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Well, you can turn with me in 
your Bibles to the Gospel of John. We continue to move through 
the fourth gospel. We find ourselves in chapter 
15 in the Upper Room Discourse. Jesus is instructing and preparing 
his disciples for the imminent departure of the Son of God, 
not only in terms of his death, but also his resurrection and 
then his ascension on high. Remember that he wants them, 
or His purpose for them is stated clearly in chapter 14 at verse 
12, that they will do greater works, not in competition with 
their head and master, but as an extension of His power and 
glory from the right hand of the Father. So I want to read 
beginning in chapter 15 at verse 18, I'll read to chapter 16, 
verse 4, and then our particular focus this morning will be verses 
18 to 21. So beginning in John 15, 18, 
if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated 
you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. 
Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of 
the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word 
that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. 
If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept 
my word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they 
will do to you for my name's sake, because they do not know 
him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken 
to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for 
their sin. He who hates me hates my father 
also. If I had not done among them 
the works which no one else did, they would have no sin. But now 
they have seen and also hated both me and my father. But this 
happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written 
in their law, they hated me without a cause. But when the Helper 
comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of 
truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of me. And you 
also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the 
beginning. These things I have spoken to 
you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you 
out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming that 
whoever kills you will think that he offers God's service. 
And these things they will do to you, because they have not 
known the Father nor me. But these things I have told 
you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told 
you of them. And these things I did not say 
to you at the beginning, because I was with you." Amen. Well, 
let us pray. Our gracious God and Holy Father, 
we thank you for the written word. We thank you for our Lord's 
words here in the upper room discourse. And we know it was 
to prepare his disciples for those greater works that they 
should leave this place, that gathering together empowered 
and enabled by the Spirit to go into the then known world 
with the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. We thank you for their 
example. We thank you for the Lord's blessing upon them. We 
thank you for the presence of the Holy Spirit today and the 
fact that you are causing your word to run swiftly and be glorified. 
We pray that more and more people would come to a saving knowledge 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray for the people of God 
that we would grow in our understanding of who He is, that we would live 
in light of that glorious gospel of our salvation. And even now, 
Lord, forgive us for all of our sin and unrighteousness. Cleanse 
us in the precious blood of the Lamb. Help us, by your Spirit, 
to receive this message, as certainly it's a difficulty, and on the 
one hand, since life is good, We are blessed. We have many 
good things here in the Western world. It's tough to see the 
hatred or the enmity of the world against us, but God give us wisdom 
concerning these things. Help us to think clearly and 
help us to receive our Lord's exhortations and admonitions 
such that we may indeed shine as lights in a crooked and perverse 
generation and give us that boldness and courage to hold forth your 
word of truth. We ask this through Christ our 
Lord. Amen. Well, in the previous section, 
specifically in verses 9 to 17, the emphasis is on love. Love 
for Christ and love for one another. Well, the direction changes now, 
and the emphasis is on hate, and specifically the world's 
hatred toward the people of God, and the reason or rationale for 
that hatred, because of Jesus Christ. And interestingly, in 
the preceding portion of the Upper Room Discourse, the primary 
emphasis is on Christ's relation to his people, his people's relation 
to Christ. Well, in this part and following, 
it's the believer and the world. How do we navigate? How do we 
function? How do we conduct ourselves as God's people in this present 
evil age? Well, again, in its original 
context, you will see the absolute necessity for this. In other 
words, as Jesus is encouraging his disciples, as he's instructing 
them, as he's teaching them in more detail the doctrine of the 
Trinity, he wants them as well to be prepared. That when you 
go out into the world and you preach the gospel in my name, 
don't expect a grand reception. Don't expect a red carpet treatment. Don't expect that everybody everywhere 
is going to be like, Wow, this is wonderful! No, you need to 
be prepared for the reality that the world is going to hate you. 
The reason why the world is going to hate you is because the world 
hates me. That's Jesus' message, essentially, 
as we find it in this particular section. So I think this is a 
great sort of blessed thing that our Savior does in terms of preparing 
His disciples. Oh yeah, follow me, go out and 
preach for me, and just always expect only good things. No, 
Christ does not deal with us in that way. He tells us the 
truth concerning the challenges with reference to Christian discipleship. Well, as we look at verses 18 
to 21, I want to do so under two heads. First, the world's 
opposition to believers. in verses 18 and 19. And then 
secondly, the believer's likeness to Christ in verses 20 and 21. But let's look first at the world's 
opposition to believers there in verses 18 to 19. We have a 
declaration in verse 18 and then an explanation in verse 19. Note, 
with reference to the declaration in verse 18, he starts off first 
with sort of a supposition or a presupposition or an assumption. Notice verse 18a, if the world 
hates you. Now, we could possibly translate 
that as, since the world hates you, But up to this point in 
time, there had not been a lot of enmity directed toward these 
disciples, some to be sure, but it was mostly focused upon and 
targeted against the Lord Jesus Christ. So Jesus says, if the 
world hates you. Now, it's important for us to 
understand what he means by world in this particular instance. 
If you go back to the prologue, that means John 1, you'll notice 
three uses of the word world. Three uses of the word world 
in John 1, specifically at verse 10. It says that he was in the 
world. That must mean planet Earth. 
