Throughout human history, humankind has had a distain and hatred for the law of God Almighty. In the words of the apostle John, 1Jn 3:13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We often think about how the world attempts to push Christ out of every venue and avenue of culture and tries to replace Him with secularism and naturalism, but the fact remains, we should not be surprised that the world acts like the world. One of the truths that we are studying on Wednesday evenings, is the fact that we do not preach, teach, or evangelize in a bubble, nor do we preach, teach, or evangelize in a vacuum. There is always a context to factor in, there is always something going on around us that we must consider, we must factor in the fact that we are surrounded in this world by people that hate the name and work of Jesus. Let us not be so naïve, to think, everyone loves Jesus. Any community that elevates the truth that there is an ultimate authority, namely Jesus Christ and His finished work, will be in the bullseye of the way of the world. In case we have lost what John means by the way of the world, 1Jn 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 1Jn 2:17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. In short, to love the things in the world more than the one that made the world is idolatry and sin, to love the creation more than the creator is idolatry and sin. It’s sad how some church have embraced the things of the world and have appealed to the lust of the eyes, the pride of life as ways of enticing people. What should shine above all else in our churches is the person of Jesus and His gospel, nothing else, and nothing more. Let the world tend to its own mess. Listen people, we don’t need the world to affirm when the church does something right or true, we don’t need for the world to give us approval, this isn’t “us versus them,” it’s the world against Jesus. I want to remind you, using the words of the Lord Jesus, that we are strangers in a strange land, pilgrims that are passing through, we are in the world but not of the world. One that same note, Jesus wouldn’t advocate throwing your T.V. in the yard simply because it’s a TV, or a radio just because it’s a radio, but to distance yourself from those things that cause you harm in your walk. Again, to describe what Jesus means by world, we understand it as the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life. All of these characteristics were engrained in the Greco culture, and these items are also entrenched in our culture as well. So, do not be surprised if people in this life will not listen to the words of Jesus, do not be surprised when people hate you.
- Following The World is Hostility With God: This is not to say we should have a burden for the lost or a genuine concern for those separated from God. Let us look at this vast contrast: Joh 15:18 "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. Joh 15:19 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.
- Jesus, after giving the vine and branches discourse, begin to teach His disciples what to expect while He is gone. In reality, this thought is not a new thought. In fact, all of human/biblical history demonstrates how humankind has, since the Fall, harbored animosity towards the things of God. These guys haven’t even got started yet, and here Jesus is foreshadowing things to come. He is instructing the disciples that the world not only will hate them because of His name sake, but hates the things of God already. As if to say, “If the world hates you, “as it does,” it hated me first. The presence of a good benevolent God in the world is a constant reminder of the vileness of sin. The world has always hated the holiness of God and still does. We should not be surprised when they kick prayer out of school, we should not be surprised when our children are not suppose to talk about God in class. But Being surprised and speaking right or wrong are two different things all together.
- If we acted like the world, then the world would embrace us as a friend. The Word Jesus uses here for “love,” is the word used for a brotherly type love. Jesus is not implying that we have nothing to do with the world, we still need to live and function in life, just to be separate from its fleshly desires. There is a distinction between worldly love and Godly love. Listen, if it wasn’t for godly men who preached the gospel to me, I would have never heard, if it wasn’t for people that were willing to step to me, in my darkest of days, and stand it the very presence of “the way of the world,” I would have never heard the name of Jesus. Let us not think that if we get close to an unbeliever that their unbelief will rub off on us. BUT, if we act like the world, then the world will love us, it will gather us is into its own. See, people do not like to sin alone, the way of the world and the sin therein will drag others in. People do not like to sin alone, take it a step further, people often compare their sins to others, “my sin isn’t as bad as theirs.” The world is hostile towards Jesus.
*Voice of the Martyrs Article* The headline reads, The March 2 2017 article…Do you think these Christians were killed because they were complacent about Jesus? Do you think they were put in chains because their testimony and witness were lackluster at best? Listen, we cannot say, “that’s their problem not ours?” “That’s happening over there not here,” but if it had not been for the grace of God, we would be facing the edge of a knife as well. These people died because they were sold out to Jesus. It would be safe to say, in the face of a world that hates them, they stood strong. We should be ashamed, they can stand and die for the Lord Jesus and we have a hard time if the message goes over 5 minutes…God have mercy on us. The amazing thing about this community and many in the middle east, millions are coming to know Jesus, yes millions, because people are standing up for Jesus in a world that hates Him. Much to our surprise, there is a massive amount of people coming to know the Lord Jesus out of the Islamic religion. In the past decade, 2 to 7 million Muslims have come to faith in Jesus. Let that number sink in…The problem is we get in our little Christian bubble and no one gets out or in, but one day the world is going to come knocking. Jesus also commanded us to go into the world, a world that will hate Jesus.
