I want you to consider with me
for a few minutes this morning six words that our Lord Jesus
spake in John chapter 15. Would you turn there with me?
John chapter 15. These six words found in verse
25 define and expose our guilt and our shame And at the same
time, his perfect righteousness. I want you to look at the last
six words of verse 25. In verse 25, the last six words
say, they hated me without a cause. They hated me without a cause. There has never been one. who
was so loving, so compassionate, so merciful, so gracious, and
so kind as our blessed Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it would seem to me absolutely
impossible not to love or have affection for him. We meet people
along the road of life, and some people are just easy to like,
easy to love. And we even say that, that fellow's
just easy to love, or that lady's just easy to love. If you don't
love them, something's wrong with you. You've heard statements
like that. Surely to hate the Lord Jesus
Christ, who is altogether lovely, scripture says, exposes something
horribly wrong within the one who hates him. Yet I declare to you that as
the pages of divine scripture plainly show, there was never
one who was hated more than the perfect son of God. And sadly, sadly, this is God's
charge against all mankind. Since the fall of man, including
you and I, there was never one who was more despised, more rejected
of men, never one who bore such sorrow as the Lord Jesus Christ,
who is referred to as a man of sorrows from the moment he was
born. until he gave up the ghost. He was hated. He was despised. He was rejected by those who
should have loved, adored and worshiped him. But he says that
he was hated without a cause. Without a cause. You remember
the passage in Isaiah 53 where Isaiah prophesied this concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ and sadly it came to pass. The prophet
said he is despised and rejected of who men, men, all men and
women by nature. He's a man of sorrows and acquainted
familiar with grief. In his grief, his sorrow and
anguish, what did we do? The prophet said we hid, as it
were, our faces from him. We looked upon him in disgust
as one who was loathsome and repulsive, hating him, detesting
him, and considering him as unworthy of any notice by us. Now that's
talking about our hearts toward the Savior. And it's to our shame,
and it's to the condemnation of all men and women born of
Adam's helpless race that these words are spoken, especially
when we consider who it was that said them. They hated me without
a cause. No cause, no reason, no justification
in hating the spotless lamb of God. Why he came into the world
to save sinners. And he says they, they're speaking
of all who refuse to believe his word. They hated me without
a cause. And sadly multitudes of folks
still do. Without reason, without grounds,
without justification, without a cause, men hate the one that
they should love. They hate the one that they should
worship and adore. So what does that say of man? We hate that which is good and
we love that which is evil. Genesis 6, 5 plainly says that
God looked down and he saw that every thought of the imagination
of man's heart was only evil and only evil continually. What does that say of you and
I? Our Lord Jesus said in John chapter
three, he says, and this is the condemnation. This is why men
are condemned that light has come into the world and men loved
darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. Their
deeds were evil. Jeremiah wept, and he reasoned,
and he said, can the Ethiopian change his skin? Can the leopard
change his spots? And then he goes on and concludes,
then, may you and may I also do good that are accustomed to
doing evil. Oh, we hated him without a cause. We cannot do good and our Lord
exposes the evil of our desperately wicked and deceitful hearts by
these sober words. How solemn and sober they are. They hated me. They hated me
without a cause. No reason, no cause that he should
be hated. Why he's the epitome of love.
Why should he be hated? It was without cause. It was
without reason that any should hate him. And some might say,
well, preacher, you don't, you don't know me. You don't know
my heart. I don't hate God. Well, I'm not
the one that said it. And he's speaking to me the same
as he is to you here. They, Who is it that says it? The Lord Himself. They hated
Me without a cause. Our Lord in John chapter 7, He
said, The world hateth Me. The world hates Me. Why? Because
I testify of it. I expose the world. I tell the
truth about men's hearts, that the works thereof are evil. And
that world represents all of us. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2,
in verses 2 and 3, and he said, we're in times past, you, you,
you walked according to the course of what? This world. According
to the Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience. He said among whom we all All
of us, every single one of us had our conversation in times
past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the
flesh and of the mind and were by nature the children of wrath. And then he says he's working
even as others. This speaks of of all of us by
nature. even as others. Men's hatred
for the Lord Jesus Christ displayed itself in various ways over the
course of his life. On one occasion, he stood to
preach in his own hometown. He got up and they handed him
the scroll, the scriptures to read, and he simply said, this
day, this is fulfilled in your ears. And you know what they
did? They took him out to the a big hill and was going to throw
him down head first. Men hate him without a cause. On another occasion, they took
up stones to hurl at him in anger and content because he simply
said, Abraham, rejoice to see my day. And he saw it and he
was glad. And their hatred, their hatred
exhibited itself often in slanderous marks. They called him a glutton.