Jesus wasn't on Mercury. He wasn't on Mars. He was on 
the planet Earth. So Jesus was in the world and 
the world was made through him. Again, not just planet Earth, 
but the entire cosmos. If you look at verse three, all 
things were made through him. So Jesus is on planet Earth. 
Jesus is the agent by which all things, the world, had come into 
being. But then notice thirdly, and 
the world did not know him. So John the Apostle uses this 
language of world to speak of the Earth, to speak of the created 
order, but as well to speak in an ethical sense. The world is 
that which is opposed to God. You see a similar thing with 
reference to the word flesh. The Apostle Paul in Romans 3 
says in verse 20, no flesh will be justified in the sight of 
God based on a work's righteousness. That must mean every man. So 
all flesh means all men, all women, all boys, all girls. But 
in Romans 4, he speaks of Abraham according to the flesh. So flesh 
there means something concerning ethnicity. And then later on, 
the apostle uses the word flesh to speak of that which is sensual 
or sinful. When he says in Romans 13, 14, 
but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the 
flesh to fulfill its loss. So we have a threefold use. There's connection to be sure, 
but when it comes to world here in John 15 at verse 18, he's 
talking about the non-Christian. He is talking about the unbeliever. And as we move through this particular 
section, he is talking specifically about the religious leadership 
in Israel. Note the language in chapter 
16 at verse 2. They will put you out of the 
synagogues. Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you 
will think that he offers God's service. It's going to be the 
first enemy of the Christian church in the book of Acts. It's 
going to be these men who confessed allegiance to Yahweh of Israel, 
but denied the Messiah sent by Yahweh of Israel. And so Jesus' 
argument is simple. If you reject the one sent by 
Yahweh, ergo, you reject Yahweh himself. And so that's the specific 
reference in the context. Now, in terms of the validity 
of this supposition, if the world hates you, again, John 14, 12, 
the disciples are tasked with going out and engaging in greater 
works, for one, that the world despises. The Apostle Paul speaks 
of this in 1 Corinthians 1, when he talks about the proclamation 
of the cross. He talks about the foolishness 
of the cross. He says that the cross is a stumbling 
block or a scandal to unbelieving Jews. It's foolishness to unbelieving 
Gentiles. But to those of us who are being 
saved, Christ is both the wisdom and the power of God. And so 
this supposition is legit. This supposition is real. This 
supposition is going to be put into practice upon the ascension 
of our Lord and the dispatch of his disciples into the Roman 
Empire. They're going to meet with opposition. 
They're going to meet with persecution. They're going to meet with martyrdom. 
They're going to meet with all kinds of travail and all kinds 
of affliction. Why? because they are, in allegiance 
to Christ, going about His service, and the hateful world is going 
to oppose them. Jesus teaches this throughout 
His earthly ministry. The Apostle Paul teaches this 
in his written letters. He summarizes a statement in 
2 Timothy 3. He says, all who desire to live 
godly in Christ Jesus will what? They'll suffer persecution. That 
on the heels of verse 11, where he commends Timothy for following 
him in all of the afflictions that he had suffered. So Paul 
not only taught it, but Paul also experienced it. The apostle 
Peter taught this also. In fact, turn to 1 Peter chapter 
4, where he assumes this as well, and he tells the people of God 
how they're supposed to respond. Again, he's simply imitating 
the Lord and the things that he had heard from the Lord. Notice 
in chapter 4 at verses 12 to 19. We won't read the whole section, 
but just parts of it. Notice in verse 12, he says, 
you're to expect trial. You're to expect difficulty. 
You're to expect hardship. And as we move through our context 
in John 15, he's going to explain why, but for the moment notice. Verse 12, I can't believe that 
this is actually happening to me. Why not? You read the Bible, don't you? 
You see how Paul was treated, haven't you? You see how the 
godly men in the Old Testament were treated? Do you have any 
affinity or familiarity, rather, with the history of the church? Have you heard of Polycarp? Have 
you heard of Foxe's Book of Martyrs? Have you heard? Have you listened? 
Have you looked around? How could you possibly, you know, 
be shocked that hardship or trials are coming your way? So Peter 
says expect it. Verses 13 and 14, he says you 
need to rejoice in it. We're going to see that same 
thing in John's gospel in chapter 15. Notice in verse 13, but rejoice 
to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that 
when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding 
joy. If you are reproached for the 
name of Christ, blessed are you, for the spirit of glory of God 
rests upon you. Notice as well in verses 15 to 
18, he says, evaluate its cause. If you're a bad employee and 
you don't do your job, don't blame your boss on Christian 
persecution. You may happen to be a Christian, 
but if you're lazy, you're not being oppressed because you're 
a Christian. You're being chastened because 
you're lazy. Sometimes Christians do this, 
oh, they hate me because I'm a Christian. Maybe they just 
dislike you because you're lazy or because you're obnoxious or 
because you're a fool. That's kind of what Peter says 
in verses 15 to 18. Evaluate the cause. If you're 
suffering because you're a murderer, if you're suffering because you're 
a robber, if you're suffering because you're a busybody in 
other people's affairs, That's not Christian suffering, brethren. That's not a badge of honor. 
