Be On Your Guard

“These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.  They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.  And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me.”  John 16:1-3

In John, Chapter 15, Jesus was speaking to His twelve disciples to emphasize the importance of abiding in Him.  Remember that most of what Jesus told His disciples was also meant for His believers then, now, and into the future unless it was a specific task they were to do in that day and age.  All of the principles that Jesus issued during His time on earth are just as relevant today as they were back then.  Jesus called His disciples friends and not servants, because a servant is not privy to his master’s thoughts and decisions, but those who follow Christ are not kept in the dark, but are allowed to know the Father through the Son.  Jesus then said for each disciple to love one another.

But then, Jesus changed the subject to more of a dark and foreboding one, one which would bring heartache and misery upon His disciples and unto all who are born again.  He described how that Christians would be hated because they were followers of Him.  But no one was to be surprised at that because Jesus was hated.  There were a lot of bad dudes all throughout Old Testament history who were hated, but the hatred resulted from harsh and cruel treatment and bondage that occurred against God’s chosen people by those nations who were idolaters and did not worship the LORD God.  Jesus never hurt anyone and only did good things when He was on the earth, yet He was hated.

Jesus went on to say that those who go along with the world’s demands rather than following after righteousness, truth, and light, are accepted by the world.  Those who follow Christ and try to serve Him and do what’s right are shunned by the world and treated like, as a politician once said, “a basket of deplorables”.  Jesus said that sinners did not feel guilt for their sin until He spoke to them, and then they had no excuse for their sin.  I think that sometimes sinners come under conviction, whether it’s by the Holy Spirit or by their own consciences, when they are around those who are living out their faith in Christ.  They don’t like how conviction makes them feel, thus they try to make themselves feel better by putting down, mocking, or downright hating the believer.  Folks don’t like other folks who, in their own minds, make them feel bad about themselves.  If they could only understand that owning up to one’s sin is the first step to the forgiveness found in Christ.  No committed Christian wants to make anyone feel bad about themselves.  They only want the sinner to repent and believe in Christ, because they, too, were once where the lost sinner is.  The guilt of sin is a heavy burden to bear.

Jesus then made a statement that should shake folks up:  “He that hateth Me hateth My Father also” (John 15:23).  There are a lot of people who claim to believe in God, but want nothing to do with Jesus.  That is not possible.  God the Father and Jesus the Son are inexorably linked.  They cannot be separated.  All of the things that Jesus was telling His disciples and us was a warning that persecution will come to all those who are believers in Christ.  We know from scripture that the disciples were persecuted relentlessly after Jesus ascended back to His Father in heaven.  There is no reason to believe that His followers will not also come under persecution in our day.  There are those in other countries who have died for their faith at the hands of those who are under the control of Satan.  We are beginning to see some persecution taking place in our own nation today which has been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Pastors are being persecuted for holding church services.  Some think things will eventually go back to the way they were, but once godless authorities get a little taste of the power to suppress the freedom to worship, they will likely not let up.  Jesus said that they will do these things because they do not know God nor Christ.  It is up to us with God’s help to not back down nor surrender our right to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.  Satan, working through ungodly people, may win some battles, but he will certainly lose the war.