A man was driving down a country road, and - off to the side of the road - he saw an old tumbledown barn. On the side of the barn- a young man had apparently painted this message: "I love you, Kathy." The man smiled as he drove on and thought about the beauty of those few simple words.
A few weeks later, he was driving down that same road and he looked in anticipation for that same romantic message. But to his disappointment - not only was the message gone - so was the barn. It seemed to sadden him somehow to have this statement of love torn down.
But then, he noticed - beside that field, on the back of a large road sign - were painted these words:
"Kathy, I still love you."
Whether the young man was making that statement for his wife or girlfriend, that simple declaration of love said it all.
APPLY: The Bible is a declaration of God’s love for us. The repeated message of Scripture is that God loves us and cares for us. And it tells us all we need to know of God’s affection for us.
1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”
1 Peter 5:7 says: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
And of course, everybody’s favorite verse is: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
ILLUS: During His ministry on earth, Jesus told a parable about how much God loved us. He told about a young man who demanded his inheritance and then – without so much as a goodbye or a “love you dad”, he "…set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.” Luke 15:13
As long as he had money, he lived the high life and had all kinds of friends. But once the money was gone… so were his friends. Then, when all him money was gone, a famine struck the land, and without money or friends this boy had to find a job. But the only job he could find was working for a pig farmer – one of the lowest forms of life a Jew could imagine.
At one point, he gets so hungry, he looks at the slop the pigs are eating and starts to wonder if it would be something even he could eat.
It was at this point he finally realizes what a mess he’s made of his life. And it occurs to him that even his dad’s servants were eating better than he was.
So, he made a plan.
He’d go back to his father and say: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.”
Now, the Pharisees apparently told a similar story. But in their story, when the son came back and told the father he wasn’t worthy to be called his son… the dad agreed. “Yes, you aren’t worthy be called my son. So you’ll work as a servant for a few years to prove your repentance. THEN maybe I’ll let you be my son again.”
But that wasn’t how Jesus told the story, because Jesus was teaching us how much God loved us. "… while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him…
(And he) said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:20, 22-24
So, that’s our God.
That’s the God of Scripture.
That’s the God Jesus came to tell us about.
The God of love and compassion… the God who cares for us.
(LONG PAUSE) But, then we read other passages of Scripture about a God who…“hates”
Proverbs 6:16-19 says: “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”
In the Bible we read of a God who hates all kinds of things.
• He hates divorce.
• He hates the killing of children.
• He hates pride and arrogance and evil behavior and perverse speech.
And you could go on and on and on… about the things and people that God hates.
How do I reconcile a loving God… with a God who hates things?
Well, some have tried to say that there are TWO GODS in scripture.
There are people who actually believe that there’s a God of the Old Testament. A God known for His judgment and wrath. Then they believe there’s the God of the New Testament. A God known for His love and compassion.
They believe in Two separate and distinct Gods.
Now, the Bible has a word to describe that kind of teaching… it’s called heresy.
You could also call it false doctrine.
Or you could call it just a really dumb idea because that IS NOT taught anywhere in the Bible.
The God of the Old Testament IS the God of the New Testament.
But, that doesn’t help me solve the riddle: how could a God of love also be a God of hate?
Well, here’s the deal.
God hates evil.
AND God hates those who practice evil.
Proverbs 3:32 declares “…The LORD detests a perverse man.”
Psalm 5:5 says: “The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.”
And Psalm 11:5 tells us “The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates.”
And as you may recall… Jesus wasn’t real keen on some people:
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. Matthew 23:27
Those are hateful words from Jesus – focused on a hateful group of men.
Now, that doesn’t quite seem right, does it? That God would hate people?
I mean, isn’t there a proverb of some kind that says “God hates sin…” and what’s the rest of it? Oh yeah “but He loves the sinner.”
Apparently, that’s not ENTIRELY true.
God does hate certain people – perverse men, all those who do wrong, the wicked, and those who love violence.