And then the fourth thing he says is to entrust yourself to 
God in the midst of these things. Notice in verse 19. Therefore, 
let us who suffer according to the will of God. It's a very 
key ingredient. Brethren, you're not a victim 
of circumstances. Oh, I can't believe this is always 
happening to me! If we confess that God, in Providence, 
governs all His creatures and all their actions, there ought 
to be no room in our lives for this victim-of-circumstance mentality. Well, it wasn't me, or all these 
bad things always happen to me. God's will is supreme. Whatever comes our way is governed 
by God according to His holy wisdom, power, glory, will, and 
it's for our good, ultimately. How many times do we cite Romans 
8.28, and yet when it comes to difficulties in the providential 
scheme, we don't cite Romans 8.28. All things work together 
for good. It's easy when you get a raise, 
It's easy when you buy a new house. It's easy when your kids 
turn out okay. It's not so easy when the opposite 
obtains. Well, brethren, according to 
Peter, we need to entrust our soul to the God who does all 
things according to His will. Therefore, let those who suffer 
according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in 
doing good as to a faithful Creator. So going back to our particular 
passage, I think the emphasis throughout the Bible is simple. 
Believers in every age, based on their association with the 
living and the true God, will be hated in every age. It's just 
sort of formulaic. Again, if you're being obnoxious 
and horrible and evoking that hate, then shame on all of us 
who might do that. But there is a sense where if 
you identify with our Lord, there is going to be this enmity on 
the part of the world towards you, and that's what Jesus is 
teaching. Notice in the latter part of verse 18, back in John 
15. So he says, if the world hates 
you, You know that it hated me before it hated you. It's intriguing 
because as you look in the Old Testament, you will notice that 
part and parcel of the Messiah's ministry on earth is going to 
involve suffering. All the way back in the original 
promise, the proto-gospel in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, 
you will bruise his heel. There's going to be a bruising 
of the heel with reference to the Messiah, this deliverer born 
of woman, who would come to save his people from their sins. We 
think of the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 53, and the suffering 
servant song of Yahweh. Man of sorrows, he was acquainted 
with grief. The chastisement for our peace 
was laid upon him. As well, you've got several statements 
in the book of Psalms where in the psalmist is a sufferer. Now brethren, that's Jesus. It's 
David in terms of pen to paper, the Spirit of God working through 
David in terms of pen to paper, but the subject matter is Christ. And there are several instances 
in John's Gospel where the Psalter is applied specifically to our 
Lord Jesus to show us that it's not primarily David's suffering 
that's in view in the Psalter, but it's our Lord Jesus' suffering 
that is being prophesied. in the Psalter. And again, those 
are scattered all throughout John's Gospel. Psalm 6 in John 
12, Psalm 22 in John 19, Psalm 34 in John 19, Psalm 41 in John 
13, Psalm 55 in John 17, and then notice in our context in 
verse 25, but this happened that the word might be fulfilled which 
is written in their law, they hated me without a cause. Now 
certainly David wasn't everybody's favorite when he lived, but notice 
it's about Jesus. This is Psalms 35, 19, 69, 4, 
109, 3-5. It's what we call a conflation, 
the bringing together of several Old Testament texts to teach 
us something concerning Messiah. So the Lord Jesus applies the 
Psalter to Himself. So when He says, you know that 
it hated me before you. This was experienced in His public 
ministry. And here I'll just quote John 
Gill, because I think he summarizes it well. Actually, first let 
me quote John the Apostle. Look back at John 1.11. John 
1.11. He came to His own, and His own 
did not receive Him. The prologue already tells us 
that the Word who became flesh to dwell among us, to reveal 
the glory and the majesty of His Father, is not going to be 
received by the people group that He is sent to. He came to 
His own. Remember, Yahweh of Israel promised 
a Messiah. Yahweh of Israel promised the 
sending of a deliverer born of a woman who would crush the head 
of the serpent. And so we're told at the outset 
of the prologue that he's going to come to his own and his own 
is not going to receive him. That doesn't mean every single 
one. If you look at these particular apostles, these men, they were 
of that ethnicity, they were of that people group. But with 
reference to the gospel record, listen to Gil. which words are 
an appeal of Christ to his apostles for the usage he had met with 
from the wicked and unbelieving world of the Jews. How they had 
expressed their hatred, not only by words, calling him a gluttonous 
man and a wine-bibber, a sinner, a Samaritan, a madman, one that 
had a devil, yea, Beelzebub himself, but by deeds. taking up stones 
to stone him more than once, leading him to the brow of a 
hill in order to cast him down headlong, consulting by various 
means to take away his life, as Herod did in his very infancy. 
When Isaiah writes he's a man of sorrows and acquainted with 
grief, he's not faking that. You know, it hurts to be called 
names, doesn't it? You know, somebody calls you 
whatever. Do you ever focus on, yeah, he was called a Samaritan, 
which was very disparaging. A winebibber and a glutton. He 
was called Beelzebub, the very Lord of Flies, the demon, Satan 
himself. All these things were hurled 
at our blessed Savior, who had nothing deserving of that. Remember, 
He's wholly harmless and undefiled. He's not actually Beelzebub. 
