SERMON XII.
LOVE
OF THE WORLD
I John ii.15. Love
not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the
wold, the love of the Father is not in him.
In
discussing this subject I shall pursue the following order: --
1.
What we are to understand by the love of the world.
2.
Who love the wold in this sense.
3.
That they do not love God.
I.
What are we to understand by the love of the world.
1.
Negatively. The love of the world here spoken of, is not every kind or degree
of desire for worldly objects. God has so constituted us, that a certain
amount, and certain kinds of worldly objects, are indispensible to our
existence. We need food and raiment, implements of husbandry and trade, and
various worldly things. The proper desire of which is not sinful, nor
inconsistent with the love of God.
But
to love the world, is to make worldly things the principal objects of desire
and pursuit.
To
love them, and desire them more than to love God and man, to be
more anxious to obtain them, and spend more time in their acquisition,
than in efforts to glorify God, and save the souls of men, is to love the world
in the sense of the text. Where the love of God and of men is supreme in the
heart, there may be a suitable desire for worldly objects; but, where an
individual manifests a disposition to give the acquisition of wealth, or of
worldly objects the preference, and aims rather at obtaining worldly things
than at glorifying God and of doing good to men, it is certain that the love of
the world is supreme in his heart.
II.
Who do this?
1.
All who cheat and defraud to obtain the things of the world. That a man who
will cheat and defraud his neighbor, does not love him as he does himself, is
too manifest to require proof. That a man who will disobey God for the purpose
of obtaining worldly goods, does not love God supremely, is self-evident. Nay,
that he loves the things of the world supremely, is a simple matter of fact.
2.
All those whose anxieties and cares are mostly about worldly things. If they
are more careful for the things of the world-- more anxious and earnest in the
pursuit of them, than in glorifying God and in doing good to men, they love the
world supremely.
Objection.
But do any of you ask, May not a man be anxious to obtain worldly things, for
the purpose of doing good with money? I answer, a man may be desirous to obtain
money for the purpose of glorifying God with it; but, in that case the principal
anxiety, and care, and desire, would not terminate upon the acquisition
of money, but upon the end which he hoped to accomplish through its
instrumentality. To suppose that a man, whose supreme object is to glorify God
and do good to man, should concern himself principally about worldly
things, is the same absurdity as to suppose, that he was more anxious about the
means than about the end which he hoped to accomplish by these means. It is the
end that gives value to the means. It is the end that is the main object of
thought and of desire; and to suppose that a man's anxieties and cares would
cluster about the means of effecting the end, rather than about the end itself,
is plainly absurd and impossible.
Suppose
a gentleman was engaged to be married, and has commenced a journey for that
purpose. His heart is greatly set upon the end he has in view, and is it likely
that either the delights or cares of his journey will occupy more of his
thoughts, and absorb more of his affections than the object for which he has
undertaken the journey. Who does not know that, in such a case, if his heart
was greatly set upon the obtaining of his bride, he would pass from stage to
stage without being hardly conscious of the incidents that occurred in his
progress. His bride and his marriage would fill up his thoughts by day, and be
the subject of his dreams by night; and all his cares and desires, that the
stages and steamboats should convey him more rapidly, would be for the more
speedy accomplishment of his heart's desire. And now, shall a man who loves God
supremely, and whose desire for money and for worldly goods, is that he may
glorify God, and benefit mankind thereby, can he be so anxious and so busy
about the means as to lose sight of the end? that his interest in the end to be
accomplished is swallowed up in efforts to obtain the means? This cannot be.
And now I appeal to the two classes of persons already mentioned; you that
practice fraud, and take advantage of the ignorance of men, and over-reach, and
cheat them in little or great things, do you pretend to love God? If so, you
are an arrant hypocrite.
And
you, who are filled with cares about worldly things, whose time, and thoughts,
and affections are swallowed up in efforts to obtain them, know assuredly that
you love the world, and that the love of God is not in you.
3d.
All those who consult only their own interest in the transaction of business.
