Woe unto you,
when all men shall speak well of you!
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James M. Frye
All scripture
quotations are taken from the Authorized King James Bible. Any deviations are
not intentional. All underlines, bold and words within brackets are the
author's.
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Luke 6:26 WOE UNTO YOU, WHEN
ALL MEN SHALL SPEAK WELL OF YOU! for so did their
fathers to the false prophets.
The false prophets told people what they wanted to
hear (Isaiah 30:10) and God’s professing people loved to have it so (Jeremiah
5:31). False teachers do the exact same thing today (2 Peter 2:1) and
professing Christians love to have it so (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Jesus said that His
disciples, who teach the truth of His word (Matt.
28:20), would be hated and persecuted by those who would not accept that truth.
John 15:20 Remember the word
that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than
his lord. IF THEY HAVE PERSECUTED ME, THEY WILL ALSO PERSECUTE YOU; IF THEY
HAVE KEPT MY SAYING, THEY WILL KEEP YOURS ALSO.
Paul, the apostle, experienced this same hatred from
“Christians” in the churches of Galatia.
Galatians 4:16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
Paul had planted these churches, but once they fell
under the sway of false teachers (Gal. 3:1), they
turned against Paul for trying to show them their doctrinal errors. All of the
churches in Asia Minor (including Ephesus) did the same thing (2 Timothy 1:15).
And many professing Christians in our day do this as well.
The vast majority of the hatred and persecution of
Christians recorded in the Bible, and throughout history, has come at the hands
of those who professed to be God’s people, but who did not like, and would not
receive, the truth of God’s word. There really is nothing new under the sun
(Eccl. 1:9).
Luke 6:26 WOE UNTO YOU, WHEN
ALL MEN SHALL SPEAK WELL OF YOU! for so did their
fathers to the false prophets.
This passage is pointing out the fact that if
everyone speaks well of you, that can only be true if you (like the false
prophets of old) have not been faithful in telling people the truth. If you
had, then many people would not be speaking well of you. They would be speaking
evil concerning you because of it (Mark 4:17). We are to share the truth of the
Bible with people whether they want to hear it or not. Jesus calls us to deny
ourselves and take up his cross daily to follow Him.
Luke 9:23 And he said to them
all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and TAKE UP
HIS CROSS DAILY, and follow me.
Our cross is a symbol of the persecution and hatred
the world will afflict upon us as we faithfully follow Christ and share His
word with others. But this is what we are called to, and Jesus said that we
cannot be his disciples unless we do so.
Luke 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross,
and come after me, CANNOT be my disciple.
A disciple is the same thing as a Christian.
Acts 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And
it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church,
and taught much people. And the DISCIPLES were called CHRISTIANS first
in Antioch.
Those who were previously called
"disciples" are now also called "Christians". So disciples
and Christians are the same. This should not be a surprise to us, for the word “Christian”
means “follower of Christ” and the word "disciple" means "a
student or follower of". So when Jesus says that a person cannot be His DISCIPLE
unless they are willing to take up their cross and suffer for follow Him. He is
also saying that a person cannot be a CHRISTIAN unless they are willing to take
up their cross and suffer for following Him.
A believer is NOT saved by taking up their cross.
They are saved by faith. But suffering and persecution is the cost of being a
believer. It comes with the territory. Since they Hated Christ, they will hate
us. It is what all believers are appointed to.
1 Thessalonians 3:3 That no man should be moved by these AFFLICTIONS:
for yourselves know that WE ARE APPOINTED THEREUNTO.
2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and ALL that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
PERSECUTION.
Notice that it does not say “might”. It says “shall”.
Hebrews 13:13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his REPROACH.
1 Peter 4:14 If ye be REPROACHED for the name of
Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but
on your part he is glorified.
That last verse says that bearing reproach for
Christ is an evidence of salvation, for those who are not true believers will often
fall away in times of persecution.
Mark 4:17 And have no root in themselves, and so
endure but for a time: afterward, when AFFLICTION or PERSECUTION ariseth FOR THE WORD’S SAKE, immediately they are offended.
The word “offended” in the above verse means to
stumble and fall away (Luke 8:13). Just as being willing to endure suffering and
persecution for Christ is an evidence that a person is
saved, not being willing to, or falling away because of persecution is an
evidence that a person was never saved in the first place. Jesus gave the
following warning to those who are ashamed of Him and His teachings (keep them
to themselves).
Mark 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ASHAMED OF ME AND
OF MY WORDS in this adulterous and sinful generation; OF HIM ALSO SHALL THE SON
OF MAN BE ASHAMED, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy
angels.
If we are ashamed of Christ and His words in this
life, He will be ashamed of us, and deny knowing us at His coming.
Luke 6:26 WOE UNTO YOU, WHEN
ALL MEN SHALL SPEAK WELL OF YOU! for so did their
fathers to the false prophets.