We Know Who We Love By Who Hates Us.

This past Sunday I preached a sermon about the world's relationship to Christ and Christians.  The passage was John 15:18-27, and one can barely get through the entirety of it without wrestling with what it looks like to be hated by the world.  I asked myself, "Scott, are you hated by anyone because of your relationship to Christ?"

As I prayed and thought about it, I came to some conclusions as to why Christians in America may not face the persecution or hatred that Christ speaks of in this passage (as well as other passages).  And as these conclusions sunk deeply into my heart, I became convicted.

We, as well as Christ's disciples, like to think of Christ as the Savior who presently relieves all physical pain, suffering, discomfort, and struggle.  The Jews at the time were looking for the Messiah who would save them from the hatred of their enemies.

But Christ is not that kind of Savior.  And, in this passage, he corrected their erroneous expectations.

Christ is a Savior that saves us from both the love of the world and the wrath of God.  In other words, while we were wicked sinners, we were fundamentally loved by the world (Jn 15:19) and, in a very real way, at war with God and under his sore displeasure (Ps 11:5).  But Christ changed this by his life, death and resurrection; so that, being his, we are now hated by the world and loved by God.  This is why Christians should expect hatred from the world, while being at peace with God.

Further, because we are Christ's servants, we should not expect to be above our Master.  Just as we are to serve as he served (13:16), we are to suffer as he suffered (v.20).  His "otherliness" brought hatred his way.  Similarly, our Christ-like-otherliness should bring hatred our way.  Being like Christ, we are not like the world.  And the world loves only those that are like the world.  To bring the point home, we cannot expect to be like Christ if once saved by Christ, we run from the world.

We must remember that Christ came to and loved a world that hated him (Jn 3:16).

This is where I was most convicted.  My life recites John 3:16 in a very different way than it is written. I say, "For God so loved the church (i.e., those who follow clean, moral rules such as "be nice and on time" and "think and believe the same things I do" and "don't inconvenience me" and "don't kill Christians") that he gave his only Son..."

But the text doesn't say that does it?

It says, "For God so loved the world..." not a cuddly lovable world (3:19); but hating, religious, hypocritical, dangerous, God-hating world.  Christ incarnated himself into a world where hatred was inevitable, but redemptively necessary (15:25).

With that said, it is very possible that the primary reason we don't experience hatred for our faith is because we are too busy loving as the world loves and not as Christ loves.  We love those that are like us.  We love our own, while Christ loves his enemies in order to make them his own (Rom 5:6-11). And that could very well be why he makes it a point to teach about election in this passage (v.19). We need to know that we were the very one's we are presently trying to keep ourselves from.  His choice alone changed us. Therefore, we need to love those who are like who we were so that they might be like Him.