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Hated by the World

 Two famous men lived at the same time in the mid 19th Century. One was Charles Spurgeon, one of the most beloved men to ever stand in the pulpit. The other man was Karl Marx, the communist leader whose ideals resulted in the death of millions of people around the world. 

 

Part of Marx’s strategy was to supplant Christianity because he viewed it as the greatest obstacle to his goals. Recognizing this, Spurgeon was an outspoken critic of both Marx and his socialist ideals. This was more than just political disagreements, but was Christianity vs. atheism. Marx was successful in turning many pastors towards socialism, but it was a Godless religion, one that minimized the cross and the sacrifice of Jesus.

 

Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto, but he didn’t write alone. He had a coauthor named Friedrich Engels. Engels was asked near the end of his life who was the one person he disliked most in the world, and he replied with one word: Spurgeon. The Prince of Preachers would not quietly allow the Father of Communism to misrepresent the God of the Bible. 

 

Does the world hate you, or are you an ally? Have you cozied up to the world? If the devil was asked who he hates the most, would your name be his one-word answer? Would you make his top 10? Does he even know you exist? 

 

Some will say that the world should love us if we are doing good deeds and loving our neighbor, and they will until we open our mouth and begin to say Jesus is the exclusive way to the Father. In John 15:18 Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” The problem today is not enough people are hated by the world. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying we should go out and make them hate us by being rude. But hatred should be the natural result when we live the way we are supposed to live. Look no further than the example of Jesus, who was hated by the world when all He did was come to seek and save the lost.

 

So in a world where Christians want to cozy up to unbelievers in order to be accepted, dare to be hated. Stand up for the truth. Call out the garbage. If the world hates you, that puts you in the same company as Jesus. 

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