The Necessary Hierarchy of Hatred.

I'm really challenged right now, and would love to pass it on.  I've been contemplating sin, and God's hatred of sin.  You've all heard it:  "Love the sinner, hate the sin."  Unfortunately, we don't do that, we hate the sinner.  I've been praying about this whole thought, and want to share what God is teaching me.  Let me also say this, to prepare your heart with my motives:  A hatred for sin, doesn't lead to beating people up emotionally, it leads to loving people fully.  Wrestle with that.  Our hatred for sin, not sinners, should lead us to teach salvation to the world around us.

Here is the order in which I believe I/we must hate sin:

1.  First, I must hate the sin in my own life.
2.  Second, I must hate the sin in my marriage/family.
3.  Third, I must hate sin in the body of Christ.
4.  Fourth, I must hate the sin in the world.

Why?

1.  If I don't hate the sin in my own life, I can't teach my wife/family how to live and walk by the Spirit.

2.  If I don't hate the sin in my marriage/family, I can't teach the body of Christ how to live and walk by the Spirit.

3.  If I don't hate the sin in the body of Christ, how can I claim to love?  To reach the world, the church must live and walk by the Spirit.

4.  If I don't hate the sin in the world, how can I say I love God?  Everyone has an eternity to spend somewhere.

What's the point of this post?

Love God so much that you hate sin.  Hate sin so much that you love sinner's.  Love sinner's so much that they learn to love the God....and begin to hate sin.

Just a simple thought I've been wrestling with.  I don't have it all figured out, and I'm still begging God to reveal more.  Share your thoughts.

In His Love,
brad

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the excellent post, Brad.

    One of the most difficult parts of living a Christ-centered life is choosing to reject sin which the world often disguises as "fun" at worst, or "perfectly acceptable" at best. A Holy God abhors sin and we, as His creation created in His image and filled with His Spirit, must rely on Him to help us do the same.

    Bob Thompson

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  2. I absolutely love this line: "A hatred for sin, doesn't lead to beating people up emotionally, it leads to loving people fully."

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