But why?
Why would God hate these people?
Well, because these people do hateful things.
• Their eyes are haughty. They’re proud and arrogant people.
• They have lying tongues. They deceive people to take advantage of them.
• Their hands shed innocent blood. Whether it’s the hate-filled bombers who killed and maimed so many people at the Boston Marathon… or the money-hungry Planned Parenthood and its abortion doctors who destroy the lives of unborn children.
Life means nothing to these people.
• Their hearts devise wicked schemes. One of the most powerful condemnations of the people who died in Noah’s flood was this: “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5
These folks stayed up at night thinking of evil things they could do.
• Their feet are quick to rush to evil. They can’t wait to do bad things. They hurt others out of the pure joy of doing it.
• They are false witnesses who pour out lies. They gossip about others. They say mean and hateful things, all with the intention of dragging other down around them.
• And they stir up dissension among brothers. One of the terms I hear young people use is about people who create “drama” at school. They deliberately stir up trouble between people so that they can sit back and watch. It’s like they can’t get away to watch their favorite soap operas, so they create their own dramas at school or work.
God hates all that.
And God hates all those who do those kinds of things.
And there are 2 reasons why God hates this.
1st – God hates them because these folks have hated Him first.
“I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who Hate ME” Exodus 20:5
God holds certain people in contempt because of the contempt those people have held the things God called holy… they literally hated God 1st.
And God says “if you’re going to hate me, you better expect a little push back.”
So, first God hates these people because they hated Him first.
2ndly – God hates these people because of what they’ve done to other people.
Notice that every sin listed in Proverbs 6 is an action taken against other people.
The haughty eyes… they’re looking down on others.
Lying tongues… they’re lying to folks.
Hands that shed innocent blood… they kill people.
Hearts that devise wicked schemes… they plot to hurt others.
Feet rushing to do evil… they can’t wait to hurt others.
False witness… saying false things against other people.
And stirring up dissension (drama) among their brothers.
Each and every sin listed in this passage tells of wicked people who hurt others. Others who are made in the image of God. Imagine someone hurting someone in your family who you love. Doing mean and painful things that damage that special someone. Wouldn’t you get angry and wouldn’t you feel a bit of hatred for someone who would be so mean and cruel to your loved one?
Of course you would. You would take it personal. You would hate.
And God takes it kind of personal. He hates it.
One man described it this way: “God’s wrath is His utter intolerance of whatever degrades and destroys. He hates iniquity as a mother hated the polio that would take the life of the child.”
A. W. Tozer
If my child were caught in the grips of a deadly disease,
• you better believe I’d hate that disease.
• And you better believe I’d do everything I could to FIGHT that disease.
• And you better believe I’d do whatever I could to destroy that disease.
Why? Because it hurt someone I love.
And that’s how God hates sin.
God hates sin because he hates the damage and death it brings to those He loves.
Of course God hates that type of thing.
And of course God hates (as the Bible says) those who do such things.
(LONG PAUSE)
ILLUS: As I was researching this sermon I went on line to find graphics that I could have put up on the screen behind me about God hating, and I encountered pictures of people standing by the roadside holding signs saying things like:
“God hates America”
“God hates Planned Parenthood”
And “God hates Fags”
And they looked like they were happy that God hated these people.
“YEAH. GOD HATES YOU, AND YOU’RE ALL GOING TO HELL!!!”
You know, there’s just something wrong with that kind of thinking.
And what’s wrong is this: Many people think of “Sinners” as being – the OTHER GUYS. It’s those OTHER PEOPLE who are the sinners.
I’m not a sinner.
I’m NICE folks.
Just ask me! I’ll tell you what a nice guy I am!
But the Bible says “All of us have sinned…” all of us have been hateful of God.
“All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, WE were by nature objects of wrath.” Ephesians 2:3
God is speaking to ALL of us and saying – you have sinned.
You and I have all done hateful things.
