Does God Hate Sinners?

Ask Christians any one, probably except for the crazy bunch with their “God hates fags” signs, and you will get a resigning no! Of Course NOT!

Definition of Love and Hate

John Piper:

Both hate and love have two different meanings. Hate can either be “intense loathing of a quality” or “intense intentionality to destroy”. Love can be “intense delighting in a quality”, or intense intentionally to bless (even despite the presence of sin.)

God loves – Intense delighting in a quality

Zephaniah 3:17 (3:17) ​The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Psalms 147:11

(147:11) but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

God loves – Intense intentionally to Bless (despite loathsome sin)

John 3:16

(3:16) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

Romans 5:8

(5:8) but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

God Hates – intense loathing of a quality

Psalms 5:4-7

(5:4-7)  4For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.  5The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.  6You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.  7But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.

Psalms 11:5

(11:5) The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

Leviticus 20:23

(20:23) And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them.

Proverbs 6:16-19

(6:16-19)  16There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him:  17​haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,  18​a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil,  19​a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Hosea 9:15

(9:15) Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal; there I began to hate them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more; all their princes are rebels.

God hates - intense intentionality to destroy

Malachi 1:2-4

(1:2-4)  “Yet I have loved Jacob 3but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” 4If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the LORD of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the LORD is angry forever.’”

God pours out his wrath against sinners

Romans 1:18

(1:18) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

John 3:36

(3:36) Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

My Take:

One of my profs brought this topic up once. The saying: "God loves the sinner but hates the sin" it is such a famous one, but where is that written in the Bible?!

 

God is love (1 John 4:8), but he is also Righteous (Rom 3:23, 6:23). God hates evil. God’s wrath is real, and it is not poured out on people he approves of (Rom 1:18, John 3:36). Wrath is poured out on people God disapproves of. God feels an intense loathing towards sinners, those who are his enemies, who refuse to worship him, those who prefer to practicing evil than than obey his commandments. God hates them (Ps 5:5, Ps 11:5, Lev 20:23, Prov 6:16-19, Hosea 9:15).

Sin is not just a random concept. It is committed in human hearts (Mat 15:19). God hates sin, and the one practicing sin. Sinners are the ones who are going to be punished for their evil deeds, not sin.

Yes God loves all, and wants all to come to the knowledge of his saving grace. (1 Tim 4:2), He “so loved the world” (John 3:16)...  he has an intense desire to bless, even when those he does not delight in.

If we do not understand that God finds us hateful and loathsome in our sin, we will not be stunned by what His love is for us.
Isaiah 53 (4-6) - Jesus describes as taking our punishment for us. God put our iniquity on him and he was pierced and crushed for us BY GOD.

4 Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.



We are loathsome to him in our sins, but he saves us (Romans 5:8, and he makes us the apple of his eye. God comes to us, not in our unattractiveness, he dies for us and makes us pure. It is not a question of “God loves the sinner but hates the sin”.

God can love us with the intent to save us, even when we are God hating, and God dispising. When we are saved, he loves us with the desire to bless us forever, but also with increasing delight (Zeph 3:17).

So: God loves and hates sinners

What is love??

Just wrote this email recently... thought it might be blog worthy!

Love - one of the definitions i like is something like this: it is the overflow of joy in God that leads you to meet the needs of others. (John Piper in his book "Desiring God").


I had a conversation with a friend recently. They were asking me if I felt people used the word "Love" too often. So yeah I think most of the time the word is misused. So if I go to McDonald's and get a Big Mac... I will say "I love this burger", I think, there is truth to this because love, as a dimension of Delight!

But when we say we love somebody is that it? Is it just that we delight in them?

Imagine if love in a marriage was based on this kind of love? If you go into a marriage based on your love for another person. You are in it because of what you can get out of it, as soon as your spouse no longer makes you happy, then divorce is the logical next step.

So the Biblical view of love:

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Rom 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome


There are many many verses to chose from. I just wanted to show how these verses seem to flip our conception of love on its head!

We think: This person does something for me therefore I love...
Bible: the verses seems to hint the opposite... I love therefore I do... I love, so I obey, and I obey with JOY... God loves, and it cost him. He gave his Son.

So I would say that the idea of love in the Bible is sacrificial. Maybe think about a new born child. What has he done? Nothing! Yet, parents naturally just overflow with Joy when they think of their Baby... this Joy leads them to Act and meet all his or her needs.

SO I think that is one big aspect about Love, it moves you to DO!

How can you say you love everybody? You don't even know everyone!

Keeping the previous concept of love... are you willing to give to a complete stranger? Are you willing to do something that will cost you? Are you able to do that and feel joy, (that it is not a burden? 1 John 5:3). I think you can actually, if love is a Way of life! You chose to live, placing other people's needs above your own (Phil 2:4). Does that sound like the good life? Or a terrible life? If Jesus was able to endure the cross with JOY (Hebrews 12:2) we can probably also live a life of JOY loving everyone around us.

