How Do I Live Like Christ in a World That’s Openly Rejecting Him?

There's a version of following Jesus that feels manageable when it costs you almost nothing.You know, when the room is warm, when nobody pushes back, When Christ can be mentioned as an inspiration or a tradition or even as a symbol but not honored as God. But you already know this isn't the world we're living in.You're living in a world where the name of Jesus can be welcomed as long as his authority is rejected. A world that will tolerate spirituality but resist surrender.A world that may praise love in theory, but hate repentance and hate holiness and just move away from truth. And when that pressure rises, the real question isn't academic anymore. It gets personal. And that's today's question.How do you live like Christ in a world that's openly rejecting him? That's a tough one. And how do you stay faithful without becoming fearful? Another tough question. And how about this question?How do you stay clear without becoming harsh? And how do you stay holy without withdrawing in pride? And how do you stay loving without surrendering truth?Because the danger isn't only that the world rejects Christ. That's a danger. The danger is that under pressure, you start responding in ways that no longer reflect Christ.Because you can shrink back, you can blend in, you can grow bitter, you can become reactive. You can start answering the flesh with more flesh. And you can call it boldness when it's really just carnality.So I want to put this into your heart today. A world rejecting Christ doesn't give you permission to stop looking like Christ. And today we're going to focus on this passage.And this comes from Book of John, chapter 15, verse 18. It says, if the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. Jesus didn't leave you guessing. He told you what to expect.And because he told you what to expect, he's also showing you how to stand. Hello and welcome to Truth Unveiled with Ralph. I'm Ralph, and today I want to walk you through a question that matters more than ever.Not just what do you believe, but what do you look like while believing cost you something? Because if you're following Jesus right now, you feel the pressure, don't you? You feel it at work. You feel it in conversations.You feel it in the culture. You feel it online. You feel it in that quiet expectation that you should soften what God has said or at least keep it private.And if you don't soften it, then there's another temptation waiting for you to become defensive or angry or sharp, to really start sounding less like Jesus. And more like the outrage around you. So today's message isn't about panic, and it isn't about performance.And it isn't about being louder just to prove you still care. Today's message is about faithfulness. It's about discernment.It's about what it means for you to stay rooted, to stay clean and stay courageous and Christlike in a world that openly rejects the Christ you serve. And I want to build this message around the words of Jesus in John 15.Because if you miss what Jesus says there, and we already talked about it, you'll either be surprised by the pressure or shaped by the pressure, or hardened by the pressure. But Jesus wants you to be prepared by truth. So let's get right into the text again. This is From John, chapter 15, verses 18 to 20. It says this.If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belong to this world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world. But I have chosen you out of the world.That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you. A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.And if they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. What a strong verse, and what a warning to all of us. But don't miss what Jesus is saying. He doesn't tell you that rejection might happen.He tells you that the world hates you. And if the world hates you, you need to remember something. It hated him first.In other words, if you belong to Christ, you shouldn't measure faithfulness by the world's approval. You measure faithfulness by your nearness to him. And when you do that, that changes everything.Because if you expect this world to applaud clear allegiance to Jesus, you're going to always be vulnerable to compromise.But if you settle in your heart that Christ was rejected as he said he was, and those who truly belong to him will not be universally embraced, then you stop building your obedience around acceptance, and you build it around faithfulness. So today I want to give you what I call three sermon movements.Three things you need to see if you're going to live like Christ in a world that's openly rejecting him. The first thing you need to settle is this. If you belong to Christ, you should expect rejection. That's just what you have to expect.Not because truth is weak and not because Christ failed, and not because darkness is actually winning, but because Jesus said, this is what a fallen world does with holy truth. A fallen world resists pushes against it. And it hates light because light exposes what darkness wants to keep hidden. So you know rejection's coming.So when