Hate of good
John 15:18 KJV - 18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before [it hated] you.
Why does the world hate us? Christ gives us the answer several places, but there's a catch. The world disagrees. When Christ defined the conflict, those who opposed Him gave conflicting reasons for the conflict. And so it continues to this day. The father of lies, and those who love and make lies, will continue to 'redefine' the conflict.
What truly is the conflict?
What has God Incarnate said?
Defining the Conflict
Why was Jesus hated?
John 7:2–7 KJV 2 Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. 3 His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. 4 For [there is] no man [that] doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. 5 For neither did his brethren believe in him. 6 Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready. 7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
We read elsewhere on several occasions where people asked, as in Luke 4:22,
"Is not this Joseph's son?"
And in Matthew 13:55,
"Is not this the carpenter's son?"
They did not believe in Him. And this was their excuse.
Jesus said to us in Mark 6:4,
"A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house."
We could go into great detail regarding Jesus' relationship to His family members over time, but I've brought up these passages to make a point. What was it that put people at odds with Christ?
John 7:7 KJV - 7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
The issue was not with who Jesus' relatives were.
Jesus told His relatives directly, "The world cannot hate you," and then He goes on to explain the real reason, "but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil."
The world didn't hate Jesus for His relatives; it hated Him because He called out sin.
How Jesus defines the conflict and how the world defines the conflict are different. Why shouldn't they be? Prophets speak inconvenient truth. And when the truth cannot be admitted, of course narratives will clash.
Jesus' opponents were lying about the conflict. Note that Christ did not resolve the conflict by submitting to lies.
Because the battle between good and evil is directly linked to the battle between truth and lies, I have shared variations of the diagram for both.
Results of Lies
In a conflict between truth and lies, why wouldn't those spreading lies be the ones to confuse the issue? Lying is what they do. It is not a 'conspiracy theory' for a liar to be lying again. "By their fruits ye shall know them." (Matthew 7:15-20)
We should be surprised, and a bit wary, when they do speak the truth. It is a trap. Because lies cannot stand on their own when tested, liars mix truth and error.
As a result of this mixture, when men fight for good, or fight equipped with "good intentions," they do a lot of evil, not discerning the truth of the matter.
There is a lot of 'friendly fire' being encouraged by liars in the camp. Much of the ‘fog of war’ is generated by countless kinds of liars, ranging from the malicious to the merely selfish, as if a selfish lie could be 'mere.'
Good Intentions: "I'm too self-confident to be wrong, too proud to be evil."
Or, in similar fashion, when men with "good intentions" fight for unity, they create a lot of division—wrongly divided, casting out dissenters, particularly those who hold a higher standard, a Biblical standard even, offensive to their own "good intentions."
Modern "Unity": Intolerance of the intolerant, a most hypocritical standard. It is intolerant of absolute truth, ignoring or abhorring a standard of good and evil. It frequently minimizes or patronizes error. It enforces the lowest common denominator.
Either way, the purpose of corruption, and thereby destruction, is fulfilled.
We need to beware lest we be deceived or divided by lies. We must be united by what is truly good (love and holiness), and nothing less.
The question is, "What is the truth?" God's Word is truth. Start there, and apply it to the situation, taking everything into account.
Our Response
A strong antidote to worldly poisons can be found in John 15, where it commands us to obey and to love, regardless of what the unholy may do. If you are discouraged by the preceding article, I would recommend reading that whole chapter.
John 15:17-25 KJV 17 These things I command you, that ye love one another. 18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before [it hated] you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. 23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But [this cometh to pass], that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
There are countless other verses in the Bible that are applicable concerning Hatred of Good, and the Christian response. I've listed several below.
In future posts, if the Lord wills, I will address 3 groups coming from 3 directions that may clash with Christ and His followers. Yes, I will reference some of these passages then.
Matthew 5:43-48 Don't love like a Publican, love like Jesus.
John 3:16-21 God's love vs man's hate, light vs darkness.
Matthew 12:33-37 Applicable to post-modern virtue-signaling Pharisees as well. Note: The "idle words" of this passage, and the 'idle faith' of James 2:18 are closely related.
1 John 2:15-17, 24-25; 3:10-13 Watch out for evildoers. Don't be swayed or dismayed.
1 Peter 3:13-17 Keep a clear conscience. It's better to suffer for welldoing than for evildoing.
Closing comments
In this article, I’ve discussed primarily the battle between pure good and pure evil, between absolute truth and complete falsehoods.
I understand that there is the factor of ignorance, but I also recognize that 'willful' ignorance frequently pretends to be its innocent brother.
So for the sake of this discussion, I am sticking with the battle between truth and lies, and not falling for the “gray areas” and confusion created by the willfully ignorant that we rightly call liars.
For the innocently ignorant who follow them, I have more hope. It is easier to convince them to turn from the error that has been promoted, because they are less influenced in their decision by the deceitfulness of sin than their willful counterparts are.
Either way, I pray that every one of us may turn from error.
Eric Druist
コメント