Handling the Hate

Why do hunters wear camouflage? Why does our military wear camouflage? They want to be able to hide and not be seen by the animal they stalk or the enemy they are trying to take down.

Have you ever met a camouflaged Christian? I have. I’ve seen him at times in the mirror. A camouflaged Christian is not all that different than a hunter, or soldier wearing camo. They are camouflaged to avoid detection by the world. No, there is no specific camouflaged pattern or print, they’ll just look like the world.

There are certain markers of followers of Jesus that will make you stand out to the world. We talked about a few of them last week, the fruits that are produced by God through the Vine to the branches connected to the vine. The fruit of the Spirit, answered prayer, obedience to the Lord…Jesus tells his disciples that one of those marks could be suffering for His name.

We have to ask why would someone who gives their life to Jesus want to remain looking like the world? It doesn’t take long after you trust Jesus for salvation, and commit to follow Him as Lord that the world begins to seem different to you and you seem different to the world.

In our text this morning, Jesus is teaches the disciples that the world will not be a hospitable place for those who follow Jesus. So Jesus is taking us to the truth here…you need to count the cost of discipleship.

John 15:18–25 CSB

18 “If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. 20 Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they don’t know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 The one who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If I had not done the works among them that no one else has done, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But this happened so that the statement written in their law might be fulfilled: They hated me for no reason.

Why the World Hates Christians

Does that title bother you? I’m using the same word Jesus used. The word does mean harboring malicious feelings toward things or people.

As the friends of Jesus and His disciples, we receive His peace, joy, love but we also, at times will know the fellowship of His sufferings. Let’s not pretend that we in America have endured hardship. We’d be hard pressed to find similar examples of persecution to the extent that our brothers and sisters in China, Iran, and some 40 other nations around the endure. There are estimates that 111 countries around the world have some kind of restriction or are hostile to Christianity. (Heneghan, “Christian Persecution”).

But Why?

There are brothers and sisters today that experience persecution like the early church endured in Acts, and later on into the later times of the Roman Empire at the hands of Nero, Diocletian and others. Until Constantine came along and made Christianity legal, the church endure decades of hatred from the world.

The legacy the world left for Jesus is one of scorn, rejection and hatred. Look at what Jesus says to His disciples in verse 18-19.

Jesus is preparing His disciples for His departure, and now prepares them for the cost of following Him after He is gone. Jesus is saying, this is how the world is going to look at you and this new community. There will be animosity, the world will hate the church, and will at times lash out at her. Jesus gives us the reason.

The World Hates Jesus (15:18)

Jesus is saying, “It’s not you, its me.”

It isn’t that the world hates the church, it is that the world hates Jesus first. It’s amazing to me that the name of Jesus causes fits of rage and outburst, especially on social media. The fallen world systems led by people who are not saved and are controlled by our old enemy and adversary do not like God. So naturally the people of God are targeted.

Jesus isn’t really saying, “If” as in “in the unlikely event the world hates you...” its more like…If and trust me they will.

But listen, the world hated the disciples and the church because it hated Jesus first.

Listen, SIN distorts everything and from the very fist couple in the Garden, it broke the relationship between God and man. Sin reversed the standards and measurements. Sin proclaims evil to be good and good things to be evil.

The Gospel isn’t just about Jesus Christ, but it also proclaims the message of SIN and the reality is that sin places the world in a very sad state. The arrival of Jesus on the scene announced that God’s expectation was and is sinless, holy perfection. The world took one look at Jesus and said, there ain’t no way and they killed Him for it.

Multiple times different groups tried to kill Jesus by stoning Him. After He filled the 5,000+ will bread and fish, “he met their physical need,” they started mumbling and grumbling why…because He started telling them about the greater spiritual need. They didn’t like that. No body wants to hear about sin.

The world is enslaved in darkness, sin, and following a fallen falsehood. Jesus has exposed for what it truly is…a shame, a fony. They will cancel Him for it at the cross.

We too are responsible for this because we were apart of this world system before the grace and truth of Jesus capture our heart.

Jesus called us out of the World - John 15:19 - Because Jesus chose the disciples out of the world, the world will also hate them.

This demonstration of God’s love and grace is why the disciples were called out. There was nothing about them where by they deserve this, but lets just keep in mind that as Jesus calls, we respond in faith. Some do, some don’t.

