Do We Hate?
This has been a common accusation lately. I recently heard a Christian minister who was speaking at a particular function tell a story about this. A participant at the event approached the speaker and asked if he thought that Jesus was the only way to be saved. The minister said, “Yes. That is my topic today.” The participant went on to ask, “Why do you hate us?”
It is intriguing to me how someone can identify hate with someone’s opinion about reality. Although I feel that certain behaviors are identified by the Bible as sin, does that necessarily mean that I hate the individual who participates in those behaviors? When I identify particular behaviors of my children as wrong, does that infer that I hate them? My eldest sister is a baptized Jehovah’s Witness at the time of this writing. According to the Bible, the Jehovah’s Witness organization and those who follow it are not right with God. They teach a different Jesus and practically put their faith in the Watchtower organization to be saved. Unless my sister repents and puts her faith in the Jesus of the Bible alone, she will not be among those who inherit the kingdom of God. Does that mean I hate my sister? No, I love her very much. I pray for her and try to expose her to the light according to the wisdom of God.
It’s totally unfair for certain individuals to try to demonize biblical truth. If you don’t accept their lifestyle carte blanche, they call you a “bigot.” Nobody wants to be a bigot! The Bible is clear; people who practice what it describes as a sinful lifestyle will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-11). We as Christians recognize any person’s right to live his or her life as he or she chooses as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others. However, it is also our right as Christians to preach biblical truth, in love, even if we proclaim that another person’s lifestyle is wrong according to the Bible. When we point out what the Bible calls sinful behavior, it is not “hate speech.” The Bible proclaims that all of God’s laws were given, “for our own good” (Deut. 10:13).
How to Disagree, in Love
First, if we are true Christians, we should never compromise God’s truth regardless of the cost to us. Those who compromised God’s truth in the Bible for the sake of unity, prosperity, or even their own safety were numbered among the false prophets. In Jeremiah 23, God condemns the false prophets who “strengthen the hands of evildoers so that no one turns from his wickedness” (23:14). They kept saying to those who refused to follow God’s ways, “The Lord says, ‘You will have peace,”‘ and “to those who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you”‘ (23:17). But God goes on to say, “But if they would have stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds” (23:22). As a Christian, I have no right to try to change God’s truth. Ezekiel warns, “When I say to a wicked man, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin and I will hold you accountable for his blood” (Ezek. 3:18). God holds us accountable for refusing to speak the truth in love. When the religious leaders in Jerusalem commanded Peter and John not to speak anymore in the name of Jesus they said, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God” (Acts 4:19). We Christians should never stop speaking God’s truth even when it goes against the common culture.
Secondly, we should speak the truth “in love.” Ephesians 4:15 commands Christians to “speak the truth in love.” We should never be uncaring and hateful. I reject those people who call themselves Christians and spew hatred in the name of God. When people came to Jesus, regardless of their lifestyle, he never turned them away. He was kind and compassionate. It is said of Jesus, “A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out” (Matt. 12:20, quoted from Isa. 42:3). In other words, he was gentle. However, he never overlooked sin. When the woman was brought to him who was caught in the very act of adultery, he did not excuse her behavior. He told her to “go and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11). The only people Jesus rebuked harshly were those who were hypocrites (Matt. 23).
Finally, as Christians it is our job to persuade people to turn from behavior that the Bible calls sin and show their faith in God by their obedience. The Apostle Paul said, “Since we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men” (2 Cor. 5:11). He went on to say in the same chapter, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God’ (2 Cor. 5:20). A Christian is supposed to be kind and compassionate, but we are also to make a passionate plea for men, women, boys, and girls to be reconciled to God. Any person has his or her right to live life as he or she wishes, but it is important to know that “for all these things, God will bring you into judgment” (Ecc. 11:9). Hence, Christians don’t “force” people to obey God, we “persuade” them. God gave us free will and he will not violate yours. If you continue in your sinful ways and refuse to turn to God, he will judge you accordingly. What God calls sin IS SIN. He once spoke about the judgment that would come upon Jerusalem because of their refusal to submit to him, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left desolate” (Matt. 23:37-38).
What will you do? Will you explain away your behavior and face the fearful judgment of God or will you agree with God and turn from your sinful ways and trust Jesus? True love tells the truth. God longs to forgive but we must repent.