God Hates Sin – So Should We
May 23, 2013
“Wherefore,
as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so
death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Romans 5:12.
God loved Adam and Eve and they enjoyed fellowship together. The sin
Adam committed separated him – and all following generations – from God.
After death entered God’s creation nothing has been the same. Since
that original sin there has been a huge gulf between us and God. It is
not humanly possible for us to bridge that gulf by ourselves and return
to being in the presence of God. God hates sin because of that
separation and had a plan to bridge that gap.
First,
let’s understand what sin is. Sin is anything that is opposed to God’s
ways. The Ten Commandments are a good summary and a place to start in
understanding God’s ways. “Thou shalt not commit adultery”. Exodus 20:14. That’s easy enough to understand, but Jesus reveals even more of God’s ways “But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart”. Matthew 5:28.
The Book of Leviticus gives us a pretty good idea of what God expects
of us, but read through the Sermon on the Mount and you will understand
more. God gave us the Laws to follow in order to be able to be with Him.
We all can understand the rules of a sports game and know that if we
break one of those rules we get penalized. For instance, when I watch
the Winter Olympics I see figure skaters. They do routines and I can’t
see any flaw in what they do. But when the judges give points, what I
thought was a beautiful performance has many points are taken away from
it. Maybe their foot wobbled, or maybe a leg wasn’t high enough. We
accept this, but many think that God is unfair. God gave us the facts
and rules of the way to be with Him. God’s ways are perfect, but we
rebel against Him and that is called sin. We think He doesn’t mind, but
God does mind. God hates sin, and we push the limits.
We
also need to know that sin is a choice. Yes, it is in our nature, but
when Adam committed that sin so long ago it was a choice he made. God
gave him everything and then gave him one rule. Just one. “And
the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden
thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof
thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:16.
That seems easy enough. Then God did even more for Adam. He created
Eve. Sometimes I try to imagine that time in history when Adam and his
wife strolled around that Garden and had direct contact with God. What
bliss that must have been. Well, we all know what happened. Satan lied,
Eve bought into that lie, and Adam chose to sin. Yes, sin is a choice.
The fellowship once enjoyed by God and His creation was broken. This is
why sin is so repugnant to God.
I mentioned a plan that God had to bridge the gulf created by sin. What is that bridge? “For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.” John 3:16.
God hates sin, but He loves us. All it takes for us to move from death
to life is belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
There is no other way to be with God except for belief in Jesus Christ. “For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:17.
Since Jesus Christ died on that cross, sin and death have been defeated
and we are no longer under condemnation. What perfect love our Creator
has for us! He entered His creation to give us the only way to
salvation. Again, we have a choice. Either accept Him and gain eternal
life, or choose to reject this gift and find eternal death. It is our
choice.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of god is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23. A
wage is something you work for and earn. But a gift is freely given
with no work on the part of the recipient. Jesus paid all of our
sin-debt at the cross. He gave us the gift of eternal life. Why then do
we still feel so dirty? We are all sinners but since the cross those of
us who’ve placed our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the one and only
propitiation for the sin of the world are now seen by God as holy and
righteous – fully justified – set apart from the rest of the world. His Ekklesia.
The gift has to be accepted, and even though it is for everyone if a
person chooses not to accept this gift they will be eternally lost.
Here’s
the gist of what Jesus did on the cross, and I’m making this as simple
as I can to get my point across. The Creator of the universe entered His
creation and became a man – the man Jesus Christ. Yet He was still
fully God. He took all sin from the beginning of time plus all the sin
that would ever be committed in the future of mankind. He nailed those
sins to the very cross that He occupied. “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost”. John 19:30. It is
finished. Thank You, Jesus! He paid the full price for our sin when He
died on that cross then rose in victory over death on the third day.
Jesus Christ made the full payment required which put an end to any
future need for another payment to be made. That being the case, why do
we who have accepted Him as our propitiation still allow condemnation to
wreak havoc in our lives? God hates sin, and so should we, but as
believers in Christ we allow torment to steal our joy when we wallow
self-condemnation. This doesn’t mean we have a free pass to keep
sinning, but we have been forgiven. Our debt is paid. Through Jesus we
have life eternal.
