As I was pastoring in the 1990s, the first hate crime laws were enacted in the United States. There was a great deal of controversy at the time about whether assigning motive made a crime any worse. It’s still controversial.

I am not a prophet, but I remember predicting in a sermon that there would soon come a day when Christians would be accused of hate simply because of what we believe. It was easy to see it coming, and It didn’t take long for it to come true. Now, Christians are regularly vilified for simply believing in Christ, gathering to worship, and proclaiming the Good News of God’s love through Christ.

And so the words of Jesus have proved true through all of history, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:18, 20).

Hate is a strong word. It means the same thing in any language, whether Hebrew, Greek, English, Spanish, etc. We know what the word hate means.

However, we sometimes use it glibly, in the same way we glibly use the word love. We might say we love the pizza we got at one restaurant, but we hate the pizza at another. We love one movie we recently watched, but we hated another.

But when we speak of hating people, we move into another realm altogether. We are in the realm of sin. We are commanded to love God, love our neighbor, and love one another. To not do so is sin. Our responsibility is to show the love of Christ to people in this world, by our love of God, by our love of one another, and by loving them as our neighbors. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). When we fail to do that, we are not living out our faith.

Of course, we want people to reciprocate when we show them love. We want to be liked and even loved. No normal person wants to be disliked or hated by others. And yet, this is precisely what Jesus says we will often get in return for loving Him, one another, and our unbelieving neighbors in this world. Their reaction will be hatred. And the hatred will turn to persecution. “The world loves its own,” Jesus said, and because we are not of this world, the world will hate us.

What belongs to the world is loved by the world.
What belongs to God is loved by God.
What belongs to God is hated by the world.

Sunday, we saw seven brave souls publicly declare through baptism their allegiance to Christ and commitment to follow him as disciples. It was essential to forewarn them that they could expect push-back from the world. Whenever we stand for righteousness and proclaim Christ, we will be opposed by the world and by our adversary, the defeated ruler of this world.

Please pray for God’s protection of these brothers and sisters in Christ. Pray that they will be faithful to give a Spirit-empowered testimony of Christ in the face of opposition in this world.

Since Jesus told us we would be hated and persecuted, we can expect it. We must never be naive about the ferocity of Satan: “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Persecution will continue. There were more Christian martyrs in the twentieth century than at any time before. The words of Jesus are true.

But we must also remember that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood.” The people who may hate us are enslaved to sin and in great need of redemption, to be set free from the death of sin. We are God’s emissaries to help rescue them.

Our response?

Love your enemies.

Jesus said, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:44-45).

Some will respond to the Gospel. We will have victories and should seek to win people through the kindness of Christ. “When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:6–7). Christ came to save sinners, and He will through our faithful, loving witness.

Respond as Christ responded.

1 Peter 2:2, For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.

Since we are hated and persecuted because of Christ, then we are to suffer in the same manner He suffered. We are not to return insult for insult, but bless those who persecute us so that they may see Christ in us.

Be ready to defend the Gospel.

Just because we are not to revile those who revile us does not mean we are to be totally silent. In being hated and persecuted, Jesus said that we will testify of Him as the Holy Spirit testifies through us. We are to open our mouths with the witness of of the Good News.

1 Peter 3:15-16, But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.

The book of 1 Peter is all about suffering. This often-quoted verse about witnessing must be understood in the context of being hated and persecuted. When the world sees that we suffer well as Jesus suffered, even in the face of hateful slander, some will ask about the hope that gives us such courage to endure. Be ready. Know the Gospel. Know how to share it.

And finally,

Be humble.

We are called to humility just as Jesus lived and suffered in humility. We brought nothing to our salvation but our sinful selves. It was by His grace and mercy that we considered worthy to suffer on His behalf. We are to therefore be humble and merciful as He was to us.

For you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:10