“Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.”
1 John 3:13. The idea behind this verse is that we (the Ekklesia of
Christ) should not be surprised as we see the world
becoming more hateful towards us. They’ve hated
Messiah Jesus for the last 2,000 years so of course
they’re going to hate His followers. The world of the
perishing has no clue as to what Christians are all
about. Many of them see us as haters. God tells us to
love our neighbor as our self. But our neighbor hates
us because we live our life in accordance to God’s
will through His word. Then, as His children, we
promote a godly lifestyle in the face of all
adversity. Sometimes it’s easier to just walk away, or
stay away, from those who think us haters, but the
fact of the matter is they will never stop hating us
until they see the truth for themselves and become a
part of the same body of Christ.
There are many who hate the followers of Jesus Christ,
but one group of folks who continually refer to
Christians as haters are homosexuals, as do those who
agree with and condone such a lifestyle. Why? Because
all true born again Christians are fundamentally
opposed to such a lifestyle. Most of us are steadfast
and unwavering in our convictions of God’s truth.
Taking a stance against homosexuality these days is
not very popular. We are called intolerant, religious
fanatics, haters that the world would do well to get
rid of. The world is growing more hostile toward
Messiah Jesus and His followers than ever before. Dark
times are approaching.
It seems as though the homosexual agenda is to force
their lifestyle into the mainstream of thought, that
by doing so they can persuade through collusion all
humanity to become as they are – homosexual. In order
to be fully accepted into society they know that
everyone must become homosexual or else there will
always remain some who oppose that lifestyle, and any
opposition is a conviction of sorts. They don’t want
to be convicted so they need to rid the earth of those
fanatical people who stand in their way, a way, I
might add, that includes full on perversion.
All who stand opposed to the homosexual lifestyle are
now known worldwide as haters. We are referred to in
this manner because we believe in God, and His word is
clear, He is diametrically opposed to the homosexual
lifestyle. Those who call us haters, for the most
part, don’t believe there is a God, thus they see us
only as a mean spirited bunch of Neanderthals. Through
their unbelief they take God’s glory from Him and
place it upon themselves. The judgment of God is on
those who reject Him but especially on those who work
to change Him into a created thing. They are His
creation and yet they see themselves as their own
gods. “And
changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an
image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and
fourfooted beasts, and creeping things ...Who changed
the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served
the creature more than the Creator”
Romans 1:23,
25. Their bodies and especially abhorrent sex
is their god.
“For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in
them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the
one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the
other the savour of life unto life. And who is
sufficient for these things?” 2
Corinthians 2:15-16. The fact is the cross is
offensive to all those who are perishing. Those who
refer to Christians as haters have a very stanch,
intense desire to see us hurt. It is their goal to
abuse us, persecute us, and even destroy us, all just
so they are no longer confronted with the truth. To
those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of
death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we
are a life-giving perfume. When people hate Christians
they are actually saying they hate God. They hate the
children of God even though they don’t believe we have
a Father in Heaven.
Not all professing Christians have a problem with the
homosexual lifestyle. There are many who profess a
faith in Christ but who are fully into practicing this
ungodly abomination themselves. I would be remiss if I
were not to point out the following statement of fact.
When a person speaks about their faith, that doesn’t
necessarily mean they are professing a faith in
Christ. Many simply have faith in their own
self-sufficiency. Until a person admits that the
Gospel of Christ is true, they are not saved. They may
repeat a statement such as “My Christian faith”, but
until they say yes to Jesus Christ (from the heart)
and become born again they remain as lost as those who
hate and reject Christ altogether.
The born again are admonished
to uphold God’s word as truth. We are to live our
lives according to His precepts. God’s word is our
authority and we need to embrace His truth. When He
says homosexuality is an abomination, we need to stand
firm on His word of truth.
Remember Jesus’ words,
“Not every
one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of
my Father which is in heaven.”
