You Shall Be Hated

As believers in Messiah, who are trying to love Him with all of our heart, soul, and strength, we are going be hated by this world. It doesn't matter if they are unbelievers or those who are holding on tightly to the religious systems of this fallen world. There is a spirit of lawlessness in congregations today that is nothing new. Scripture is clear that there is nothing new under the sun. This spirit was there even there when Yeshua (Jesus) walked this earth. Yeshua warned us that it would be a prevalent spirit in our time, just as it was in His. Just as He was persecuted and put to death, because He spoke the words of our Father in heaven, it should come as no surprise that these things will also happen to us. It is not a matter of , "we might suffer this persecution." If we are living as He commanded us to live our lives, it is a matter of, "we will suffer these persecutions."

The following are just a few verses from the "Good News" from the words of Yeshua's mouth that should shake us into some semblance of reality.  If you are not suffering these things, perhaps you need to examine yourself to see if you really are in the faith. These words are presented in a way that indicates they can be viewed as a promise. If you are truly in the faith of Yeshua, these things will happen to you. Count on it. All verses are from the  English Standard Version (ESV).

Matthew 10:22

²² and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Matthew 24:9-13

⁹ “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. ¹⁰ And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. ¹² And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Mark 13:12-13

¹² And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. ¹³ And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Luke 21:16-17

¹⁶ You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. ¹⁷ You will be hated by all for my name's sake.

John 15:18-23

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹ 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. ²⁰ 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. ²¹ But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. ²² 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. ²³ Whoever hates me hates my Father also.

John 17:12-16

¹² While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

If we are truly in Messiah, we are going to be hated exactly as he was hated. If we truly love Him, we will also love His commandments. Once we are justified by faith in Yeshua, there is an ongoing process of sanctification. Justification is always spoken of as being in the past tense. Sanctification is an ongoing process.

What is sanctification? Sanctification is our process of walking toward holiness. It is what distinguishes us as being in our Messiah and separated from this world. We are in the world, but we are not of the world. One who is sanctified no longer has an attraction for the things of this world, but his heart has been set apart for God's use. Those who believe in hyper-grace think that the commandments given at Sinai are done away with and are no longer of any value to us. Is that true? Yeshua is the Word made flesh. How could the Word made flesh, who is the living Word, make null and void the written Word? Are they not His words to begin with? Did Yeshua not say, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."?

 The KJV uses the word "destroy" instead of the word "abolish" the word from the Greek is καταλυω or kataluo or Strong's # 2647. It means to demolish, to destroy, to dissolve, to overthrow, bring to naught, or to throw down. This is not what Yeshua came to do. He makes that perfectly clear. So if He did not come to destroy, demolish, dissolve, or bring to naught the law, how could He have come to fulfill the law in a manner that would do so?  He said He came to fulfill. What does the Greek word translated as "fulfill" really mean in the Greek? It doesn't mean to do away with, or destroy and bring to naught. It means to fully preach, complete, perfect. The context must give the proper meaning of the words in the passage.

We have been given a bill of goods from Bible translators who have translated our Bibles from their preconceived doctrines instead of from proper contextual understanding. Intellectualism has preempted the revelation of the Holy Spirit for too long in out congregations. It is time we humble ourselves before the Almighty, and ask Him to reveal the truth hidden in His word, and how they have been changed to promote false doctrines which hide the true understanding of what God is truly saying to His people. Do not trust men (not even me, for I am but a man) for the truth. The Holy Spirit is given to lead us into all truth. Trust Him and Him only. The time is short, and our heavenly Father wants us to know His truth. Trust Him.

Shalom,
Barry W. Gaugler