The Way of Jesus: A Countercultural Life
Series Outline
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” - Jesus (John 15:18)
Why is being hated so difficult to deal with?
• At its core… its rejection!
• It directly conflicts with our desire to belong. Who wants to be left out?
• Rejection leads to self-questioning: “what’s wrong with me?”, “how could I be better?” “How could I be more appealing?”, “what do I need to change about me?”
And still Jesus says, “the world will hate you, because they hated me first.”
We are choosing to live “Counterculturally”!
Definition of Counterculture – Oxford Dictionary
A way of life and set of attitudes opposed to or at variance with the prevailing social norm.
So we are living Counterculturally, which is not a new thing:
Jesus, 30AD
John 15:19-20 (NIV)
“If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”
Peter, 60AD
I Peter 3:13-14, 17 (NIV)
Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
John, 80AD
I John 2:15-17 (NIV)
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world.
Countercultural Living has always been hard… and it’s gotten harder!
What are we up against? And how do we continue to stand firm?
John 15:19-20 (NIV)
“If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”
• A Countercultural Life Says, “I’m Under New Ownership”.
I Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
Why Has God Called Us to Live a Countercultural Life?
• A Countercultural Life Reveals Life Transformation.
The Apostle Paul Gives a Very Descriptive Account of What New Ownership Looked Like in His Life: And it was all about Transformation!
Philippians 3:7-11 (NIV)
But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
- Paul’s Perspective of Life Got Better… From His Own, to the One of Christ!
- Pau’s Life Became Less About Doing… More About Knowing!
- Paul’s Life Became Less About Accomplishment… More About Faith!
- Paul’s Life Became Less About Pleasing Self… More About Pleasing God!
2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NIV)
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
Finally, Why Has God Called Us to Live a Countercultural Life?
• A Countercultural Life is the Only Hope for Mankind!
Matthew 5:11-12 (NIV)
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV)
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before me, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
“Be Different Without Being Distant.”