rejection comes, you don't need to panic. You just need perspective. You don't need to act like something strange is happening.Jesus already told you this, and that matters because surprise makes you unstable. When you have a surprise, you're kind of caught off your feet, right? But this is not a surprise. Jesus already called it.He said, this is what you can expect. Well, if you expect applause, you'll bend the truth to keep that applause.If you expect everyone to understand your obedience, friend, you're going to start getting discouraged when they don't. And if you need room to stay warm, you're going to struggle the moment it turns cold.But when Jesus prepares you for rejection, he's also steadying you in it. He's telling you straight up. He's saying, don't lose heart. Don't panic. Don't confuse rejection with defeat. Hey, we've already won this.And that's where many believers need correction. You can't spend your entire life trying to be approved by a world that is fundamentally at odds with Christ. Hear what I just said.We are living in a world that is fundamentally at odds with Christ. And you can't spend your life trying to be approved by that world. Your assignment is not to be approved by the world.Your assignment is to be faithful to Christ. But that doesn't mean you become careless. It doesn't mean you become obnoxious. It doesn't mean that every negative reaction is persecution.No, that's not what I'm saying at all. Sometimes people are reacting not to the truth of Christ. They but to the tone of your flesh.So even as you face this rejection, humility still matters, wisdom still matters. And yes, gentleness still matters. But once you know that faithfulness will not always be applauded, it's there that you find freedom.You find freedom to obey. You find, you find freedom to stand. And you find freedom to speak. And you're freer to stop managing your image. Look at what Jesus said in John 16:33.He said, I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart. I have overcome the world. What a beautiful verse. And that verse gives us two things.It gives us both realism and hope. The realism is, you will have tribulation. Christ is saying it. You are in a fallen world where people hate you.So the realism of this is you're going to have tribulation, but there's also hope. Because what is that hope? Hope is Christ has overcome the world. So friend, you're not faith and rejected as someone abandoned on your own.You face it as someone prepared. And you don't endure it like you've been defeated. You endure it as someone whose savior has already overcome it. This is the truth.A Christ rejecting world shouldn't shock you. This shouldn't be as a big surprise for you, but it also doesn't have to shake you. When I hear the word of the message gets even more searching.It's one thing to expect rejection. We've accepted that right at this point of my speech or my talk today, we've already known Christ said we're going to be rejected.It's a whole nother thing to remain Christ like in it. And you won't remain Christ like under pressure if you're disconnected from Christ in private. And that's why John 15, 4 and 5 matters so deeply.Let me read that. Now. It says this again, John 15, verses 4 and 5 remain in me, and I also remain in you.No branch can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.Apart from me, you can do nothing. Now that's strong. And I've had to reread that a couple times. But what is Jesus saying here?He says, abide in me, remain in me, stay living in communion with me. And then he gets right to it. He says, because apart from me you can do nothing. Not a few things. Nothing. That's the big one, isn't it? Nothing.You can do nothing. And that includes looking like Jesus when the world around you does not. And I don't want you to miss this.You can't borrow Christ likeness in the moment of pressure if you haven't been abiding in Christ before the pressure came. You can't live on public conviction while neglecting private communion with Him.You can't have strength in that spotlight without roots in that secret place. What does he say? The tree and the branches, I am the vine.And you can't answer hostility with grace if your heart is being formed by headlines or those comments sections, that cultural outrage. But if it's not by prayer, if it's not by scripture, repentance and the presence of God, you, you are going to be sucked into this.The pressure will eat you up. Because pressure doesn't create Character, it reveals it. Think about when you're under the most pressure, what comes out of you? Your true character.And when pressure squeezes you, what's inside of you comes out. And if you have fear inside, what's going to come out? Fear's gonna come out.If you've got anger inside of you, when you're subjected to that pressure, what's gonna come out? Anger is gonna come out. And if pride is inside of you, what's gonna come out? Under pressure, pride's gonna come out.If you have self righteousness inside of you, self righteousness is going to come out. But friend, if Christ is being formed in you, then even under immense pressure, his likeness begins to show. That's what's