He's not actually a Samaritan. He's not actually a winebibber 
and a glutton. They just hurl these insults 
at Him. And of course, Herod, in the infancy of our blessed 
Savior, but in the Passion Week that this is building up in terms 
of the culmination and crucifixion and resurrection, He came to 
his own and his own received him not. That is most obvious 
at the end of this week here in the gospel record, when they 
say, away with him, away with him, crucify him. When the Sanhedrin 
smacks him around and spits upon him. When he's sent over to Pilate 
to be tried in this kangaroo court, and Pilate is too much 
of a gutless wonder to carry out his job, and he basically 
just delivers him up to the mob. So all these things were true 
with reference to our Savior. So if the world hates you, know 
that it hated me first, is what Jesus says. And as well, with 
reference to the then explanation, look at verse 19. So if the world 
hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you 
were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because 
you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, 
therefore the world hates you. So look at the believer's relation 
to the world. If you were of the world, the 
world would love its own. Now these propositions are very 
important. Parents, you can ask your children 
what a preposition is when you get home and have lunch. This 
of language, this in language, this from language. What is Jesus talking about? 
Well, Jesus is saying, in essence, that we are from the world. There 
was one time that we were of it. We are certainly in the world, 
in the high priestly prayer, he doesn't pray that they be 
taken out of the world, but that they be given grace, strength, 
wisdom, and spirit to navigate in the world. So the believer 
is from the world and in the world, but he's not of the world, 
and verse 19 is gonna go on to explain this. This of the world 
has the idea of participation along with that. Being of like 
kind. Like, likes, like. Right? Like, likes, like. We tend to 
gravitate to those things that we like. If you don't like Brussels 
sprouts, you don't tend to gravitate toward Brussels sprouts. You 
like a nice, big, juicy steak, you tend to gravitate to that 
nice, big, juicy steak. Like, likes, like. So if you 
are of the world, is what Jesus is saying, they love you. You'd 
just be one of the gang. You'd be part of the club. You'd 
be amongst the team. So the believer, when of the 
world, was loved by the world, but now that the believer has 
a different orientation, now that the believer looks to Jesus 
as altogether lovely and chief among 10,000, the world no longer 
has any time for you. The world no longer looks upon 
you as one of its own. In the language of Solomon, an 
unjust man is an abomination to the righteous. and he who 
is upright in the way is an abomination of the wicked. That's an obviously 
true statement. An unjust man is an abomination 
of the righteous. I hope you have that expression 
from time to time. When you see the goings on in 
this present evil age, you abominate the abortionist, or you abominate 
the legislature that sanctions abortion. You abominate those 
who engage in euthanasia, or in the sexual perversion that 
involves child mutilation. Brethren, it is right and appropriate 
to abominate that kind of conduct. And so he says, an unjust man 
is an abomination to the righteous, and he who is upright in the 
way is an abomination to the wicked. That doesn't make as 
much sense. Why are the righteous hated? 
I mean, they pay their taxes, they keep their grass cut, they 
don't foment revolution. They're pretty decent people. 
But it's an affront and an offense to the godless. As well, that 
was Proverbs 29.27. Proverbs 29.10, the bloodthirsty 
hate the blameless, but the upright seek his well-being. The bloodthirsty 
hate the blameless. If you hate righteous people 
and you love the unrighteous, may I encourage you to repent, 
as we were reminded by Mark's scripture reading there in Mark? When the Baptist comes along 
to Herod, and I see it in my mind's eye when he rebukes him 
for all the unlawful things that he had done, specifically laying 
with your brother's wife. Remember, these are summary statements. These are, you know, compact 
sentences that convey to us what happened. But again, in my mind's 
eye, I've got John Knox leaning over the pulpit with his finger 
in the face of the queen or king. The Baptist called upon him to 
repent. Why? Because he was a lawless 
man. He was a godless man. He was 
a rebellious man. He had broken that law. He had 
transgressed it. He had lacked conformity unto 
it. So what's the emphasis? Repent and believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ. So if you find yourself this 
morning saying, man, I really hate these do-gooder Christians. I really hate the upright. But 
man, I just, I celebrate the various social engineers of our 
age that are orchestrating the destruction of society. May God 
continue to bless that. Repent, forsake that wickedness, 
and flee to the Savior. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ, 
because there is forgiveness with Him that He may be feared. 
