It is easy to prematurely brand people and not understand the system that is leading them into error. John had some strong words to say about this issue. 

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For, the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever” (I John 2: 15-17).

John was describing a system of false belief that leads people away from God. He used the word “world” five times in three verses. The meaning of the word has different applications.

In verse 15, the word reveals the incentives for people to sin. This dark invitation comes from an unbelieving system which John described as anti-Christ. In verse 17 “world” is defined as all things earthly not under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It includes riches, advantages, pleasures, or any desire that seduces people away from God and will become an obstacle to Christ and His influence in a person’s life. 

Later in chapter 3, John wrote, “So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies” (vs. 21). John was telling us that discernment, the ability to tell the difference between the truth and lies, is part of our calling. To not understand how the system of unbelief influences people will have us focusing on people, not on the system itself.  

All unredeemed people are living under the influence of a system of unbelief driven by an anti-Christ spirit. Be careful defining people and their choices without first understanding the system that is directing their lives. It is against that system where our spiritual intervention must be directed or we will become just another group of angry people focused only on the personal sins of others, not on the system to which they are aligned.