Sermon Tone Analysis

“Understanding Religious Hatred”

10~/13~/02

John 15:8-16:4

Intro.

Some 80 years ago, as Notre Dame was preparing to play USC in college football, Fighting Irish coach Knute Rockne was aware that his opponent had a far better team, so he devised a plan to intimidate the Trojan players.

Rockne scoured the city of South Bend and hand-picked 100 of the largest men he could find – each at least six-foot five and three hundred pounds.

He put them in Fighting Irish uniforms and at game time marched them onto the field ahead of the real team.

(Obviously, this was before the days of limited rosters and eligibility restrictions.)

As USC watched these giants line up on the sidelines, they forgot about their talent and their undefeated record, and they began mentally preparing themselves for a beating.

Though none of the specially recruited men played during the game, their presence on the sidelines was enough to knock Southern Cal’s game off balance.

Knute Rockne’s trick had worked; he had intimidated the Trojan players into giving up before the game even started, and Notre Dame won.

Knowing the ways of our opponent, there were some things that Jesus did not completely spell out until these intimate moments in the upper room lest the disciples hearts be overcome with fear.

Jesus looked at the disciples and said, "You have no idea what’s coming so let me get you ready.

The clouds are going to gather and I want you to realize that things are going to happen (there will be storms in life)so that when they come you will not scandalize, stumble.”

Read: (John 15: 18-16:4) stand to read.

Scott Peck in his book, The Road Less Traveled, opens it up with these three words: "Life is difficult."

If someone had told me 25 years ago how difficult pastoral ministry would be, I would not have believed them.

And if I had believed them, I wouldn’t have gone into it.

God knew that there were things I didn’t need to know at that time; things that I would not have understood.

Things that I was not ready to face well.

Jesus had waited until these moments in the upper room to talk more thoroughly about the world’s hatred toward Him and toward those who would follow Him.

Commentaries are rather thin on this paragraph of Scripture.

Those that are topical do not treat it at all.

That is tempting.

This won’t be anybody’s favorite message.

You might be strongly inclined to disagree with what Jesus says.

Alexander Solzenitsyn, Soviet dissident and Christian, said he feared for the West (in general) and Western Christians (in particular) because we have an inadequate view of human suffering.

If called upon to suffer for our faith, would we?

It is important that we understand foundationally Jesus’ teaching concerning religious hatred.

Jesus gives three reasons for the world’s hatred:

I.                     *A difference in nature between the world and the disciples (v.

19)*

·Love vs. hatred  - the harsh disconnect between v.17 and v.18 is intentional  - v.18 - “If…” is a statement of certainty “If the world hates you, and it does!!”

(Ty’s great challenge last week: “Love one Another”)

-Lay down your life in service to others.

-Open up your life in leadership to others.

-Get on your knees in prayer for others.

Pagan parents can and do love their pagan infants.

Pagan men and women fall in love with each other.

But by definition, the world (cosmos) is made up of people who have never acknowledged the supremacy of Christ nor known the love of God.

They are people who are absorbed with themselves or with their self-created gods.

It is not possible for them to love God or to love his people until they come to terms with truth.

·Church vs. the world

Human nature, like the animal kingdom,  is to distrust anyone different from the average.

It is the herd instinct of wild animals, it is the treatment of black sheep within a herd of white ones, birds of a feather flocking together & driving out those whose plumage differs substantially.

“A Christian, by definition, stands under the lordship of Jesus Christ;  the world, by definition, does not stand under that lordship.”

(Carson, 117)

The world we are referring to is the human system that is opposed to God.

It is the world that thinks that we humans are ok and we do not need God.

It is the world that thinks that we are to look out for ourselves first.

That success and popularity are most important.

Jesus says that we do not belong to this world and their way of thinking and living.

That we are not to feel at home in this world.

That we do not get our security, our comfort and hope from this world.

That we are, as Peter, says, 1 Pet 2:11 "aliens and strangers in the world."

That we are not to even think as the world thinks.

That we are not to conform to the pattern of this world.

v.

19 - If you belong to the world, the world will love you as its own.

I John 4: 4-6 *“You are from God, little children, */and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

/

They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.

We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us.

By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

We do not belong to the world.

That means that our:

* *goals*

* *aspirations*

* *most important values*

* *use of time*

* *application of financial resources*

* *the way we view human events*

* *our priorities; the things we accept and the things we decline*

* *our children*

* *all of the things most important*

are different from the world.

We do not belong to this world.

This should make us substantially different and for that reason alone, the world system will move from fear to suspicion to distrust to hatred.

(second reason for religious hatred)

*II.

**The disciples’ close association with the rejected Christ (20b, 21)*

 

There is suffering inflicted that is aimed at Christ.

Since they can’t get to him they reach us.

It is our high privilege to suffer for Him who suffered so much for us.

*“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.”*

I Peter 4:12-13

Ill.

A gathering of pastors, priests and rabbis in Florida recently where a liberal Jewish rabbi said, “I will never bow my knee to your Jesus!”

A Christian pastor responded by saying, “Oh yes you will.

A day comes when you will either bend your knees or they will be broken.”

Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess.

(a third reason for religious hatred)

*III.

**The conviction of sin which Jesus’ message brought upon the world.(22-24)*

Before Christ, the world was not completely innocent.

That is not what Jesus is saying.

After Christ they had light like never before.

Jesus was the perfect revelation of the father.

They must either embrace Christ or hate Him.

Jesus’ perfect life had forced the issue.

Andrew Bolt, a journalist and a believer, listed some of the de facto religions of our day.

He spoke of environmentalists and animal rights advocates who place the welfare of animals and even plants on an equal footing with that of human beings, of those who make aboriginal rights into a religion, of those who advocate sexual liberation, he spoke of new age religions, witchcraft and crystals and mother-earth religion.

\\ But the religion that perhaps shows up this difference of accepting Christ or rejecting Him the most is the new religion of tolerance, what he called the new fundamentalism.