Know the joy of everlasting life, confessing faith in Him. That 
is the most blessed thing of all. So if your mindset is to 
hate the right and love the unright, then come to the Savior to get 
your mind oriented and have that mind renewed or transformed rather 
by the renewing through the Word of God. So back to the text. Notice verse 19 at the beginning, 
the believers' relation to the world. If you were of the world, 
the world would love its own. Now notice the believers' election 
by God. So he's explaining now how it 
is that they are no longer of the world. If you were of the 
world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not 
of the world, don't pat yourself on the back here, brothers. Don't 
congratulate yourself here, brothers. Don't say, well, you know, I've 
made the great decision. I have decided to follow Jesus 
and extricate myself from an of-the-world state. No, look 
at what he says, but I chose you out of the world. How does 
one extricate him or herself from an of-ness to this world, 
a connection to and a participation with? It's by God's sovereign 
grace. It's to apostleship, as we've 
seen in this particular context, but to salvation. It's the Ephesians 
1, where the apostle says, blessed be the God and Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing 
in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before 
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless 
before him. love having predestinated us 
onto adoption as sons. So Jesus reminds them they're 
no longer of the world because of the grace of God. They're 
no longer participants in this godless world system, not owing 
to their wisdom or their decisions, but owing to the goodness of 
God Most High and His will. And then notice the status now 
that they, I don't want to say enjoy, but enjoy with reference 
to the world. So at the end of verse 19, therefore 
the world hates you. It's probably a good corrective 
too, you know, to the, oh, nobody ever loved me. Nobody cares about 
me. I go to these places and I preach and they all despise 
me. It's a good reminder. I mean, it may be you personally, 
but it's probably not. That was sad and pathetic, but 
sorry. It could be me personally. I 
understand that tendency all too well. But it's Christ. I think that's a good help for 
us, brethren. I don't want to witness to people 
because they hate me. They hate Christ. Yeah, they 
hate you too, but it's because you're in Christ. Don't take 
everything personally. In fact, Cyril has this statement 
concerning ministers in specific, but then in general. Basically, 
he says, if you get bent out of shape from every verbal insult, 
If you're so delicate, I'm kind of channeling Cyril here in more 
modern verbiage. If you're so delicate that you 
can't handle a bit of verbal insult, you're in the wrong sport, 
man. What are we called in scripture? 
We're just saying, you know, this fight the good fight motif, 
this press on, this steadfastness, this serving the master. There's gonna be some blood along 
the way, and I'm not talking physically, though that may happen, 
but I'm talking about some things that you gotta have a thick skin 
about. It's probably really not you 
in the lunchroom that they despise. It's that you bowed your head 
and confessed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We got to be able 
to take a little bit. We got to be able to deal with 
a bit of insult. We can't be these cancel culture kind of 
people that want to remove our way from everybody who ever says 
anything to us that is untoward. Again, Christianity is not a 
spectator sport. You're going to go into that 
ring, and you're going to start laying down the truth as it is 
in Jesus. Expect a blow or two. Expect 
opposition. Expect a fight. Expect them to 
do things that they did to the Savior, because that's precisely 
what we see in the gospel records. Expect to see what we see in 
the book of Acts. Acts chapter 6. Those men that 
tried to debate with Stephen. Stephen bested them. He was filled 
with wisdom in the spirit, and he bested them in verbal argument. 
So what did they have recourse to? Well, let's deliver him up 
to the Sanhedrin, accuse him of blasphemy, so they'll dispatch 
him. That's what they did to Holy 
Stephen? That's how they treated that 
godly man? Well, if they did it to Jesus, 
why would we think that Stephen is going to be exempt? If they 
did it to Jesus and Stephen, then why should we think we're 
going to be exempt? You see the point? Jesus is saying, 
if the world hates you, know that it first hated me. Don't 
be shocked. Don't be surprised. In the language 
of 1 Peter 4.12, expect it. Don't just say, I can't believe 
that these horrible things would happen to such a nice guy like 
me. So with reference to this, I chose you out of the world, 
therefore the world hates you. The world is seen in false religion. Jesus is gonna make that abundantly 
clear, specifically at the end of verse 21. It says, because 
they do not know Him who sent me, you see false religion in 
verse 2 of chapter 16, they're going to put you out of synagogues. 
They're going to do this because they think they're rendering 
service to God. That's how topsy-turvy their 
world is. They're actually engaged in murder 
and think that somehow this is for God. But it's also seen in 
government. Now, brethren, I'm not going 
to get all political here, but if you go to prayer meeting once 
in a while and you hear the voice of the martyrs, yes, false religion 
is destroying the people of God in various countries. But more 
often than not, lately, it's bad government. Which, I would 
argue, this ain't the place for it. At least one particular form 
of government, communism, is religious in nature. It is an 
anti-Christ, anti-God system of thought that holds in contempt 
those things instituted by God. It's not just a, oh, I prefer 
this kind of government. These are God-hating rebels that 
want to destroy. Sorry, but the government at 
times takes their position against the Lord and against His Christ. Psalm 2 verses 1 and 2. The psalmist there isn't condemning 
the Muslims. That's not meaning he's affirming 
them. You're going to say, well, they weren't Muslims then. Follow 
the train of thought. He's not going after Jehovah's 
Witnesses there. He's not going after Mormon. He's going after 
the kings of the earth, the rulers of this age that take their stand 
together against Yahweh and against his Christ. And they say, in 
essence, we will not have this one to rule over us. So Jesus 
in his kindness is preparing the disciples to go into a hostile 
world. This is a most blessed Savior. He doesn't send them out with 
some Pollyanna vision that everybody's always going to only treat you 
well. That brings us then to the believers likeness to Christ 
in verses 20 and 21. There's a principle that he gives 
in verse 20a, then he draws from that an implication in the rest 
of verse 20, and then at least in this subsection brings a conclusion 
to bear in verse 21. But note the principle in verse 
20. Remember the word that I said 
to you. Now, before we get to the word that he said to them, 
let's just hear that word for a moment. Remember What does 
Jesus assume? I know this is going to seem 
outlandish, but he assumes that his people listen to him. He 
assumes that his people remember what he says. He has said this 
little proverb, analogy that he's going to give in the next 
part. But I think the principle here is that we need to remember. 
