by Hugh DeLong<\/p>\nAs Jesus talks to the Apostles, knowing that he is going to ascend back to the throne with the Father, he prepares them for what they will face as they conform themselves to the teaching and example that he himself has set.
\nNotice the first 4 verses of John 16:\n
“These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. 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. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you<\/em>” (John 16:1-4).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
They will make you outcasts. They will kill you, thinking they are serving God. It isn’t hard to see Paul in this, the Paul before<\/b> his conversion.<\/p>\n
But <\/strong>how does this affect me? The question becomes How do I act as an outcast when it seems that the world has turned against me? How do I respond not just to arguments against what I believe, but slander, lies, and even physical harm? Herein is the problem of faithfulness. Will you respond in the same manner as Jesus? There actually is a lot <\/b>to say about this situation in the New Testament.<\/p>\n
Peter:<\/p>\n
“For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed<\/em>” (I Peter\u00a02:21-24).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Paul:<\/p>\n
“The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will<\/em>” (II Timothy\u00a02:24-26).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Jesus: Love your enemy and pray for him.<\/p>\n
I want to be like Jesus. OK, then this is what it will be like.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Hugh DeLong As Jesus talks to the Apostles, knowing that he is going to ascend back to the throne with the Father, he prepares them for what they will face as they conform themselves to the teaching and example that he himself has set. Notice the first 4 verses of John 16: “These things…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[572],"class_list":["post-92064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-persecution"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38091,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-jesus-talk-about-his-death-if-the-disciples-didnt-understand-until-later\/","url_meta":{"origin":92064,"position":0},"title":"Why did Jesus talk about his death if the disciples didn’t understand until later?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good afternoon brother Jeffrey, I had a question regarding Jesus Christ and the gospel that he preached while he was still alive. As I was reading the book of Matthew, and I was studying how Jesus was preaching the gospel. I know that Jesus preached messages that apparently people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31318,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-we-know-for-sure-that-the-mentally-disabled-dont-need-to-be-baptized\/","url_meta":{"origin":92064,"position":1},"title":"How do we know for sure that the mentally disabled don\u2019t need to be baptized?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have a question. How do we know for sure that the mentally disabled don't need to be baptized? Nowhere in the Bible does it talk about them being baptized nor not being. A lot of people use the Scriptures and of the disciples not letting the children\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27839,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-is-speaking-to-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":92064,"position":2},"title":"God Is Speaking to You","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 58, No. 49, Dec. 4, 2009. One person claims that God revealed to her in a dream what she was to do with her life. A man says that God spoke to him, openly, telling him what he was to do religiously. Yet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/ear.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":46249,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-the-lord-only-speaks-through-the-bible-why-was-the-spirit-promised-in-john-1613\/","url_meta":{"origin":92064,"position":3},"title":"If the Lord only speaks through the Bible, why was the Spirit promised in John 16:13?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: So the Lord only speaks through the Bible and not through the Spirit? I'm kind of confused now. Just wanted to see if you could clear this up for me: \"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63496,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-chain-of-authority\/","url_meta":{"origin":92064,"position":4},"title":"The Chain of Authority","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson I am indebted to Owen D. Olbricht, who helped me understand the chain of authority. God the Father He is \"one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all\" (Ephesians 4:6). Jesus the Son Jesus frequently referred to Himself as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1412,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-jesus-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":92064,"position":5},"title":"Is Jesus God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 3, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is Jesus God? Answer: Many religions cast doubts on the deity of Jesus. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses claim that Jesus is the first creation of God. Muslims see Jesus as nothing more than a significant prophet, much like Moses. 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