“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” John 15:18
September 12, 2025
The night before His crucifixion Jesus prepared His disciples for the hatred and opposition of the world into which they would carry the gospel. Persecution is part of the high cost of being identified with Jesus Christ (Matt. 16:21, 24-26). The hostility of the world system comes in a variety of ways. It ranges from ridicule, insult, arraignment before courts and even death. In recent days we have witnessed the martyrdom of Charlie Kirk for his bold declaration of the gospel, creation order, and God’s moral law. One study Bible offers this: “The world’s hatred is not due to what the disciples do wrong, but to what they do right, namely, allegiance to Jesus.” The death of a fellow believer who dared to call out the evils created by a culture in defiance of God Almighty is an example to us. How is our courage in the face of a nonChristian worldview? As we speak the truth in love, do not expect to be celebrated. It was Polycarp, an early Christian martyr, who told his persecutors before he was to be burned at the stake, “Thou threatenest the fire that burns for an hour and in a little while is quenched, for thou knowest not of the fire of the judgment to come, and the fire of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. But why delayest thou? Bring what thou wilt.” Our devotion to Jesus Christ will not be without rewards as we are faithful to Him.
H
“May our love and loyalty to Jesus Christ be that by which we are known.”