God
requires you to love your neighbour as yourself. Again he says, "let every
one look not upon his own things, but upon the things of others."
"Let every one seek not his own, but another's wealth." These are
express requirements of God; they are the very spirit and substance of the
Gospel. Benevolence is a desire to do good to others. A willingness to deny
self, for the purpose of promoting the interest of your neighbor, is the very
spirit of Christ, it is the heart and soul of his Gospel. Now, suppose a man,
in his bargains with others, aims only at promoting his own interest; he
seeks not another's, but his own wealth. He looks not to the welfare of others,
but his eye and his heart are upon his own side of the bargain. He does not aim
at benefiting the individual with whom he transacts business; his only object
is to take care of himself. This is the very opposite of the spirit of the
Gospel. Does this man love his neighbour as himself? Does he love that God
supremely, who has prohibited all selfishness, on pain of eternal death? No! If
he loved God, he would not disobey him, for the sake of making money. If he
loved his neighbor as himself; if he felt that it was more blessed to give than
to receive; if he had the spirit of the Gospel, he would of course feel and
manifest as great a desire for the interest of those with whom he deals, as for
his own interest. He would be as anxious to give, as to get a good bargain;
nay, he would be more so. Self-denial, to promote the happiness and the
interest of others, would be his joy, would constitute his happiness, would be
that to which he would be inclined, of course. And now let me ask you who are
here present, can you deny this principle? What then is your spiritual state?
Have you the love of God in you? How do you transact business? Do you consult
the interest of those with whom you deal, as much as you do your own? or in all
your bargains, do you aim simply at securing a profit to yourself? If you do,
the love of God is not in you. You have not the beginning of piety in your
heart.
4th. All those that feel chagrined and grieved
when they find that the person with whom they have dealt has the best of the
bargain, and has made a greater profit than themselves. Now, if a man had the
spirit of Christ, he would rejoice in this. It would be the thing at which he
would aim, to benefit the individual with whom he deals, as much as possible;
and if he afterwards learns that he had made a good bargain, and had been
greatly benefitted by it, it would gratify him all the more.
Now,
how is it with you, my hearers? Do you find yourselves gratified and delighted,
when you find that you have greatly contributed to the interest of those with
whom you deal, in having given them the best side of the bargain? Be honest,
try yourself by this rule; see whether you love your neighbor as yourself; see
whether you love God supremely. He requires you to seek not your own, but your
neighbor's wealth. To look not upon your own interest, but the interest of
others. Have you the spirit of these requirements? Have you the spirit and
temper of that God who lays down this rule of action? If not, you have not the
love of God in you?
5th. All those who will make bargains only when
they can make a profit by it.
There
are many who will never trade only when they can promote their own interest; it
matters not how much it might benefit any body else. The interest of the
individual, who desires to make the bargain with them, is not taken into the
account at all. They do not think of making a bargain to benefit others, and
will turn away from the proposal instantly, unless then can promote their own
selfish ends. They will stand and bow, and be very accommodating, and kind, and
attentive, while there is any prospect of their making a good per centage on
their goods; but the negociation is broken off instantly, without courtesy or
good breeding, whenever it is settled that they can make nothing by the
bargain. This shows that they do not consult the interests of those with whom they
deal, and that the world is their God.
6th. All those who will take advantage of the
ignorance of those with whom they deal, to get a good bargain out of them, love
the world supremely.
Cases
of this kind often occur. A customer comes in; he is instantly measured from
head to foot by every eye; they survey him all around, to see whether he
understands the value of the articles which he wishes to purchase; whether it
will be difficult, or otherwise, to get a good bargain out of him; whether it
will do to set the price of goods high, and how high; and whether it is likely
that he will buy much or little. And if he wishes to make a heavy bill, some of
the first articles for which he inquires are put low; and thus baits are laid
to lead him on, from step to step, under the idea that all the articles are
low. All such management as this is supreme selfishness, it is fraud, and the
very opposite of the spirit of Christ. For such a man to profess the love of
God is naked hypocrisy.
