The Gospel of John - part 36
“In a World of Persecution”
Persecuting Jesus
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
John 15:18-25
The world hates Jesus. Now, we should take a moment and discuss what John means by 'the world'. Sometimes 'world' can refer to the Earth itself, sometimes it means the world population. Or, as in the case with John many times, it means the 'world system’. Here, we see this meaning very clearly. Jesus is teaching the world has rejected Christ and hates Him. John would continue this teaching in his letters where he calls Christians to be in the world but not of the world. Compare with verse 19, Jesus tells the disciples they are not of the world.
How can this be? Were they not born in the world like the rest of humanity? They were, but they were also born again, or born from above, as Jesus describes in John 3. Once a person has received new life in Christ, they are no longer of this world. This world is broken and sinful, on its way to inevitable destruction. People born again in Christ are on their way to Heaven and have eternal life. They will never be destroyed. Even if this physical body is destroyed, yet shall I live.
Jesus and this world are at odds with each other.
Jesus has chosen us out of this world, therefore it hates us. Jesus is at odds with this world. Remember, the world is under the influence and corruption of Satan and sin. Jesus came to end the schemes of the devil and destroy sin. Like a virus doing battle with antibodies, the cure of salvation is at odds with the sin disease. If we align ourselves with Christ, we are by definition aligning ourselves against the world.
Consider the old picture of kids dividing into teams. You’re on one side or the other. If a kid stands on the line, everyone stares and waits. He can’t stay on the line forever, a side has to be chosen.
Look again at verse 20. “A servant is not greater than his master” could mean a few different things, but here Jesus is plainly saying, “If I am the master who is persecuted, then as a servant, you should expect to be persecuted as well.” Some Christians in America get very feisty when it comes to the least little tribulation. Do you really believe you are better than Jesus Christ that the world should respect you more?
Christians should expect the world to persecute them.
Many modern Americans struggle with this idea, because for the last 200 years, plus many years in some colonies, we have honored the freedom of religion. Many of our ancestors crossed the pond in order to flee persecution, so thanks to people like Roger Williams and groups such as the Anabaptists and Baptists, the idea of a free religious society was able to take shape in America. Many historians point to the Enlightenment period, but the idea of religious freedom predates Thomas Jefferson and his peers.
However, for the history of humanity prior to 1776 (technically 1789, but you get the idea) and for the large majority of the world, even today, religious freedom does not exist. Some groups are more tolerant than others, but the sad fact is people have been persecuting other people in the name of religion for some time. Christians have found themselves the prime target of persecution throughout the world, and even within supposed Christian nations, when true believers went against the grain of institutional Christianity, they were persecuted as well. The Reformers, the Anabaptists, and a host of other subculture Christians have been martyred for standing against perverted religiosity.
What we are seeing today in America, the rise of anti-Christian sentiment and Judeo-Christian values, is simply the fallen world system attempting to restore its corrupted self. As Christians have found themselves focused on other things besides living obediently to Christ, and sharing the Good News of salvation, the world has encroached itself back into the fabric of general American society. Christian, do not bemoan the world acting like the world, proclaim the saving faith by living out the saving faith of Christ.
The Holy Spirit for Patient Endurance
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
John 15:26-27
John returns to the topic of the Helper, who is the Holy Spirit, who will bear witness. Though persecution comes, the Holy Spirit will work through that persecution. The historical truth is this:
When and where the Church has been most persecuted, it has grown the fastest.
It is not by accident that the fastest growing churches today are in areas where the Gospel is most attacked. In the second century, the early church found itself in spiritual battle with Rome. Pockets of horrific persecution plagued the first few centuries. Each time Christians were killed, many more sprang up. Tertullian famously wrote, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” As people witnessed the martyrs going confidently to their death, they marveled at their faith. The Holy Spirit worked in their hearts to draw them to Christ as they understood Christians were a very different sort of folk. It happened again during the Reformation as evangelists of the true Gospel protested the corrupted Roman Catholic Church. And when the Anabaptists reinstated believers’ baptism, they too found themselves at the edge of the sword of persecution. Today, in places like the Middle East, parts of Africa, and Asia where Communism or Islam has outlawed Christianity, missionaries are seeing countless people saved as modern martyrs testify of the Risen Lord, even to their deaths.
Whether in peace or in persecution, the Holy Spirit bears witness to the Truth of the Gospel.
Prophecy of Persecution
“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.
John 16:1-4a
Now, chapter 15 closes, however the first few verses of 16 follow along this thought line of persecution, so I would like to continue on for a bit. Jesus says, “I have said all these things to you to keep you form falling away.” Jesus warns us that persecution is coming so that we will not fall away when it does. It is a sad truth that at times, some Christians have recanted their faith when faced with death. Some have been harsh going so far as to question their salvation. Personally, I leave that up to God, because the truth is I don’t know how I would react in the same situation. I like to think that I would stand firm, but thankfully, I have not been at the edge of a sword or gun because of my faith. I will say that when soldiers are trained, one of the first things they do is train to be under real fire. Of course, boot camp is not the battlefield, but it is better for them to have the experience of real gun fire and explosions before heading into battle. The same is true for Christian perseverance. Many Christians in America are weak, not because the Gospel is weak, but because they have not been to spiritual boot camp. They have not exercised their endurance to face spiritual fire.
Jesus warns persecution is coming, get ready for it!
