The world hates wicked people who have wronged them, hates hypocrites who try to tell them what they are doing wrong, and hates God who they cannot accept as Lord, Savior, Creator, Righteous, Holy, and worthy of praise.
A Christian knows that they have been wicked and wronged others, knows that they have been hypocrites with their eyes set upon the specks in others eyes ignoring the log in their own, knows that it is only by God’s mercy and grace that they know God as Lord, Savior, Friend, Creator, Righteous, Holy, Merciful, Mighty, Holy and worthy of all praise and honor and glory forever, Amen.
When you hear a man crying out against the wickedness and hypocrisy of his neighbor — wonder whether his accusations lie against God — because many adherents of darkness masquerade as agents of light, and where there is no love (or only truly love of self) God is not in that place.
But when you hear a man crying out of his own wickedness and hypocrisy that he has committed towards his neighbor — isn’t it clear that his confession is against his own sinful weaknesses — and his testimony truly glorifies God?
I have hated you.
I have wronged you.
I have made up accusations about you in my mind.
I have spoken lies about you behind your back.
I have thought horrible things about you in the dark of night.
I have spoken great, high minded things loudly in public only to slink away to my wickedness in private.
I have seen the Lord be faithful to me time after time and I have found myself faithless yet again.
But that old man who loved such things is both dead and dying.
Those desires that pressed me on into the darkness are redeemed and replaced with something new.
There is a new resident that rests and walks and lives in this skin wrapped vessel.
Those old things are washed away.
Those old poisons no longer taste like delicacies anymore.
I have seen and tasted of the sweetness of the Lord, and I cannot go back to the vomit and the slop and the pigs and the dogs.
Do you know what I’m talking about?
Do you hear the call?
Do you feel the tug?
Will you come?
Come to Jesus.
Lay it all down.
Come and be made new.
Come and be made whole.
Come and know life abundant.
Come, know Jesus the Son, fall in wonder and awe of Almighty God the Father, and live through the Holy Spirit, Child of God.
You others, you enemies of God: Know that the end is near. Choose salvation today, repent and turn to God — or know what lies ahead. Know that it is both a warning of the coming destruction and a celebration of the coming Lord that we sing and preach far and wide.
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 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. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
John 15:18-25 ESV
Harold J. Ballinger 