TOM KLINE
Castlegar Baptist Church
“If the world hates you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” – John 15:18-19
Many Christians struggle with trying to live for Christ in this world because the biblical beliefs and values we hold are often incompatible with those held by the world we live in. However, this should not be surprising because our Lord encountered the same conflicts while He lived on this earth, as His words in the above verse indicate.
The world’s response to Jesus Christ was mixed. There were some who sensed the truth in His words and the love from His heart and multitudes followed and listened for a time. However, when He called for them to turn away from their sins and to turn from the ways of the world and embrace Him in faith, many turned back.
John 6:66 says many of His followers “went back and walked no more with him”. On the other hand, there were the few who truly believed and in faith embraced Him as their Lord and Saviour. “Then said Jesus unto the twelve, ‘Will ye also go away?’ Then Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.’” (John 6:67-68).
There was a third response, one of hatred and conflict. Those who collided the most with Jesus were the Scribes and Pharisees. This was the Lord’s message to them, “Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Matthew 23:13). These were the smug self-righteous, who elevated their own teaching and traditions above the commands of the Bible. They followed their own self-styled righteousness and violated the laws of God. They were hypocrites who put on an outward righteousness but their hearts were corrupt and filled with sin.
Today, it is still the self-righteous who clash with Christ. There are many who fashion their own moral code of charitableness and tolerance who feel morally superior to Christ and the Bible. Yet they justify drunkenness, fornication, lying, covetousness and a host of other attitudes and behaviors that God calls sin. It was those who deified themselves and rejected the authority of Christ who ultimately crucified Him. Likewise, today, those who feel righteous in their own morals would abolish many of the Bible’s teachings if they could.
What is your response to Christ? Is it one of mild admiration, you feel there are many good things about the teachings of Christ but you are not ready to fully embrace Christ and Christianity? Perhaps you have put your complete faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. Maybe you are among those who reject Christ altogether; you feel very confident that your secular values outweigh any “sins” you might commit and you have no need of anything Jesus can offer. Can I tell you something? Regardless of which category you are currently in, Jesus loves you and wants a relationship with you.
As a Christian what is my response to those who despise Christians and Christ? We need to always have the same response of love that Jesus demonstrated. “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).