We need to remember the word of God so that we don't lose 
our minds. We need to remember the word 
of God so that we can navigate correctly when it comes to any 
kind of trial, hardship, affliction, persecution, or oppression. We 
have to think like Peter tells us to think in 1 Peter 4, 12, 
that you've got to expect it. It's the price of doing business 
in a world that's in opposition to God Most High and His Christ. 
If you live in a Psalm 2, 1, and 2 world, you've got to expect 
a little bit of negative press when it comes to you and your 
profession of faith. So the Lord Jesus there tells 
them, remember the word that I spoke to you. And I would suggest 
that with reference to the specific audience, I think we can conclude 
or deduce from this a couple of things, not for all of us 
as Christians, but for ministers of the gospel. These guys are. These men are. ministers of the 
gospel. They're going to go out into 
a hostile world, and they're going to preach the word. So 
the idea of remember assumes that we, A, know it, and B, can 
recall it. So what do you think I'm going 
to say here? Read your Bibles. Read your Bibles. That's crucial. That goes without saying. We've had births of babies over 
the last little while, and it's fantastic. Babies are wonderful. The heathen are killing them, 
and God, in his grace, is blessing us with many of them. What does 
a baby do when it comes out? It breathes, right? It's the 
natural reflex. It's what it does, and then give 
it a couple of minutes, and what does it do next? It cries, and 
then it eats. For the believer that doesn't 
read his Bible, you're kind of unnatural, because believers 
gravitate to Scripture. In fact, we'll see this in a 
moment. If you drop down to the middle 
of the verse, If they kept my word, they will keep yours also. Jesus says there is an identifiable 
character of his disciples. There is an identifying characteristic 
of those who are in Christ, those who are not of the world. They 
are those who keep the word, which again assumes that you've 
got it in your head, that you've hidden it in your heart and that 
you've got it to draw upon and to remember. But in terms of 
the ministry, the minister who attempts to please the world 
is going to displease God. There's no, well, you know, I 
can kind of navigate between the two. No, it's either God 
or the world. The minister who pleases God, 
how do you think the world's gonna respond? Not happy. They're not gonna like that. 
They're gonna be opposed to that. They're gonna despise that. They 
may lie about you. They may misrepresent you. They 
may do all kinds of nasty things to try to discredit you, but 
their reception and their happiness and their joy for your ministry, 
it's not gonna happen. In fact, turn to 2 Timothy 2, 
where I think we see a paradigm based on passages like we have 
here in the Upper Room Discourse with reference to gospel ministry. 
Notice in 2 Timothy chapter 2, which is a series of commands 
to Timothy on how to conduct himself as a minister. 10 of them. If you look at verse 
1, you've got to be strong. Verse 2, commit these. Verse 
3, must endure. Verse 7, consider. Verse 8, remember. Verse 14, remind. Verse 15, be 
diligent. Verse 16, but shun. Verse 22, 
flee. Verse 23, avoid. Boy, Paul, you're 
getting pretty intrusive on how this man's supposed to conduct 
his ministry, because there's only one proper way to conduct 
ministry. It's to court God's favor. And that's the emphasis 
there, specifically in verse 15. Be diligent to present yourself 
approved to God. A worker who does not need to 
be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Be diligent 
to present yourself approved to God. That's the focus for 
the gospel ministry. Not be diligent to present yourself 
approved to the congregation. I'm not saying I should come, 
or anybody should come, or Cam should come and try to repel 
the congregation. That's not good either, but the 
idea behind gospel ministry is a ministry that is approved by 
God. When we court the world's favor, 
we receive God's disfavor. This is a very scary subject 
in light of the things that is going on in the name of the church 
or in the name of the professing church. We're not to allow, we're 
not to permit breaches of God's holy law. The seventh commandment 
abides The Seventh Commandment forbids all unlawful intercourse 
between human beings. The Seventh Commandment certainly, 
of a truth, bans the whole pride movement. We're not to capitulate 
to that, to try to get the favor of the world. No. That's just 
wrongheaded. It is misguided. So back to our 
text, he reminds them, but then he gives the analogy in verse 
20. He says, a servant is not greater 
than his master. If they persecuted me, they will 
also persecute you. He says this to them in John 
13, 16, this master-servant analogy. He does it as well in Matthew 
10, in the missionary journey that the disciples are sent out 
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And you know the implication 
that he draws from that section that is very similar in nature. 
