19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
The world hates believers because followers of Christ hold a radically different worldview.
19 If you were of the world,
The Greek “if” here assumes that it is true that the disciples were not “of the world” (second class condition). The apostles did not obtain their worldview from human viewpoint but from God. They were no longer part of the world; they derived no principles from it.
the world would love its own [neuter].
Jesus “chose” the apostles to move into a completely different belief system than the world. They operated in a completely different category than non-biblical belief systems. They made a decisive break from the world system.
Yet because you are not of the world,
The apostles were not of the world system of beliefs.
but I chose you out of the world,
The phrase “out of the world” does not pertain to monasticism. Simeon Stylites sat on a pillar for 36 years to keep himself from the world. No, the biblical idea of separation is not physical but belief separation.
therefore the world hates you.
It is the belief system of Jesus that the world hates.
PRINCIPLE:
The world system demands that everyone conform to its beliefs and values.
APPLICATION:
The world hates believers because the Christian worldview is a rejection of their fundamental belief system. This system demands conformity to its assumptions about reality.
Christianity exposes the world system for its hatred of God. The biblical worldview stands in complete opposition to the values of our culture (Ro 12:2; 1 Pe 4:4). God has translated us from the “kingdom of darkness” into the “kingdom of light” (Co 1:13). The believer has moved from hopelessness and despair to certainty, to confidence in an eternal future, because of Christ.
There are two basic ways man can come to truth: (1) from himself or (2) from revelation from God. People hate the idea that they must depend on God to know ultimate things. However, the only possible way to know about God (since He is infinite) is for Him to disclose who and what He is.
Sometimes we give the impression that it is the inconsistencies of Christians that the world hates. That may be true to some degree, but the heart of their hatred is aimed at what Christians believe.
