Dangerous Love Affairs

Intro: The Bible is a very honest and balance book. It shows us not only the positive in people so they could be our examples but also the negative so we could be warned. In the Bible we find how Samson engaged in dangerous love affair with Delilah which led to his downfall; how Solomon loved too many pagan women which turned his heart away from God; and how David’s love for Bathsheba led to the sin of adultery and the murder of Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband. All these are just a few examples of dangerous love affairs which lead to many sorrows and distresses.

In today’s Bible study, let us observe four dangerous love affairs of which many are involved today. These are more subtle and go unnoticed by most people. Yet these four love affairs are as destructive like those experienced by Samson, Solomon and David. These four dangerous love affairs are:

I. Loving the Praise of Men More Than the Praise of God (John 12:42-43).

A. Here Jesus was preaching from Isa. 6:9-10.

B.Many who believed in Him did not openly confess Him. Why? Because: (1) They loved the praise of men more than praise from God; (2) They learned the truth but did not act upon it; they could not make a stand for Jesus publicly; (3) They cared more about their social position. Have you known such people? (John 7:13 cf. Prov. 29:25).

II. Loving Money More Than God (I Tim 6:6-10).

A. Paul called for godliness with contentment (v.6).

B. He warned with the perils involved in riches (v.9). Human nature is greedy and never satisfied (Prov. 27:20).

C. He reminds us that money-grabbing is a destructive approach. It is a cause of erring from the faith and countless sorrows in the lives of many and the people around them.

D. Paul gives us the solution to avoid this dangerous love affair. It is found in I Tim. 6:11-12.

III. Loving Pleasures More Than God (II Tim. 3:4).

A. Pleasure means gratification or delight which is not wrong in itself. To occasionally relax and rest to relieve ourselves from the stresses and pressures of life is not wrong. Our body and minds do need that (Mark 6:31-32).

B. But there are always right and wrong forms of pleasures. The wrong pleasures are those that fuel fleshly lusts and sinful desires (I Pet. 2:11; Gal. 5:16).

C. To allocate more time to personal habits or hobbies which tend to carnality and backsliding is dangerous. For example: gluttony vs. Bible reading; sports and exercise vs. praying and soul-winning; TV and movies vs. worship and personally helping in God’s work.

D. According to the Bible, the love of pleasure is one unmistakable mark of this present evil and godless world!

IV. Loving Self More Than God (II Tim. 3:2).

A. There is a song entitled “The Greatest Love of All.” This song accurately expresses the worldly kind of love when in one of its lines it says...Learning to love yourself, it is the greatest love of all (cf. John 15:13). What a big difference!

B. God hates seeing men loving themselves and the things that only pleased them (I John 2:15-16).

C. The sin of loving self and the world causes even ministers to leave God’s people and work (II Tim. 4:10a).

D. The Bible warns us that this present materialistic, selfish, ungodly, and wicked world is already under the just condemnation of the Lord. It is only a matter of time before God’s wrath is poured out (see II Pet. 3:7).

Conclusion: Beloved our God and Creator is the source of our life and everything good that we enjoy. If our heart and soul are truly in love with the Lord, then we will ever be aware of the more important priorities in life. If we truly love God and the things of God, then we shall never think about, much less, allow these dangerous love affairs to mess up our precious relationship with God (Jas. 4:4).