Need for Departure

Need for Departure
John 16:2-4

2 They shall put [poieo] you [humas] out of the synagogues [aposunagogos] : yea [alla] , the time [hora] cometh [erchomai] , that [hina] whosoever [pas] killeth [apokteino] you [humas] will think [dokeo] that he doeth [prosphero] God [theos] service [latreia] .
3 And [kai] these things [tauta] will they do [poieo] unto you [humin] , because [hoti] they have [ginosko] not [ou] known [ginosko] the Father [pater] , nor [oude] me [eme] .
4 But [alla] these things [tauta] have I told [laleo] you [humin] , that [hina] when [hotan] the time [hora] shall come [erchomai] , ye may remember [mnemoneuo] that [hoti] I [ego] told [epo] you [humin] of them [autos] . And [de] these things [tauta] I said [epo] not [ou] unto you [humin] at [ek] the beginning [arche] , because [hoti] I was [emen] with [meta] you [humon] . KJV-Interlinear

2 'They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. 3 'And these things they will do, because they have not known the Father, or Me. 4 'But these things I have spoken to you, that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you. NASB

What is a synagogue? Well, it is supposed to be a place where Gods Word is taught. It is supposed to be a place of worship. It is supposed to be a holy place. And what exactly is a holy place? One that is free from sin and one that recognizes justice and fairness.

Who is being outcast? Those who are faithful to God, believers in Christ. Believers who are positive toward God and are advancing in their spiritual lives.

The world will ostracize true Christians (as opposed to those who purport themselves to be Christian).

They will ostracize you. They will malign and gossip against you. They will carry out violence against you. And the world not only does this because it hates you when you ( a positive believer advancing in your spiritual life) haven't done anything to deserve it. You are merely positive toward God and are committed to advancing in your spiritual life.

The world will not only do these things, it will justify the acts against you as being true and proper and 'from' God. In a very ironic twist of truth, the world sees itself as helping God along in judging you.

Why? Because the world has never known God, and continues to 'not' know God through its indifference toward God. An indifference driven by its own definition of who and what God is and what its concept of the spiritual life is.

In ignoring truth, the world invents its own. Blind to truth, the world has no standard against which to compare its morals and standards. Therefore, whatever is popular and acceptable to society then becomes the acceptable way of thinking and conduct in life.

Remember that the 'world' is a reference to people who subscribe to the philosophies which are contrary to Gods thinking. Gods thinking is in the Bible - the mind of Christ. Anything which is not consistent with Gods thinking is evil, self serving, destructive.

When evil reigns, truth is twisted and distorted, and anyone who subscribes to truth (positive believers) then, is attacked in various ways. This is the devils world.

So, forewarned and therefore forearmed. Bible doctrine gives us the warning we need. Bible doctrine gives us the arming we need. Bible doctrine teaches us all that there are going to be bad days in our life, but it also gives us assurance that the world is no match for God. If we do not get discouraged and don't quit on life, then God will show us some pretty remarkable things in our life.

All of life is not lived in the space of a thirty minute TV program as many shows portray. We are used to fast service and now given the past year, we have seen fast wars (Iraq). So it is easy to get discouraged when things in life do not happen right now. But then God did not put us on this planet to live our life in the space of one day or one weekend.

It takes a person years to grow up physically and mentally, likewise spiritual growth does not happen over night. It too, takes time. So patience, persistence, and preparation through Bible study are the order of the day.

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