A good soldier of Jesus Christ will be reviled for Jesus' sake and face opposition and hostile criticism, misrepresentation, slander, and ingratitude. Laughed at for following Christ fully, ridiculed for bearing an honest testimony for the truth. Do not be ashamed of Jesus or turn your back on Him. The Gospel is despised, thought nothing of, forgotten, neglected, put off, scoffed at, ridiculed, and treated with hatred. O Lord, Thou hast been my help. We must put up with the world's rebuffs and rebukes. If you seek to bring others to Christ, you will be charged with self-seeking, fanaticism, hypocrisy, and popularity hunting; you will be misrepresented, belied, caricatured, counted as a fool. Man will impute shameful things to you, degrade you and cast contempt upon you. Resignation must be learned at Jesus' feet.
The unregenerate world will misunderstand and misrepresent you. Be decided, stand up for Jesus, take courage, do not yield. Do the right thing, whatever happens. You will be the common target of ridicule, and talked about continually behind your back. Jesus was falsely accused, ridiculed, spit upon, slapped, punched, mocked, scourged, nailed, left to die. It grieves every Christian to be opposed in doing right. The devil's crowd will always be fault-finding and trying to pick holes in you about everything and nothing. Opposition tries our sincerity and faith, and love to Jesus. Opposition keeps us awake, drives us to our knees, confirms our faith, leads us to pray for our enemies, and drives us to a truly separated faith. Endure hardness with meekness. Return good for evil, live with integrity, truthfulness, and holiness. If you consistently witness for the Lord Jesus Christ, public opinion will turn against you.
Daily pray for grace to endure hardness. Sincere believers are always objects of contempt, assailed with ridicule, bespattered with slander. Bad motives are imputed to disciples, and the truths they declare are attacked. Suffer but don't retaliate, bear and forbear. Take joyfully the spoiling of your goods. I will do right and follow Christ, whoever may sneer. *Galatians 1:10* In the superfine higher classes a Christian man will get the cold shoulder and among the lower classes a Christian man may be cursed. You will receive the world's scowls, and you won't escape men's sneers. Love them that hate you, bless those that sneer at you in scorn, and those that belie your character, and bless those that do their best to ruin you.
The mass of mankind ridicules the Gospel and sneers at it for it comes after their sins. They will believe a learned professor or educated leader, but not God's witness. Men will listen to prestigious and learned worldly men. Have any of the rulers believed? Because the Gospel is true, the world doesn't believe it. *John 8:45* The unsaved world does not care to think about the matters of Eternity at all. They do not care about their soul, or see the importance of being saved from sin's bondage or consequences. They give their minds to business, pleasure, and sinful merriment. The world to come is of secondary importance to the worldling. The Gospel shows a man his bad character, it doesn't meet with his depraved tastes and skeptical notions. Human nature leaps at lies like a fish after a fly.
As unto the Lord - We serve the Lord Christ; Let this be our master motive, not moral reform or politics. Give your whole attention to the Gospel. Make Christ Jesus your main life-work, your true business which absorbs all your energies. Jesus we serve, and none else. *Galatians 6:14* Your kindness will be misrepresented and treated with ingratitude. Acts of generosity and deeds of grace from Jesus were the subjects of undeserved unbelief. With earnest honesty do what you ought to do, careless of the cost. Defy reproach, slander, unkindness and objection of carnal minds. Be content to put up with ridicule. Stick to the good old truth and keep to the good old way. It takes courage and strength of mind to keep to the truth. Keep to the faith of Jesus. Never yield to sneers or ridicule.
The praise of man and the glory of God are opposites. *John 12:43* The world's ridicule and frown makes men afraid of following Jesus and truth. *Jeremiah 1:8* We are a by-word, the laughing stock, and the derision of all mankind. You will be the object of great ridicule and insult, cruelty, and scorn. Have no object but the sole glory of God, seek conversions to Christ only. Declare Salvation by the Precious Blood, regeneration by the power of the Holy Ghost. Bear the sneer of science, and the politer sarcasm of doubters. Ask God for grace to play the man, and bear joyfully the reproach of Christ. Modern thinkers deride the good old way. There is a dark ditch at the end of the error of atheism. Keep to the Cross, make Calvary's Lamb the main attraction. Keep up constant communication with heaven. Live wholly to the glory of God, consecrate your daily activities to His glory entirely. Complete submergence of self into the glory of God, to be reserved for the Lord. Call upon the prayer-hearing God. Human nature loves the praise of man and dreads the threats of men. The praise of man is sickening, but the praise of God is sweet. *John 12:43*
