Love, God, Hate, Sin

There are some people in the Church who think that personal holiness and social justice are some how independent from each other. They think that the practice of personal holiness in accordance with sound, biblical teaching has nothing to do with loving God and each other. But if we, the Church, have sin and falsehood within ourselves, and we encourage it in others, then all the worldly aid that we offer to those in need is 100% worthless! Because while feeding hungry stomachs, we leave souls to die in the gutter that is sin.

There are some who actually think it is wrong to even speak against sin. They get upset if you so much as recognize sin as sin. But the truth is that one must hate sin in order to love God. Don't hate the sinner; all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But definitely do hate the sin. Christ's purpose in coming was to take away our sin; to lead us to repentance - reconciliation with God. If you love God and people, then you will long for yourself and others to be freed, by Jesus Christ, from sin. 

It is an inescapable reality: everyone must love, and hate. If one loves God, the same will hate sin. If one loves sin, the same will hate God. Whoever loves God, hates sin. And whoever loves sin, hates God. God and sin are diametrically opposed to each other so that no one can simultaneously embrace both. To love the one is to hate the other.

As Jesus taught, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other" (Matthew 6:24). No one can love God and sin, both at the same time. "For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness" (Psalm 11:7). "You who love the LORD, hate evil!" (Psalm 97:10). And what does the Holy Spirit say about the man named Job? That he revered God and shunned evil (Job 1:1). He despised sin. He hated it; because he was loyal to God who "is righteous, and loves righteousness". To love sin is vile, wicked, shameful, and disgusting. To love God is to love what is good and right and pure and holy. And that necessarily amounts to hating sin. 

Through Christ, the universe was made (John 1:1-3, Hebrews 1:1-2). Everything, life and all blessings and strength and beauty and love come from God (John 1:4-5, James 1:17). He is the eternal First Cause and Owner of the universe. And He is the Absolute Decider (Standard) of what is good. On the cross, He made the highest sacrifice to free us from our sin. 

Jesus did what He did at the cross because He loves people. He hates sin because it separates people from Him, the Originator of life, light, love, and everything that is good. He is very patient with humanity, allowing us to live when He would have been justified in pouring out His final judgement on the world centuries ago. Jesus said that our heavenly Father made and allows His sun to shine "on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust" because He is love, and He is patient. But eventually He must judge sin because He is righteous, and He loves righteousness. Sin has to be judged.

So Jesus gave His life on the cross to pay for your sin, and mine. None of us is without sin. But we can not be saved unless we confess - admit that we are sinners; that our sin is sin. We must do this in order to rightly trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sin. No one will enter the kingdom of God until they have their sin taken away from them. And no one will have their sin taken away from them until they admit that they have sinned against God, and are alienated from Him by their sin; and are willing to be reconciled to God by His Son Jesus Christ. "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). He is the Lamb of God who takes away our sin (John 1:29).

So yes, Jesus is about love, forgiveness, and compassion. But He is equally about repentance on our part and reconciling us to our immaculately holy, righteous God (Matthew 4:17, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21). And that means identifying - recognizing the sin that is in ourselves; and putting that sin to death (Romans 6:1-14, Colossians 3:1-10). Jesus had compassion on the adulteress. But He told her to leave her life of sin behind. She would have to in order to follow Him. In order to turn to God, one has to turn away from sin (John 8:1-12, James 4:7-8). 

I admit I am not perfect. But I love Jesus Christ enough to want to love Him more. And in order for me to love God more, I necessarily must learn to hate the sin within myself more. In order to love God with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my mind; I must hate sin with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my mind. And I must strive, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to rid myself of sin, and urge others, for the love of Christ, to do the same. "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). And if anyone has Christian love for me, they will not encourage me to harm my own soul with any kind of sin.