TRUE LOVE OR DEAD MEANINGLESS RELIGION? I have just read an article in Christianity Today – the online magazine published by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, that Fred Phelps has died. I never knew him in life and never heard of him before nor what he stood for. But from the article in Christianity Today, I understand that he preached hatred for sinners. Nobody can do that without standing condemned by the Word of God. John 3:16-17 (NLT) 16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. 1 John 4:7-8 (NLT) 7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God so loved the world and gave His only begotten Son because God hates sin not sinners and He is angry with the wicked daily because of their wickedness. God’s hatred for sin is so deep that the only way to put away sin from before Him permanently was to pay the price for it Himself. The love of God for the world must also be understood in the context of His well documented hatred for sin. The man or woman being invited to embrace the love of God in Christ Jesus must know also that, that love was revealed because God is intolerant of sin. He is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. He is light and in Him is no darkness at all. He sent our Lord Jesus Christ to put away sin. No Christian should imply that the love of God means that sinners can continue in their sin while claiming to have come to Christ. We must love sinners and reach out to those yet to embrace God’s love and forgiveness in Christ Jesus. We must let them know that the reason why God saved us is so that He could put away our sins, making it possible for sinners to relate with a holy God. We must let them know that we cannot continue in sin while claiming that we are under grace. We must let them know that when we come to Christ we have power to overcome sin and sin must not have dominion over us any longer. Loving sinners does not imply accommodating sin. Loving sinners is to help them see that God’s purpose in Christ was not to judge them but to save them from their sins and the penalty of it. Our love for them would be proof that when we receive God’s love, it is passed to others through us. No Christian should preach a Gospel that does not embrace freedom from sin. We came as we are to be saved. But after we are saved, the process of change must begin. Grace saved us while we were yet sinners. But the same grace must now keep us from continuously sinning against God. The same apostle John who recorded the love of God for us, also recorded God’s hatred of sin for us. 1 John 3:7-10 (NLT) 7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God. We must preach the love of God for sinners for that is the truth. But we must balance it with God’s hatred of sin. It is God’s holiness that drives His love and everything He does. Whatever God does must be compatible with His holiness in order not to violate His nature. He always acts consistent with His nature. In His holiness He found no other way to deal with man’s sin permanently, than to pay the price for it Himself out of His love. When we do not balance God’s love with His hatred of sin, we give the impression to the unrepentant that sin does not really matter to God, which is false. Sin matters so much to God that He paid to put it away Himself. But He did that so sinners can come to Him without fear of judgment. Listen to this: Romans 3:23-25 (NRSV) 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; He passed over sins previously committed so that we who receive His forgiveness can lead godly lives freed from the burdens of our past. If you doubt that sin matters to God deeply, then read this: Hebrews 12:2-4 (NRSV) 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. Did living above sin matter to Jesus? You bet it did. Listen to this? John 8:46 (NLT) 46 Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? Hebrews 4:15 (NRSV) 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. We are called to struggle against sin after we come to Christ. We have the grace of God to assist us overcome the weaknesses in our flesh. We have the power of the Holy Spirit to deaden the appetite for sin within us so we can cease from the struggle and enter into rest through faith. If the devil tempts us, trying to awaken dead appetites to sin through fanciful false rewards and pleasures, we must call for help from heaven so the Father will release a fresh anointing to keep those appetites dead and quiet. It is that call to heaven for help that reveals that we have no desire to continue the old life of sin. This is the way it works. Now take a look at this portrait of the Christian: 2 Peter 2:20-22 (NLT) 20 And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. 21 It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. 22 They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.” It is false to give the impression that God has so loved the world in Christ Jesus that sin does not matter anymore to Him. It is true to teach that, we can reach out to sinners in order to show them the love of God in Christ. But we must not cuddle their sin or we would be found sinning ourselves. Listen to this: Jude 1:22-23 (NLT) 22 And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. 23 Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives. This is the balance that will neutralize the Gospel of hatred for sinners and replace it with the Gospel of God’s love for sinners as well as His unchanging hatred for sin. James 1:27 (NLT) 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. 1 Timothy 6:11 (NLT) 11 But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 2 Peter 3:11-14 (NLT) 11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, 12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. 14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 04:41:05 +0000
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