We must NOT be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother.

But why, you may ask, did he kill him? Well, the bible tells us it’s because Cain had been doing what was evil in God’s sight, and his brother Abel had been doing what was righteous. Cain’s jealousy poisoned his heart, and sin pounced. In the same way dear brothers and sisters, don’t be surprised if the world hates us and wants to kill us, for it was like this from the very beginning.

Be aware that if and when the world shows hate towards you, remember that it hated Jesus first. The world murdered Him, even though ironically it was HE who laid down His life of His own accord on behalf of the world’s sins. In the same way, the world would love us as one of its own if we actually belonged to it, but we are no longer meant to be part of the world… He has chosen us to ‘come out’ of the world and stop partaking in its sins, so we should expect it to hate us now, just like it hated Him. He has already warned us that ‘a slave is not greater than the Master.’ Since people persecuted Him, naturally they will also persecute us. And if they had listened to Him, they would also listen to us. But they continue to persecute, and they don’t listen to either Him or us (for the most part). So expect it! They will persecute us because of Him, for they have rejected the One who sent Him. People would not actually be guilty (although they would still be under the curse of Adam) if He had not come down to us and had the good news of the gospel spoken unto them. But, those who have heard it now have absolutely no excuse for their sin, and their flesh instinctively hates that. They can’t see that He trapped us all in disobedience, so He could have mercy on everybody.

It’s terrifyingly true that anyone who hates Jesus also hates His Father, the Creator. If He hadn’t have done such miraculous signs among us that no one else could do, people would not actually be guilty. But as it is, many know about and have heard of everything He did, yet they STILL hate Him, and as a result they unwittingly also hate our Father in heaven. This fulfils what is written in the scriptures: ‘They hated Me without cause.’ (Psalm 35:19, Psalm 69:4)

Since He ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father in power, Jesus has now sent us the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. To those of us who have been born again or who are being called, the Spirit comes to us directly from the Father and testifies all about Jesus to us. Therefore, we must all also testify to others about Him too, working with Him to see His kingdom come. But never forget that Jesus has given us the word of the Father, so study it and apply it.

Many Christians are oblivious to the fact that the world WILL hate us, because we do not belong to the world, just as He did not belong to the world. 
But still, even though this is true, we need to bless those who persecute us. Don’t ever curse them; we must genuinely pray that God will BLESS them. For God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, because the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God actually BLESSES us when people mock us and persecute us and lie about us and say all sorts of evil things against us because we are His followers. So, be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits us in heaven. And don’t be shocked when the attacks also come from so-called believers, for satan is very clever at tricking people into working for him even in spite of a faith in Christ. They still need to deal with the flesh, and haven’t fully forsaken it and repented of sins like bitterness, anger or religiosity. Remember that those who physically saw to the crucifixion of the Lord were in fact the learned and religious leaders of the chosen people of Israel! The high priests and scribes were the ones yelling ‘crucify Him!’ 
It should cause each of us to tremble and watch every word we say to others, and to examine ourselves regularly to see if we really are of the faith. Friends, keep in mind that the ancient prophets were also persecuted in the same way. The love of many will wax cold.

Be exhorted! It is no shame to suffer for the LORD!