Not the Norm

If the world hates you, know that it hated Jesus first...

John 15:16-27 (Amplified Bible)

16You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as [a]presenting all that I AM], He may give it to you.

17This is what I command you: that you love one another.

18If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you.

19If you belonged to the world, the world would treat you with affection and would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world [no longer one with it], but I have chosen (selected) you out of the world, the world hates (detests) you.

20Remember that I told you, A servant is not greater than his master [is not superior to him]. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word and obeyed My teachings, they will also keep and obey yours.

21But they will do all this to you [inflict all this suffering on you] because of [your bearing] My name and on My account, for they do not know or understand the One Who sent Me.

22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin [would be blameless]; but now they have no excuse for their sin.

23Whoever hates Me also hates My Father.

24If I had not done (accomplished) among them the works which no one else ever did, they would not be guilty of sin. But [the fact is] now they have both seen [these works] and have hated both Me and My Father.

25But [this is so] that the word written in their Law might be fulfilled, They hated Me without a cause.(A)

26But when the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth Who comes (proceeds) from the Father, He [Himself] will testify regarding Me.

27But you also will testify and be My witnesses, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

As Christians, true Christians, we must know that we are not the norm. "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.," 1 Corinthians 2:14, NKJV.

The Lifestyle

God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). I love God for being Who He is. The Lord teaches us what love is and that we are to show that same love to others. He is love. When considering some of the things that go on in this world, do many of us display that same love Christ teaches?

It is not loving to put someone down because of their past nor is it godly to bring it up at every opportunity. From what I’ve heard many say to me, this is why they stay away from the church. Years ago, I remember someone sharing a testimony about a woman who used to be on the streets (by way of stripping or prostitution). She went to church with a mind to change from her old ways, but was met with much ridicule. It wasn’t necessarily what others said verbally to her, but their body language spoke volumes. I thought the church was where all of the sin-sick people gathered… to leave our burdens at the altar; to give it all to Christ. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light,” Matthew 11:28-30, KJV.

How sad it is for someone who has been in the church for years to degrade another who just came off of the streets from drug-dealing or abusing, pimping, prostitution, stealing, or even murder. What if someone took a rap sheet of the things we’ve done in this body that was in our past? The only difference is that they got caught doing what they were doing. “Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” Galatians 3:3. The past is the past and as we share testimonies or stories that will help those in these situations come to Christ (because as Christians we are living testimonies) it will help us to understand their struggle. Are we so removed from sin that we have become insensitive to their plight? Are we “holier than thou” because we’ve been out of the “lifestyle” so long? I thought we are called to be evangelists…preachers as Christ puts it. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” Mark 16:15. We are to proclaim the Gospel. This is not preacher in the sense of standing in a pulpit every Sunday, but preacher in a sense of telling those out in the world.

Back to the story about the young woman who had previously been in the streets, I learned that she decided to go back to the streets. It was noted that since people always looked at her strangely (seeing her past and not someone who was hurting and crying out for help) she decided to return to what people “in the church” saw her as. The Holy Spirit reminds me of the woman caught in the act of committing adultery and how the people were ready to stone her to death. Now, if Jesus can have compassion on someone who was actively in sin, should we at the very least show that same compassion for someone who had done it last month, last week,… or even last night?

I thank God that He is not like man. I know that I have my faults and that I don’t do everything perfectly, but God said, “Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see [Him] God,” Matthew 5:8. And I know my motives are pure. I have a heart to help others and share with them what I’ve learned. Just as noted in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29… Let every man examine himself. I ask the Lord right now in the name of Jesus to cleanse me of all unrighteousness, for as we live in this flesh we are subject to temptations, but that does not mean that we have to embrace it as a lifestyle. I'm liberated as I know ...  I’ve gotten out of “the lifestyle.”

Taste and See God's Goodness

“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him,” Psalm 34:8, KJV.

David praises God, and encourages to trust him.

If we hope to spend eternity in praising God, it is fit that we should spend much of our time here in this work. He never said to any one, Seek ye me in vain. David's prayers helped to silence his fears; many besides him have looked unto the Lord by faith and prayer, and it has wonderfully revived and comforted them. When we look to the world, we are perplexed, and at a loss. But on looking to Christ depends our whole salvation, and all things needful thereunto do so also.

This poor man, whom no man looked upon with any respect, or looked after with any concern, was yet welcome to the throne of grace; the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The holy angels minister to the saints, and stand for them against the powers of darkness. All the glory be to the Lord of the angels. By taste and sight we both make discoveries, and have enjoyment; Taste and see God's goodness; take notice of it, and take the comfort of it. He makes all truly blessed that trust in Him ... they shall have grace sufficient for the support of spiritual life. And as to this life, they shall have what is necessary from the hand of God. Paul had all, and abounded, because he was content, Php 4:11 to 18. Those who trust to themselves, and think their own efforts sufficient for them, shall want; but they shall be fed who trust in the Lord. Those shall not want, who with quietness work and mind their own business. (Ps 34:11-22)

About this commentary:

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible is available in the Public Domain.