The great love-hate....

"For God so loved the world..."

     "You hate all who do wrong..."

          "For while we were still sinners..."

               "the one who loves violence, his soul God hates..."

                    "Jacob I loved..."

                          "Esau I hated..."

So.... which is it? Does God "hate the sin but love the sinner"? Recently (this morning), I was challenged in my "uber-calvinist" tendencies. I don't claim to be "uber-calvinist" and am typically very reluctant to label my self with the dirty word of "calvinist." Yes, I do believe in election and in God's sovereignty. I believe that the doctrines of grace are the surest form of the gospel. However, I also believe in the inerrancy of God's Holy Word. I believe that God's vocabulary is much more extensive than mine. I believe that there are mysteries that are yet to be revealed. I believe that the foolishness of God can confound the greatest of earthly wisdom.

My blog post I recently published was on the eternal security of the believer. I believe this to be a great encouragement and wanted to share my thoughts on the subject. By relation, I felt the need to touch on God's sovereignty in our salvation to establish the footing for why we can trust our salvation to be eternally secure. I also linked another post in which I detailed why I believe in the doctrine of election. Here is where I now feel the need to give clarity.

I don't know about you, but I tend to be a very boundary oriented person. I like to know where the fence is and I meticulously color "in the lines". I think most of us are like this to an extent, at least in things we think are important. Because of this, we like to see things in black and white. As my friend put it, "either or." He makes a valid point that I often fail to put forth in my writing. There are many cases in scripture that require a "both/and" understanding of God's character and the truth of scripture.

Now, why do I tend to lean (quite heavily) on the calvinist side of the arguments? For one, I grew up as a charismatic holy roller steeped in the doctrines of man's volition and the 'off the road' Christianity that depended heavily on personal spiritual revelation (often more so than simple biblical study). I am fairly new to these concepts and am exploring them heavily. I love to discuss theology and the word of God. It is my favorite pass-time. That said, you can hopefully see why I write so much on the topic.

But there is another side to the coin. I live in south Mississippi, the left ventricle of the heart of the Bible Belt. I grew up and live in an area where "predestination" is a dirty word and "hell, fire, and brimstone" preaching is as sinful as murder. We have an understood culture that involves church on Sundays, family meals that afternoon, bumper stickers and flags, but a do what you want on Friday and Saturday mentality. Everyone and their Moma is a Southern Baptist. A few of us are tongue talkin' holy rollers. And much fewer still are the Methodist, Catholics, and Episcopalian (so few in fact, I had to look up the spelling of the last one). Then even smaller are the Presbyterians, those frozen chosen.

The issue with my part of the country is that we have made Christianity more of a culture than a religion. We have created an idea that so long as I go to church, profess Christ, and live a relatively good life, then we can go to heaven. Sadly most of us don't even really want to go to heaven, we're just so sick of the heat and humidity of the south we don't want to go to hell. We like to think that we are in control of our destiny and it is the great southern temperament to not let anyone tell us what to do (it was the whole basis of the civil war..). We like control and we like our God-fearin' beer bellied wranglin' bubble. We don't like anyone to stir the waters. We have more churches per square mile than probably any place else, almost all competing to fill more pews than the church down the road. The reason is because everyone seems to be called to preach, which here is just another way of saying that no-one wants to submit so anyone else. It is a matter of control and it plagues the south more than any other place (obviously this is just my opinion).

This is why election and predestination, etc are such a taboo subject. I believe in both the will of man towards his salvation and also the sovereignty of God over that choice. I believe both because both are evident in Holy Scripture. Do I have certain opinions as to how they operate together? Yes. Do I think one doctrine is more vital than the other? I do. But does that mean I am to explain away all seeming contradictions in the Bible simply to make sure my theology can fit into a nice, understandable shrink-wrapped box? No.

Indeed, man has a place in his choices and in his salvation. One can be still be sure that God is still sovereign and that election is plainly taught in scripture. We can be sure that when we are told that God loves the world and sinner, this is a true statement. We can also be sure that the Bible teaches the hatred of God towards sinners. I guess you can call it a love-hate relationship. I love cake and fried pickles, but I hate the fat-cells they add to my waist. God surely loves His creation and he surely hates sin, even to the point of hating the sinner. The cool thing is that God is big enough to do both. To love us, to reject us in our sin, and to provide a means to make us acceptable through Christ Jesus. Does man's will affect our salvation? Of course. Does God sovereignly elect us and place His seed in us to live righteously? Yes. Can these two be thoroughly explained? Probably not. The question is: Are you okay with it?

