the world hates you

Sanctification, Suffering, and Scripture

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10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.– 2 Timothy 3:10-17 ESV

Timothy found himself surrounded by false teachers and foolish people whose lack of spiritual discernment led them to accept their heresy as truth. But Paul would not let his young disciple lose hope or abandon his ministry objectives. Timothy still had work to do. The gospel must be preached, new believers must be educated in the teachings of Christ, the truth of God’s Word must be defended, and the promises of God must be believed – at all costs.

If Timothy needed encouragement or an example to follow, he only had to look to the life of Paul, his mentor and friend. After all, Paul wrote this letter while confined to prison in Rome, and he was there solely because of his faith in Christ and his commitment to preaching the gospel. Those who opposed his message falsely accused him and despised him so much that they would do anything to see him eliminated. A group of 40 Jews had even made a pact, sealed by an oath, that they would not eat until they had personally assassinated Paul.

The next morning a group of Jews got together and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. There were more than forty of them in the conspiracy. They went to the leading priests and elders and told them, “We have bound ourselves with an oath to eat nothing until we have killed Paul. So you and the high council should ask the commander to bring Paul back to the council again. Pretend you want to examine his case more fully. We will kill him on the way.” – Acts 23:12-15 NLT

So, just in case his memory had lapsed, Paul provided Timothy with a sobering reminder that his own ministry experience had been anything but easy. From the moment he received his commission from Christ, Paul faced opposition, persecution, and suffering. But he had done so with patience, faith, love, and steadfastness. This was not a display of arrogant pride or boasting on Paul’s part; he was simply reminding Timothy of what he had already witnessed with his own eyes. Paul recounts three occasions when he suffered persecution for doing what he had been called to do. The first took place in Antioch of Pisidia. There, Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel of Jesus Christ in the synagogues and saw many people come to faith.

Many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, and the two men urged them to continue to rely on the grace of God. – Acts 13:43 NLT

But they also met with increasing opposition on the part of the Jews.

But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said. – Acts 13:45 NLT

And it wasn’t long before their jealousy and slander turned to acts of physical violence.

Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town. – Acts 13:50 NLT

Railroaded out of Antioch by the Jews, Paul and Barnabas made their way to Iconium. But as Luke records in Acts, their relocation did little to improve their popularity.

The same thing happened in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. Some of the Jews, however, spurned God’s message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas. But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders. But the people of the town were divided in their opinion about them. Some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.

Then a mob of Gentiles and Jews, along with their leaders, decided to attack and stone them. When the apostles learned of it, they fled to the region of Lycaonia—to the towns of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding area. And there they preached the Good News. – Acts 14:1-7 NLT

But things took a rather odd and nearly deadly turn in Lystra. Their miraculous healing of a crippled man caused the inhabitants of Lystra to mistake them for gods in human form. They even tried to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas, mistaking them for the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes. But Paul took the opportunity to declare the good news, calling their audience to “turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God” (Acts 14:15 NLT).

But the crowds remained undeterred by Paul’s words, still convinced that they were gods. Then, a contingent of Jews from Antioch and Iconium showed up, whose accusations against Paul and Barnabas transformed the adoring crowd from worshipers to executioners.

Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead. But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe. – Acts 14:19-20 NLT

Paul reminds Timothy, “You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra—but the Lord rescued me from all of it” (2 Timothy 3:11 NLT). Paul miraculously walked away from his own stoning and made his way to Derbe, where he continued to faithfully proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. Then, according to Luke, Paul and Barnabas retraced their steps, returning to the very cities where they had faced opposition and Paul had been stoned and left for dead.

After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God. – Acts 14:21-22 NLT

The inhabitants of these three cities must have been shocked when Paul and Barnabas showed back up. But no one would have been more surprised than those who had placed their faith in Christ as a result of the teaching of these two men. They must have assumed they would never see Paul and Barnabas again. But not only did they return, but they also provided a living lesson in what it means to suffer for Christ. It is likely that Paul still displayed the cuts and bruises from his stoning in Lystra.

