One or the Other

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

ONE OR THE OTHER

John 15:18-27

18 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.'  

26 "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

NIV

One or the other, but it is certainly not both. We either love Jesus or the world. The world hates Jesus and the reason is that Jesus has exposes their sin, just as he did in us. But we saw it as sin and repented and accepted Jesus. So now although we seem to be accepted in the world, it really does not like us very much, unless it does not know we belong to Jesus. Jesus told his disciples they must testify about him as the Spirit gives testimony about him. We could say that was just for the disciples as he told them they had been with him from the beginning, which we certainly have not, or have we? If we take everything that Jesus said which was directed at these disciples then nothing is every directed toward us and all this faith thing is useless, for salvation would be just for his disciples. No, we have to know that everything Jesus said was teaching for anyone who would take up their cross and follow him. There are believers in parts of the world who are severely persecuted, even onto death. There has been, on occasion in this country very hateful men who have gone into a church armed and shooting as many Christians as possible. But for the most part we believers are no being persecuted as Jesus said, or hated as Jesus said we would because of him. Why is that? Are we not loud enough in our proclamation of Jesus? Do we conform too much to how the world lives and they know nothing about our faith? Have we whitewashed the gospel, or watered it down too much in order to not be too offensive? That is the trigger word, offensive. Oh, don’t offend anyone, which would not be appropriate. That may well be one of the schemes of the devil to keep us silent, to keep us from speaking the truth about Jesus and sin. If we did, maybe we would be hated, but then who would listen if we were hated? So we think if we just say a little, not too offensive, but just a little of the truth, take about God, not Jesus, then they will not actually hate us, and listen just a little to what we say. Is using the word, God, too generic? Lots of people believe God exists, but their theology about heaven and hell is not based on truth. They do not really understand what it means to be born again, or to have to repent of their sin, to even acknowledge they are sinners and in need of Jesus in order to gain eternal life. We have the Spirit who testifies to the truth within us, and he is there convicting others of their sins, but someone has to speak up and let them know what they need to do in order to be saved. But then the world might just hate us. That is alright because as long we are silent, they love us. We want the love of God, not the love of the world. It is one or the other.