You're going to go, in fact, turn there, Matthew 10. Matthew 
chapter 10, same analogy, the master and the servant. Master 
and servant. Here, disciple, teacher, same 
story. Pretty simple principle. If you're 
of the world, the world would love you. But that you're from 
the world, and now you're my servant, then ergo, the world 
is going to despise you because they despise the master. It's 
a simple analogy. It doesn't take a rocket scientist 
to sort of figure it out. But notice in a similar context, 
at least in terms of emphasis, Verse 24, Matthew 10, a disciple 
is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It 
is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher and a 
servant like his master. If they have called the master 
of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of 
his household? Now notice, therefore do not 
fear them. See, by way of preparation, by 
way of instruction to His disciples, the Lord is getting them ready 
for combat. The Lord is prepping them for 
what they're going to most certainly meet when they go out into the 
world with His gospel. This is a declaration to encourage 
the people of God as well. In light of that 2 Timothy and 
in light of passages like these, I've often thought that if there's 
never been, never is, and never will be any kind of persecution 
in your life for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I 
don't have a crystal ball or the mind of a prophet, but it 
would concern me if all those who desire to live godly in Christ 
Jesus shall suffer persecution. I mean, at least at some point, 
somebody somewhere should be a tiny bit unhappy with you because 
of your commitment to Jesus. You've heard the old adage, if 
you were charged and brought to court for the crime of Christianity, 
would there be enough evidence to convict you? would they be 
able to say, and on this occasion this, and I'm not saying works 
right. I'm just saying if you live the way that God calls us 
to live in this present evil world, somebody somewhere is 
going to raise an eyebrow at you. They're going to say, man, 
you're weird or whatever it is. So just think about that. I'm 
not trying to bind anybody's conscience. Go out tomorrow and 
be a jerk and get somebody to hate you. And then you've rang 
the bell and you've been persecuted now. I don't mean that. But this 
should encourage the disciples in the midst of it. This should 
embolden the disciples. Therefore, do not fear them. 
And I would suggest this continues for the disciples. This is a 
specific reference to the apostles as they are gathered before Jesus 
so that they can go into the then known world. But it's abiding. 
Paul II Timothy 3.12 tells us it's abiding. This is a reality. 
But there is this exception. He came to his own and his own 
received him not, but some did. It's like Paul in 1 Corinthians, 
not many wise, not many noble, but some wise, some noble. So in the midst of these bleak 
statements, there's this hopeful reminder. If they persecuted 
me, they will also persecute you. Verse 20, if they kept my 
word, they will keep yours also. Isn't that good news? See, on 
the one hand, he's telling them, you're going to go out into the 
arena. You're going to probably take a few blows. I'm not going 
to lie to you. You're going to get hurt at some 
level, some way along the way, or somewhere along the way. But 
it's not a fool's errand. Just as Jesus chose them out 
of the world, God has chosen a great multitude that no man 
can number, from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 
It's where you see the wisdom of our Lord and His teaching. 
On the one hand, prepare them, but on the other hand, don't 
sideline them through discouragement and despondency and sorrow and 
hardship and heartache and woe. No. He's realistic. Yeah, there's going to be trouble, 
but there's going to be positive blessing. There's going to be 
a church gathered here on earth, which is going to reflect what 
goes on in heaven. And one day when I consummate 
it all, that church militant will then be the church triumphant 
and be in the presence of God Almighty, world without end. 
Amen. So on the one hand, be real, 
but on the other hand, make sure they understand that there's 
going to be success. There's going to be victory. 
There's going to be those who keep his word. The important 
thing here is to see that the Lord indicates that it is the 
rejection or reception of the word that is the identifying 
factor. And I would suggest the Bible 
rightly interpreted and believed. A lot of people hold the Bible 
up that don't get the interpretation right. The devil quotes the Bible 
in Matthew 4 when he tempts Jesus. That doesn't mean that's a good 
use of the Bible. So the Bible rightly interpreted 
and believed on is the identifying characteristic of the people 
of God. They're in the world, but they're not of it. Why? Because 
they're so much better? No, it's because of the things 
believed concerning Jesus Christ, concerning salvation and righteousness 
and by God's spirit living in light of those things, day in, 
day out, seeking to be faithful workers, seeking to be faithful 
in their families, seeking to be faithful in their churches, 
seeking to be faithful in their societies. That's the ebb and 
flow of the Christian life. It isn't the extraordinary. It's 
the ordinary done by believing the gospel and being empowered 
by the Holy Spirit. Well, brethren, we're going to 
conclude there. We'll pick up verse 21 next week. I know that's kind 
of an odd place to break it, but I don't want to zip through 
the things that I think need to be said with reference to 
verse 21. But by way of conclusion, do 
not underestimate the enmity of the world. Do not underestimate 
the enmity or hatred of the world for the people of God. Again, 
I would invite you to prayer meeting. It's nice to take that 
tour along the various continents of the world and listen to what's 
going on in the various countries. Listen to what's going on in 
the various nations. To listen how the people of God, 
for just trying to live ordinary Christian lives as people and 
as families and as workers, businessmen, whatever, are destroyed, are 
imprisoned, are sentenced to death? At some level, brethren, 
you gotta ask yourself, what's happening there? Well, this is 
what's happening. If the world hates you, know 
that it first hated me. If we walk in the footsteps of 
our blessed Savior, enabled by the Spirit to do so, there will 
be some enmity. There will be some hardship. 
There will be some trial and tribulation and difficulty. The 
world persecutes Christ and his people. Jonathan Edwards famously 
said, and I suspect a lot of others have said it. I know I've 
quoted that particular quote favorably before. Martyrdom is 
basically, the reality of martyrdom is because men can't get to God, 
they'll kill his people. On the one hand, that's true. 