As Christians Jesus commands: Love your enemy!

Here's Jesus talking: (Mat 5)

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Christians are not loving?

So about you not feeling loved by Christians... I think that's fair enough! And that's where we fail! Jesus tells us, his followers that we should be known for our extravagant love for one another.


John 13(Jesus Speaking) 

34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Christians are not perfect! We are just people with problems like everyone else. Just we acknowledge our need for a savior! I would say judge Christianity by what Jesus says. That's my standard, not how Christians live... Though you would be correct to observe how being a Christian is lived out... They seem to show you that they need a savior... SO I would say there you agree with them!

How can you love someone you disagree with?

So I guess I would say that if love requires action! Then I would say that when you disagree with someone, instead of you "no longer" loving them, I would try to argue for the opposite! If you are still able to act, in a way that it costs you to "Love them", to demonstrate how you care about them as an individual and their well being, I would argue that you demonstrate even greater love! (the cost is greater!)

Alright... well you asked for the Christian view - So this is what I think it is! Looking forward to your thoughts on this!

Love is spending time?

Have not thought about this too much... A famous book people in Christian circles go coucou over is one describing different ways you can love. The main idea is that we all express love in different ways, and we all prefer some kinds better than others. Here's the list:

1. words of affirmation
2. giving presents
3. physical touch
4. time
5. acts of service

Think about it!

Much Love!

The Church must change its attitude

Hey y'all!

So I just watched this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abcj6kSkO1A

It's a video on homosexuality, and how families deal with it. So from a conservative's point of few, I though it was excellent, just because, we never get taught this side of things in church!

I'll just start with one negative comment and then share what I have learned out of it.

Negative Comment

I thought some of their comments saying the Bible did not condemn homosexuality anymore were not correct. It seemed to me like all the authors of the Bible NT and OT assumed homosexuality was not what God has in mind when he created Adam and Eve. Saying it no longer applies, is just arbitrary. What else do you chose to take out of the Bible, heaven and Hell? Murder? and so on... text. 

They made some comments saying that everybody was God's child, which I do not think is Biblical - John 1:12, 1 John 3:10. But tends to be universalist. I wish I could say the same, but the problem with that is that it is an attack on God. If your sin is no longer a problem, well that attacks his righteousness. He hates all sins! If you decide God loves your sin, well guess what? He loves pedophilia too... That would be an insult to anyone I believe... It is forgivable, that's why Jesus died, but do not say God loves you the way you are, as in he's happy with you living as you do...

Saying God loves people Just the way they are can be misleading. If God loves us the way we are as sinners and does not want us to change, why then did he bother sending Jesus to die according to the Christian faith? If you just take Jesus from the Bible, but leave everything out. Then you are creating your own fictional Jesus, and that's fine. But when people are talking about you, you want them to talk about you as the real person tha

It seemed like a lot of the arguments were more based on emotion than on what the scripture teaches! When we base our doctrine on anything else that what the Bible says, then what?! Chaos! 

Some things Christians need to work on

Jesus said that he wants his followers to be known as people who love each other (John 13:35), sometimes unfortunately it seems like we are known to be gay bashers, which is really unfortunate I think. 

First the primary goal of Christians is not to be anti-gay activist, but to love them, and be sharing the gospel with them. The saving truth that is true for all men, that we have fallen short of the glory of a God who is perfect, and despite what we have done, he gave us his Son, to pay for our sins that we might be cleared. They are sinners like all of us, they don't get a special box! We want them to know Jesus as a priority! Then let the Spirit of God deal with their sin! 

As Christians we should be known as those who love gays, not who hate them! I think that blaming all the anti-gay talk on the Christians is kinda harsh! Because I know many atheists who are wayyy Anti gay, and I would say most Christians I know who though believe homosexual relations are not what God had in mind when he created man and woman, but who love men and women with homosexual lifestyles. If gay people have a hard time with non-believers who should be known for our love for them, build relationships with them, that they can experience the God that we worship!

I think parents should be taught to love their child no matter what, because even though homosexual relations miss the mark of God's ideal, we are all sinners, and so are parents, and grandparents, so being a good witness to our kids is to love them no matter what they do. So that they can at least get some support, if not from anyone else. 

Christians have a bad reputation, I believe some with their sign saying "God hates fags", others maybe even killing gays. Some parents have caused severe psychological damage to their children in that way. 

Anyways, I'll probably have another post on what the Bible teaches, what we can get out of science, but here I really wanted to talk about What we must be known for is our love, not for being homophobic and judgmental, these are sins too!!