They called him a drunkard. They looked down their noses
at him because he ate with publicans and sinners and didn't wash his
hands. They hated him without a cause. Their cries turned from one day
as He rode in on a donkey, a small coat, from Hosanna, blessed is
He that cometh in the name of the Lord, quickly turned their
words to crucify Him. Crucify Him. Release unto us
Barabbas, who was a notorious murderer. Oh, the hatred. What made their
hatred even more incomprehensible was that it was totally, totally
void of any justifiable reason. They hated him without a cause. So once did I, and some still
do. Our Lord ministered to the poor
and he ministered to the rich alike, and he spoke to them on
equal terms. He never showed any partiality
to the rich. He never showed any discrimination
to the poor. His compassion was equal in regard
to the noble centurion or the unimpressive servant. He was no respecter of persons.
He was compassionate to all who had a need. He was at the disposal
of both the Notable and to the servant in times of trouble,
our Lord always showed mercy, always showed compassion in time
of great need. Never once in the scriptures
can I find where one came to him asking for help, that he
turned them away and turned them down. No. He said, I will, I
will. Was there any thing concerning
his person, his character as a man that would cause anyone
to hate him. He was absent of absolutely everything
and anything that would provoke such treatment of hatred. None
could say that they were envious. Oftentimes men don't like other
men because they're envious of their possessions. But the scriptures
say that even foxes have hoes and the birds of the air have
nests, but the son of man had no place to lay his head. So
it couldn't be that. Oftentimes, pride, arrogancy,
and hypocrisy are things that men despise in other men. But
the Son of Man gave no thought for Himself. The Scriptures say
He made Himself of no reputation, took on the form of a servant,
always serving, never demanding or desiring anything from anyone. Why do men hate Him? They hate him without a cause.
There's no reason. Now point careful examination
of the meaning of that phrase without a cause. You'll find
that the same Greek word is on several occasions in the scriptures
translated as the word freely. They hated me freely. Our Lord says, they hated me
freely. And this should cause us to consider
the very thing that men attribute their salvation to. And I refer
to the free will of man. Free will. You want to see something
of man's free will? They hated him freely. They hated
him without a cause. God delivered his beloved son
into the hands of wicked man. And what did they do? How did
they exercise their free will? They hung him on a cross and
killed him. That's what they did. That's
what man's free will did. And that's what free man's free
will still does. Nails him to a cross on the day
of Pentecost, Peter stood up and he said, you men of Israel,
hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you. How was he proved of God among
you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in
the midst of you, as you yourselves also know. And he said, you.
You have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.
That's what man's free will will do to the Savior. The Lord Jesus
was approved of God. God did great miracles by him
in the midst of the people. And in John chapter 10, the Lord
Jesus made this statement. Hold your place here in John
15. Turn back with me to chapter 10. I want you to see this. Notice
our Lord's words in verse 30. He says, I and my father are
one. Now notice that the word my is
italicized as we've seen that that word was added to make the
passage read a little easier. What the Lord said here was this. I and father are one. He's saying son and father are
one. He's saying I am God. I'm God. In verse 31, then immediately
the Jews took up stones again to stone him. And the Lord asked
him in verse 32, he said, many good works have I showed you
from my father for which of those works do you stone me? And the
Jews answered him saying, for a good work, we're not stoning
you because of a good work you've done. We want to stone you for
blasphemy and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. They didn't hate the Lord Jesus
Christ for what he did. They hated him for who he claimed
to be. They hated him without a cause. Well, if they hated him for what
he said, was it really without a cause? Yeah. Because what he
said was true. What he said was true. If he
had lied, then there would have been cause. But he didn't lie.
He simply told them the truth. I am God, he said. I and Father
are one. And friends, I tell you, men
hate Christ today for the same reason. They don't hate him for
what he can do for them. Let me tell you, you preach a
Jesus that promises riches to men by giving them a hundredfold
return on their investment in the church. That's what men are
saying. Well, now you give 10 and the Lord will give you back
100. Well, what a great deal that is. You preach that kind
of Jesus and they'll follow you to hell and back. You preach
that Jesus has made salvation possible without infringing upon
man's free will, and I tell you, they'll pack an auditorium full
to have their itching ears tickled. But you preach. Now listen. You
preach a sovereign Savior. You preach one who elects sinners
according to his own choosing. You preach a God who predestined
and called sinners before the foundation of the world without
their will, without their work, without their cooperation, and
they'll kill you and claim that they did God a favor. You preach a God that has mercy
on whom he'll have mercy. A Savior who will have compassion
on whom he'll have compassion and they'll freely hate you without
a cause. Men don't hate the Jesus of their
imagination. They don't hate the Jesus they've
conceived in their own mind. No, but they hate the one that
this Bible teaches and they hate him without a cause. Did you save your place in John
15? Look there with me again. Look at verse 16. John 15, 16. The Lord Jesus speaking here.
He says, ye have not chosen me, but I've chosen you and ordained
you. Now that's the sovereignty of
God right there. You didn't choose God. He chose
you. Isn't that what he said? How much simpler and plainer
can that be? You have not chosen me. I have chosen you and ordained
you. You preach that and I'll tell
you, they'll lay hands on you, but not in a biblical sense.