Galatians 5 says this to the Christians in Galatia:
“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn YOU, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21
Notice Paul warned them. In fact, he’d warned them BEFORE that if they lived like this they wouldn’t inherit the kingdom of God.
Now, let’s have a pop quiz.
Who is Paul talking to in this letter to the church at Galatia? (Christians)
That’s right, Paul is talking to Christians.
He’s warning Christians.
He’s telling the Christians there that God hates sin… and if they were to continue to engage in things like “… sexual immorality, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition… dissensions, factions and envy” … there was a danger.
And what’s the danger?
The danger is: Christians who lived like this would not inherit the kingdom of God.
If they lived like that… they’d end up in hell.
ILLUS: Years ago a young man started coming to church after he’d been devastated by a divorce. His wife had left him and his two sons and he was looking for God’s help. After a few weeks he realized his need to have Jesus in his life and we baptized him into Christ.
He was faithful in church for several months, but then he stopped coming. Then I found out that he had a live-in girlfriend and I went out to his home to investigate.
He confirmed that he was living with the woman and they he had no intention of marrying her. He’d been burned in marriage and didn’t want it to happen again. But he loved this woman and especially appreciated how she showed love to his two young sons.
I explained that this was wrong. That God condemned this kind of life style and that it could cost him his salvation.
But he said he didn’t care – this woman cared for him and his sons. He said “I don’t care what happens to me, as long as my sons are taken care of.”
It was then I pointed to Exodus 20:5 “I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.”
I explained that his actions would hurt not only him - but his children/ children’s children. His sin was going to damage the very children he said he cared to protect. He failed to understand the danger he was putting BOTH himself and his children in.
But here’s the deal - God doesn’t want that.
God does hate the sin… and He does hate the sinner
But that doesn’t mean He likes that arrangement.
The Bible tells us that God LOVES us.
He doesn’t want us to be under His wrath.
He doesn’t want us going to hell.
In fact, in Exodus 20 it not only says that if we HATE God, God will punish us by “visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me BUT showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:5-6
What God is saying is this: IF you do evil things – there is a price to be paid.
I WILL bring punishment upon you and your children and your children’s children.
BUT if you decide that you don’t want that future for your family.
If you decide that you’ve been foolish to do hurtful things to God.
If you decide you want to turn around (repent) and stop living for yourself and start living for God and pleasing Him… THEN He’ll break the cycle of destruction in your life.
BEFORE you repented, a man would be bringing heartache on his family… but AFTER he repented God would break the cycle of that curse and bring blessings upon 1000s of those who loved him and kept His commandments.
But how would God do that?
How could God undo all the damage of my bad decisions?
Well Ephesians says: “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
BUT because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions— it is by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:3-5
You were dead in your transgressions.
You were by nature – objects of wrath.
You had nothing to offer God.
But because of His GREAT LOVE and mercy God made us ALIVE with Jesus
Not because of YOUR righteousness… but because of Christ’s.
CLOSE: And this love of God wasn’t an meaningless gesture.
It wasn’t some glib statement of empty affection.
When God saved us… it cost Him something. It was by His pain and suffering that you and I have forgiveness.
John Stott, once explained it this way:
I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha,
• his legs crossed,
• arms folded,
• eyes closed,
• the ghost of a smile playing around his mouth,
• a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world.
But each time, after a while I have had to look away.
And in imagination I have turned instead to the lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross,
• nails through hands and feet,
• back lacerated,
• limbs wrenched,
• brow bleeding from thorn-pricks,
• mouth dry and intolerably thirsty,
• plunged in god forsaken darkness.
That is the God for me!
He laid aside his immunity to pain.
He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death.
He suffered for us.
(“The Cross of Christ”, John Stott)
It’s that God.
The God who loved us in spite of our sins and in spite of the way we deserved punishment. The God who reached down into the mud of our lives and lifted us up to live with Him.
INVITATION