And Paul reminds Timothy of the message he delivered to the faithful in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch: “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12 NLT).

The reality of the Christian life is that the godly will suffer while the ungodly will appear to prosper. False teachers will continue to deceive and mislead the innocent and immature. The wicked will appear to get away with their ungodly behavior, even flourishing, while those who follow Christ find themselves facing trials and difficulties of all kinds.

But Paul encourages Timothy to remain faithful at all costs, reminding him to consider the history of his own conversion and calling. Timothy was raised by a godly mother and grandmother who saturated his life with the Scriptures. That immersion in the Old Testament prepared Timothy to understand the truth about Jesus and His claim to be the Messiah of Israel.

You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. – 2 Timothy 3:15 NLT

Timothy knew Jesus fulfilled all the Messianic passages in the Hebrew Scriptures. He was the Son of David and the long-awaited Messiah, and He was Timothy’s Savior. Just as Scripture prophesied Jesus’ first coming, it also revealed that Jesus would come again one day. That’s why Paul reminds Timothy to keep trusting God’s written Word because it reveals the truth concerning His Living Word.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. – Acts 3:16-17 NLT

Things wouldn’t be easy. Living the Christian life would not be a walk in the park. But Paul wanted Timothy to know that he could endure whatever came his way because he could trust in the Word of God. It had the power to instruct, discipline, encourage, and equip God’s people. It was divinely inspired and, therefore, spiritually empowered to help every believer not only survive but thrive. Sanctification, suffering, and Scripture are three non-negotiables in the life of the believer. Salvation will result in our transformation into the likeness of Christ. That process will involve suffering and persecution; it comes with the territory. But Scripture, which reveals God’s redemptive plan made possible through faith in Christ, also provides everything we need to live godly lives as we await His Son’s return.

Father, this message is a difficult one for us to hear. We don’t want to think about suffering. In fact, we avoid it at all costs. Instead, we pursue ease and comfort, hoping to create our own little heaven on earth where pain, persecution, and problems have no place. But Your Son said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows” (John 16:33 NLT). He reminded His disciples, “I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19 ESV). So, Paul is right when he warns Timothy that “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12 ESV). It is an inescapable fact that following Christ will bring down the wrath of the enemy. Satan hates us, and the more we serve God and reflect the character of Christ, the more intense his attacks will become. Our sanctification infuriates him because it proves the truth of the gospel. As we become more like Christ, we reflect the power of the Holy Spirit, the reliability of God’s promises, and the hope of eternal life. Yet, the temptation is to view suffering and persecution as unwanted, undesirable anomalies that have no place in the life of a believer. The enemy wants us to reject them as unacceptable and to see them as unwelcome “gifts” from an unloving God. But Paul describes our persecution, pain, and suffering as small and short-lived, and reminds us, “Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT). Yes, the pain is real, the suffering hurts, and the persecution is difficult to accept, but as Paul promises, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment” (Romans 5:3-5 NLT). Amen 

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

God Never Disappoints

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1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. – Romans 5:1-5 ESV

Having settled the case of whether justification is by works or by faith, Paul now moves on in his discussion about the gospel of God. Paul emphatically and confidently states, “since we have been justified by faith” (Romans 5:1 ESV). The tense of the Greek word he uses is extremely important because it speaks of an event that has already happened. In essence, Paul is saying, “having been declared righteous, we have peace with God.” It is in the past tense and describes an event that has already taken place.

Once someone places their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, they are immediately declared righteous or are justified by God. Their debt to God is paid in full, their sins are removed, and they receive the righteousness of Christ. It is a done deal, accomplished entirely by God and as a result of faith. We no longer have to justify ourselves to God because we have been freed from trying to earn His favor. We have been released from the impossible burden of living up to His righteous standards in the hopes that He will accept us. Our salvation is accompanied by our justification.