7th. Those who will sell useless articles
to men, for the sake of profit, have not the love of God in them.
A
man that does this cannot be consulting the interest of his neighbor at all. He
must be acting on principles of pure selfishness. He takes the money without an
equivalent, and consents that they should "spend it for that which is not
bread, and their labor for that which satisfieth not." This is the direct
opposite of the spirit of Christ.
8th. All who sell hurtful articles, for
the sake of the profit, have not the love of God in them.
The
man that will sell articles of known pernicious tendency to his fellow-men, for
the sake of gain, has the very spirit of hell. Shall a man, who will sell rum,
or make whiskey, and deal out death and damnation to men, and make them pay for
it, and thus not only poison them to death, but worse than rob them of their
money, shall he pretend to love God? For shame, thou hypocrite! thou wretch!
thou enemy of God and man! thou wolf in the clothing of a sheep! Lay aside your
mask, and write your name Satan on your sign-board.
There
are those that will sell articles that are not only useless, but hurtful;
inasmuch as they are designed to promote the pride and vanity of men, and to
take their hearts from God, and fasten them upon the baubles and gew-gaws of
this vain world. To tempt the deceitful hearts of men, and enlist them in the
chase of fashion, and gaiety, and worldliness. Now, instead of being pious,
they who do this take the devil's place, and tempt mankind to sin.
9th. All those who transact business upon
principles of commercial justice, rather than on principles of benevolence,
love the world supremely.
Business
principles, or the principles of commercial justice, are the principles of
supreme selfishness. They have been established by selfish men, for selfish
purposes, without even the pretence of conformity to the law of love. Upon
these principles it is neither demanded, nor expected, that any one should seek
another's wealth; but that every one should take care of himself, purchase as
low, and sell as high as he can; take advantage of the state of the market, the
scarcity of the articles in which he deals; and, in short, to go the whole
circle of selfish projects, to promote the interest of self. Can a man love God
supremely, and his neighbor as himself, who daily and habitually transacts
business upon the principles of commercial justice, founded, as they are, in
that which is the direct opposite of the requirement of God? Every day engaged
in business transactions, the sum and substance, the aggregate, and the detail
of which are designed to promote self-interest that do not even pretend
to aim at the promotion of the interest of others; but self is the beginning,
the middle, and the end of the whole matter.
10th. All those who engage in business, to the
neglect of spiritual exercises, love the world supremely.
Many
professors of religion seem just about as much determined to do good with their
money, as impenitent sinners are to repent. They profess to engage in business
for the glory of God, but instead of using their money for this purpose, they
enlarge their capital, and their business, and transact business upon the
principles of worldly men, and practice upon themselves a constant delusion.
Instead of laying out their money as they go along for the building up of the
kingdom of Jesus Christ, they add their yearly profits to their capital, until
nearly their whole time, and thoughts, and affections, are engrossed with
money-making. Now, why do yo not see, who practice this, that you are deceiving
yourselves?
The
only way in which money can be used for the glory of God and the good of men,
is to promote the spirituality and holiness of men, and if you pursue business
in a way that is inconsistent with your own spirituality, you might as well
talk of getting drunk or swearing for the glory of God, as of making money for
His glory. For you to neglect communion with God, under the pretence of making
money for him, is sheer hypocrisy. If you prefer business to prayer, busy yourselves
in you offices, and shops, and business, and neglect your closets, the love of
God is not in you. To pretend that you love God is just as absurd as to suppose
that your eagerness to make money for the glory of God, leads you to neglect
communion with him, or that your great zeal to serve him, and great love for
him, leads you to neglect communion with him, and betake yourself to making
money.
11th. Those who make their business an excuse for
not attending meetings and using means for the conversion of sinners. It is
manifest that such persons are not transacting business for God. The only
possible use of making money for the glory of God is, to use it for the
conversion and sanctification of sinners. This is the great end of doing
business for God. But to be so busy in making money, as to neglect to make
direct and personal efforts for the conversion of sinners is absurd; it proves
to a demonstration, that the object of making money is not to convert, and
sanctify, and save sinners. In such cases, it is plain, that money is sought
from the love of it, and not for the purpose of building up the kingdom of
Jesus Christ.
