WHEN THE WORLD HATES YOU

Introduction

-Several weeks ago, there was a politically motivated mob that took over an eating area in Washington DC, and demanded that patrons make a certain sign with their hands and declare allegiance to the mob’s political cause, and if they didn’t they were harassed. One woman refused to give in to the mob’s demands and was screamed at. But this question was posed to her in their anger: Are you a Christian?

~In the face of an angry mob that very well could do you harm, and you are asked that question, what would be your response?

-In 1999, teenage gunmen enter Columbine High School and began a rampage. They put a gun to someone’s head and ask them if they believe in God.

~In the face of a gun, and you are asked that question, what would be your response?

-We American Christians have been called names, and we have been marginalized in society, but we have never faced true persecution—but that doesn’t mean that we won’t face those times. They may be coming—what are we going to do when the full hatred of the world bears down on us like it does for so many of our brothers and sisters around the world (such as in Muslim nations or in Communist nations)? Being hated by the world is not new for Christians, in fact, throughout history, it was kind of the norm.

-If we are going to be faithful to our Lord and Savior, then we need to be prepared to face the ire of His enemies, for we too are now their enemies. And the consequences will be faced sooner rather than later.

-In the passage we are looking at Jesus warned His disciples that they would be hated because of their allegiance to Him, but He encouraged them to persevere. He encourages us in the same way, so may we be prepared for the hatred to come our way and trust the Lord to lead us through the persecution we face.

~I want to consider 4 lessons Jesus gives about persecution {take it section by section}

1) The expectation of persecution

John 15:18–20 ESV

18 “If the world hates 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, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said 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.

-Jesus tells the disciples that they are to expect persecution because of their connection with Jesus. It was very true for those apostles that heard those words originally since all except John were martyred for the faith. And yet, Jesus’ words would ring true for all who would accept the gospel message in the centuries to come.

-Now, John the author of the Gospel, uses the word “world” in many different ways throughout His gospel. And here, when he says that the world hates and persecutes Jesus, and will therefore do the same to His followers, it is talking about the world system that has the backing and empowerment of the spiritual system of darkness. It speaks of the cultures and governments that are galvanized by the rulers, powers, and principalities of this dark age.

-The world system hates Jesus, and the world system hates us because we are not part of it. We are still in the world, but we are not of the world—we do not hold to the morals and ideals of the world. Jesus spiritually took us out.

-And so, if we live our lives in accordance to our allegiance to Jesus Christ, and we take seriously His demands of obedience (especially regarding the Great Commission), the world system will oppose us. But that is only true if our lives are a reflection of that allegiance.

-The Bible tells us:

2 Timothy 3:12 (ESV)

12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

~It’s a given, you live like you know Christ, you will be persecuted.

-It’s said of the apostles in the book of Acts that when they were face to face with the Sanhedrin, the religious leaders RECOGNIZED THAT THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS—that is, they knew by the way they talked and acted and carried themselves, that the apostles had been with Jesus. And because of it, the religious leaders opposed them.

~And so, I guess a question that we could pose: Is our life so aligned with Jesus that people, the world, and the devil take notice? Or, are we so much like the world, that the world doesn’t know to hate us because they can’t tell?

-The squishy Christianity that compromises with world systems will not have to face the hatred of the world because it has wedded itself with the world. The world and the devil don’t care about a supposed Christianity that doesn’t pose them any threat.

-Consider the words of Peter Kusmic, a Yugoslavian Christian who suffered under Communist persecution:

So much popular Western evangelical religiosity is so shallow and selfish. It promises so much and demands so little. It offers success, personal happiness, peace of mind, material prosperity; but it hardly speaks of repentance, sacrifice, self-denial, holy lifestyle and willingness to die for Christ

-George MacLeod put it rather succinctly:

The greatest criticism of the Church today is that no one wants to persecute it: because there is nothing very much to persecute it about.

But what about biblically solid, orthodox Christianity that storms the gates of hell? Those are the ones that bear the brunt of the world’s hatred. And it is expected. But why hate us so much:

2) The explanation for persecution

John 15:21–25 ESV

21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’

-Jesus gives us two reasons why the world hates Him and therefore hates us.

-First, at the end of v. 21, He mentions that they don’t know the One who sent Him—they don’t know God.

~Now, in saying they don’t know God, Jesus is not merely talking about some intellectual ignorance (like, they don’t know God exists—although, for later generations like ours that might be part of the problem).

~But, within the immediate context, He is talking about the persecution that the Jewish religious leaders would give out to early believers.

-Intellectually, the Jewish leaders knew that there is God. However, their problem was spiritual. They may have known that there was A God, but they didn’t really KNOW God

{They didn’t know Him personally. They didn’t know Him intimately. They didn’t know Him by way of obedience.}

~If they would have known God the Father in all truth and sincerity, they would have known who Jesus was and they would not have sought to kill Him. But by the way they treated Jesus was proof that they did not know God.

-And whether someone is an atheist, or even if they claim to be Christian, and they persecute the true followers of Christ, they prove by their actions that they have never known God, no matter the claims they make.

~As Paul describes in Romans 1:28, they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind.

-But the second reason that explains why the world hates and persecutes Jesus and us, is because Jesus (and by extension we) convict them of their sin by our preaching and by our lifestyle because we hold to godly, biblical standards, and it just eats them up.