One of the greatest benefits of our justification is the peace we enjoy with God. In verse 10 of this same chapter, Paul makes it clear that, before salvation, we were all enemies of God and subject to His wrath. We stood condemned and deserving of His righteous, just judgment. Paul emphasized this vital truth in his letter to the church in Colossae

…you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. – Colossians 1:21-22 NLT

God’s gospel, His plan for man’s salvation, has provided a means by which sinful, guilty, and rebellious men and women can be made right with Him, enjoying a state of permanent peace and the uninterrupted joy of His presence. The Greek word Paul used for peace carries the idea of harmony, security and safety. It is “the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is” (Outline of Biblical Usage).

We enjoy this peace with God because of God’s grace; it is His unmerited favor that has made it all possible. We did nothing to deserve or earn it, and Paul reminds us that we obtained access to this grace-given position through faith. In other words, we have access into the very presence of God as a result of God’s mercy. And it is our faith in the graciousness, goodness, mercy, and kindness of God made evident in the death of His Son that makes our reconciliation with Him possible.

And the best part of this God-ordained transformation is that our newfound peace with Him is permanent and includes the future hope of our eternal relationship with Him. This is why Paul states, “we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2 ESV). There is a day coming when His Son will return, and those who have been made right with God through faith in Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross will enjoy an eternity of permanent peace with God.

But in the meantime, Paul encourages us to rejoice in our present sufferings. While we wait for the hope of the glory of God, we find ourselves living on this earth and facing trials and troubles of all kinds. Our newfound peace with God has put us at odds with the world we live in. Jesus warned His disciples that their relationship with Him would draw the ire of the enemy and the world over which he rules.

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” –John 15:18-19 NLT

The apostle John painted a bleak but accurate picture when he wrote, “the world around us is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19 NLT). In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul warned them that Satan was a very real enemy who, as the god of this world, had the power to deceive and dissuade humanity.

Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. – 2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT

As a result of our newfound righteousness with God, we stand in stark contrast with the world around us. As we live by faith and in submission to His indwelling Holy Spirit, our suffering will intensify. Paul reminds us, “Continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. (Colossians 1:23 NLT).

When facing suffering, we will be tempted to bail out or give up. But we must constantly remind ourselves that the trials and difficulties we face have a divine purpose. That is why Paul encourages us to rejoice in them rather than run from them. 

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. – Romans 5:3-5 NLT

Our reconciled state with God will produce irreconcilable differences with this world. But any suffering we encounter will produce patient endurance in us. As we suffer, we learn to persevere, and that perseverance increases our Christlikeness. The author of Hebrews states that Jesus had to suffer as well; it was all part of His Father’s redemptive plan.

Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. – Hebrews 5:8-9 NLT

So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. – Hebrews 4:15-16 NLT

As we patiently endure the sufferings of life, our character is tested and proven true. Our faithful endurance reveals the character of Christ in our lives, as evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

As those divine characteristics show up in our lives despite our suffering, our hope increases, our faith is strengthened, and our confidence in God grows stronger. We become increasingly more certain that we belong to Him and that we truly are new creations. Our hope in God will not leave us empty-handed or disappointed. We will never find ourselves ashamed or embarrassed because of the faith we placed in God’s promises. Our trust in Christ’s redemptive work on the cross will not fail to deliver what God has promised.  We can suffer, endure, grow, and hope “because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5 ESV).

The very presence of the Spirit within us is a reminder of God’s love for us, but He is also the source of our enduring love for God. We love because God first loved us. We endure because we rest in God’s love for us. We rejoice in trials because we know that God is using them for our good and His glory.

But as Paul has made clear, it all begins with faith, a confident hope in our faithful covenant-keeping God. Our justification is by faith, our sanctification is by faith, and our capacity to endure is the result of faith. And, as Paul reminds us, our faith in God will never disappoint.

