By Chuck Williams
Interim Pastor, First Baptist Church, Milan
Focal Passage: John 15:18-25; 16:1-4a
C. S. Lewis said, “If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly do not recommend Christianity.”
Being a dedicated follower of Christ is not for those who simply want the easy road. Jesus states in these verses that not only will the world dislike you, they will hate you simply because of who you identify with.
There are several reasons.
Christians are different from the world (vv. 18-21). The world is going in one direction and Christians should be going in the opposite. A choice is given which way to walk. You cannot be a witness to the world by loving the world, talking like the world, and behaving like the world. If you say you are a Christian but qualify it with a disclaimer which says, “But I am not one of those every Sunday church goers, Bible reading, holier than thou witnessing Christians.”
Chuck Williams
The world will then love you, applaud you and leave you alone. You will become a part of the PPP “Persecuted Protected Program.” But if you confess Christ as Lord and pledge your allegiance to King Jesus you have marked yourself as enemy No. 1 to the world.
The world hates Jesus, and His disciples because He (Jesus) said that (the world’s) deeds are evil (John 7:7). Have you ever noticed that folks tend to get upset if they are told their lifestyle is wicked.
The world is ignorant of its evil (vv. 22-25). Just because people are sincere in their religion does not prove they know the one true God. Three thousand (3,000!) Christians were murdered last year in Nigeria by Islamic Jihadists. Their religion taught them that it was proper to do so.
Christians in Communist countries have died by the millions over the last 100 years because Jesus, the Bible and the Church is a threat to the government control of society. The leaders explain this evil by saying in essence, ‘eradicating such people is for the greater good. It is needed to make to unified society.”
Jesus prophesied in essence saying, “My disciples will be put to death and will not only be hated just by individuals but by entire nations” (Matthew 24:9).
The Christian will be rewarded for suffering and persecution. Do not despair. In Heaven rewards await the persecuted. On earth, His likeness is being formed in us through ways we could never manufacture on our own.
Paul said in I Corinthians 7:4, “I have tremendous joy in all my tribulation.” We don’t rejoice in the evil forced upon us, but we rejoice in The Lord Jesus who suffered more than we could ever imagine. Persecution will either strengthen or weaken us. It is God’s MRI which reveals our spiritual health.
Current global events remind us that things are seemingly out of control, but it’s all under His control. The final pages of Scripture declare He reigns as King, and one day will return as the victorious King over all earthly kingdoms. B&R