12th. All those whose business diverts their
thoughts and affections from God. If they were transacting business for God,
the more busy and engaged they were in his service, in doing his will, and in
making money for him, the more would he be present to all their thoughts, and
the deeper and more mellow would be their piety.
13th. All rich men love the world supremely.
Jesus Christ has said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, you say, this
is true, if he sets his heart upon his riches. Now, what I affirm is, that
every rich man under the Gospel, does set his heart upon his riches. If
he did not he would not be rich. If he loved the kingdom of God supremely,
he would give his riches to promote that kingdom. We always do that which we,
upon the whole, choose to do. If you have money, and see an article of
furniture, or dress, or any thing else that, upon the whole, you prefer to any
given amount of money, you are certain to make the exchange, and give your
money for the article, if it is in your power. This is just as certain as it is
that your choice governs your conduct. Now, if a man loves the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the souls of men, more than he does his money; if, upon the whole,
he prefers the glory of God, and the salvation of men, to his own selfish
interest, it is as certain that he will cease to be rich, and give his money to
promote those objects, as it is that his will controls his actions. So that a
man being rich under the Gospel, when it is known that his money can be used
for the glory of God and the conversion of souls, is demonstration absolute,
that he loves the world supremely. To say that he is rich, but does not set his
heart upon riches--that he continues to retain his wealth, and yet does not set
his heart upon it, is manifestly absurd and false. For, certainly, nothing but
a supreme attachment to it could cause him to hold on to the possession of it,
when every wind is loaded down with cries and beseechings to send the bread of
life to those that are ready to perish.
But,
perhaps some will say that much depends upon the instructions that rich people
have received--that they may be conscientious in the belief that they may lawfully
retain and enjoy their wealth. I answer that this does not relieve the
difficulty, for the question is not, what they may lawfully do, but what
they are disposedto do. Suppose an affectionate wife to have a husband
in slavery, whom she tenderly loves; the price of his ransom is fixed, and she,
by her earnings and savings, is determined to pay the price. See how she will
behave herself. Of what use is it to tell her that she may lawfully
purchase such articles of dress and convenience, and that it is lawful
for her to have the comforts of life--will she so lay out her money? No: she
will scarcely allow herself a pair of shoes. She will practice the most rigid
economy, and take a satisfaction in denying herself every thing but the
absolutely indispensibles of life, until she has made out the sum demanded for
her husband's ransom. It is of no use to preach to her of the lawfulnessof
appropriating her money to other purposes. She has one all-absorbing object in
view. She values money only as it will contribute to the promotion of this object.
No false instruction, nor right instruction, in regard to the lawfulness of
using her money for other purposes will alter her practice. Every penny that
she can spare is laid out for the promotion of this object of her heart's
desire. So if a man love God supremely, if he long for the coming and
prosperity of his kingdom more than for any thing else, the question with him
will not be whether he may lawfully enjoy an estate. The truth is, that could
he do it never so lawfully, it is not his choice to do it. He prefers to build
up the kingdom of Christ with his money, and accounts his money as of no value,
only as it can contribute to this object. Therefore, I hold it to be a certain
truth, that if a man is rich and continues to be rich under the Gospel, there
can be no other reason than that he prefers wealth to the promotion of the
kingdom of Jesus Christ. Do any of you object and say, that Abraham, and Job,
and David, and Solomon were rich? I answer: the command had never been given in
their day to preach the Gospel to every creature, and there is no reason for
believing that they so much as dreamed that the world could be converted in the
way in which we now know that it can and must be converted. They could not,
therefore, have had the same motives for using their wealth for the conversion
of the world that we have. We have not the least reason to believe that their
property could have been used for the conversion of the world, in the sense in
which we can use ours. It was no certain sign, therefore, if they kept their
wealth, that they prefered it to the kingdom and glory of God.
