Dear Christians: Stop Being Surprised

I actually really try to not write controversial things. Political or religious... but in the last few years as more and more people connect on Social Media and get more and more bold, I've noticed a trend that I just can not take any more:

Christians being surprised by the world offending them.

So let's do some studying together, shall we? (And by that I mean, we won't even come close to studying all that Scripture teaches us about "the World vs. 'Us'".)

John 15:19 "If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own, but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore THE WORLD HATES YOU." (emphasis mine)

So by looking at this literally: Do we hate the world? Or does it hate us? And then after pondering that for a few moments, ask yourself this: this was written more than 2000 years ago: why are you surprised? Let's keep studying.

John 17:15-17 "I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world.... Sanctify them in the truth, Your word is truth."

The moment that you repented and accepted Christ as your Saviour: Did you die (or get raptured) and go straight to heaven? No, of course not! God has work for you to do! Second question: Who's the evil one? Is it Starbucks? (Gosh: let them have beautiful design-freeish cups, will you?!) Obama? Companies that fund LGBTQ agendas? NO. The evil one is Satan. (And I could not find a solid answer as to how many times he is mentioned in Scripture, but I'm going to say hundreds. Whether it was him as the serpent in Genesis, or him as Lucifer or him as our adversary, etc.) Third question: How does one become sanctified (purified)? Well, how does gold or silver become purified? Fire, and then more fire. And how does it tell us we become pure? In His truth- His word. (And the various trials we go through (James 1:2-4).

Let's keep going. So, we "got saved" (excuse the Christian lingo): We realize we don't go to heaven right away, He wants us here to ....?

John 17: 23 "I in them (believers) and You in Me (the Father and Jesus) that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent me and loved them (the World)..."

So there's a lot in that: but really quick: God is triune. God the Father sent God the Son (Jesus) (and later sent the Spirit at Pentecost) so that what: That the world may know that the Father sent Jesus because He love[s] the World. Before you say, "WHAT?".. may I remind you of John 3:16, "For God so loved the World..." And, believe it or not, dear brother and sister: You were once of the world. [In fact, the other point in the verse alone is that the unity of believers is what is supposed to draw the world to us, but that'll be another blog and study for another day.]

The last Scripture to study is this: THE FOUR GOSPELS. And I am not being facetious. If you look at Jesus' interactions with people you will see this: Gentleness and severe Rebuking. Who was He gentle with? Those who needed Him- and wanted Him. But who did He rebuke severely? THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS. The day that He cleared the temple (Luke 19): Did he yell at those bringing money and animals to sacrifice? No. He yelled at the RELIGIOUS LEADERS. And why? Because they were supposed to be teaching the truth but told lies instead. Did He rebuke the woman caught in adultery (John 8) or did He rebuke those were condemning her? The ones condemning her. Even deeper, as He was dying on the cross, what did He say? "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

So, after studying even just these few verses: Who are you more like? The religious leaders, who were pious and condemning? Or perhaps you pray to be more like the woman with the alabaster box in Matthew 26 (and Mark 14 and John 12) who knew the cost of what Jesus did for her and so she tried to show her love and service to Him by pouring perfume (that cost her about a years' wages) over His head and feet?

Do you know the cost of what Jesus did for us? Of what He willingly suffered, died and rose again for for us? Because I would like to think that if we truly knew the depths of our sin that He covered and washed away and if we truly knew the depths of His love for us: then we wouldn't be condemning people...

We would be loving them.

"I do not care how long you have been a Christian, you are nothing but a sinner saved by the grace of God." D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Oh that we would be like David in Psalm 35 as he describes the intensity he felt for his enemies (that were trying to kill him, by the way- not taking Christmas out of Holiday Greetings)....

But I, when they were sick-I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; 

I prayed with head bowed on my chest. I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother, as one who laments his mother. I bowed down in mourning." Psam 35:13,14

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Disclaimer:
This is in no way, shape or form an exhaustive study on this "subject". There are literally dozens to hundreds of more verses to study and learn from. I also do not believe that this means to not evangelize or to not share hard truth in love, and to not call sin SIN when we need to. However, we as believers are not going to save the World: Jesus is. America is not heaven. In fact, America is over-privileged and has become a health and wealth gospel-focused Country, which is NOT BIBLICAL. This world will only get worse and worse (environmentally, politically and spiritually) until Jesus returns. (Unless, of course, you are an Amillenialist, in which case, that could be a blog post for another time. ;) )