How to Respond to the World
(A Night Like No Other – Part 8)
#144 in Series: “The Life of Christ – in a Harmony of The Gospels”
We live in a broken world… It is bruised and battered by the sin of willful, defiant rebellion against God and against the order He has established for how people are to live…
Ever since the fall (Gen. 3), people have only grown in their hatred of God, and love for their sin… When you look around, you see evidence that our world today is only getting darker…
Earlier in Jesus’ ministry, He had a conversation with “the teacher of Israel”, Nicodemus. In that conversation, we find one of the most beloved passages in God’s Word… I want to read that passage – and what follows. Jesus said –
John 3:16-19
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
The Apostle John later expands on this later point, when he writes –
John 15:19-21
19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
Today, we will focus on a passage where Jesus turns His message from love, joy, peace, and encouragement – to one that is filled with – warning… Jesus speaks about the hatred that Christians will … endure…
Jesus loves His disciples enough to warn them! To be forewarned is to be forearmed… When we know what’s coming, we can … prepare! So, on this night – this long night, before He goes to the cross – Jesus turns His subject to one of warning…
Let’s read our text –
John 15:18-16:4a
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. 25 But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’
26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, 27 and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
16:1 “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. 2 They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. 3 These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. 4 But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them.
(This is the Word of the Lord – Thanks be to God)
There is a lot in what Jesus is saying in this passage, and we won't’ get to delve very deeply into all of it – but there are a few themes that demand our attention… But, before we look at them, I want to encourage you to listen…
If you are one who always wants to avoid the negative things that Jesus said, you are … vulnerable! You will be vulnerable to the schemes that deceive!... Satan loves to take advantage of the naive… The uninformed, are fodder for his attacks!
Just what is it that the Christian can expect from the world? Acceptance? - NO!… Affirmation? - No… How about … tolerance?... Not for long, if at all!... The world – that is, the world system – her desires, her values, and ambitions are all enslaved to unbelief! The world is at enmity with God – that is, they despise The One True God, Maker of heaven and earth!... Satan hates God, and those who are in darkness, also hate God… And because they hate God, they hate everything about Him, and … everyone who belongs to Him!
Enmity with God, refers to a state of opposition or hostility towards God. It comes from one’s sinful nature and has a preference for worldly desires over, and against God’s desires. It “prefers” self-will, over against God’s will… This state is characterized by a lack of submission to God’s law and a rejection of His authority…
Listen to just a couple of passages on this point –
Romans 8:7
because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
James 4:4 (ESV)
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
In our text, Jesus reveals some truths about the world that we need to understand…
The world, the world system, and those who are “worldly” are all trapped in … unbelief.
Again, as we think through what Jesus says in our text, I want us to focus on some themes.
First, let’s consider –
1. The Hatred
Look at –
John 15:18-19
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
The phrase “If the world hates you”, is actually what is called a first-class conditional statement, which assumes a positive answer… So, it could be translated as “since the world hates you”... In fact, Jesus is saying to His disciples then, that not only does the world hate you now – they are going to continue to hate you!
It is at this point, I think we should seek to answer the question; why… Why does the world hate?
Why did the world hate such a kind, loving, gentle Man? The world hated (and still hates) Christ because He … exposes the truth about their evil (John 7:7) – and because
… the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
Satan hates Jesus, and those who are held in his bondage hate Him…
Why does the world hate Christians – I’m talking about true Christian, not merely those who claim to be Christians… Why?, because Chrisitans are –
John 15:19
If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
Listen, the whole concept of hate – hating people – is what the unregenerate heart does! You can’t be a true Christian and harbor hate in your heart!
John, in his first of three epistles, addresses what a true Christian looks like. Throughout the letter, he describes what a true Christian is really like… We cover these in our Membership Matters class, and refer to that session as “The First John Test”... John lists several things that are true about a Christian in that letter – one of those is what we call; “ The Love/Hate Test”... Listen to –
1 John 3:14-15
14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
Do you love others or do you harbor any hatred toward anyone?
The heart of a true Christian cannot be a permanent dwelling place for hate. This passage is not referring to a momentary flare up, but an attitude of hate as a pattern of life… It is clear that a true Christian does not harbor hate…
John addressed this in a couple of other places in that letter –
The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.