14.
All those who lay up their surplus income, have not the love of God in them.
By
surplus income, I mean that which is not necessary for the support of
themselves and families; if they lay it up, it must be because they love it. If
they prefered the kingdom of Jesus Christ, they would immediately use what they
could spare, after providing for the necessities of their families, to the
building up of his kingdom. Suppose an individual was on the coast of Africa,
and longed exceedingly to return to his home, but had no means of paying his
passage, if some one should present him with a purse of gold, would he lay it
up, or would he immediately lay it out to gratify the all-absorbing desire of
his heart and pay his passage to his native country. This would be the very
reason why he would prize the gift. It would be valuable to him on that account,
that by it he might accomplish the object of his heart's desire. Can it be that
a man loves supremely the kingdom of Christ, and longs exceedingly for its
coming and extension, and yet hoards up his money instead of spending it for
this supremely desirable object?
15th. Although a man may give his surplus income,
yet if he practice no self-denial, he gives to God that which costs him
nothing, and gives no substantial evidence that he loves God. If he gratify all
his wants and the wants of his family, and provide for them all the comforts
and conveniences of life, and simply appropriate what remains of his income
over and above his expenditures, he really practices no self-denial; he enjoys
all that can be enjoyed of wealth, and is really ridding himself of the trouble
of taking care of it by appropriating the balance of his yearly income to the
cause of Christ. This is like a safety-valve to let off the surplus steam that
would otherwise burst the boiler.
Objection.
But do any of you object and ask, should every man give up all his capital and
means at once of promoting the cause of Christ? I answer, that this might not
be Christian economy. A man's capital, if it be not larger than is necessary
for the wisest transaction of business, is to be considered in light of tools
with which he serves God and his generation. In such cases, if he give his
income, after deducting the necessary expenses of his family, I cannot see that
such a use of it is inconsistent with the love of God. But for a man to live
and die rich, to hoard up his income, to enjoy his wealth, and leave his
substance to his babes, is the Psalmist's definition of a wicked man who has
his portion in this world.
16th. All those who are more interested in
secular news, that relates to money transaction, than in the accounts of
revivals of religion, and in those things that pertain more particularly to the
kingdom of Christ, love the world supremely.
Show
me a man that is looking over the secular news, after the price of stocks, and
excited about bank questions and monied speculations, but who does not read or
take an interest in reports of revivals, and the onward movements of the
church, and if he profess to love God, his profession is base hypocrisy.
17th. All those who are more depressed, and feel
more keenly commercial and monied embarrassments, than they do the low state of
religion, and the state of dying sinners, love the world supremely. This is too
plain to need either proof or illustration.
18th. All those who would sooner engage in monied
speculations than they would in revivals of religion, love the world supremely.
Some
professors of religion are all excitement when great speculations are to be
made. When stocks are high, or real estate is on the rise, or any opportunity of
making money. But if an effort is to be made to promote a revival of religion,
they are too much engrossed in their speculations to give their time and hearts
to it. They may pretend that they are making money for God, but the promotion
of revivals of religion is the only object of appropriating money to the cause
of Christ. If this be the great object of embarking in these speculations, to
promote revivals of religion, and build up Christ's kingdom, it were passing
strange if in the use of means they should have no heart to engage in directly
promoting the end at which they aim. The naked matter of fact is, that if they
prefer monied speculations to revivals of religion, they love money, and love
the world supremely.
19th. All those who disobey the commandments of
God, for the purpose of making or saving money, love the world supremely.
A
man who would travel on the Sabbath to secure a debt, or to avoid the expence
of spending a Sabbath at a public house, when on a journey, certainly loves
money supremely. Could he think, if he considered the property in his
possession as belonging to God, that God would rather he would violate the holy
Sabbath, than to lose a debt or spend a few shillings or dollars by stopping on
the Sabbath?
20th. All those who do not feel more gratifiedwith
the appropriation of money to the cause of Christ, than with any other
appropriation of it, love the world supremely.