going to come out.Now, it's not going to be perfect, but it will be truth. And that's why this is where you need to examine your heart. Ask yourself this right now, in the midst of this sermon. What are we talking about here?What has this cultural pressure been producing in you? Has it made you more prayerful or has it made you more reactive? Think about it. The things that are going on around you.Has it made you want to reach out to Christ and say, christ, I don't understand this. Or have you reacted? Has it made you more holy? Or has it made you more hardened? It's easy to get hardened in today's culture. What has it made you?Has it made you more surrendered? Or has it made you more suspicious? Do you wonder about everything now? What's the angle? What's going on here? Or have you surrendered that?Has it made you more rooted in Scripture or more shaped by the spirit of the age? Those are very difficult questions because it's possible to use Christian words while still operating in fleshly reactions.It's possible to sound bold while being spiritually brittle. It's possible to defend truth with your mouth while still grieving the spirit within your heart. And you need to see that clearly now more than ever.If pressure is making you fleshly, if you're just revealing that flesh, that pressure is revealing where you need deeper surrender. So what do you need? You need more than opinions. A lot of us go out and get on social media, we find all kinds of opinions.But that's not what you need right now. You need roots. Think about that tree and the branches and the vine. You need to get your roots back into God.You need prayer, that communion with Christ. You need the Word. You need it to become your lamp. It needs to be all around you. You need to worship.You need to worship Christ, you need repentance, and you need a real life with God that is deeper than public reaction, because it's easy to get stuck there. Because if you're not being shaped in the presence of Christ, you will be shaped by the world around you faster than you realize.And before long, you're going to start sounding like the world and you're going to start reacting like the world, and you're going to start fighting like the world, just with Christian language layered on top. Friend, that's not Christ likeness. That's just baptized flesh.If you're not abiding in Christ privately, that deep abiding in him, that communion with him, you're never going to reflect Christ faithfully under pressure. It just doesn't work. Now, this is where the call to God becomes unmistakably clear.If the world rejects Christ, you aren't given permission to answer that rejection in the flesh. Now, that's going to offend some people. You're called to respond like Christ. That means three things at least.And I want to talk about how you respond like Christ in a world that is openly rejecting. The first thing I want you to consider. Speak truth without losing love.Peter says it in First Peter, chapter three, verses 14 to 16, that if you are to honor Christ as Lord in your heart and always be ready to give an answer. But then he continues, he says, do it with gentleness and respect. Now, a lot of people would say, well, you're just being weak.That's not weakness, that's maturity. That's what it looks like when truth is governed by spirit. So no, Christ likeness doesn't mean silence. It doesn't mean hiding truth.It doesn't mean editing Scripture so people stay comfortable around you. But neither does Christlikeness mean harshness or sarcasm or contempt for people or pride wrapped in bold language.You don't honor Jesus by being right in content and wrong in spirit.I want to say that again because it is so important that we understand that if we want to honor Jesus, we can't be right in content, but wrong in spirit. You don't have to win all the arguments and lose your witness in doing it. So ask yourself, not only am I saying what is true?Yes, I think you should say what is true, but also, am I saying it in a way that still sounds like Jesus? Do I sound like Jesus? Is that what character is coming out of me? Because if your content is biblical, but your spirit is fleshly, something is off.Here's the second thing you got to refuse compromise when the cultural pressures you to conform. I want to go right to the book of Romans, chapter 12, verse 2. And it says this.Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you'll be able to test and approve what God's will is. His good, pleasing, and perfect will. Where does it start? There.Do not be conformed to this world. Now, today, a lot of people would say, but I have to live in the world, Ralph. How can I not be conformed to this?But what this means to me is that the world is always trying to shape you.The world's trying to impress upon you its values, its categories, its language, its morality, its definition of love, its view of truth, its view of identity, and its view of what must be affirmed and what must be challenged. So if you aren't being renewed by the Word, you're going to slowly start thinking in categories God never gave you.And here's the truth you need to hear. You can't shine distinctively if