized by self-pleasing. The crisis of his life was when he chose a wife from the people he was to destroy. It may be objected that the Lord thus sought an occasion against the Philistines and so permitted it. True, He permitted it, as He did in the case of Balaam, of the twelve spies, of the selling of Joseph into Egypt, and above all in the betrayal of our Lord; but this, instead of lessening responsibility, increases it as in the case of Judas. God permitted Samson to please himself, but it was Samson’s responsibility. God got glory from it, in spite of Samson’s self-will, but this does not affect the quality of Samson’s choice. He pleased himself, and the rest of his life had the taint of this about it. He dallied with Delilah in self-pleasing until she got the secret of his strength from him; and even in his death he seemed to be seeking for personal revenge and not the glory of God. One is surprised to see him keep his strength so long. It only shows us the longsuffering of God who thus would recall His poor servant by showing that He was still with him. It was only when Samson showed he no longer prized this strength by imparting its secret to a stranger that he lost it. Ah! what awful lessons are here! Doubtless he had not the remotest intention of parting with his secret; but Delilah had his heart. He tampered with the danger and awoke out of his sleep to find that his self-pleasing had brought him to destruction. Darkness closed in upon him, never to be lifted in this world.

What does it mean for us to tell the secret of our strength? Is it not to be at ease with this world, to be enjoying the world as Samson was, and then to talk about the things of God, our own secret of strength? The enemy is on the lookout for this; there is a time when the last act of inconsistency is done and all power is lost. "So-and-so talks a lot about God, but I find he likes the world about as well as any one." Our power is gone, and it is only in the mercy of God if it is ever in any degree recovered. But let us remember that Delilah’s lap was only the last step in a course of self-pleasing which began when he took the woman of Timnath to wife because she pleased him. We have spoken of this as a crisis. Doubtless there are such turning points in all our lives_times when we have taken a course which has characterized us ever since. The crisis may in itself be a small matter. Beware of taking the wrong turn in the crisis of your life. Beware of pleasing self instead of meeting the enemy. It was fitting that Samson’s bones should lie among his people as a constant reminder not to misuse God’s gifts and opportunities. Perhaps some Christians may feel as though they have taken the wrong turn, and as a result, their life has been blighted. For such God has blessing in spite of their failure, if there is true turning to Him. Having learned where our self-pleasing has brought us, we can then find that He can bring good out of evil, that He can bring Samson’s riddle to pass, "Out of the eater came forth meat" (Judg. 14:14). Doubtless Jacob’s closing days furnished such an exhibition of God’s goodness; and no matter where His people are, if they truly bow to Him, they will find their wilderness to blossom as the rose.

(From Help and Food, Vol. 9.)

Faithful, Longsuffering

We have been considering in recent issues the divine attributes of God, that is, those attributes exclusively His own, such as being eternal and omnipotent. Now, the fact that God is eternal and infinite, possesses all power, knows all things, and is present everywhere does not in itself say anything about the moral character of God. It is theoretically possible that one possessing these divine attributes could be a cruel, oppressive ruler who devotes all of His divine powers to making men miserable or aggrandizing self at man’s expense. Happily, this is far from the case, for in our studies of the divine attributes of God we have noted many ways in which these powers are dedicated to bring blessing to man.

In this issue we begin our study of God’s moral attributes. In the course of this study we will find that He is a loving and merciful God as well as a holy and righteous God. We will find that all of His moral attributes are in perfect balance and harmony with one another. So, for instance, in His holiness He hates all sin and disobedience, but in His love He has found a way to show mercy to and righteously pardon the sinner.

We will also discover that God shares these moral attributes with His children and thus encourages us to manifest them as well, through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Our study of the moral attributes begins with a consideration of the faithfulness and longsuffering of God.

Faithful

God is true to His Word and to all that He is and stands for. He is faithful to fulfill all that He has promised, both to His own and to those who persist in rejecting Him. Let us examine the testimony of the Scriptures to the faithfulness of God.

He is faithful to reward appropriately both those that love Him and those that hate Him. "Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate Him to their face, to destroy them" (Deut. 7:9,10). "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war" (Rev. 19:11).