When a sinner leaves the sin behind, often times the allegiance to the new King will likely not prove popular with those who stay in the world. So now that life transformation has occured, the world will not understand why, and will turn on those who leave it.

But here is the glorious miracle that takes place...

He chooses through grace, we respond by faith.

When that happens —> 1 Peter 2:9-10

1 Peter 2:9–10 CSB

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

You see what happens? The King James calls the church a “peculiar people.” It is in our nature to want to fit in, “we all just want to be loved and accepted, respected by the world.”

WANTING TO BE LIKED AND RESPECTED, AND EVEN ACCEPTED BY THE WORLD IS WHAT LEADS YOU TO THEOLOGICAL LIBERALISM. It begins with God’s Word. Check the Garden narrative and ask yourself, “Did God really say to not eat the fruit from that tree?” Yes He did. That’s the truth and you can’t change the truth. Satan’s been changing God’s truth from the very beginning.

Even as Joshua is leading the people into the Promised Land, after the fall of Jericho, Achan took some of the items that God had set aside for destruction for himself…he wanted what they had in Jericho.

Anyway…the church, over time, has vacillated between all out commitment to Jesus and selling out Jesus.

So many do not want to stand out but rather stay blended as a camouflaged Christian, but Jesus is saying, “I’ve called you out.”

We fit in with the world before he called us out, and now that we are called out something feels off with the world. ONE RESULT OF SALVATION IN CHRIST IS THAT WE ARE NOW LIVING DIFFERENT. WE ARE DISTINCT. Listen to Peter in 1 Peter 2:9-10

Notice that our “not fitting in” serves ONE purpose —> ‘SO THAT YOU MAY PROCLAIM THE PRAISES OF THE ONE WHO CALLED YOU OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT.’

We are different because we belong to God. That means the fruit of our lives looks different because we pray, obey, love, and rejoice in ways that are vastly different than the world.

It isn’t necessarily an external difference, but is internal.

Serving the Hated One

Look back at John 15:20-21. This truth, if the Master experienced this, you will too. We follow Jesus. Where did Jesus end up? On the Cross. In following Jesus, we are called to daily take up our cross and follow Him. Let that sink in…we are not going to go looking for persecution, but we shouldn’t be surprised when it comes our way. I just don’t know how this squares with you if you say you’re following a Savior crucified yet you don’t expect anything to happen? This is where the prosperity gospel falls apart. A prosperity gospel preacher wouldn’t preach this text in all honesty.

Do you remember when the Prophet Samuel had served Israel well, but the people Israel wanted a king like everyone else. They didn’t want to be uniquely God’s people, they wanted to look and be like every other nation. Samuel took it personally that they didn’t appreciate his leadership. But do you know what God told Samuel? He said, “Samuel, don’t take it personally. Their problem isn’t with you; its with me. It’s Me they are rejecting.” 1 Samuel 8:7

Acts 5:40–41 CSB

40 After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. 41 Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the Name.

It wasn’t the Apostles, it was the name of Jesus.

We have to remember in all of this that it is not personal. Look at verse 21.

It is the name of Jesus that frustrates the world. In fact, the name of Jesus still gets people stirred up. Go down to the capital and hold up a sign that says Jesus…see what happens. “Separation of church and state...” Where a Jesus shirt somewhere…I mean it will happen.

The explanation for this is pretty simple. The world is estranged from God.

Right now, the church in the US needs to realize that we can’t expect the culture of the US to act like they’re saved. Our culture is so far from God, just like in Jesus’ day. Lost people gonna do lost people things. That’s why we have to WITNESS.

Why does the world Hate Jesus?

He exposed our sin and guilt. Remember where Peter says we are called out of? Darkness.

The world hates Jesus because Jesus revealed the true sinful nature of the world. The sinful systems and fallen nature of the world is open for all to see. 15:22-24

He came and revealed what the world had been trying to suppress from the beginning. We can’t impress God by our own standard of moral goodness, and so the world either created a god they could control and impress, or suppressed the truth about what has been revealed in our hearts about God.

The world didn’t like it and they don’t like it now. In fact, part of the problem with the church today is that we don’t like to hear about our sin. Perhaps one of the most popular worship hymns today should be, “Why can’t we be friends, why can’t we be friends...”