you're determined to blend in. What did Jesus say? Jesus called you to salt and light. And then what does he say?He said, salt that loses its distinctiveness stops doing what it's meant to do. And a hidden light doesn't help anyone see, does it? So holiness is not legalism.A lot of people fall into, well, I'm going to get into this legalism because then I'm going to be holy. That's not what it is. Holiness is allegiance. It's a life that says, I belong to Jesus, and I'm not going to let this world shape me away from him.Which leads me to the third thing. You got to learn to overcome evil with good.We're going to go back to romans Again, chapter 12, verses 17 to 20, when it says this, do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. It is possible, as far as it depends on you. Live at peace with everyone.Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, it is mine to avenge, I will repay, says the Lord. On the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him.If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.I love this verse, and it's one of the clearest lines between fleshly reaction and Christlike response. We are fleshly beings, that's what we are. And as fleshly beings, we want retaliation. When somebody does something to us, we want revenge.The flesh wants to answer ugliness with ugliness. We want to put up our fist and duke it out. But Scripture says something different. It says, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.And that's why this matters today. Because when people are mocking you, don't become mocking back to them. When people are cruel to you, don't become cruel back to them.And when people are hateful, don't respond with hatefulness yourself. Because if evil can turn you into its own image, then evil's already doing more damage than you realize. And that's where Jesus is the model of this.Think about what Jesus did when he was reviled. He was probably the most reviled person on the earth. He didn't revile in return. And when he suffered, and boy, did Jesus suffer on that cross.He didn't threaten anybody. He could have sent a whole legion of angels down and wiped out everyone because he was God in flesh. He didn't threaten anybody, friend.That's not weakness. That's strength under the control of God. And that's what you're called to reflect.Blessing somebody instead of cursing them, praying for somebody instead of seeking revenge. Finding integrity instead of compromise, seeking compassion instead of contempt. Finding clarity without cruelty and conviction without carnality.I gotta say it plainly, a world rejection. Christ doesn't give you permission to stop looking like Christ. There are so many people out there right now, I'm gonna step on some toes.I'm gonna get myself in trouble. There are so many people that think, well, the best way to respond to this is those people who reject Christ. I'm going right at them.But that doesn't give you permission to stop looking like Christ. That's not what Christ did. You're not being called to win a cultural war and lose the character of Jesus.You're not being called to defend truth while abandoning the fruit of the spirit. You're not called to mirror the darkness. You're called to reflect Christ. And you're not called to mirror the world.You're truly called to reflect Christ. Well, now I want to bring this to your heart. Because this message isn't only about culture. There's a lot of it in here.It's also about your formation. When pressure rises in you, what comes out of you that doesn't look like Jesus?When truth becomes costly, do you become silent or do you stay faithful? When people reject what you believe, the things that you take as the gospel, do you become harsh or do you Remain in Christ.And when the world grows darker, do you grow holier or you just get angrier? And when opposition comes, do you cling more closely to Christ or do you drift into reaction? Because here's the tragedy.A world rejecting Christ is painful. But a Christian no longer reflecting Christ is tragic.So don't spend all your energy analyzing what's wrong out there while ignoring what God wants you to correct in you. Yeah, see, you're turning it back on you. Let that pressure that you're feeling expose you. Let the word of God search you. Let the spirit confront you.And where God reveals your compromise, repent on those things. Where he reveals fear in you, surrender that. Where he reveals pride, bring it down. Where he reveals bitterness, let him cleanse it.Where he reveals shallowness, go deeper. Because like I said, pressure reveals the roots. And whatever God reveals in you, here's the best part. He can change it.Now, before I close, I want to speak to you if you realize something deeper today. Maybe you're hearing this message and you know the issue isn't just that you need to respond better. Your issue right now is you need to be made new.Because, friend, you can't live like Christ until you belong to Christ. Yeah, you can admire him. A lot of people admire him. You can respect him. A lot of people say, I respect that Jesus guy.You can even be inspired by Him. But you can't produce his life through your own