If You Were of the World

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 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. 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. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.” (John 15:18-21 ESV)

Who were Jesus’ greatest persecutors? Who were those who were “hot on his tail” continuously, looking for ways to trip him up with his words, who were continually accusing him falsely of wrongdoing when all he was doing was what was good? Who wanted him dead? Who plotted his death and had it carried out? They were his fellow Jews, those who professed to believe in the same God the Father as he, some of whom were rulers in the temple and in the synagogues. And they were some of his family and neighbors, too.

So they were not technically the people “out in the world,” which then would have been the Gentiles (the non-Jews). So a parallel to that for us today would be that some (or all) of our greatest opponents and persecutors are those within the gatherings of “the church”, some of whom are pastors and elders and other professers of faith in Jesus Christ and in the one true God. And why would they be opposing and persecuting us? If we are following Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands, living the life he has for us.

And why would this be? It is because so much of what is called “church” these days is not the body of Christ. It is not the collective body of believers in Jesus Christ who have died with Christ to sin, who are dying to sin daily, and who are walking in obedience to the Lord and to his commands, in practice, though not necessarily in absolute perfection. What is called “church” so much these days are institutions of human making being marketed to the world, trying to win the world to their gatherings.

And so they have largely diluted and altered the character of God (Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit) and of his church and of his gospel message of salvation from sin in order to make them all more appealing and acceptable to human flesh and to the ungodly of the world. And so many of them have become just like the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings. So, in essence, they are “the world” because they are of the world, and that is why they reject us if we are not of the world, too.

So, we are not to be surprised if some of those who profess faith in Jesus Christ end up being our enemies and opponents and persecutors if we are walking in obedience to our Lord and no longer in sin. But we should also not let how they treat us “take us out” to where we get discouraged and so we give up. We must stay the course, and keep obeying our Lord, and keep sharing the truth of the gospel, even if our fellow professers of faith in Jesus Christ end up hating and mistreating us or just rejecting and ignoring us.

We must keep speaking the truth of the gospel, and we must keep following our Lord in obedience to what he has called us to do and to say. And we must keep loving and forgiving those who oppose us and who mistreat us, and we must never retaliate. As God has forgiven us, we must forgive others who sin against us. And we must keep loving even our enemies, and do good to them, and pray for them, and say to them what is beneficial for them to hear so that they can know the truth that can set them free.

For Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He shed his blood for us to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery to sin so that we can now serve the Lord in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living. For Jesus said that if we want to come after him we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, or we don’t have salvation from sin nor eternal life with God, and he will deny us if we deny him.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

If You Were of the World

Video Talk

November 24, 2024

https://youtu.be/_APvNWEpSYQ

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