Sermon on the Mount
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revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against
you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great
is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which
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were before you.”
The world loves sin, and hates righteousness, and this was the
cause of its hostility to Jesus. All who refuse His infinite love will find
Christianity a disturbing element. The light of Christ sweeps away
the darkness that covers their sins, and the need of reform is made
manifest. While those who yield to the influence of the Holy Spirit
begin war with themselves, those who cling to sin war against the truth
and its representatives.
Thus strife is created, and Christ’s followers are accused as trou-
blers of the people. But it is fellowship with God that brings them the
world’s enmity. They are bearing the reproach of Christ. They are
treading the path that has been trodden by the noblest of the earth. Not
with sorrow, but with rejoicing, should they meet persecution. Each
fiery trial is God’s agent for their refining. Each is fitting them for
their work as colaborers with Him. Each conflict has its place in the
great battle for righteousness, and each will add to the joy of their final
triumph. Having this in view, the test of their faith and patience will be
cheerfully accepted rather than dreaded and avoided. Anxious to fulfill
their obligation to the world, fixing their desire upon the approval of
God, His servants are to fulfill every duty, irrespective of the fear or
the favor of men.
“Ye are the salt of the earth,” Jesus said. Do not withdraw your-
selves from the world in order to escape persecution. You are to abide
among men, that the savor of the divine love may be as salt to preserve
the world from corruption.
Hearts that respond to the influence of the Holy Spirit are the
channels through which God’s blessing flows. Were those who serve
God removed from the earth, and His Spirit withdrawn from among
men, this world would be left to desolation and destruction, the fruit
of Satan’s dominion. Though the wicked know it not, they owe even
the blessings of this life to the presence, in the world, of God’s people
whom they despise and oppress. But if Christians are such in name
only, they are like the salt that has lost its savor. They have no influence
for good in the world. Through their misrepresentation of God they
are worse than unbelievers.