SQUARE PEGS...ROUND HOLES

by Pastor Paul Naumann

Jesus said, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 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. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.'" 

— John 15:18-21

In the Name of Jesus Christ, Who came to shed light into the world's darkness, Dear Fellow Redeemed,

"The way to get along is to go along." -Sam Rayburn said that, and he was certainly the one to know! A longtime congressman from the state of Texas, Rayburn was known as a consummate politician. He was an old-fashioned, wheeling and dealing party boss, a master of political compromise. And one thing that his decades in congress taught him was that the best way to get ahead in the world is to conform to the wishes of those around you. If the world wants you to fit into a round hole, then the last thing you want to be is a square peg!

...And that's still true today. Nobody wants to be a square peg in a round hole; given a choice, most people will "go along to get along." They're willing to do what it takes in order to fit in comfortably with the society and culture in which they live. But there's one group of people in this world who don't have that choice. For these people, conformity is not an option, no matter how much the world insists on it. They don't fit into the world, and never will. That group of people are the disciples of Jesus Christ - you and me! If you've been felt the hatred of the world and wondered what it's all about, then you need to hear the words of our text for today. And if you haven't felt it...then you need them even more! Let's listen to the advice of Jesus, as we consider the theme:

"SQUARE PEGS...ROUND HOLES"

I. As a Christian, you should expect to take a pounding from the world. II. But remember: Jesus bore the world's worst pounding for you!

Hatred is a terrible thing. Consider America's "hate groups." You've seen the news clips of the Ku Klux Klan and the neo-nazi's, burning crosses or marching on a state capitol, spouting their hatred of ethnic minorities. Ever wonder what it would be like to be a black person at one of those rallies? How would it feel to be the object of all that hatred? Well, if you're a Christian, you already know how it feels...or you should! Because Jesus says that, for His disciples, the entire unbelieving world is one big "hate group." The world is unalterably opposed to Christ, and therefore to His disciples, as well. Jesus tells us to expect it: "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you."

Now, in English, that sentence sounds like something that may or may not be true: "The world might hate you, and it might not." Or, "If it ever should happen that the world hates you..." But if you read the original Greek, that's not the meaning at all. Jesus isn't talking about a possibility, but a sure thing. If you're My disciple, Jesus says, the world definitely does hate you already, and it's never going to stop hating you! So don't be surprised about it! John says, "Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you." — 1 John 3:13.

If this is something you haven't given much thought to, you may find yourself rather puzzled and hurt. Why this awful hatred? What's the meaning behind this bitter animosity? Jesus says it's "...because you are not of the world." You literally don't belong to the world. You're a square peg in a world of round holes! That means that, as a Christian, you should expect to take a pounding from the world. The world is going to hammer away at you, trying to force you to conform to its godless ways. The Apostle Paul says, "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." — 2 Tim 3:12.

Now, there's a way to escape this persecution, of course, and Jesus even gives us a clue as to how to do it: "If you were of the world," He says, "the world would love its own." In other words, you could turn yourself into a round peg. You could avoid the pounding simply by conforming to the ways of the world. Unfortunately, there are plenty of churches in America that do just that. We could even call them "The Round-Peg Christian Church," because they fit right in! The world gets along just fine with churches who don't make a big deal about being faithful to God's Word. The world loves the churches who don't stand for anything. Churches where the "social gospel" is preached instead of the gospel of Jesus Christ...churches where bake sales and bingo and fundraisers take the place of evangelism...churches where false doctrine is tolerated for the sake of so-called "unity"...churches where the problem of sin is conveniently overlooked...churches whose preachers say that the Bible has mistakes in it - that killing unborn children isn't really murder, that it's ok for women to be pastors, that it's alright to divorce your spouse if you're not getting along very well... Yes, the world just loves the Round Peg Christian Church!

And the same goes for individual believers. Christ didn't call us to be round pegs. Jesus says, "You are NOT of the world, but (on the contrary) I chose you OUT of the world." We Christians aren't supposed to fit in with the world. We're supposed to be different!