Take
again the case of the woman who is earning money to relieve her husband from
bondage. What other appropriation can she make of money that would so much
gratify her heart? It is this object that gives value to money in her
estimation. Should an individual give her a purse of gold, would she say, now I
can buy me a nice dress, now I can furnish my house and live fashionably? No,
but bursting into tears of joy and gratitude, she would exclaim, Now I can
redeem my husband! Just so a man, who loves God, and longs for the coming of
his kingdom, will feel gratified, most of all, with appropriating money for the
promotion of that darling object. Jesus Christ has said, that "it is more
blessed to give than to receive." The truly benevolent man has the highest
and holiest pleasure in so disposing of his possessions as in the highest
manner to promote the glory of God and the good of his fellow-men. Instead of
giving to those objects grudgingly and with a sparing hand, here in the
promotion of Christ's kingdom he will pour out of his treasures the most
unsparingly, and with the fullest, readiest heart. For this his heart is
panting. His spirit is longing with unutterable desires. He therefore accounts
nothing a privation or a sacrifice which is appropriated to this object. Does
the miser account the hoarding up of money a privation, a sacrifice, or a
grievance? No, he accounts the hoarding up as the best possible disposition of
his money. To every other object he gives sparingly, and takes but little
satisfaction in any expenditures which he is obliged to make; but his heart is
set upon accumulating treasures. Every shilling that is saved and put into his
iron chest is disposed of according to his heart's desire. Now the Christian's
heart is just as truly set upon building up the kingdom of Jesus Christ as a
miser's heart is upon hoarding up his wealth. In other expenditures, therefore,
he will naturally be sparing; but in the promotion of the great object of his
heart's desire, he will be liberal and bountiful, and enjoy most of all the
appropriation of money to that object.
21st. All those who prefer a speculationto
a contribution for the promotion of the interests of Christ's kingdom,
love the world supremely. If they loved God supremely, they would desire to
make the speculation only for the purpose of enabling them to make the
contribution. If they made a hundred or a thousand dollars, they would say,
"O for an opportunity now to appropriate this money to the cause of
Christ." But if they love the speculation, and are not ready and joyful in
the contribution, they love the world, and have not the love of God in them.
22d. All those who would rather see a customer
come in to pay them money, than an agent of some benevolent society to receive
and appropriate it to the promotion of Christ's kingdom, love the world
supremely. There is a man who smiles and appears delighted when a customer
comes in; but when an agent who is collecting funds for the building up of
Christ's kingdom calls, he is sour, and dry, and formal, and perhaps uncivil.
This demonstrates, beyond all doubt, where his heart is, and shows that he
loves his money more than he loves his God.
23d. All those who do not really enjoy givingmore
than receiving, love the world supremely. If they loved God supremely,
their supreme object and joy in receiving would be that they might immediately
turn round and give to the promotion of their darling object. But if their
incessant cry is give, give, wishing always to receive, and not enjoying the
giving of money as they do the receiving of it, it must be because they love
the world.
24th. All those who are more parsimonious in
their expenditures for the kingdom of Christ, than in their expenditures upon
themselves and their families, love the world supremely. There are multitudes
of professedly pious people who seem to think it a Christian duty to have every
thing connected with the worship and service of God of the cheapest kind, while
in their own houses, and about their own persons, and that of their families,
they practice upon a very different principle. If a church is to be fitted up,
every thing must be done with as little expense as possible. If there are
carpets, they must be of the cheapest kind; if there are stoves, or cushions,
or lights, or other conveniences, almost any thing will answer, provided it is
cheap; things are suffered to be out of order; filth is suffered to accumulate,
and the house of God to lie waste; and all this is done under the pious
pretence of Christian economy. Many churches in the country have no lamps, and
some of them have no stoves, and others have the panes of glass broken out; the
doors of others are so dilapidated that they will scarcely shut; others have
the stoops rotten, and the church either not painted at all, or so faded, that
if it was a dwelling house, you would suppose it the abode of the drunkard.
