Isaiah 66:5 Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble
at his word: "Your brothers who hate you, and exclude you because of my
name, have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy!’
Yet they will be put to shame.
Comment
If you take the Word of God seriously you may find yourself being excluded
even from many Christian circles. Many who are allegedly brothers in Christ
will shun you. For many are Christians not out of devotion to the Word
of God, but rather simply for social reasons. And there are churches that
are not really churches but social clubs. When you introduce the Word of
God and its application in such places you may find yourself soon driven
out.
At one point Paul was abandoned by a whole region of Christians. "You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me" 2Tim 1:15, much as Jesus was abandoned and betrayed by a number of His followers. Likewise the apostle John found himself excluded, "I
wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have
nothing to do with us. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is
doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he
refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so
and puts them out of the church. Dear friend, do not imitate what is
evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone
who does what is evil has not seen God." 3John 1:9-11
And of course this is certainly true with respect to the world. "All
men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will
be saved." Mt 10:22 And why do they hate? Jesus revealed
one signficant reason saying, "(the world) hates
me because I testify that what it does is evil." John 7:7
Therefore "Do not be surprised, my brothers,
if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life,
because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer
has eternal life in him." 1John 3:13-15
And "do not be surprised at the painful trial
you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.
But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you
may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted
because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory
and of God rests on you." 1Peter 4:12-14
This should be the normal experience of the Christian life.