Do you remember the Susan B. Anthony dollar? As a coin, it never really worked out very well, because it wasn't different enough. You could hardly tell it from a quarter, which of course was much less valuable. In the same way, if you can't tell a Christian from an unbeliever, there's something wrong. Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men." — Mat 5:13. If my life and behavior fits in just swell with godless world around me, that's when I'd better take another look at what kind of Christian I am! What kind of Christian witness am I giving if I sit down at the bar and get drunk like the unbelievers? What am I really saying to them about my faith if I use the same coarse language they do, read the same dirty literature they read, and watch the same obscene movies they watch? What sort of influence am I having on the non-Christians around me if I join them in their gossip, and tear down the reputation of my neighbor? How much damage has been done to God's kingdom by Christians who have "rounded off the corners" of their Christianity! That's not what our Lord called us for! Paul tells us believers, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." — Rom 12:2.

We must each confess that we haven't always lived up to our high calling. But to the extent that you do follow Christ, you can be sure that you're going to feel the world's hatred. And it's not going to be fun. If we're the "square pegs" Christ called us to be, then we ARE going to take a pounding from the world. That's why it's encouraging for us, especially during this Lenten season, to once again "look to the Author and Finisher of our faith." If you're depressed by the persecution you experience at the hands of the world, just remember: Jesus bore the world's worst pounding for you!

In our text, Jesus says we should keep in mind that the persecution we face is the natural outcome of following Him. "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." Jesus of Nazareth was the original square peg. He wasn't anything like the Messiah that the scribes and Pharisees were expecting. Theirs was a work-righteous religion, much like many of the so-called "Christian" churches of our day: do this, don't do that, keep a certain set of manmade rules, do a certain number of good deeds, and you'll be saved. They wanted an earthly Messiah, who would rule over an earthly kingdom. They drilled all these round holes for their Messiah, and Jesus didn't fit any of them! "My kingdom is not of this world," Jesus said. Rather, He said, "The kingdom of God is within you." Christ came to rule in people's hearts, so that by believing in Him, they might be saved. Jesus came, not to do away with the Law, or to impose a new Law, but simply to keep the Law perfectly in our place. He came to provide us sinners with the perfect righteousness that we could never provide for ourselves. As Jesus said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." — Mat 9:12-13. But the Pharisees felt they were plenty righteous already. They had no use for a Messiah like that, one who exposed their self-righteousness and sin. So they hated Jesus. And they pounded and pounded on Him. And when they found that they couldn't round off His corners, they murdered Him on the cross.

This Lenten season, we come again to that cross and see the loving Savior who, for our sakes, refused to conform. God's plan for the salvation of mankind called for the sacrifice of His innocent Son. Jesus went through with that plan. With love in His heart for you and me, He willingly bore the hatred, the mocking, the torture and the death that He didn't deserve. All the sins of the world - mine and yours included! - were laid upon His shoulders, and in our place He suffered and died. What perfect love, so to have pity on sinners like us! What grace, to give so much that you and I might inherit eternal life! What freedom, to be able to walk out of this church today with not a single sin left on our consciences - with His sacrifice, Jesus has atoned for them all. I'm sure you agree with me: this is the Savior in whom I'm going to place all my trust. This is the Master whom I'm going to follow; and if, in following Him, I share in the hatred He felt from the world, then it's a joy to suffer for Jesus' sake!

When the world is persecuting you because of your faith, when people can't understand why you won't conform and be more like them, when they hate you and call you "loveless" for not compromising on God's Word, remember your Master. When the world is pounding you for Jesus' sake, remember the awful pounding your Savior took for your sake. Take encouragement from the fact that Christ has promised to be with you and help you in your trials. Find your strength daily in His Word, and hang in there. The writer to the Hebrews says, "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." — Heb 12:1-2. Despite the pounding, one day we're going to join Him there!

During the Watergate scandal in the early 70's, a list was discovered on which President Nixon had written down the names of all the people he considered his enemies. When the "enemies list" was published, many people actually bragged about being on it! They considered it an honor to be an enemy of such a corrupt administration. As a Christian, you and I are definitely on the world's "enemies list." We're square pegs, and we don't fit the world's round holes. Let's not be saddened by the hatred of the world, but rather encouraged. Let us remember what our Savior told us, in His Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." — Mat 5:11-12. In His saving Name, AMEN.