In Christ, the savior, 

Julian

The Problem with saying: "all the religions are the same anyway"

Sooo, let's say that I belong to a religion, and I really believe that my religion is the truth, and the only truth, because that is what my religion teaches.

What is more arrogant?

- To believe that my religion is the only truth?

- Or, for someone who does not know my religion to say: "all the religions are the same and all lead to God".

My view

The second! It's as if you walk up to a complete stranger, ask him to tell you his life story, and when he is done talking, you tell him, actually no! I do not know you, but I really understand everything, so let me now tell you what your life was really like...

I believe Jesus is the only way to know God. I believe he was the image of the invisible God. So if you claimed to know God, but you did not recognize Jesus as the image of that God, then your knowledge of God is distorted! So that's my belief!

If a Muslim tells me, that no, the only way to God is by following the teachings of Muhammad, well I would think to myself, "sorry he believes that, I wish I could show them what God is really like, Love, and Justice, personal, who wants a relationship with you!

On the other hand, if a Postmodernist comes up to me and tells me that all the religions are the same, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam.... They've just denied what my faith teaches, in that sense they are telling me that they know more about what Jesus said that Jesus himself!

John 14:6, Acts 4:12

Love love, 

Julian

They Look the same!

A few years back I remember waiting for a friend at Place Jean Jaurès in Toulouse, France. I started to notice a group of people:
One was a tall black guy with dreadlocks, the next was a girl in a beautiful blue dress, then there was this guy who looked a bit geeky with his skinny jeans and big glasses, some in the group looked asians, some black, some caucassion, they did not seem to have anything in common apart their age. I just couldn't figure out how they had arrived to the same place!? They looked like a group, but my question was, why are they together??

Then it occurred to me... THEY MUST BE CHRISTIANS!

From then on I started playing the game: They look the same!

So this is how it works:
Whenever you see a group of people you will notice that the people in the group look the same! This does not always work when you walk passed a family, cos then they might all have their own style! But seriously try it! When you see people who look the same you say: "HEY! they look the same!"

Last year, I had a school trip to Brussels. I told my school mates to try the game. At first some of them were skeptical, but by the end they were like: "HEY! They look the same!"

Having said all of that I just wanted to point out one of the beauties of Christianity:

No matter, who you are, what you done, where you are from, how old you are, what you education is, how many friends you have, what language you speak, you can be skinny or fat, short, or tall, Jesus loves you! He loves you so much that even though he knew all the things you were going to do, I still died on the cross, offering his life for your sins, that you might be saved from your sins, and start a new life, free to have a relationship with the living God!?

Do you want to join in the fun? We are many! You can find us on every continent! We've died to our old selves, we now live to serve the creator God, do his work, proclaiming the gospel of reconciliation, being conformed to the image of Christ to see the world as God sees it, to love like he loves, to serve as he serves!

Let me know!

Much Love,

Julian

Nature vs Nurture

This post is actually relevant to the previous post but I was thinking more of things which are linked to the mind - mental disease..., I guess it could also link up with the freewill debate!

I believe in Freewill!
Ravi Zacharias put it like this: If you are making the truth claim that you are a robot, then you are raising above the bondage of total subjectivity. The moment you make a truth claim, you are violating determinism.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU5qgQPPRUM

I think the nature vs nurture debate is really important:

Both have there dangers -

Nature: 

If you are the way you are because of your genetics, then who can condemn a pedophile? 

The only thing left is to say: for the benefit of society, even though we understand that it is not your fault, we must lock you up, even though we do not see you as evil, just a victim of the genes you have. 

If we get it wrong: 

Though someone holds responsibility for their actions, they are cleared!

Nurture:

We then have responsibility for what happens. We can change things. We control our own life to some extent. 

We can still blame people for their actions. 

If we get it wrong:

We blame someone though he was not responsible for his actions

Anyway, be careful in your judgement, making mistakes can have great consequences. Before judging someone about anything, it might be safe to assume that it could always be a bit of both. Losing the balance causes harm.

Where is Freedom found?

Why is it is so easy to leave God, but so hard to leave our bad habits?
Why is it so easy to forsake God, but so hard to stop smoking?
Why does it take no effort to abandon God, but being lazy comes to us so naturally?
Why do we find no problem in keeping God out of our life, when saying "sorry" to someone we've hurt is so difficult?
How come it is so easy to forget God, but so difficult to stop those unhealthy eating patterns?
Why is it that we know God is the one who provides for all our needs, and yet we keep failing to acknowledge him?
Why is it so easy to Replace God with lesser gods, but so hard to get rid of those lesser gods once they take over our life?

That easy, because all things: bind us, enslave us, constrain us, but

God is the only one that gives us Freedom, he freely lets us go our own way!