Many
born again believers in Christ continue to hold fast to that old
condemnation they had been used to before becoming a son of God. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:1.
God hates sin, but through Christ Jesus we are no longer condemned. Let
that sink in for a minute. We aren’t to walk after the flesh (worldly
ways) but after the Spirit (Godly ways). We still sin, and often times
beat ourselves up because of sins we commit. But God no longer condemns
us. Jesus Christ bridged the gulf and once we accept His sacrifice we
are forgiven.
Through
my continued walk with Christ I’ve grown to hate sin, and yet I still
sin. I know that my sisters and brothers in Christ also hate sin. But
until we all learn to hate sin as God does sin will affect us. If you
are trying to deal with sin and your attempts seem feeble, talk to
Jesus. We are all in the same boat. When we do something we shouldn’t do
it isn’t long before we’re convicted by the Holy Spirit to confess it
and move on. Even if it happens over and over, Jesus still paid the full
price. Here’s what to do whenever you stumble and fall. Go to 1 John
1:9 and read this verse over and over again until you have it memorized “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.
John is speaking to the brethren here and admonishing them (and us) to
confess all sin before God who, as a matter of fact, has already
cleansed us from all unrighteousness. There is no priest or saint needed
for intercession. Jesus is our intercessor and He is all we need.
Basically, John through the Holy Spirit is giving every born again
believer in Christ a way to get relief because of the conviction they
are going through. This simple but precious verse is the believer’s bar
of soap.
Until we are at last free of these sin-riddled bodies the enemy will continue to entice us and then condemn us when we fail. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23.
This is a fact. We all sin and will continue to do so this side of
Heaven. Why do we allow the enemy to fill us with thoughts of
condemnation when God tells us there is no condemnation for those who
are in Christ Jesus (see Romans 8:1 above)? Do you believe our Creator
God hates sin but loves us so much that He died for us and gave us
everlasting life? Then live for Him who saved you. We’re forgiven of our
sins simply by believing in what God did on the Cross of Calvary. For
God, that forgiveness was not enough so He followed it up with the seal.
What seal? He seals His Holy Spirit inside each of us who become His
children. “…in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,” Ephesians 1:13.
If all that wasn’t enough He gave us His Word, and in His Word He makes it plain that nothing can ever remove us from His hands “And
I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me,
is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's
hand.” John 10:28-29.
You cannot fool God by saying “I believe” but not truly believe it. If
you truly have accepted Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection then
you are sealed and nobody – not even you – can remove you. I don’t think
I could possibly love Him more. Thank You, Jesus.
There are so many verses that confirm the fact that once we become sons of God we can never lose our sonship. So, the question is why do we allow the enemy to condemn us? Paul also makes it clear how secure we are in God’s hands “For
I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39. Absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Are
you secure in your faith? Studying the Bible will strengthen your faith
and you’ll come to the realization that your security in Christ will
never fail. Neglect or disregard for the word of God will only weaken
your faith. I know there are many born again believers in Christ who
neglect Bible study. God’s word tells God’s heart. We aren’t left to
imagine what may or may not be a sin. God hasn’t changed, so we don’t
have to try to figure out if a sin in Moses’ day is still a sin in our
modern age. Yes, it is still sin and God hates it. Many begin to feel
like failures in their walk with the Lord, but Jesus bridged that gulf.
But be sure to re-read 1 John 1:9.
Believers
in Christ need to understand how much God hates sin. He gave His life
to bridge the gulf created by sin. We are of Christ and our lives
belong to Him. We need to move closer to Him and further from the world
that Satan owns. This evil creature lied to Eve and immortality was
lost. As Christian’s we need to look and act like Jesus and not look
like and act the world. We need to hate sin as God does. We shouldn’t
allow the enemy to have such influence over us since God is all powerful
and He gives His children power to withstand the enemy. Use the power!
Put it to work in your life. Get back on track and get out there and be a
witness for the Kingdom of Heaven. God expects it, don’t let Him down.
God bless you all,
Ron Graham
ron@straitandnarrowministry.com
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