willpower. You need a new heart. And that's exactly what Jesus came to give us.Here's the truth, friend. The truth is you and I have sinned. We've gone our own way. We've rebelled against God.But Jesus Christ came into this world, lived a life that we could not live. He died on the cross for our sins. And he rose again so that through faith in him, we could be forgiven, we could be restored.And yes, we could be made new. So salvation isn't about becoming more religious. I hear a lot of people talk about that. Well, I'm going to get saved.I'm going to become more religious. That's not what it's all about. It's about repentance and it's about surrender. It's about putting your trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.And maybe that's what you need to do right now. So if that is you today, I want to encourage you to pray this with me right now, wherever you are. Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner.And I know that I need your mercy. Lord, I truly believe you're the Son of God. I truly believe you died for my sins and that you rose again.And right now, today, Lord, I turn away from my sin and I surrender my life to you. Forgive me, Lord. Wash me clean and make me new. Fill me with your spirit. Teach me to follow you. Be lord of my life.At this moment, I put my trust in you alone as my Savior and my King. And I ask this in Jesus name. Amen. Friend, if you just prayed that from your heart, I want you to do me a favor.I want you to put in the comments, I gave my life to Jesus. Just put it right in the comments or just let me know about it.Just say, I gave my life to Jesus because we want to pray for you, we want to stand with you, and yes, we want to walk with you. And let me leave you with this. If you're going to live faithfully in a world that rejects Christ, we've already admitted it. It's happening.The only way to live is you got to stay rooted in Christ. You've got to stay shaped by Christ and. And you got to respond like Christ. That's the call for today. It's not about panic. It's about peace.It's not about compromise. It's about holiness. It's not about bitterness. It's about abiding in him. It's not about retaliation. It's about faithfulness.And it's not about reaction, but it's about reflection of Christ. So I want to encourage you this week, come back to those passages we mentioned.John 15, 18, 20 John, chapter 15, verses 4 and 5, Romans 12, verses 17 to 21, and First Peter, chapter 3, verses 14 to 16. We'll put all those in the show notes.And when you do that, ask the Lord one honest what is this pressure revealing in me that doesn't look like Jesus? It's not a comfortable question. But what is this pressure revealing in me that doesn't look like Jesus? And then take it to him.Don't excuse it anymore, don't rename it, don't defend it, just bring it right to him. Because the goal is not merely that you survive this culture with your opinions intact.The goal is that you come through this pressure still looking like Jesus, still being loving, still being holy, still being clear, still being courageous, still surrendering and still being faithful. And remember this, a world rejecting Christ doesn't give you permission to stop looking like Christ. How about we pray together?Father God, in the name of Jesus, I come before you honestly. Strengthen me, Lord, in a world that openly rejects Christ. Teach me how to remain in Christ.Keep me from compromise, keep me from cowardice, keep me from bitterness, Keep me from fleshly reactions that don't reflect your son. Lord, teach me to abide deeply. Teach me to love boldly. Teach me to speak truth with grace.Teach me to remain holy when the pressure to conform is so strong, Lord, where fear in my life has made me silent, give me courage today. Where anger has made me harsh, Lord, give me some gentleness. Where compromise has made me dim, Lord, make me distinct again.Or exhaustion has made me numb. Just renew me, Lord, where rejection has wounded me, heal me.And where the culture has been disciplining me more than your word, Lord, bring me back into alignment. I just want you to make me a person who overcomes evil with good, Lord, make me a person who shines.Make me a person who doesn't just talk about Jesus, but actually looks like him. And remind me that Christ has overcome the world, Lord, and I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.I want to ask you to do me a favor, Lord, if this message spoke to you, don't just say this was powerful. I hope you do say that, but I want you to do something. Live it. Live the life that God wants for you. Stay with Jesus. Stay in his word.Stay surrendered, stay clean, stay loving, stay bold and stay like Christ. And if this message, especially at home, put this in the comments for me. Just type in there. Overcome evil with good.That can be our mantra for this week. Just overcome evil with good. Because that's the call. The call is not to mirror the darkness. The call is to overcome it.You're not called to mirror the world. You're called to reflect Jesus. This is Truth Unveiled with Ralph. Thank you so much for tuning in today. May God bless you and I'll see you next time.