Look closely at verse 2. Jesus says the disciples will be put out of synagogues. Very quickly that prophecy is fulfilled. You don’t have to read far into Acts to see where the followers of Jesus are cast out of Jewish synagogues. Then he says the persecutors will believe they are doing God a favor. Perhaps the greatest irony is how many times in history persecution has happened in the name of God.
The Jews persecuted Christians because they believed Christians were blasphemers.
The Catholics persecuted Jews because they rejected Christ. Then, they persecuted Protestants because the Protestants spoke against the pope—the supposed vicar of Christ.
Protestant groups persecuted Anabaptists because the Anabaptists rejected the false doctrine of infant baptism and urged people to be baptized as believers following the New Testament teachings.
Today, we see the same type of persecuting irony when Bible believing, Christ following Christians, are told to reject the orthodox beliefs because how could God really send people to hell, or marriage should be redefined, or any of the number of sin issues the world does not want to repent from. Many people have a false view of God, and they use that false view to justify ridiculing and demonizing faithful Christians.
But, again, look what Jesus says in verse 3:
The world persecutes Christians, because it does not know Christ.
How should the Church respond to persecution?
When Christians have found themselves at the wrong end of someone’s sword, they have reacted in a few different ways. You may recall stories of the Crusades where knights headed to Jerusalem to reclaim Israel for Christendom. You may also recall, that only worked once. Today, there are people in pews who believe that is the way to go. “Kill ‘em all, let God sort it out.” However, you will not find this attitude in Jesus’ teachings. Sure, if you look in the Old Testament you will find Israel charged with cleansing the Promise Land, but as a Christian, where is your Promise Land? It is not found on this earth. Our goal, our aim is Heaven. Anything less is a slap to the face of our Redeemer who laid down His life for us.
On the other extreme are those such as Quakers, the Amish, and Mennonites who hold to the doctrine of nonresistance. The Sword is not for the Christian to take up, so they are pacifists in every respect. These modern groups stem from the Anabaptists who held to the principle if persecution arises, they should change the attitude of the government if they could, flee the land if they couldn’t. If those two failed, they were to bear the persecutions as faithful witnesses to Christ.
Again, modern Americans typically struggle with either of these options, though if they had to pick one, it would be the former.
However, what we do find in the Bible, is something of a balance. The first is what we just read. The Holy Spirit bears witness to Christ at all times, but especially I would say, at times of persecutions. Our first priority should be to be still and listen for the Spirit’s prompting of what to say and what to do.
1) Ask “What is God accomplishing during these trials?”
Be sure to see that clearly. It’s not ‘What is God doing?’, it’s ‘What is God accomplishing?’ God does not waste anything. Persecutions happen for a reason.
Perhaps God is at work in a new way that was not possible before. Again, consider the Middle East. For centuries following Islam, many of these countries were completely in darkness with no Gospel witness. As missionaries came, some listened, but the majority did not. In the last century, there has been a resurgence of Christianity in this area unheard of before. Islamic terrorists and fundamentalists have been killing Christians, but each time a group of believers dies, more and more people are coming to Christ. God is doing some miraculous things.
At home, consider the social shifts that have happened. Now, we are nowhere near persecuted as other places in the world, but consider what has happened to many churches. We are finding ourselves more at odds with the general society, but that has only strengthened the resolve of faithful Christians. Perhaps this social shift is God’s way of pruning the American part of the Vine so that we can bear more fruit. Because, let’s be honest, for many churches we have not been bearing much fruit. Which leads to #2
2) Continue to testify to the Truth of Christ—in word and in deed.
Be consistent in your obedience. Be consistent in your love. Not everyone will come to saving faith, but many more will through our love for each other and our witness of Christ than if we bemoan lost people being lost. Let people say “Happy Holidays”. No one ever came to Jesus because somebody yelled, “IT’s CHRisTMas! SaY MerrY CHRIstmAS!” Demonstrate love by picking the right battle. I would rather be a martyr for Christ than for a holiday, or a tv show, or a political party, or any of the countless dumb things people argue about these days.
3) Worst case scenario: enjoy Heaven.
Again, for many American Christians, they fight these petty battles because for the last 200 years we have been spoiled by religious freedom. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, except in that it has made many weak Christians. But, there may come a day, whether here or if you go abroad, when you find yourself in the worst possible case. You are on the wrong end of a deadly weapon, simply because you have aligned yourself with Christ. If that happens, pray for your persecutor and enjoy Heaven.
Consider the first Christian martyr in Acts 6.
Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs. Some people didn’t like that. They instigated a mob against him and brought him before the council. While on trial, Stephen proceeded to recount the story of the Old Testament and used it to testify to the fulfilled promise of God found in Christ Jesus. When they took him outside of the city to stone him, look at what he does in 55: he casts his eyes to heaven and asked Jesus to receive his spirit. Then, in verse 60, he asks God to not hold this sin against them. He forgives the very people throwing stones at him.
Following Stephen’s death, Christians are scattered all over the Mediterranean, and the Church grows exponentially.
We must remember faith cannot be coerced. We do not fight with human instruments, but with spiritual armor. Arm yourself with faith, salvation, truth, righteousness, and most importantly the Sword of the Spirit. Jesus said they will know us by our love. He told Peter to put the sword away. Christian, if you have been waving your sword in defiance to a crooked generation, put it away. You will not win one soul with arguments, slander, harassment, or power. Allow the Holy Spirit to first transform you into a patient, loving, God-honoring Christian. Then, you will see Him use you to call others to repentance.