Hated by the World

 June 20, 2024

Thursday

Why are we so surprised when those outside our faith attack us? We should have seen this coming. It is found in the words of Jesus.

John 15:18–19 (NASB 2020) ¹⁸ “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.

It may be hard to believe that the world hates Jesus. This is especially true for us that love Him so. But those who have rejected Him may vehemently hate Him. 

They will ridicule any faith in Jesus and use ludicrous means of proving their point. For example: A man on Youtube confronted a street preacher saying that if there was a God, he should be struck dead at that moment. There are two great problems with that: One, this man is commanding God to act. Two, this man does not understand the patience of God. People aren't condemned in a moment. They are condemned in their sins because they did not respond to the love of God. Though one sin would certainly condemn us, it isn't one sin that they are condemned for.

Many people think that Christians have a superior attitude. They see us as those who can look down on others because we are more righteous than they. Our position is one of amazing grace. We are amazed at God's grace toward us for being the sinners we are. We can't be better than others though others think we are judging them because we are calling everyone sinners. Sin is a word many want to eradicate. 

When Christians say that something is wrong, those who approve or practice these things cannot conceive of anyone saying that anything is wrong. Morality has moved but God's word hasn't. That makes no sense to some.

I heard a Methodist pastor (Youtube) say that people have always chosen what parts of the Bible they follow. (Not his exact words but certainly his intent.) While I believe he was right in this assertion, I don't believe he is right in his theology. Christians often choose the verses of the Bible they follow and those they ignore. That doesn't change the validity of the Bible. In other words, sinful practice doesn't validate sin. A sin is a sin no matter how large the population that affirms a sin. That sets people on edge toward Christians. They will also hate us for it.

However, others hating us does not validate an attitude of hating them back. We are to show the grace that has been extended to us. We are to love those who hate us. We are to pray for them. This is very hard to do without being filled with the Spirit. It is hard to forgive those who put us on a cross.

We have been chosen out of this world. We are in the world but not of it anymore. We cannot act like the world when the world hates us. So, live each day by the power of the Holy Spirit. Keep living the life that God has created in you when you became a Christian. Remember, if the world hates you, they hated Jesus too.