The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

John 7:7

The world hates followers of Jesus.  The verdict against humanity is this, that men, even though confronted with their own sin in the light, prefer to kill those who show them they are wrong, rather than coming with humility before an Almighty, merciful God (John 3:19).  Rather than feeling with their heart, they justify, set up road blocks, walls, and excuses that they cannot tell right from wrong any more.

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:20

The church needs revival, but not of the showy kind.  She needs a revival of repentance.

Let us run down the doctrine of repentance really quick.  In the Hebrew (Old Testament), the word for “repent” literally means to “turn around”.  In the New Testament Greek, the word is metanoia, where meta- means “to change” and -noia is related to the mind, so to the Greek, the notion of “repentance” is linked to a change in mind.  But, to get the whole understanding, we must put the two together.  When our mind changes, so does our actions.  From the words of John the Baptist in Luke’s Gospel, it is clear that the Greek metanoia was demonstrated by a distinct change in behavior, as John clearly depicts when people asked him to elaborate.

But, she needs more than revival, and she needs more than an understanding right and wrong from a fleshly perspective, simply a list of rules, do not touch, to not taste, do not handle.  She must have the revival of the Spirit, the breaking of the old code from off her neck in the fullness of the Cross, and come into the revival of the Spirit, into the Spirit of repentance.  She must, because she is filthy.  She Must Have Faith!

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

Revelation 3:17-20, emphasis added

The church thought she was doing alright, but she did not realize that everything she thought she had was not what God thought they had.  They had the “blessing”, as they might say, but they had nothing in God’s eyes.  The cry to the church, from the Lord while standing on the outside, was to repent.  The Lord stood on the outside of His own church, waiting for her to repent.

The church needs all the revival she can get, but most desperately, she must be convicted of her own sin and sinfulness, of her own lack.  She must come to grips with this fact, that she is without tried and true faith, she is without righteous acts, and she cannot see a thing, neither of the Spirit or of the soul.

But, they hated Jesus, they crucified Him, for precisely one reason–He testified that their deeds were evil.  For, truly, this generation must come to grips with this fact before they will ever touch real Gospel power on any lasting basis:

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23, emphasis added

The result of sin is death, from Genesis to Revelation.  This is the reason for the wrath of God.  This is the need for a Savior.  This is why the world, and everyone who is not born again from above is eternally condemned, damned to hell for all Eternity.

Today, a great resurgence of the finished works of the cross is being stirred up.  And, yet, in it, because many have not come to grips with the foulness of their own fallen self, they invent doctrines contrary to the Scripture in the name of it.  Even as Jesus said there would be tares in admist the what, many even deny the substitutionary aspect of the atonement, that one would die for the sins of all, and some even attempt to go on a step further to say that all are somehow forgiven, and they simply don’t know it yet.  Yet, the clear testimony of scripture is that only those houses that had the blood applied to the door posts were saved from the angel of death.  Only those who came under that covering were safe when that power was released upon the Earth.  There was nothing more righteous about those in those houses, they were simply protected from that which was released upon all of Egypt.

Yet, the simple reason, the dire need, is the simple acknowledgement of sin.  While they believe, they do not want to acknowledge how filthy they are, and so be cleansed of it.  While sincere in their efforts, their labors are mixed, they are soulish in their thinking, merely babes, lest they be convicted of their sin, and be saved from it.

The church needs to see the power of the book of Acts, and we need the great loving kindness of the Father to sweep over us and enable us to repent.  But, we must repent.

The verdict against the world is that it is entirely condemned.  There is no good thing within it, there is nothing salvageable, there is nothing even worth looking back for, as Lot’s wife’s death foretold.

The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

Psalm 14:2-3

The church must have revival, but as in the first revival, Jesus’ revival, the Gospel is light and it is truth.  The world stands condemned, and poised for the wrath of God at the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ.  As Jesus decried the cities which did not repent after His mightiest miracles, so too, we must stand in His counsel and call forth the judgment of the Lord on those who likewise will not repent.

Jesus came and did the miracles, yes, because he had compassion, but they were a demonstration of His Kingdom, in which is no darkness at all.  Without holiness, no one will see the Lord, and a church that is mired in its own compromise and adultery is not the pure and spotless bride Jesus said He was coming back for.

The condemnation is just.  But, the church must agree with it.  She must stand in her light, and be the light of the world.  She must stand up and judge herself, lest she be judged.

 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

John 3:19

Jesus was the light of the world while He was here, and now we are.  They hated and crucified Jesus for one simple thing, telling them that they were wrong, and today.  And today, should we do anything but the same?  Should we not, as we grow in faith and in the truth, be first increasingly disgusted with the sin and soulish nature still within ourselves, and out of the continued cleansing and strength that that brings, bring forth that light and truth to the World?  Should we not therefore bring forth our brightness to the world, and, not of our own merit, but His, convict those in the world and the church by our good conduct?

Only then, when we have fully embraced that to live in sin and to sow to the flesh is death, and when we have then not suppressed the conviction that we are unclean, but bring it fully before the throne of Grace and find His absolution, we can be lights to this world.  We will shine with the light of His face, in true Spirit-breathed holiness, and not some man-made concoction.  Though they look for our failures, they find none, for we are all led of God.

For, by this will all men know that we are His disciples, that we have love one for another (John 13:35).  By this we will have been made perfect, by obeying His truth until our souls are purified (1 Peter 1:22).  By obeying Him, we are like Him in this world, and we love Him, because He has loved us (1 John 4:10), and gave Himself up for us (Galatians 2:20), that we might be wholly His.

Jesus was the light, and demonstrated the power of the indestructible life, the life of holiness.  The life that lives forever, the righteous life.  And, we, by faith in His name, not only partake of His life, but of His Spirit of Holiness, by which He lived.  And, as His Life is manifested in us, and we too are hated by all men, whether in the church or out of it, because, His testimony inside of us testifies still.

Ye are the light of the world.

Matthew 5:14a