“Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you” (1 John 3:13).
The Bible says that we should not be surprised if the world hates us.
Hate is a powerful emotion. Hatred leads to slander, mocking, and misunderstandings. Hatred can lead to false accusations, being arrested, being sued, and even being killed.
The New Testament reveals that there is a sharp dividing line between God’s people and the world. There is a contrast between believers and unbelievers, righteousness and lawlessness, light and darkness, Christ and Satan (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). We are commanded to not love the world, neither the things in the world (1 John 2:15). If we love the world we don’t love God.
The world hated early Christians with diabolical rage. They did many evil things against them.
The early Christians were arrested. They were thrown in jail (Acts 4:3). They had stones thrown at them until they died (Acts 7:57-59). They were dragged out of their houses and thrown in jail (Acts 8:3). Conspiracies were hatched against them to kill them (Acts 9:23-24). They were killed by politicians and governmental leaders (Acts 12:1). They were expelled from cities and entire regions (Acts 13:50). They were attacked by violent mobs, abused, and beaten (Acts 14:19).
The world still hates Christians. Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world. People often seem to be able to tolerate all other religions except Christianity.
In the USA and Europe, there is a lot of hatred directed against Christians. The news tells us of Christians are being arrested, sued, fined, suspended, and losing their jobs just for standing up for basic principles of their faith.
Why does the world hate Christians so much?
The world hates us because it hates Jesus (John 15:18). The world hates Jesus because he said its works were evil (John 7:7). Christians are called to expose evil works like Jesus did, and the world doesn’t like that (Ephesians 5:11). In addition, the world hates Jesus because he said he is the only way to be saved, and people prefer many ways to be saved (John 14:6).
The world hates the gospel (1 Corinthians 1:18). The gospel says we can’t save ourselves. It says that all our good works are like filthy rags and can’t save us. People often don’t want to hear that, because they think they will get to heaven through their good works. Therefore they hate the gospel.
The world hates Christians because we are not part of the world. We don’t go along with the way the world does things, but we do things differently (John 15:19). The world wants everyone to conform to its way of doing things, but Christians often refuse to conform. That causes the world to hate us.
Sometimes our former friends hate us because after becoming Christians we live in a different way than they do (1 Peter 4:4). This makes them uncomfortable and even causes them to hate us.
How can Christians avoid being hated?
Christians can avoid being hated by compromising. We can joke along with the world’s jokes. The world will like us more if we don’t speak truth and don’t expose darkness. We can sin a little bit. If we are more like the world then the world will like us.
But the Bible says that if we are friends of the world we become God’s enemies (James 4:4). This is because the world hates God and killed his son, and if we join the world then we put ourselves in opposition to God. The goal of the Christian life is not to get along with the world.
If the world doesn’t hate us, then we are not living a normal Christian life.
Jesus said that when we are hated, we are blessed (Matthew 5:10-12). We want to be blessed by God.
Therefore, we need to learn how to handle being hated.
When we are hated, we should not hate people back. We should not be bitter against people. We should forgive them. We should not take revenge against them. We should love the people who hate us (Luke 6:35). We should do good to those who hate us (Matthew 5:44).
The best way to handle hatred is by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Spirit and walking according to God’s word, then we can overcome hatred.
At the end of the age, Christians will be hated by everyone (Matthew 10:22). Christians will be hated by all nations, all over the world (Matthew 24:9). The haters are gonna hate, more and more. Through all this hatred, Christians will conquer. They will overcome by the love and power of God. Someday, the world will be washed clean by the judgment of God, and there will be a new heavens and a new earth, with no hatred. Peace and love will be everywhere.
God loved this hating world, and gave his Son as a sacrifice for its sins (John 3:16). We can love this world too. If we love them, we will shine the light of God, share the truth even if it’s uncomfortable, and not hide our light under a covering. The world may hate us in return for our love. But that’s ok, they hated our Master too. He’s inside us. Greater is he who is in us, than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). By his Holy Spirit, we will overcome hatred.
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