Jesus predicted that his followers would face persecution.
Click here for an online Bible John 15:18-25
Jesus told his disciples that they should expect the world to hate them. This follows the unity discussion that he has just had with them. He is one with the Father and one with his followers. So, those who hate him hate the Father and also hate his followers.
Jesus said that they were guilty because he had proved himself before them and they refused to believe. He said that if he had not come they would not be guilty. We have to be careful that we don’t take this verse and try to make it say that anyone who has not had the chance to hear the gospel is not guilty before God.
Paul makes it clear in Romans that everybody can deduce from creation that they are guilty of sin. Jesus said that they would not be guilty of rejecting him if he had not come. But he has come. That is why there is an urgency to the missionary mandate. Those who do not know Christ are perishing.
John made the statement in chapter 1 of his gospel that the light had come into the world, but the world did not recognize him. He came to his own (the Jews), but they did not receive him. But to those who did receive him, those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
The world is separated from God because of sin. That is why the world hates the Father and the Son and the followers of the Son. Jesus is the mediator.
This passage troubles me. I feel pretty comfortable in the world and I think the world is pretty comfortable with me. The challenge to be in the world but not of the world is difficult. I have to check my thinking continually. Am I living by the standards of the world or living by the standard of God as revealed in his word? The closer I get to God, the more I realize how far I have to go. But the good news is that it can happen by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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Your comments Cliff and some of the sermon on the mount text, "you are the light of the world" remind me how much we are SUPPOSE to stand out from the world. I shouldn't blend in to the scene and quietly share my faith, if at all. People should talk about me and what I said to them about Christ, they should feel challenged, they should feel a decision needs to be made, they should feel the love of Christ through me - a father's love for his children, and if anyone is trying to describe me, outspoken believe in Jesus Christ should be a part of that description. Alas, I fall well short in all these areas but staying in the Word and prayer is the key. Staying attached to the vine helps. And stepping into task, big and small, when God ask really builds the habit of making the right decisions. I pray for even more of all of these aspects.
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