Most of the churches in the country have no carpets; and in churches carpets
are more needed than in any other house, to prevent the disturbance that always
occurs where people are going out and in upon an uncarpeted floor; and in the
city there are many who are entirely unwilling to be at the expense of fitting
up a house of worship as commodiously as they fit up their own dwellings. Now,
it is manifest, whatever may be the pretence, and however such things may be
baptized by the name of Christian economy, all such conduct has its foundation
in the love of the world, and in supreme selfishness. Men are always most free
in appropriating their money to the promotion of the objects dearest to their
hearts. This is simple matter of fact. If, therefore, the heart is set
supremely upon honoring God with our substance, it is certain that if in any
thing we are bountiful and liberal in our expenditures, it will be in fitting
up places for his worship, and in all those things that are essential to
decency, to comfort, and enjoyment in his service.
III.
Having noticed some of the principal evidences of supreme attachment to the
world, I now proceed to suggest several reasons why such persons cannot love
God.
The
text is a form of expression that is to be understood as expressing a very strong
negative. "If any man love the world," says the apostle, "how
dwelleth the love of God in him;" that is, the love of God is certainly
not in him. This is the language and the doctrine of the whole Bible; so that,
so far as Scripture testimony goes, the proof is conclusive. But I will mention
several considerations that belong to the philosophy of mind, that will
demonstrate beyond all contradiction, that individuals upon whom these marks of
worldliness are found, have not the love of God in them. The argument runs
thus, and is very brief.
1.
It is impossible that a man should have two supreme objects of affection. If he
have any acceptable love to God, it must be supreme; and to affirm that a man
loves the world in the sense of this text, and that he loves God with any
acceptable love, is a contradiction. It is the same as to say, that he loves
both God and the world supremely.
2.
A man cannot love two objects, that are entirely opposite to each other, at the
same time. The apostle immediately subjoins to the text, "for all that is
in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of
life, is not of the Father, but of the world." The love of the world, and
the love of God, are directly opposite states of mind, so that to exercise them
both at the same time is impossible.
3.
It is minding the flesh which the apostle declares to be enmity against God.
Lastly.
It is supreme selfishness, which is the direct opposite of the love of God and
man. These considerations need only to be named, to be seen to be proof
conclusive, that if any man love the world, the love of God is not in him. REMARKS
________ 1. You can see from this subject, that if men
should transact worldly business upon the principles of the Gospel, it would be
infinitely better for the world in every respect. If every one sought to
promote the happiness and interest of others, the amount of property, and of
every other good, would be greatly increased. Some persons seem to suppose,
that unless they consult solely their own interest, it is impossible that
society should exist. What! they say, would you have us all seek not our own
interest, but the interest of others? What then would become of our own
interest? I answer, your interest would be secured, if, while you were mainly
solicitous to benefit others, they were just as solicitous to benefit you. The
secular interests of men would be thus as highly, and more highly advanced,
than under the present arrangement of society, while the spirit that would be
cherished and cultivated by this course of conduct, would shed a sweet, and
healing, and refreshing influence over all the discords and disquietudes of
selfishness; and peace, and love, and heaven, would reign in the bosoms of men.
But does any one
object and say, that inasmuch as worldly men will not practice upon these
principles, it is impossible that Christians should, without giving up all the
business of the world into their hands. This is a radical and ruinous mistake.
Suppose it were known that Christians universally discarded all selfishness in
their business, and acted upon principles of entire benevolence; that in all
their dealings they sought the interest of those with whom they deal, equally
with their own. No sooner would this fact be known, than worldly men would be
forced to transact business upon these principles, or give up all the business
of the world into the hands of Christians; for who would deal with a man who
acted upon principles of supreme selfishness, when he might just as well
transact business with those who would not only treat him with equity, but with
entire benevolence; so that it is perfectly within the power of the church to
compel worldly men to transact business upon Gospel principles, or not transact
it at all. And woe to the church, if she does not reverse and annihilate the
whole system of doing business on principles of selfishness.
