What follows is a strong teaching that would be worth remembering when we are about the Lord's work:
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Who do you think is the most hated man in history? Is it the murderer of millions, Adolf Hitler, or perhaps mass murderer and terrorist Osama Bin Laden? I don’t think so. I think Jesus of Nazareth is by far the most hated person of all time. Who else can you think of whose name is used daily as a cuss word? Two thousand years after He was on this earth, even Hollywood uses it as profanity, in the name of entertainment.
Why is there such a deep contempt for Jesus Christ? That is easy to answer. This is what He said of why the world hates Him: “The world cannot hate you; but me it hates, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil” (John 7:7). The world hates Jesus Christ for the same reason criminals hate the police. He accuses them of crimes against God.
Despite the hatred, the Bible warns (and Scripture cannot be broken) that every hate-filled human being will bow the knee to Jesus Christ and be judged by Him. Most think of Him as “the Son of God,” and limit Him to being whatever they think that means. But the Scriptures clearly tell us that He was actually God “manifest in the flesh” (see 1 Timothy 3:16 KJV, NKJV) and that “all things were made by Him” (see John 1:1-3 and Colossians 1:15-16). That's why they will bow the knee.
The reason that God was manifest in the flesh was to provide a morally perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world, and the reason that we needed a sacrifice is because we are in debt to God’s Law. If you don’t believe you are in trouble, listen to this part of the moral Law: “Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery already with her in his heart.”
Jesus warned that the Day will come when every one of us will stand before God and give an account even of our secret sins . . . sins of lust, of hatred, and evil imaginations. The Bible tells us that liars and thieves will not enter Heaven, and warns of a terrible place called Hell that awaits for all who are found guilty on that day.
The last words of Jesus on the cross were “It is finished!” In other words “the debt has been paid.” His suffering on the cross was sufficient to pay our fine for us. His consequent rising from the dead means that God can now legally commute our death sentence. All we have to do to find everlasting life is to repent and trust Jesus alone for our eternal salvation. The plan of salvation is that simple.
A word of warning. Once you find peace with God, hold on, because the world will hate you because you belong to Jesus Christ.
