MESSAGE ARCHIVE

The entire Bible must be kept in mind when looking at passages in different books. There is an apparent contradiction (to some people) between 1 John 2:15 (and its command to not to love the world) and John 3:16, which says that God loved the world. The word "world" has two distinct meanings: the material universe (creation, humanity, nature) which Christians should love as God does, and "worldliness," a system of thinking that treats the material world as ultimate reality. Christians are called to love the world in the first sense by honoring human dignity (since all are made in God's image), caring for creation, reaching the lost with compassion, and living for God's glory, but to reject worldliness (the mindset that this life is all there is).

Scripture References: John 3:16, 1 John 2:15-17

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From Series: "Never Read A Bible Verse*"

* Without Context. There are some Christians who say that those who don’t believe the Bible or trust in Jesus, “just need to read the bible,” but what happens if they do and it has the opposite effect? There are many things in the bible that are written that are hard to understand without having a clear cultural understanding of the context in which it was written; many Christians even assume the Bible says things that it does not because we fail to understand context. Cultural changes over time can lead to shifts in the way we use certain words, and this makes a difference when reading/translating texts of the Bible. There are a lot of people who do not know or understand the Bible and yet they claim it is filled with nonsense, it is why study of the Bible is important for us…because as I said ultimately the Bible is about Jesus. It shows us who we are and who He is in His person.

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