You tell men and women that that is the God of the Bible, that
He chooses, that He ordains, that He causes men and women
that they should go forth and bring forth fruit. It's God that
brings forth fruit in a man or a woman. It's God that worketh
in you. And He says, and let your fruit
remain. It's God that keeps you. that whatsoever ye shall ask
of the Father in my name, He may give it you." It's God that
gives. You tell men and women that God
does what He wills, that He does what He wills, when He wills,
to whom He wills, and they'll hang you on a cross if they can.
You tell men and women the truth and they'll hate you. Look at
verse 18. If the world hates you, you know that it hated me
before it hated you. Verse 19, if you were of the
world, the world would love his own, but because you are not
of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore
the world hated you. You try to strip a man of his
free will decision, his choice by telling him that God did the
choosing, not man. They'll do the same thing to
you that they did to Christ. Verse 20, remember the word that
I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord.
If they've persecuted me, they'll persecute you. If they have kept
my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will
they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him
that sent me. Now look at verse 33. He that
hateth me, hateth my father also. And it's without a cause. It's
without reason. Well, I know if I if I stopped
right there, you probably think, well, what good news is there
in all this? Well, I've given you the bad
news, so let me give you some good news, though. It's true
that all men and women by nature hate the Lord Jesus Christ freely
without a cause. It is equally true. that he loves
his people freely, without a cause. Remember, I told you the same
word for without a cause is also translated freely in other passages
of Scripture. Turn with me over to Romans chapter
3. Here's one instance where that
word is translated this way. Romans chapter 3, verse 23. Most of you can quote this without
looking at it, but let's look at it together. Romans 3.23.
The Apostle Paul here writes, For
all, every man, every woman, have sinned and come short of
the glory of God. Now that's the bad news. What's
the good news? Being justified freely. Justified without a cause. How? By His grace. Through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus. Being justified without a cause. Nothing in me or you that deserved
it. We didn't earn it. We didn't
merit it. It's the gift of God. Free gift
of God. Unmerited favor. Being justified. That simply means being made
righteous and perfect before God Almighty. It's free. It's free. It's by grace. It's
unmerited. It's undeserved. Without a cause. It's through the redemption that
is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ, whom we freely hated.
Isn't that just something? That's just amazing to me. Have
you ever heard such a wondrous and glorious truth? The one that
I freely hated, the one that I hated without a cause has loved
me freely without a cause. That's the glorious gospel. That's
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ being justified freely
by His grace. Whose grace was it? was his. And it justifies me freely, without
a cause, without reason. It was the grace of Christ whom
I freely and without a cause hated. Look over a few pages
to Romans chapter 8. Verse 28, there again, very familiar
passage of scripture. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. And here the apostle Paul declares
again, the sovereignty of God for whom he did foreknow. He
did also predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren, and moreover whom
he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called,
them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these
things? Well, if God be for us, who can
be against us? Verse 32, he that spared not
his own son here it is, but delivered him up for us all. How shall
he not with him also? Freely. Freely. without a cause, without a reason,
give us all things. How horrific is our sin? So horrific
that God spared not his own son, but delivered him up to justify
me freely. How hideous is our hatred for
God? so hideous that God spared not
His own Son and freely gave me all things in Him. How deep is
our depravity, so deep that God spared not His own Son and saves
me by His grace freely without a cause. How just, how holy is
God, so just and so holy that He spared not His own Son, but
delivered Him up for such a one as I, who hated Him without a
cause." That is the, that's the gospel.
That's the most amazing thing the ears of sinners have ever
heard. So I must ask you in closing,
do you hate, do you hate the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you refuse
to believe him? You know, to refuse to believe
him is to hate him. If you do not believe him, that
too is without a cause because he's not a man that he should
lie. Let God be true. The scripture
say, and every man a liar. God himself says in Isaiah chapter
one, verse 18, he said, come now and let us reason together. God says, let's reason together. Let's reason together, saith
the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as
white as snow. Though they be like crimson,
they shall be as wool. Come unto me. Come unto me, all
ye that labor and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Our Lord says in Isaiah 55, Everyone
that thirsteth, are you thirsty? Come ye to the waters, and ye
that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat. Yea, come, buy wine
and milk without money and without price. It's free. It's free. It's been paid for.
It's been paid for by Him. Seek ye the Lord while he may
be found. Call ye upon him while he is
near. Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord.
And he will have mercy." That's what it says. And he will have
mercy upon him and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Our Lord said, take My yoke upon
you. Learn of Me. Learn of Me. I am meek and lowly in heart,
and you shall find rest unto your souls. Do you need rest
this morning? That's where it's found, right
here. My yoke is easy and My burden
is light. Now to those of you who hate
Him without a cause, I read you the words of the Apostle Paul
to the Church at Corinth in closing. For we must all, there again
all, must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone
may receive the things done in his body according to that he
hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the
terror of the Lord, we persuade men." One day soon, we're all
going to stand before the holy justice and judgment of God.
What think ye of Christ? Do you hate Him? If you do, it's without a cause.
Do you love Him? Well, if you do, it was without
a cause in you that He enabled you to do so.