He is faithful to keep His promises concerning David and his seed. "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever; with my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness to all generations. … I have found David My servant; with My holy oil have I anointed him. . . . My loving kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer My faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips. Once have I sworn by My holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before Me. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven" (Psa. 89:1,20,33-37; see also 89:2,5,8,24).

He is faithful in showing mercy. "It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning:great is Thy faithfulness" (Lam. 3:22,23).

He is faithful in chastening His people. "I know, O Lord, that Thy judgments are right, and that Thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me" (Psa. 119:75). However, He will not chasten them more than they can bear. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Cor. 10:13).

He is faithful to keep His people unto the end. "Our Lord Jesus Christ. . . shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful" (1 Cor. 1:7-9). "I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it" (1 Thess. 5:23,24).

He is faithful to forgive us when we sin. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

Surely the faithfulness of our Lord gives us great peace, for therein do we have complete assurance concerning the Lord’s coming for us and our blessings with Him for eternity.

Just as God is true to Himself and His Word, so are we_ the children of God_enjoined to be faithful to Himself and His Word as well as to be true to our own word, that is, our promises and commitments to others.

We are to be faithful in delivering messages and proclaiming the truth. "A faithful witness will not lie" (Prov. 14:5). "A wicked messenger falleth into mischief; but a faithful ambassador is health" (Prov. 13:17; also 25:13). But at the same time, we have the privilege of saying nothing if it will make for peace or protect another’s reputation. "A talebearer revealeth secrets:but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter" (Prov. 11:13).

We are to be faithful in reproving our friends when this can be done to their benefit. "Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful" (Prov. 27:5,6).

We are to be faithful to do what our Lord wants us to do until He comes back for us. "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing" (Matt. 24;45,46),

We are to be faithful to the Lord in our use of the material possessions with which He has entrusted us. "He that is faithful in that which is least [that is, worldly goods] is faithful also in much [that is, spiritual possessions]. … If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?" (Luke 16:10,11).

We are to be faithful to the Lord in our use of the spiritual gifts with which He has entrusted us and our sharing of His Word with others. "Well, thou good servant:because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities" (Luke 19:17). "The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2).

Finally, we are to be faithful and true to our own word and promises to others. "Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill? … He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not" (Psa. 15:1,4). "When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for He hath no pleasure in fools:pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay" (Eccl. 5:4,5).

Longsuffering

God is not only faithful to His Word regarding the blessings that are to come to those who trust and love Him, but He is also longsuffering_that is, has a long temper–toward the unfaithful, offering repeated opportunities to turn to Him to enter into His blessings.

Perhaps the most familiar verse concerning the long-suffering of God is 2 Peter 3:9:"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." In a similar vein, the apostle Paul writes to the Gentiles, "Despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" (Rom. 2:4).

The longsuffering of God was likewise very much in evidence to His chosen people of Old Testament times. "And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth" (Exod. 34:6; also Psa. 86:15). A short while afterward, Moses remembered this proclamation of God’s attributes and pleaded the Lord’s longsuffering and great mercy as the basis for pardoning Israel’s sin (Num. 14:15-19).

We, God’s people, are likewise enjoined to be longsuffering in our relationships with one another. We are to manifest that agape love that is God’s very nature; and one of the characteristics of this kind of love is that it is longsuffering (1 Cor. 13:4). Similarly, one fruit of the Spirit_that is, a manifestation of the Holy Spirit indwelling and controlling the believer_is longsuffering.

As we endeavor "to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" we will need to learn to manifest "all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love" (Eph. 4:2,3).

As we minister God’s Word to others, we are to "reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine for teaching]" (2 Tim. 4:2).

Let us then meditate upon the longsuffering of God and praise Him for both bearing with our waywardness and keeping the door of salvation open long enough for us to be saved. Then, as we grow in our appreciation of His great longsuffering toward us, it will become increasingly easier for us to manifest longsuffering_a long temper_toward our brothers and sisters in Christ, our parents and children and other relatives, and our neighbors, friends, co-workers, and schoolmates.