Not Greater Than Our Master
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.
John 15:20
Christ brings His followers into the blessings of acceptance, love, and respect by the Church, but also into the challenges of rejection and persecution by the world.
We are called to be light in dark places and this results in two very different responses. Some curse us because the light shows that they live in moral and spiritual darkness. Anyone who seeks to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will experience some level of persecution ((2 Tim. 3:12). We Christians swim against the stream of the world’s values and direction. Christ said,
Matthew 10:24–25: A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.
The world hates us also because we will judge the world (1 Cor. 6:2). In Revelation 20:4 we read, “I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge,” and this is a reference to this fact that Christians in this life will be called to judge the world in the next life. So our judgment must be right, fair, and godly, not selfish, petty, and mean-spirited. There should be no sense of retaliation in us toward the world, rather purely redemptive love.
So the world hates us but others love us and rejoice because they have seen the light of God’s grace and have heard His call to leave the darkness and follow the light of the love of Christ. And only by being His faithful representatives, by ministering and speaking the truth to the world, are we effective in bringing people to Christ.
There is a real danger of seeking to water-down our message so that we remove all of the parts that offend the world, but we must be very careful in this area or we will take the power of the message away. We should be diplomatic and kind — the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, etc.
2 Timothy 2:24–25: And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth …
We should be kind, but we preach Christ crucified, risen, and coming, without apology or hesitation, and this must be the heart of our message. We preach and share His Word as the truth of God, plainly and clearly, calling all people to obedience to Him in Christ. Paul wrote:
1 Corinthians 4:1–6: This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful… I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.
A steward is responsible for handling the possessions of another person, as such we are entrusted with the truth of God as revealed in His Word. We are to share what is written, properly interpreted and applied in today’s world, nothing more and nothing less.
A sword must have a point and a sharp edge and the Word of God is called the “sword of the Spirit” (Eph. 6:7), so we must wield its power in the world.
Hebrews 4:12–13: For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
We are not to blunt the edge of God’s word, we are not to dull the blade of God’s message, rather we must share it truthfully and plainly. We must be careful to distinguish between interpretations of the Word and the Word of God itself, and this requires wisdom and sensitivity. Some passages are abundantly plain but others are subject to interpretation and we need the wisdom of God to distinguish between the two, and to hold our own interpretation and still respect other conservative interpretations.*
But there are those who will love us when we preach and teach the plain Word of God, without apology, without anger, relevantly and in love. This is what builds Christians up in the faith and how we gain respect. Do not be discouraged by the world’s rejection, rather simply be more encouraged by the acceptance of Christians and those whom Christ is bringing into His Church.
It is enough — more than enough — to be like Christ.
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* I am not saying that we can accept just any interpretation, for some treat the Word of God with little respect and make the entire book a mere allegory. Other reject major passages; “rejection” is not “interpretation.” But still sometimes conservatives fight against other conservatives over matters of little importance in Scripture, where there are fair differences in interpretations. I am amazed at how young earth creationists, for example, sometimes fight against gap theorists.