II. Perhaps some
of you will say, if the doctrine of this sermon be true, who then can be saved?
I answer, certainly not those who manage their affairs upon principles that are
in direct opposition to the benevolence of the Gospel; who make commercial
justice, which is founded in selfishness, the rule of their lives, and satisfy
themselves with being honest in this sense of honesty, instead of being governed
by the law of love; who seek their own, and not their neighbor's wealth; who
mind earthly things, and account it more blessed to receive than to give. If
there be any truth in the word of God, all such men are in the way to hell.
III. But will any
one object, and say, this is very uncharitable. If this be true, nearly all the
church are hypocrites. I answer, the doctrine is true, whatever the inference
may be. I do not pretend to be more charitable than God is, and to hope that
those persons are pious of whom God has said that his love is not in them. I
will not be charitable enough to throw away my Bible, or suppose that the
lovers of the world are the friends instead of the enemies of God. That
multitudes of professors are deceived, that they love the world supremely, is
as evident as if they had taken their oath of it; and because the great mass of
professing Christians give evidence of this state of mind, we are not to
dispute our Bibles, and charitably hope that they may be saved.
IV. You see from
this subject why it is that so few professors of religion have a spirit of
prayer. The truth is, the love of God is not in them. Look around this great
commercial city; nearly the whole population are here for the purposes of
worldly gain. The principles upon which almost the entire business of the city
is transacted, is that of supreme selfishness. How then can a spirit of prayer
prevail in such a community as this. This same principle prevails almost
universally through the country. Farmers, mechanics, merchants, and men and
women of every occupation, without hesitation, transact their business upon
selfish principles, and seek supremely their own and not their neighbor's
wealth. It is impossible that the love of God should prevail in the church, or
in any heart, while actuated by such principles.
V. You see from
this subject why it is that young converts so uniformly wax cold in religion.
Let any individual pass through one business season, acting upon business
principles, and it is impossible that the love of God should be alive in his
heart. He is assiduously cultivating and cherishing a spirit of selfishness;
and in all his daily avocations, he does not so much as intend to seek the good
of others, but his own good; and can we be at a loss for the reasons of such
universal backsliding?
VI. From this
subject you may see that the religion of the great mass of the church is not
the religion of love, but of fear. They fear the Lord, but serve their own
gods. They are dragged along in the dry performance of what they call duty, by
their consciences. They have a dry, legal, earthly spirit; and their pretended
service is hypocrisy and utter wickedness.
VII. You can see
from this subject why so little is effected by all the means that are used for
the building up of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Men had much rather give their
money than to live holy lives and walk with God. An effort seems to be making
now to convert the world with money. Unbounded speculations are entered into by
professedly pious men; and while their heart, and soul, and lives are absorbed
in the spirit of this world, they are trying to persuade themselves that their
money will be a substitute for a holy life, and compensate for the neglect of
personal exertions to save the souls of men; but, rely upon it, God will teach
them their mistake.
VIII. The
spontaneous conduct of the primitive church shows what true piety will do in
leading men to renounce the world; and while the love of God pervaded the
church, men were manifestly actuated by different principles from those of
commercial justice. They sought not their own, but the things of Jesus Christ.
IX. But do you
ask, are nearly all the church wrong? I answer, that upon this subject they are
wrong. In most things the church of the present day is orthodox in theory, but
vastly heretical in practice. Nor is it any thing new for the church to be nearly
all wrong. More than once or twice have nearly the entire body of the church
departed from God, and satisfied themselves with the religion of selfishness.
Lastly. I beg of
you who are convicted of worldliness, not to go away and say that you hope
that you love God, notwithstanding some, or nearly all of these evidences are
against you. I declare to you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, that if
these marks of worldliness are upon you, the love of God is not in you. And O,
"be ye not deceived, God is not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth, that
shall he also reap. He that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap
corruption; and he that soweth to the spirit, shall of the spirit reap life
everlasting."