Are You Ready to Be Hated By the World?

This past week I led a small Bible class, and the topic I chose to cover was something very difficult for me to present as well as difficult for others to hear.

When it comes to the idea of the world hating you, it's natural to cringe a little. But as Christians, we are called to be different than the rest of the world.

Most of the time, we as Christians say it is easy to be hated by the world. We just say "Yeah, we're ready," or something along those lines. But when push comes to shove, are we really ready to be hated?

In all four of the gospels in the New Testament, it is mentioned that Jesus talks about the world hating Christians. John 15:18-25 is Jesus explaining to his disciples that the world will hate them because they've hated Jesus first. And whoever hates Jesus hates his father (God) as well. As Christians, we do not belong to the world and we follow a man who was killed out of hatred for a greater purpose anyone knew at the time. Since our Savior was hated, Christians would expect to be hated as well.

Luke 21:12-19 discusses something very similar, talking about the persecution of Christians after Jesus is gone.

Mark 13:12&13 says the same thing: the world will hate us because of Jesus.

And in Matthew 24:9-14, it tells of the same news: brother will turn against brother, people will lose faith, and the world will hate us for our belief in Jesus.

So what does that tell us? It is a reason for us to not be Christians? Not at all!! If anything, it should give us more reason to believe. Because, "you will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved," (Matthew 10:22). For our persecution, for our trials, sufferings, and every person who hates us for our faith, we will be saved in the end. That means the end result is our victory over the world because of Christ!

That is extremely good news, although that doesn't quite prepare us to be hated either. It gives us hope to persevere, but we also don't want to be hated either. If we were hated by strangers, it's easier to deal with and easier for us to proclaim "We are hated!" However, in reality, it isn't that easy. Even with the hope, it isn't easy.

Let me ask you this: What would you do if it was someone close to you - someone you loved or looked up to - that hated you, and you had to defend your faith to them? And then be hated by them because of the faith you hold? How does that dynamic change the way you think you're prepared to be hated?

When Jesus says we will be hated by the world, that does not exclude people we love. We can have family or friends who are not Christian, and then we come to a crossroad that is difficult to approach. It is not exclusive. We can be hated by people we love. So how do we approach someone like that?

Of course, prayer is always a good start. If there's no prayer, there's not a lot of progress. You also need to understand that person as a whole. And finally, you have to remember that one person doesn't determine your salvation: only God does. As hard as that can be to grasp, it's something crucial to understand when facing adversity against people who you know and care about.

This world will despise us. It already does. Society does not like Christians. It is an increasingly unpopular thing in this world. Jesus knew it. That's why He warned us over and over again, and why it was recorded over and over again. It wasn't only to show the accuracy of Jesus' words, it was to put emphasis on the message: WE WILL BE HATED. And in the world today, we can see it. People bash on Christians all the time. I'm sure every Christian has had some form or fashion of being persecuted. And while we know from the gospels that Jesus says we will be saved, what other hope do we have? What gets us through the NOW so we can get to the AFTER?

Take a look at Romans. Romans is an incredible book filled with tons of important messages and hard lessons that is crucial to the Christian life. There are three sections in Romans I looked at to see what hope we Christians have today, and I was encouraged tremendously because of them.

Romans 6:6-8 is an amazing set of verses. While we were still powerless, sinful, and ungodly, Christ died for us. That's right. US. Paul says here that God demonstrates His love for us this way: Christ died for us while we were still sinners. If you aren't a Christian, this may seem crazy or unrealistic. But God's love is merciful and amazing. He didn't have to send his son to us, but He did. Not only was this to show God's glory, but because God wanted us. God chose us. That's incredible. If He chose us, how much more would he do for us?

Romans 8:1-2 are probably the most incredible verses. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," (vs.1). If that does not encourage you I don't know what will. There is no condemnation. And this message is for who? Those who are in Christ Jesus. The Christians who Jesus said would be persecuted. The Christians who have hard lives, who the world hates. There is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus. I can repeat that a million times and each time I say it, I feel encouraged tenfold. This message doesn't say every single person in the world will have no condemnation, it says the ones who are in Christ Jesus. This is for those who live different lives than the rest of the world. We are promised this by God. This should be our greatest encouragement.

And following this, in Romans 8:18-21, Paul takes it further to say what we experience now is nothing compared to what we will have later. "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us," (vs.18). Now wait, what is this saying? Our sufferings, every bad thing that happens to us because of the world hating us, because of Satan tempting us, because of the evil in the world...none of it is WORTH comparing to the glory we will have. How incredible, then, will the glory and salvation we receive by Christ at the end be? If everything we suffer in our lifetime isn't worth comparing to the glory, what can we say about God's glory? It is that much more than what we can go through and what we see. It is an incredible message because we will be reunited with the Creator, and we will be liberated from the bondage of decay and brought to freedom and glory with God. How amazing is it to think of that?

Those verses can easily bring us hope. 3 things to take away from those sets of scripture:

1) God sent his son to die for us when we didn't deserve it because he wanted us,

2) There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

3) What we suffer now is nothing compared to what we will experience when we are liberated.

How can we not feel encouraged and empowered when hearing these promises from God?

However, we are human, and we do tend to shy away from confrontation and hatred. But one thing I encourage you to think about and question is this:

Are you afraid to be hated by man?

The easy answer is no. But if you think about it, the answer is sometimes yes. We never want to be hated. We want people to understand us, to love and respect us, and not to scorn us. But that isn't the world we live in. So yes, we are sometimes afraid to be hated by man. Let me ask you this followup question:

Shouldn't you be more afraid of the Creator rather than the creation?

The people who hate you are just that: people. They're still human, just like you. They do not control your salvation. The Creator, God, has the end result of your salvation. If we do not fear the Creator but fear the creation, what does that make us? We are the same as them, but we are set apart ONLY because of the Creator. If we take Him out of the equation, where does that leave us? Nowhere. So why do we fear people God created? He put them there for a reason. He knew we would face adversity. It was so we would grow stronger and closer to Him, not fear them and blame God. Do not fear man, who's power is flimsy, fear the one who actually has the power: God.

Our reward is not with man, but with God. So do not try to please man.

And one last reminder before I end today's lesson:

MAN DOES NOT WANT US

GOD WANTS US