If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
Why the (unbelieving) world seems to hate Christians, and what to do about it.
There seems to be an ever-increasing amount of chatter these days about the hatred of the non-Christian world against Christians. That world, of course, counters that the hatred comes from the Christians’ side more than from them toward us.
It seems fair to admit that, given the history of Christendom, Catholics and Protestants were hateful against any unlike them. Think Crusades and Witch Trials. Something that is often unknown is that much of this hatred was pointed toward other believers in Christ, namely Baptists and Anabaptists. I like to remind people that not all professing Christians in those days were hateful. Baptists and Anabaptists have a long history of loving, helping, and befriending those of unlike faith.
Nevertheless, the hatred toward Christians of any faith does seem to be growing. Why?
I would propose the following:
Because they do not distinguish between Christians and professing Christians
A bible-believing Christian is not hateful.
Because Protestant Christianity has led them to believe Christians want to govern the world with their rules
This is not true of biblical Christianity. We merely want to worship God according to the dictates of our conscience and to preach the saving gospel to the unsaved. Should the unsaved reject it, we understand our job is to move on to another.
Because Satan has placed a spirit of hatred against Christ in this world
I believe the Bible. This is what Jesus said would happen.
This hatred is as old as Cain’s murder of his brother. It should not be thought we will somehow resolve it.
So, what do we do? It’s just this simple:
Love souls.
Love them enough to pray for them. Love them enough to be friends with them. Love them enough to witness to them. Love them enough to allow them their own conscience.
Love Christ
Love Him enough to follow Him. Love Him enough never to compromise His word. Love Him enough to love those He loves.
Love church
We ought to love Christians as a whole, but we should love Christians more specifically as they are united in the church to which we belong. These are the believers most like us in faith and practice. These are the believers most equipped to support us and strengthen us. These are the Christians most able to see when we need to be pulled away from the world and toward the Lord. These are the Christians we should trust to do that work.
We will not resolve the enmity between the Lord and the world. We must not attempt it. What we may do is to be faithful to our convictions, be forthright in our message, and be forgiving of those with whom we disagree.
To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
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