Matthew 7:21. Standing against God’s will (His precepts) is a real
good indicator that a person doesn’t know Jesus; the
Holy Spirit is in every saint but that verse above
makes it obvious that God’s Spirit is not in every
person who professes to be Christian.
Standing contrary to God’s precepts would certainly
fall under the category of grieving the Holy Spirit,
which we are admonished not to do.
“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the
day of redemption.”
Ephesians 4:30.
Those who are sealed with God’s Holy Spirit find it
next to impossible to stand contrary to His word.
Poking our finger in the eye of God by condoning what
He refers to as an abomination is not a good idea. By
refusing to believe or follow His word we call Him a
liar, another bad idea. These are just two bad ideas
in a whole line of bad ideas promoted today by many
who profess a faith in Christ.
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and
for ever.”
Hebrews 13:8.
Ignoring God’s inerrant Word or using the power
of line item veto upon His Word whenever something
arises that conflicts with our own preconceived ideas
is the same as saying God is out of touch and
insignificant, especially concerning current cultural
trends. This is simply not the attitude of a truly
born again in Christ believer, and God’s judgment is
upon those who remain in this mindset.
Christianity is highly promoted as a tool to be used
in political corners as a springboard for helping
politicians get elected, or to remain in office. In
many cases their Christianity is only a facade. But
that facade is removed when it comes to ignoring God’s
written word while remaining politically correct. The
political climate of today only adds fuel to the
flames of fire that promote hatred toward Christians.
Representing our God as well as His truth is contrary
to our current political system.
There is another group of folks who continually refer
to Christians as haters; they are those who stand firm
on a woman’s right to chose to murder her unborn baby.
Murdering babies while they grow in the womb is a
deplorable act of selfishness and pure hatred.
Condoning this abomination as well as the homosexual
lifestyle is akin to standing in full rebellion to our
Creator God. In many cases, when a person comes to the
realization that they’ve been an accomplice in the
murder of their own baby their hearts are broken and
only the love of Christ can heal that broken heart. As
with all sin, once we truly ask for forgiveness, He is
faithful to forgive.
Christians who show the love of Christ through the way
they live their lives and interact with others, even
though those others may hate them and want to destroy
them are doing God’s will. If it weren’t for the body
of Christ on earth, this planet would have imploded
many years ago. I know that many atrocities have been
committed in the name of Jesus Christ. But those who
murdered and destroyed lives, even though they used
His name to justify their actions, were not living or
acting according to God’s will and percepts.
As saints we are commanded to love our fellow man. The
ones who call us haters have nothing to fear from us.
We are only here to promote the Gospel of peace. We
live for Christ and we love our fellow man and hate
should never be a part of the life of a born again
believer. The truly born again have one main goal,
which is to spread the word of truth. We are to see to
it that everyone, whether they call us haters or not,
are given a look at the other side, Christ’s side.
“For God so loved the world” John 3:16a. Homosexuals
and abortionists are nonetheless loved by God, but God
will not abide their rejection of Him. We love our
neighbor no matter what he/she is into that
contradicts or offends God. Loving our neighbor
doesn’t mean we want to go live with them, but it does
mean that we have a burden on our hearts to see that
they learn the truth about Jesus before it’s too late.
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for
righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.”
Matthew 5:10. Instead of letting these folks get to us and anger us
let’s show them how to love by loving them no matter
what hateful maneuverings they bring against us. Stand
firm on God’s precepts without wavering. When we stand
firm in our faith in God and on our convictions that
His words are true, even the hardest heart and the
weakest minds begin to be more receptive to our
message.
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and
persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven:
for so persecuted they the prophets which were before
you.”
Matthew 5:11-12. It won’t be long before Jesus calls us to meet Him
in the air, and then to give us our rewards. Hold fast
to that fact. The Kingdom of Heaven is nigh at hand
for all who know the Lord.
God bless you all,
Ron Graham
All original scripture is “theopneustos” God breathed
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