We must resolve to pursue first and foremost Christ. We are not called to "fix" each other's theology or to make full sense of every aspect of the Christian walk. We are called to read the Bible. To proclaim its good news in Jesus. To study it, showing ourselves approved. We are called to love one another, to serve one another. I write a lot in my blogs on the doctrines of grace, but only because I ride the grain against the settled beliefs of my precious Bible Belt. When given two valid options, we will always choose our comfort. However, when struck with the more difficult option, we grow and expand our pallet of understanding. Then, we can return to our comforts balanced and matured.

A Holy Offense

"as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” "

Romans 9:33

To them that do not believe in Christ, He is a rock of offense. The word of God tells us that "to those who are perishing, the gospel is foolishness." This is imperative for modern day Christians to understand because it so greatly affects how we walk out our faith. Knowing that our "good news" is offensive poses an issue with our mandate to "love our enemies." How do we proclaim this offensive gospel while loving our enemies?

Honestly, I don't have any special insight on the topic. I simply want to convey my thoughts on the situation. And sadly, my thoughts will probably only uncover more questions. The reason is because I think so many topics relate to so many other topics and themes and doctrines and culture, etc, etc, etc. We've gotten to a point in American Christianity (which due to American influence, has made its mark on much of the global Christian culture) that is built on philosophy and sociology rather than on simple study of what the Bible says.

We have become a people so enthralled with biblical commentary and motivational speaking with Christian spin, that we have far excused ourselves from knowing the fundamentals of Christian faith, more specifically, the fundamentals of the early church.

See what I mean by one topic leading to another, and yet another...?

The reason I bring up church history and current cultural themes is because our modern culture and perspective tends to blind us to the consistency necessary in an unchangeable faith. Now, I'm not saying that we can't be "culturally relevant" and use modern insight to communicate the truth of scripture. What I'm saying is that we let our blinders limit the deep truth we could otherwise glean from the Word of God.

Back to the question, "How do we proclaim an offensive gospel while also loving our enemies?"

Our modern culture tells us that tolerance is an attribute of love, that negative words are "hate speech." We are of the cultural mentality in which we "agree to disagree" and we have even come up with the outrageous concept of "relative truth." Its the idea that what is true for me may not be true for you. It is illogical and a product of poorly thought out metaphysics and philosophical discussion.

In response to this cultural phenomenon, the church has watered down its platform. We have diluted our speech in order to reach a larger number. We seem to seek a large number of converts with little attention to disciple making. Somewhere on the road, we began to see the Great Commission as a mandate to make the largest number of converts possible. We accredit success with church growth and the number of people who belong to the clique of moralists in America who call themselves Christians.

Again, one topic after another.. They are all related... To discuss one, you have to regard the others...

We are a people of words. We make claims that don't have to be true and we defend our falsehood with the old cliche, "nobody is perfect." Of course no one is perfect. Except my wife, she's pretty darn close. In our country, we pride ourselves on our protection of human interests. John Brown can say he is a Christian and we accept it. We oblige his identity because of his claim. Yet, if we question the truth of his claim based on the content of lifestyle, we are suddenly in the wrong. A white man wouldn't be allowed to stake claim to a Native American scholarship simply for saying, "I'm an indian." We seem to have created a double standard that perverts our understanding of truth. To the politico who lied, we address their falsehood. To the white man attempting to infringe on a benefit he is not privileged to, we label him dishonest and call his actions deplorable. Yet when those around us claim Christ and have no fruit, we are socially and culturally required to accept it.

We have created a cultural religion. We value Christian morals (more or less). We hold ethics in esteem. Yet, on what are these based? Who decides the standard? How far can the line be moved? We have developed a culture of tolerance in the name of "love." We have systematically altered, by definition, the attributes of love.

How do we get back to the basics of scriptural love as the church, the body of Christ? We must start by addressing our definition. Regardless of the world around us, we who claim Christ are bound by blood to our Lord Jesus Christ. We are to be in the world and not of the world. Hence, changing culture and societal demographics should not bare influence on our resolve to uphold God's Holy Word.