But the Bible says that to be friends with the world, to love the world more than Jesus, is a fallen systems of belief and sin, is to be enemies with God. Church, we can’t have it our way. We aren’t Burger King. You can’t have Jesus your way.

What are we called to? Marvelous light. —> So let me ask you this…when you were a kid, or maybe even now, when you’re asleep, I mean you are out…and some ones comes in and wakes you up by turning on the light…how does that make you feel? What do you say? TURN OUT THAT LIGHT!

That’s similar to what Jesus has done. With His teaching, His presence, and the miracles He exposed our sin, our ugliness, and the bitterness in the hearts of people. Everyone who thought they were in good shape…nope…they’re dead-men walking in their sin.

Even today, people do not like to hear about sin. Good grief, even the church at times doesn’t want to hear a sermon on sin. I don’t know why? The flip side of that sermon is all about forgiveness and grace. I mean…that is the remedy. But we just want the remedy without the diagnosis. We want our ears tickled, we want laugh at the comedian on stage, and leave feeling like we got our money’s worth at the show.

But listen…This is who Jesus is…HE CAME TO DIE FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE DEAD IN YOUR SIN. BUT BY HIS GRACE HE CALLS YOU TO REPENTANCE AND OFFERS FORGIVENESS, HE BRINGS YOU TO LIFE.

So how do we handle it? How do we respond in light of this truth Jesus is revealing to the disciples?

How Christians Respond

You can do a couple of things.

Put on your Camouflage and hide. Don’t obey, only pray when you’re in trouble, let your Bible sit idle during the week…keep it all to yourself so as not to offend.

OR

Share the Good News. 15:27a

Listen, you don’t have to be obnoxious about your faith in Jesus. But you do need to be obedient & authentic.

How can I be authentic? Let the Holy Spirit work. 15:26-27.

He empowers you to tell the truth, and we speak the truth in love.

We tend to downplay sin, we tend to minimize it so it doesn’t sound so harsh. But if we continue to downplay sin, what in the world is leftover to be saved from and saved to?

Being honest about sin means we are honest about our own sins. We are all broken vessels, we are all weak vessels, and we’ve all got a thorn in our flesh.

Dr. Owen Strachan this week posted this on Instagram, “The great need of the day: Christians who think BIBLICALLY, not culturally.” Pointing to Romans 12:1-2, that the gift of God is a transformed mind, freed from conformity to the world.

That’s what Jesus came to do, free us from the fallen system of sin in this world.

Listen we can’t redefine sin to make it easier. We must be honest and whatever God calls sin we call sin.

But we must know that when you start sharing the Gospel, you must also be willing to face rejection. We don’t want that, but it happens. Jesus was rejected by His own people.

We don’t want to be obnoxious, but we must be obedient.

Stand Firm - Don’t fall away - 15:27b 16:1-4

The tendency is that when we face rejection, we want to put our camo on and not be seen again.

But Jesus encouraged the Disciples…don’t stumble. This is why He is telling them up front.

The people who treat you this way, they think they’re doing a service for God.

From the word go at Pentecost, there was persecution.

Peter preached that message, sudden growth, 3,000 people saved.

Yet by Acts 4 the authorities are arresting them filled with jealousy.

Acts 4:7 - “By what power or in what name have you done this?”

Acts 4:8 - “Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them...”

They let them go and they were told to not preach the name of Jesus anymore.

Because of his bold preaching, young Stephen was falsely accused, arrested, put on trial and stoned to death as Paul of Tarsus stood by and approved.

The first apostle to be martyred was James, the brother of John, killed by King Herod.

But it wasn’t long after Paul’s conversion to Christ that he became the target of persecution.

Time has advanced and yet governments and people still don’t like the name of Jesus. It strikes fear in the heart of the sinner, and peace in the heart of the one saved by grace. Do you know the peace of God having trusted in Jesus Christ?

But do you know what the greatest danger is in facing persecution? Jesus just said it, “don’t fall away.” True believers are going to persevere.

Arm yourself with forgiveness. It’s what Jesus did.

“Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Stephen, “Do not hold this sin against them.”

If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you or would you be found innocent of all charges?

Church, don’t be obnoxious about Christ, but be obedient to Him. Keep walking, keep trusting, keep running the race.