John 15:18-19 “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.”
What does it look like to come out of the world? To be separate?
For those who have been called and haven chosen to believe and obey, the love of God has transformed them.
This idea of being separate has driven many to question what showing love to others looks like. The thought of showing love to others requires believers to position themselves as representatives of Christ. The critics will say that by trying to act like Christ the world won’t be able to understand and they will miss the opportunity to reveal the gospel.
Relational evangelism is a concept many have adapted. Be nice, show kindness, be loving and hope that others will ask you about your faith. Many people who hold onto this position often fear how someone will respond by being bold. Since ‘religion’ can be offensive, it becomes easier to look like a nice person and hope others see a difference.
How long does relational evangelism go on? What if that person dies before you get the chance to speak the Truth into their life?
Ephesians 4:25. “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.”
If it’s true that people who are serious about living out their faith must actually speak the Truth of God to others, then the question of how to go about it comes into view.
According to Jesus, the world will hate the believer who represents Him. How can a follower of Christ be a light to the world if they hate them?
In many instances a misperception occurs and it takes place in understanding the call of God upon the believer.
True believers must be identified by their holiness, and since they identify with Jesus they hope His perfect attributes are made manifest through their lives. Jesus did perform relational evangelism but He didn’t miss an opportunity to speak the Truth in love. Those opportunities come by way of the Spirit of God leading the way.
John 15:26 “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.”
As the Spirit of God testifies of Jesus, He also testifies of those who are followers of Jesus. The Spirit opens hearts to receive the gospel and He supplies the power necessary to reveal the glory of God in Christ.
Who do They See?
When the world sees you, who do they see?
What image do you present?
If I were to live self-righteously, I would be placing myself at the forefront of all I represent. Self-righteousness can take many forms, it can delight in the flesh, in the acclaim of others, in education, in how much you serve, in your position in church, in gifts, or in who you know.
If I act like I’m setting the bar for others to attain, I place myself as the focus rather than what Christ is doing through me.
I must ask myself: if I’m exalting myself, then Jesus is not being exalted. Any ministry that encourages others to lift up people and exalt them is unlikely to bear good spiritual fruit.
One can begin doing ministry for the right reasons but lose sight of what God was intending.
When the world sees the false front of pride and self-serving, it is either repulsed by the image or is drawn in for the wrong reasons.
Jesus made it very clear….it is the Spirit of God who first testifies of Jesus—secondly, it is His people who testify about Him.
John 15:27 “And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”
True Believers
The people of God who represent Christ to the world accurately, are those who are filled with the Spirit of God, and spend time with Christ. This fellowship is accomplished by prayer, meditating upon God’s Word, and intentional love for others.
John 14:15-17 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
When the world becomes repulsed by ‘religion’, it is the false representation of Christ exhibited by false believers driving them away.
The Moral law defines the sinner and pronounces judgement, Jesus defines redemption and provides the only reprieve from death while offering grace to all who believe.
When a false witness presents a distorted image of Christ, they blaspheme His name. Evangelism is more than being a nice person, there are lot’s of nice people in society, the Truth of God’s Word must be spoken.
Jesus revealed perfection and it was by His perfection He was able to be the substitutionary atonement for sin. If a false witness presents themself as the image of perfection, it is repulsive. A true witness represents Christ and His perfection, demonstrated by the Spirit of God in His people.
John 12:44-45 “Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.”
True believers in Christ recognize their low position that Christ might be exalted. The flesh will still attempt to get in the way, but the wise are quick to recognize the error, repent, and move forward in righteousness.
Exalting Jesus
Jesus revealed the life and model that believers must aspire to become…
Matthew 5:48 “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
When people see Christ in His people, the Lord is glorified—this is how to measure the walk of righteousness. A false representation glorifies oneself and leads others astray.
Listen to a minister preach from the pulpit and you’ll find the audience is drawn more by his transparency than if he always positions himself as if he had never sinned. Sinlessness is unattainable in the flesh, so by acting like we have attained it before others, makes others feel defeated.
If we present a sinless image, we exalt ourselves, not Christ.
John 12:31-32 “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”
Revealing Depravity
The gospel is offensive–because sin is offensive. The gospel reveals the depravity of mankind and the need for a Savior.
The world tries to make everything acceptable. Regardless of how wretched a lifestyle is, the common theme today is acceptance. According to the world, we must accept sin as being normative. When someone wants to express themself in a way that is meaningful, they believe it should be meaningful to everyone else as well, regardless of the lifestyle.
The rejection of absolute Truth is what makes people feel better about their sin. Very few talk of how the lifestyles that deviate from God’s ordained plan lead to ruin.
The Lord established a moral framework by which we are to live, within this framework lies the freedom and peace the world is seeking after.
John 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Abiding in Christ is more than associating with Jesus in name, the world must know that Christ lives in you. If all the world sees are nice people, we teach them that being nice is all that is necessary for salvation. The world then defines what being nice entails and decides that it is enough.
Jesus will declare to them..”I never knew you.”
Abiding in Christ
If we want to affect this world culturally for Christ, we must not only be found in Him, we must declare it before others. It is only by His strength and power, that He supplies, can we then transform our cultures and stem the tide of evil.
John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
We can do absolutely nothing of any lasting significance if we don’t do it in accordance with Christ’s power.
When we abide in Christ, we see the goodness of His work manifest through our lives and we are blessed for it.
Every good work starts and ends with prayer.
Between the bookends of prayer lies faith, hope, and love.
Do you let the culture affect you or do you affect your culture?
Let the power of God be demonstrated through your life and then proclaim to the world…Be reconciled to Christ. It is the only way.
U.T. 