Here is how the Bible defines love:
1. Patience - the choice to deny anxiety, fear, or frustration when dealing with people
2. Kindness - the choice to put someone else's needs (or wants) before your own
3. Humility - the attitude and resolve to count others as more important than yourself
4. Not Arrogant or Rude - the character to treat others with courtesy, being soft in speech
5. Not Obstinate or Resentful - choosing not to insist on personal goals or and choosing to forget wrongs done against you
6. Rejoices in Truth - to hold truth in high regard and to seek satisfaction from it
7. Bears and Endures - to hold up under difficult circumstances
* From 1 Cor. 13.

I don't know about you, but some of these attributes seem dependent on how other people view our actions and words. What is kindness and patience to me, may be belittling or impatient to someone else. We can be sure that our instruction to love will not hold us accountable to how other's perceive us. The issue comes to the motive and the focus of the heart. From my core, are the intentions of my actions and speech defined by the 7 attributes above? If so, then I am loving biblically. The key word is motive. What are my motives?

Now on to the 'offensive gospel.'

One may say that the good news of Christ should not be offensive to anyone. This idea is only a product of a poor understanding of the gospel. If you can't see how the gospel can be offensive, then, chances are, you don't fully grasp it.

Let's think about the things Jesus said about the means of salvation. We'll even throw in a few comments from an apostle.

Jesus said, "If anyone does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Jesus calls us to full surrender and commitment, even when it requires us to reject those closest to us.

Jesus said, "If you love me you will obey my commands." Our commitment to Christ requires us to act in full obedience, even if it leads to death.

Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father in heaven." Regardless of vocal allegiance, the true sign of a believer is obedience. We cannot simply "claim Christ" and be saved. It requires true repentance and true faith. Otherwise, we disobey the commandment not to take the name of the Lord in vain.

Jesus commanded us to repent "for the kingdom of God is at hand." We must acknowledge our sin. This is a tremendously difficult task in a society of relative truth that demands tolerance of the individual and his lifestyle. We are even told by "Christians" not to judge. We lean on "remove the plank from your eye before removing the sty in another's" without balancing it with "if you see your brother in sin, go to him."

The Apostle Paul said, "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fists of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warded you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Many of these are blatantly commonplace in our American Culture. I see posts on facebook all the time about several of these. People who revel in weekend drunkenness, who incite and perpetuate 'drama' and dissension. Even church goers who are given over to sensuality (which is about the senses, not just sex).

This gospel of ours is supremely offensive to fallen man. It points out his errors and his plight. Yet, this is necessary. Before we can understand the amazing Grace of Christ Jesus, we must address our sin and understand that we do not deserve the fruit of that Holy Vine, which is the Son of God. I don't know exactly how to mediate between proclaiming an offensive gospel and loving those outside the kingdom, but I do know that we must do both. We are obligated by the grace we have been given to preach the gospel and we are commanded by our Holy Master to love and humble ourselves towards those outside the kingdom.

Call sin as sin, yet let no arrogance flavor your words. Examine yourselves and be open about your failures and your sin. Hold fast to the joy of the Lord and always have an answer prepared to lovingly tell others why you have this joy. Do not back down to meet culturally and politically correct standards, but resolve to align yourself with the Word, in light of the world in which you live.

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!" Isaiah 5:20-23

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noise gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Hate - The promise that hurts...

I recently started reading the book, Radical by David Platt for an upcoming Bible study that I'm leading at school. My wife has read it (very recently), which means that I have read it by association...since she generally quotes entire books to me if she likes them. I won't lie, sometimes I daydream, but everything she quoted from this book was confirmation to the truth that God has been revealing in me lately through my own study of scripture. I'm very excited about leading this study with some of my co-workers. Especially since they are teachers who have a great opportunity to impact and impart to the students at our school.

I've read chapter 1 and outlined the points I want to focus on, written down some verses I'd like to throw into the mix, etc. Everything was set, but there was one issue: the explanation of one of the scriptures just didn't sit well within my spirit. Now, don't get me wrong, Platt hit the bull's eye so far in everything I know about this book. I'm so glad he has the guts to say some of the things he says. Christians definitely should be living much more radically for Jesus. The issue wasn't necessarily with Platt. It was the verse and it's widespread interpretation. The "commonly accepted, yet rarely lived" interpretation that is even defending by the Greek words used in it.

Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple."

Hate. Hmmm. Taken at face value, this can be pretty hard to live up to. It also seem quite strange for the 'prince of peace,' the 'loving father,' the 'light of life' to say something so contrary to his central message of love. We think of the commandments that tell us to love our neighbors. Or the verse that tells us to honor our father and mother. Or the fact that Paul told the Romans to love one another with brotherly love. This can seem quite contradictory.

Now, traditionally, the word Hate is understood in this verse by the Greek word used in the text, "miseo." A word that means, in the Greek, to love less. So because of this, people have assumed that this verse means that our love should be so great for Jesus that our love for those other people looks like hate. There is almost a full measure of truth to this statement. We definitely are to love the Lord with ALL our heart, mind, soul, and strength. We are supposed to long for His return. But I still couldn't help thinking that there was more to this than that. Why would Jesus have drawn such a comparison when He could have communicated it a different way. Jesus wasn't telling a parable here, he was simply speaking to the people about the cost of discipleship.

Well, my journey (of several hours.. not days) consisted of researching, a la web, words used in this verse, translations, greek meanings, cultural context, yadda yadda until I discovered an explanation that made sense theologically, biblically and also just seemed to feel right. Now, please forgive me if this dude is some type of hypocritical heretic, I didn't really research him. I just read the article and liked the article and its contents regarding this verse. I was able to get insight into the meaning of this scripture, and also feel that the Holy Spirit confirmed it within me through peace of mind. You can read it HERE.

Here is a summary: It means just was it says. And, it doesn't conflict with scripture when placed in context.

Sorry if the summary should have been more elaborate, but I didn't want to sound redundant and knew I'd be "summarizing" it again as I explained what I have learned, and now want to communicate with you.

Keeping in mind that Jesus would have been speaking to Jews who honor the Torah, (this huge thing coming up is a quote from the article) "We need to realize just how shocking this statement would have been in Yeshua’s culture. The rabbis taught that the Lord put the obligation of honoring one’s father and mother before honoring Himself. They considered honoring parents one of the great obligations, equal with honoring God. But there is one rabbinic comment that might explain Yeshua’s remark within the Jewish context. It is a rabbinic teaching on Leviticus 19:3. “Even though I have admonished you regarding fearing [your] father, if he shall say to you ‘Profane the Sabbath,’ do not listen to him.” Clearly, the requirement to not honor parents or anyone else depends on the condition that these people are encouraging Torah disobedience. What if Yeshua’s remark is taken in this sense? Does He claim that He is greater than the temple, greater than the Sabbath, greater than Moses? Wouldn’t this rabbinic exception apply if relatives were instructing you to disregard His status as Messiah and Son?"

Considering that he would have been speaking to people who were "under the law," it makes sense he would communicate the truth to them in a way that they could grasp the severity of his identity. Jesus is more holy that the Sabbath because he was there when it was proclaimed. Jesus was saying to them, unless you love me to the point that you are willing to reject, with all of you, those who are dearest to you, you cannot be my disciple. Your love should be so great, that if anyone asks of you to 'profane the Sabbath' (which means to break the covenant - in this case the new covenant with Christ), you are to reject them with all of you. This breech, if you will, of the law is protected under the 'loving Jesus like you're supposed to' clause. Jesus knew that most of, if not all, the families of those he was talking to, would not accept this teaching. And he needed them to know that following him was costly. "Who builds a city without first counting the costs?"

This revelation of scripture has been both joyful and a little painful. The thought of rejecting those I love is a hard pill to swallow. But my allegiance to Christ and my citizenship of Heaven is to be the most important commitment of my life on this earth. But, there is also freedom in truth. To know that my God is for me, no matter who is against me. To know that God wants us to succeed. While walking in His perfect will, we cannot fail. Oh, how I long for my God in Heaven. I want my life to be a pleasing sacrifice to the creator of all things. To be His disciple and to learn from His word, with revelation through His spirit. The question we must ask ourselves each day is, "Am I THAT committed?"