Father, this is one of those difficult passages that seems so illogical. Rejoicing in trials is counterintuitive and seems impossible to pull off. The concept of suffering well sounds more like an oxymoron than a way life. I have no trouble believing in the reality of trial because I face them on a regular basis; it is the rejoicing part I struggle with. Yet, the older I get and the longer I live, the more I realize that Paul was right; You do use difficulties to transform us. You never said trials would be fun, but You did say they would be beneficial. When going through them, I find myself becoming far more dependent on You. Of course, I will always try to come up with my own solution. But, inevitably, my efforts fall short and I find myself turning to You for help, hope, and deliverance. And You have never disappointed me. You are always faithful and, while Your timing is not always to my liking, Your solution is always perfect. But like so many others, I am prone to forget and find myself facing the next difficulty with the same sense of hopelessness and confusion. I fail to remember all that You have done in the past. Please help me recall Your goodness and greatness when the next trial shows up so that I can rejoice in Your faithfulness long before Your deliverance appears. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Love and Hate.

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For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. – 1 John 3:11 ESV

1 John 3:11-24

Love and hate. God and Satan. Dark and light. Faith and doubt. Belief and disbelief. Children of God and children of the devil. John paints a black and white portrait of life in this world. There are two systems at work and at war with one another. As children of God, we have been placed in the middle of an environment that is opposed to our very existence. The world, as a result of sin, is in rebellion against God. Many in the world reject that very existence of God. Others, unable to explain their own existence and desperate to find meaning for life, have concocted their own versions of God. But to make your own god is nothing short of the rejection of the one true God. The point that John seems to be trying to make is that those who have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ are going to find this world a place of conflict and contrasts. The very fact that we are His children puts us at odds with those who refuse to accept Jesus as the Son of God and the only way to be restored to a right relationship with God. The result is that the world hates us. John confirms that reality. “Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you” (1 John 3:13 ESV). Jesus gave us a similar warning. “This is my command: Love each other. If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you” (John 15:17-19 NLT). “You will be hated by everyone because of me” (Matthew 10:22 NIV).

John used the example of Cain and Abel – two brothers who should have naturally loved one another – to drive home his message of contrasts. Cain brutally murdered his brother. His act was an outflow of his anger toward and hatred for Abel. But it stemmed from his disbelief in God. He lacked the capacity to love Abel because he was devoid of a love for God. Cain’s sacrifice was unacceptable to God because Cain lacked faith in God. “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain” (Hebrews 11:4 ESV). Abel was motivated by faith in God. He believed in God. “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6 ESV). John makes it clear a little bit later in his letter that God is love. “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8 ESV). Love is essence of God. But this is not some kind of sentimental, Hallmark-greeting-card kind of love. This is a selfless, sacrificial, lay-it-all-on-the-line kind of love that is not of this world. Without God, Cain couldn’t manufacture this kind of love. But this kind of love is what sets the children of God apart from one another. It was what caused the early church to stand out from the crowd and set it apart as distinctively different. In the book of Acts, we read of the early days of the church as thousands of people from all walks of life and a variety of ethnic backgrounds are coming to faith in Jesus. “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:44-45 ESV). That day, there were people from all over the world who heard the good news regarding Jesus Christ. “Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians” (Acts 2:9-11 ESV). And many of them came to faith and became part of a unique organism called the body of Christ. At that point, they became one in Christ. Their ethnic, economic, cultural, and idealogical differences were overshadowed by the love of God. Paul described the believers in Galatia in similar terms. “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28 NLT). 

Our adoption as sons and daughters by God have placed us all into one new family. God’s love for us manifests itself in a love for one another that is unique and distinctive. No longer is our love based on earthly standards. Our commonality and community is not based on ethnicity, language, economic status, country of origin or level of education. Our unity is based on our relationship with Jesus Christ. So Jews who love Jesus can love Arabs who love Jesus. Muslims who have come to know Jesus as their Savior can call Christians their brothers. Blacks and whites can love one another. Individuals who were once enemies can now worship together because of the transformative power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. “The way we know we’ve been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:14 NLT). Our capacity to love is our calling card. It is what sets us apart. And in this world, it is what sets us up for hatred. This world can’t comprehend that kind of love. It makes no sense. It sees it as a threat. It views it as a weakness. The enemy can’t stand it, because he knows its origin. It is of God. And anything of God is repulsive to him. But God is love and we are God’s children. Love is the greatest expression of our God-likeness. Which is why Paul wrote: “Three things will last forever–faith, hope, and love–and the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT).