"If the world hate you, ye
know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world,
the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have
chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." -John
15:18,19
The World Hates Christians
The unsaved world has always hated
Christians. We are hated because we have Christ's Spirit within us,
"...Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his"
-Romans 8:9. The world hated Jesus with a passion, so much that they
murdered Him upon a cross. In the photo to the right we see Stephen
being stoned to death by a worldly mob. We read in Acts 7:58-59,
"And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down
their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
And they stoned Stephen, calling
upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." No wonder
Paul the Apostle (formerly Saul) said that he was the chief of sinners, for it
was the same Saul mentioned in the verses we just read. Paul was a
murderer of Christians before he became saved. This is proof that
anyone can be saved, no matter what they have done. The only
unpardonable sin is to reject Jesus as Saviour. To reject Jesus is
to blaspheme Christ's Spirit (Romans 8:9-11).
The World Loves Its Own
John 15:19 tells us that the world
only accepts it's own. If we live as the heathens, then the world
will accept us. The world will never accept any Christian who honors
God by obeying the Bible. I've learned that God DOES work in people's
hearts. And it's often the person whom you thought didn't
care. It is unavoidable, Jesus and the Bible are a Pandora's box to
the unsaved world. The Holy Spirit does convict people, and it makes
many unsaved people very angry! The same Sun that melts the wax,
hardens the clay.
Expectedly, I've always experienced
persecution in the secular workplace. There's a lot of hateful
people in the world, and they greatly hate Jesus and the Word of
God. People don't mind if you're religious, just so long as it's not
the Truth. I've noticed that heathens have no problem with false
religions, but you mention the Truth concerning Jesus Christ and watch the
sparks fly. People don't mind religious magazines or newspapers, but
open a King James Bible and see what happens...people freak out!!!
"Blessed are ye, when men
shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall
reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's
sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward
is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the
prophets." -Luke 6:22,23
The World Hates Jesus
Jesus is the greatest name in the
world. Philippians 2:9-11 reads, "Wherefore God also hath
highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth,
and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Jesus is the
most wonderful and precious name in the universe. The world didn't
just hate Jesus when He came to this world to pay for our sins, the world hates
Jesus just as much today. The world hates Jesus because He stands
against their wickedness, "The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth,
because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil" -John
7:7. It's not us they hate, it's Jesus.
John 3:20 declares, "For every
one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his
deeds should be reproved." This is why the wicked world hates
Jesus and His Word. The Bible is a "sin-detector." People
get convicted about their sins when they hear the Bible, so they shun it away
as foolishness..."For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God" -1st
Corinthians 1:11. The world mocks and laughs at the things of God,
but Jesus is precious to the born again Christian (1st Peter
2:7). Jesus said that the servant is not greater than the
master. If Jesus was persecuted, then so will we if we live for
Jesus. The early church in Acts was persecuted. James was
killed by the sword in Acts 12. Stephen was stoned to death in Acts
7. Today's churches are so dead that they don't even know what
persecution means.
"Am I therefore become your
enemy, because I tell you the truth?" -Galatians 4:16
I know what persecution means as an
individual believer...I've been spit on...I've had things (like a hammer)
thrown at me, I've had to physically fight to defend myself...I've been thrown
out of ministries and called a "heretic" for defending the King James
Bible...I've been lied about...I've been called a hypocrite...I've had people
spread malicious horrible rumors about me...I've been grabbed by the throat and
thrown up against the wall...I've had things stolen from me...and a whole lot
more. Yet, I haven't been killed so I consider myself
blessed. One man smashed my radio on the floor at work because he
hated my Christian music, but he played Van Halen and AC/DC whenever he
wanted. I told my boss and he said," If you can't take the
heat, get out of the kitchen." This is the way of the
world. People are just selfish, cruel, and don't care! I
count myself blessed to be able to suffer persecution for my
Saviour. 2nd Timothy 3:12 reads, "Yea, and all that will live
godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."
"If ye were of the world"
Jesus said that the world would
receive us IF we were of the world. As Christians, we are commanded
in 2nd Corinthians 6:14-27 to SEPARATE from the heathen world
(unbelievers). It's difficult to do this if you work with
unbelievers in the secular (non-Christian) workplace. It is lonely
for a Christ-honoring Christian to have to work with heathens in a secular
workplace. If you are a True Christian, then God is your Heavenly
Father; but all unsaved people are children of the Devil. Unsaved
people are receptive to Satan's spirit (Ephesians 2:2). Thus, the
Christ-honoring believer endures continual scrutiny and malicious attack.
If you want to be accepted by the
world, then tell everyone that you accept homosexuals. Get a
tattoo. Drink booze. Smoke cigarettes. Look at
porno. Go Gambling. Curse in God's name. Use
profanity. Dress like the Devil's crowd. Listen to rock
music or Christian rock. Go to night clubs. If you're a
man, flirt with all the women. If you're a woman, dress immodestly
to tease the men.
"Wherefore ye be witnesses
unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the
prophets." -Matthew 23:31
But if you want to live for God,
then you must take a stand for Jesus. A young man asked an old
preacher, "How do I give up the world?" The old preacher
replied, "Son, you carry a Bible and the world will give you up." Sadly,
most believers are so carnal nowadays that you can't tell them apart from the
heathen. I am always saddened when I see professed Christians in the
workplace looking at porno, cursing in God's name, or using filthy profane
language. I know it's tempting at times, and it's easy to forget
that we are Christians sometimes; but we must be consistent in our Christian
Walk if we expect God to work in our lives.
A beautiful water-bucket is
worthless if it has a hole in the bottom and can't hold
water. Likewise, there are many beautiful looking believers with
many talents, but they are useless to God because of the sin in their
lives. God doesn't need our talent; he needs our
obedience. God doesn't need our beauty; he needs our
heart. I would rather be rejected by the world and be accepted with
Jesus. James 4:4 plainly teaches that we are God's enemy if we
are a friend to (or assist) the world. As Moses, I would rather
suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin
for a season (Hebrews 11:25). Sin is only for a short season, but
the things we do for God will abide forever. But first, nothing else
matters if you die in your sins without Christ. Click here if you'd
like to learn how to be saved.
"Blessed are ye, when men
shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against
you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great
is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before
you." -Matthew 5:11
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