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Hebraic Musing - God Hates Sin, but does God Love
Sinners?
How
often have we encountered someone committing an obvious sin or living a sinful
lifestyle? And to comfort them and avoid
confrontation, we say “God hates sin, but He loves the sinner.” But is that true?
What do
the Psalms say? (Here’s a few to start,
read more Psalms to see what God has to say about sinners.)
·
“The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you
hate all who do wrong. You destroy those who tell lies;
bloodthirsty and deceitful men the LORD abhors.” Psalms 5:5-6
NIV
·
“For the LORD watches over the way of the
righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” Ps.1:6
·
“Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be
destroyed in your way…” Ps.2:12
·
“Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth
of the wicked.” Ps.3:7
Right
after the oft quoted John 3:16, we are viewed by Jesus himself as “Condemned”
in v.18b. “…whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has
not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.” And the final result is in v.36 - “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal
life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.”
When
Jesus was going into the Garden of Gethsemane Matthew reports “Going a little farther, he fell with his
face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is
possible, may this cup be
taken from me.’” Matt. 26:39 The “Cup” is not reference to the wooden
cross; He was referring to divine judgment, the cup of God’s wrath.
Does
the Gospel call us to “accept Him”? Or
to fully recognize who He really is? “Not everyone who
says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father
who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we
not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many
miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” Matt. 7:21-23 Who really does the “Will of the Father”?
In his
book “Radical” * David Platt makes this statement – “Our American dream radically differs from the call of Jesus and the
essence of the gospel. This
differentiation is heightened when we contrast trust in the power of God with
reliance on our own abilities.” Our
DIY nature wants to take over!
And
David Platt goes on to say we have a problem with our modern day gospel which
tells us “God loves you and has a
wonderful plan for your life. Therefore,
follow these steps and you can be saved.”
HOWEVER the Biblical gospel says “You
are an enemy of God, dead in your sin, and in your present state of rebellion,
you are not even able to see that you need life, much less to cause yourself to
come to life. Therefore, you are
radically dependent on God to do something in your life that you could never do.” Which “Gospel” sells books and which one saves
souls?
We live
in a culture, especially in America, that exalts self-sufficiency, self-esteem
and self-confidence. We are taught that
if we set goals and work hard we can achieve anything our heart desires. These are good attributes; BUT do we leave
room for God to have a role in the result?
Has the
church reduced Jesus to someone who simply needs to be accepted? Or is He to be our LORD, BOSS and MASTER?
Points
to ponder
After all, who
is God anyway?!?!
Do we really
trust in God’s Omniscience, Omnipresence and Omnipotence?
If hard work
and diligence gets our heart’s desire, why do we need God?
“These are the Scriptures that testify about
me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” John 5:39-40
Yosef a.k.a.
Joe Brusherd May 11, 2021
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages
exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith”
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)” Weekly “Hebraic Musings” insightsbyyosef.blogspot.com/
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