And –
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
Hatred is anchored in the unregenerate heart – it has … no home in the Christian.
The world has hated Christians, because it … hates Christ!... And get this, Jesus says –
John 15:23
He who hates Me hates My Father also.
I like what Spurgeon said here –
C.H. Spurgeon – “There is a hatred of God in all hatred of the Mediator. Men may say that they love God, and yet despise Christ, but it cannot be so. Christ is so truly God, and so clear a manifestation of God, that, if men knew God, they would certainly hate him if they hate Christ.”
Jesus went on to explain why the world hates Him –
John 15:24-25
24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. 25 But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’
Verse :24 causes some “head scratching”... To “pettyphrase” it, Jesus is saying –
“When I was with them, I did many great things, that noone else ever did! If I had not done those great things – they would not have known what is wrong – but they did see what I did, and as a result, they hated me, and they hate My Father too.”
The willful unbelief is due to the hardness of heart, and purposeful choice of the will!... There was, and is NO cause for hating Christ!
Listen… there is hatred in unbelief… The unbelieving heart doesn’t love God – because it is refusing the love of God!
There is hatred in unbelief… Next, consider –
2. The Harm
Haters will hate, and haters will … harm… Hate leads to harm. Hatred is not merely something held in the heart – it is expressed through the hands! Hate is a feeling that leads to an action!... Hate leads to harm!
Do you remember the old children’s rhyme; “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”?... Is that true? – Of course not!... Words hurt – but Jesus is not merely talking about words. He’s talking about … actions. So, where’s the harm?... Let’s return to our text –
John 15:20
Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you…
Stop right there… Do you see it? Jesus uses a strong word, and says it twice… The world persecuted Jesus, it’s going to persecute those who follow Jesus…
The disciples have witnessed on many occasions how “the world”, specifically the religious leaders, were persecuting Jesus. They witness their open, flagrant defiance – and in a few hours they will be witnessing their open and flagrant defilement of the very Lamb of God!!... The “trial”, beatings, mockery, and brutal treatment of Jesus is coming in a matter of hours from when Jesus speaks these words!
But Jesus says that not only will they persecute Him – but they will persecute His followers as well!
Has that happened?...
It was only a matter of weeks after Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection – that the church was … empowered by the Holy Spirit, and the gospel took flight and began changing lives by the thousands! We read about this in Acts 2… In the next chapter, Peter preaches a sermon that ends up landing him and other apostles in jail!
They are jailed again in chapter 5… We learn about some of those early believers in Acts 6, and learn about … Stephen – a faithful follower of Jesus, whom the world hated!... In chapter 7, he is stoned to death!... We read about widespread persecution in chapter 8, led by a man … named Saul!
The first apostle to be put to death was the brother of John, a member of the inner circle of the disciples … James! Herod not only orders the killing of James, he orders the imprisonment of Peter – with the intention of executing him later!... We learn about the miraculous release of Peter from prison … it was not yet his time!
“Persecution continued so that we know from history that all the apostles were martyred, with the exception of John who was exiled to Patmos.”
The hatred of Christ, His gospel, the transformation of lives to … abandon paganism, worldly lives, and declare that Jesus is Lord, and NOT Caesar – only led to more and more persecution of the saints!...
This persecution has continued throughout the centuries! It has been reported that more Christians died a martyr's death in the 20th century than in the first 19 centuries combined!
The 21st century is proving to be very dangerous for faithful Christians as well!
In our passage – Jesus prophecies that this will happen … and it has!
So… should we just … give up? Are Christians called to live a … defeated life – one just waiting for a martyr’s exit?... I don’t think so!...
Let’s jump to what Jesus says about –
3. The Helper
Jesus assures His disciples then – and His disciples now – that there is such a One Who is our … Helper!
Pick up at verse :26 –
John 15:26-16:4a
26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, 27 and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
16:1 “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. 2 They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. 3 These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. 4 But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them.
Now, when we return next time, we will learn more about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, but here in today’s passage we see some very specific things He does … to help Christians.