- Following the Leader Is Disciple Making: Joh 15:20 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.
- I have underlined a few words to indicate Jesus is mapping out instructions for disciple making. “Remember,” what He said earlier, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Him they will persecute you. “Remember” is a key word, for remembering and learning is what we do when we become disciples and move forward in our growth in the Lord Jesus. Jesus is reminding them, they just persecuted Him, but beyond that in the past and future, humankind has persecuted the ones that stand with the true God as long as they have breath. If we go back to the garden, Adam and Eve sinned against God because they didn’t trust ultimately in the absolute truth of God’s word and rebelled. Cain slew Abel, who stood for what was acceptable and right, the people hated Noah because He preached repentance. Humankind got so bad, he had to call a man named Abraham out of his hometown to venture out towards a promised land, along the way he made a pit stop towards Sodom and Gomorrah. The city fell under the judgment of God because it hated holy living, it was in full “all out” rebellion against God, by the time Abraham died, and by the time Israel marched out of Egypt, there needed to be a written reminder that God’s people are to be separated. In order to be separated from the world, we are to uphold the commands of God, but while Moses was up on the mountain getting the law, humankind showed its rebellion and distain for the one true God and started worshipping a golden calf. People, the Bible not only shows that God is supreme and Jesus is savior, but it also shows us how ugly we really are. You give a the world enough rope, and it will try and string you up, so it is vitally important to stay as close to Jesus as possible. Joh 15:21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. Joh 15:22 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. Just like when the Hebrew children had no excuse, because they received the law, so now you and I have no excuse to claim ignorance because we had heard the word of the Lord.
Joh 15:23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. Joh 15:24 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. Because they have seen Jesus do mighty works, and still more to come, they are without excuse and guilty of being God haters, ignorers of God. Jesus came, the gospel will be fully realized, people will see an empty tomb and still rebel. To make disciples means we recall the law of God and remember the words and works of the Lord Jesus and pass those truths on… “to others that may be able to teach also.”
Joh 15:25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: 'They hated me without a cause.' Remember, it’s not us versus them, its them versus the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus reverberating the words of the Psalmist a Psalm of David, Psa 35:19 Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes, and let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause.
You can talk about a superficial God that never touches our lives and the world will embrace you. You can talk about a God that is out there somewhere in the great blue yonder, you can talk about a God that is like a genie in a bottle, but when you start talking about a God that expects nothing else but holiness, when you start talking about a God that will judge sin for the ugliness that it is, when you start talking about a God that expect no other way for salvation than His precious Sons blood, then you are hated, persecuted and slandered by this world…do not be surprised. I am about sick and tired of this anemic, pale, weak, powerless, Christianity. Its not the tools that need refining but the workman, “A poor workman always finds fault with his tools.” In order to achieve this, we need the aid of the Holy Spirit, and disciple making among our peers and church.
Excuses, Excuses, we hear them every day, but the person who has heard the Word of God, who has been saturated in it, as Jesus says is without excuse. There is no reason for you Christian, why you shouldn’t be growing in your faith and knowledge of Jesus.
To be sure you are not at the same place in your walk in Christ as you were 10 or 20 years ago. Yes, Jesus is talking about persecution, but He is also pointing them to the obvious, these “religious people,” who have been bombarded with the Word every since they could read, have rejected me and you, and hate Him, they have no excuse. What’s your excuse today, I bet nothing you can muster can out do the cross, I bet nothing you can conjure as an excuse can outshine the radiance of the resurrected Lord. What is your excuse? I bet you know some people right now that throws every excuse in the book at you, ask them, “what is your excuse for not serving Jesus, what is your excuse for not furthering your discipleship with Jesus?” That being said….It’s just like out Lord, to never leave us alone….
III. Following The Helper Enables us to Bears Witness To Truth: Joh 15:26 "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.
Joh 15:27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
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