But on the other hand, Jesus so closely identifies with his 
people. head, body, imagery, that when 
Jesus comes to Saul of Damascus, or Saul of Tarsus on the road 
to Damascus, what does Saul say? Who are you, Lord? What's Jesus 
say? I am Jesus, who you are persecuting. Wow. Jesus so identifies with 
his people Because it wasn't physically or Jesus in his incarnate 
glory standing there before Paul getting the strong arm of the 
law. It was his people. So they hate 
us. It reflects their hatred for 
Jesus. And if they hate Jesus, and we 
by the Spirit are kind of like Jesus, I realize we're not really 
like him, but we may be kind of like him once in a while, 
it's going to follow they're gonna hate us. Don't be surprised. Don't be, I can't believe it. 
Why not? Do you not read? Have you not 
read? Have you not listened to the 
Master? Have you not seen the servants of the Master in the 
first century? Have you not thought through Christian martyrdom? 
So when it comes to this reality, the world rejects the Word of 
Christ. They reject the Scriptures of 
the Old and the New Testaments. They reject Jesus, and thus reject 
the One who sent Jesus, which is God the Father. So they're 
at enmity with God. They rage against God. They despise 
his Christ. They do everything they can to 
evade his government. So when it comes to the people 
of God, yeah, they're disposable. They are those who can be dispatched. And then in terms of the encouragement 
that he gives to the disciples, the disciple is to remember the 
words of the Lord Jesus and his apostles. This is not an isolated 
theme in scripture. I thought about it before this 
sermon. This is a tough sermon to preach 
in the Western world because we got a good life. Costco, Walmart, 
running water, food, shelter, clothing. Hard to convince people 
that are living in the lap of luxury that it's a war out there. But it doesn't look like a war. It doesn't feel like a war. I'm not bloodied like I'd be 
if I was in war. Brethren, the world hates Jesus. The world hates the Father who 
sent him. Therefore, the world hates us. 
And if it is the case that we are bloodied, beaten, broken, 
bruised, battered, whatever it is that is going to happen physically, 
at least spiritually, we need to understand these things and 
be prepared for it. As well, the disciple is to understand 
that this underscores solidarity with the Savior, and it should 
produce joy. Remember that scene in Acts chapter 
5 when the Sanhedrin, the religious and legal governing council of 
Israel, basically kidnaps apostles, takes them and beats them. I mean, just so many laws are 
broken in this conduct. You just can't do that. The Roman 
government in the book of Acts is so much better in terms of 
treating the Christian church than were the unbelieving Jews. So, when they get beaten, when 
their backs are open for the cause of Jesus Christ, it says 
they departed from there rejoicing. I'd be calling my lawyer, Marty, 
I just got abducted. They opened my back. I would 
do it for a lot less. I'm not kidding. If the RCMP 
looked at me odd on the street, I'd go, Marty, I'm getting dirty 
looks. They went out and rejoiced, or rejoicing because they were 
counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. That's the kind 
of Christianity that Jesus is preaching to these men. And just 
to finalize this thought, Christ is worth it. They weren't begrudgingly 
doing these things. Oh, we gotta go serve the master. Oh, we gotta go witness and testify. They went out rejoicing because 
they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. His name 
is glorious. His name is wondrous. He says 
later, for my name's sake. Brethren, whatever they throw 
at us, if it's for his name's sake, it is altogether worth 
it. This Christ is altogether lovely. He is chief among 10,000. And 
for us, the people of God, bless Him that though we were of the 
world, He chose us out of it. So that now while in it, we're 
not of it. And as a result, it's gonna raise 
some eyebrows from people that are committed against God and 
His Christ and us. And if you're not a believer, 
may I commend to you faith in the Lord Jesus coming to him 
because he is worth believing in for salvation. He's worth 
living for, even if it means your back being opened up by 
the lash. He's worth going to prison for. 
He's worth martyrdom for. That's the history of the church. 
People don't go to their deaths for Jesus grudgingly. They don't 
go there saying, man, I wish I had it all over to do again. 
No, they die well. The people of God in that battle 
season, they die well. Read of the Covenanters, read 
of the Huguenot, read of the history of the Christian church. 
One in history has said, our people die well. They die well 
because they live for the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let us pray. 
Our God and our Father, we thank you very much for our Lord's 
clear teaching here in John 15. We thank you that he doesn't 
lie to us, he doesn't gaslight us, he doesn't fake it. He tells 
us the truth that in this world there will be tribulation, but 
he always encourages us to be of good cheer knowing that he 
has overcome the world. I pray that you would encourage 
us, that you would strengthen us, help us to think clearly, 
help us to remember the words spoken by our Lord and his apostles 
concerning these principles. And we ask this in Jesus' name. 
Amen. Well, we'll stand and close by 
singing the doxology, page 568 in our hymn books. Praise to 
our triune God. O praise him, all creatures here 
below. Praise him, our God, he heav'nly 
host. The Lord bless you and keep you. 
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. 
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. 
Amen. Please be seated for a brief 
time of meditation.