Notice –
The Holy Spirit represents The Father and The Son to this world…
John 15:26-27
26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, 27 and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
He is sent to this world to testify about Jesus! He represents – that is, He conveys to us just Who God is!... He points us to Jesus!
We will delve deeper into this next time, but notice that the Holy Spirit not only represents the Father and Jesus to us, let’s consider –
He presents … truth!
John 15:26
“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,
The Holy Spirit of God is the Spirit of truth!
Jesus will elaborate on this later… Write this passage down –
But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
Whenever someone comes to the truth – that is a work of the Holy Spirit in their life!
Satan works in the opposite. Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44)… The Holy Spirit always … tells the truth!
You need the truth! Reality is based in the truth, and we need the Holy Spirit to navigate us through this world that is filled with the deceptive lies of the evil one!
Again, we will think on this more when we pick up next time with more of what Jesus says about the work of the Holy Spirit…
But next, we need to consider –-
What follows … is something that can not occur without the enabling of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer… In fact, the balance of the New Testament has a lot to say about how the Holy Spirit works in and through the Christian! He enables us to faithfully follow, and represent our Lord in this world!
You may have wondered why I would entitle this message; “How to Respond to the World”. We have heard a lot about how the world hates and harms… But, what is said in this passage about how to respond?
Jesus tells us right here –
John 15:27
and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
Those disciples have been with Jesus since He first called them! Jesus told them that they will testify to the truth of Christ – and they did … ‘til their dying breath!
What Jesus said to them, certainly applied to the first generation of disciples… What what about the hundred or so generations of Christians since then?... They have ALL testified about Jesus!...
How do we testify? What is the Christian called to testify about?
I can think of at least four things… First –
We testify to the truth … that Jesus is the truth!
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
He is the truth sent by God! He testifies to the truth found in God – and that He Himself is the truth of God!
We testify to that very Truth!
We testify to the truth of Christ!... Next –
The gospel is the good news concerning Christ, and the way to salvation! The gospel is that God sent His Son into this world to … die on the cross as the Lamb of God in order to pay the sin debt, and save all those whom He redeems!
Every generation of Christians has the responsibility and privilege to proclaim the gospel!... This responsibility comes directly from Jesus, here in our text –
John 15:27a
and you will testify also,...
And –
Matthew 28:19-20
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
How are you … communicating the gospel?...
Next –
I love this… The message of Christ – the message of His gospel … is the true message of love – the love of Christ!
Knowing Christ is not only coming to the knowledge of the truth – but it is also coming to the … knowledge of love – the love of God!
We get to know and enjoy this … love-relationship with God, and we get to speak to this truth … to one another!...
I don’t think we always do a good job of that. God loving His Own is a truth that too many of us, at too many times, … forget.
Perhaps you need to be reminded today, dear Christian … that God loves you and nothing will take that away!
The Apostle Paul says it well –
Romans 8:35-39
35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,
“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I love the message about the love of Christ!...
There is something else we testify to, and we need to think on this … carefully –
By this, we are talking about the life we have in Christ … while we still live in this fallen world!... Let’s be reminded about a couple of points Jesus made earlier in His ministry –
Luke 6:27-36
27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
That describes a life that can only be lived with the enablement of the Holy Spirit!...
The Apostle Paul later wrote –
Romans 12:17-21
7 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
We are called to this… and again, we need the enablement of the Holy Spirit to live like this!
Though we have camped out in our text today, in your notes are several other passages I want to encourage you to read where the Lord tells us about this experience that Christians do have!...
(Matthew 5:10-12, John 16:1-3, 17:14, Acts 14:22, Romans 5:3-4, 8:17, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, 6:3-10, 11:23-30, Philippians 1:29, 1 Thessalonians 3:3, 2 Timothy 3:12, James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 4:12-16, 1 John 3:13)
Let me read just a couple –
John later writes –
1 John 3:13 (ESV)
Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.
And listen to the Apostle Peter’s words –
1 Peter 4:12-16
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. 14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.
We live in a world that is hostile to God… But we, whom the Lord has redeemed, have been given all we need in Christ to live in this hostile world with complete confidence in the truth! We have a word for this world – it is the truth of Christ – the love of Christ – and the new life one can have in Christ!
Questions to Consider in Community Group