~As one author explains it:

Both by his life and words Jesus rebukes human sin and condemns it. He uncovers the inner corruption and hypocrisy of men, and they react violently to the disclosure. He strips away all excuses and exposes their selfishness and rebellion against God.

-In what Jesus says about their guilt for sin, if Jesus did not come to the earth, they would not have been guilty of rejecting Him. BUT HE DID AND THEY DID. Jesus’ mere presence is enough to bring someone face to face with their sinfulness, and if they do not receive Him, they are guilty.

~But that guilt makes them uncomfortable, so instead they hate and persecute the Jesus who convicts them of their sin, and Jesus’ followers who do the same.

-The world does not want to feel uncomfortable in sin, they want to embrace it—and so, when we live and preach truth, it wants to keep us quiet.

-But is there any help to endure these times:

3) The encounter against persecution

John 15:26–27 ESV

26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

-Jesus again talks about Him sending the Helper / Comforter when we need Him. In our times of trouble and persecution, Jesus is not leaving us as orphans, He is sending the Holy Spirit to be with us. That does not mean that He will take us out of persecution. Rather, it focuses in on something interesting. It focuses in on witnessing.

-Jesus says that this Holy Spirit will bear witness to who Jesus truly is (for those who will receive Him), and then His disciples in turn will bear witness of Him. We are reminded of Acts 1:8 where Jesus says the Holy Spirit will give us power to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.

-But that is not usually where our head is when we talk about persecution. If we think of persecution, our first inclination is HOW DO I GET OUT OF THIS? Or, HOW DO I ENDURE THIS?

~But, instead, Jesus says that the right question during persecution is HOW CAN I BE AN EFFECTIVE WITNESS FOR JESUS IN THIS?

-We don’t run from persecution, but rather we encounter it in the power of the Holy Spirit so that Jesus is glorified and made known in the midst of it.

~Persecution can actually be our training grounds by which we are made stronger witnesses for Christ’s sake.

-Let me read a portion from the book The Disciplemaker to give some perspective:

A soldier goes to Ranger School in the Army in order to become a member of the Army’s elite corps of shock troops who spearhead the attack on the battlefields. To be able to meet the rigors of combat the soldier is put through intense training that pushes him to the very limits of his strength and will. When he comes out of those weeks of suffering and stress he is a different person. He is a Ranger. None of the process is pleasant or easy. But all of it is necessary.

The same is true for believers. We are God’s shock troops in a hostile world. To serve in His army we must have strength of character which cannot be gained by reading books. It must be learned by living it. Thus, persecution and suffering have been proven historically to be blessings from god. It has been through this that faith has often grown stronger and more souls have been won to the Lord as Christians have responded with the boldness of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness all the way to death.

-We encounter persecution and the hatred of the world by the power of the Holy Spirit to become more effective witnesses of the gospel.

4) The exhortation about persecution

John 16:1–4 (ESV)

1 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.

2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.

3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.

4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.

-Jesus says that He is telling His disciples up front about this hatred because He wants us to be prepared for it, so that we don’t fall away or stumble because of it.

~He literally says He wants to keep us from being scandalized—where we are so put out with the faith because of the world’s hatred that we apostatize {which means to renounce your religion and turn our back on Jesus}.

-This doesn’t mean that someone loses their salvation, but maybe persecution will demonstrate that someone doesn’t have the faith to begin with.

-I am reminded of the parable of the sower/seeds/soil. Some seed (which is the Word of God) fell on rocky ground without much soil, and it withered under the scorching sun. Jesus explains that this represents someone who received the Word of God with joy, but once tribulation and persecution arises because of that Word, they fall away.

-Elsewhere, Jesus tells us to count the cost of discipleship before we even jump in. Hatred by the world is a real possibility if we’re doing the Christianity thing right. Is Jesus worth it? Absolutely. So, be prepared so that you do not fall away when you feel the weight of that hate.

Conclusion

-Let me close with this story:

~Centuries ago, a wealthy, young Christian was in love and engaged to be married. He had everything going for him. But he lived in the Roman Empire and the emperor had declared Christianity to be an illegal religion. Saying, “Caesar is Lord,” like everyone else, would have made him politically correct, but he would not say it. Instead, he said, “Jesus is Lord.” He was, by virtue of his faith in Jesus, guilty of treason.

~As the story goes, this young man was arrested in a crackdown against Christians. While awaiting execution in the arena, he wrote love letters to his fiancée. They were beautiful, passionate letters assuring her of his great love for her. But the two were never married, for in A.D. 269, the young man was put to death for being a Christian. His name was Valentine, and the day of his execution was February 14th.

-Valentine’s Day is not about chocolates, hearts, roses, and jewelry; it’s about a man of God laying down his life for Christ. Valentine understood that it is better to be loved by God than be liked by the world.

-Christian, what about you? Persecution is a fact—what are you going to do once it finally reaches you. Come to the altar and pray that God would give you strength to live a life worthy of persecution, and that you would be given strength to be a bold witness in the midst of it.

-If you are not a follower of Jesus Christ, count the cost. Is it really better to gain the world and lose your soul? Save your soul and believe in Jesus today…