Hate One Love the Other

I've been reading a lot in the old Puritans about dealing with sin.  Last night we rather sleepless because I couldn't get it out of my mind.  No, I wasn't obsessing but I was struggling with the issue.

We are to hate sin and to mortify (kill) is - battle it throughout our lives here.  It is a battle that will not end until we are with Him were He is.  So we need to be about that works so we can honor and glorify Him - right?  It's all part of conforming us to His likeness - Rom. 12.

But I was struck with a concern over focusing on sin as opposed to focusing on Him.  Would it not be true that if I learn to love Him and work on loving Him more I will indeed still mortify sin?  Do I have to operate from a position of animosity and hatred toward sin or may I not operate from a desire to love Him.

OK - maybe it's not and either/or but as I consider hating sin I find that I am more prone to operate in my own strength - trying to please Him by "not" sinning - more of a "work" orientation.  When I consider loving Him more in thought and deed I have a greater comfort and enthusiasm - a greater strength other than my own.

No, I don't for a moment suggest we ignore sin but rather that we replace it with that which is done, thought, considered, etc. for the purpose of living out a love for Him.

I guess I'm trying to get my head and heart around the difference between addressing sin our of hate for sin and addressing sin out of love for Him.  We are told that we should draw near to Him and flee temptation/sin.  It's a no brainer that we should flee from temptation and sin in His direction.

We must battle sin but we must battle it in and with His provision.  to do this well we need to get obnoxiously close to Him.  Loving Him has to remove tolerating sin - right?  Drawing closer to Him in our knowledge, understanding and  practice would have to decrease our weakness and vulnerability - right?

I would suggest that we (I) begin by making use of three disciplines of the faith.  the first is prayer.  to be constant (consistent) in prayer is critical for our well being and our intimacy with Him.  In prayer we are actually conversing with Him, relating to Him and acknowledging His sovereignty.  That's something we can't really do too much.

The second discipline is to be in His Word.  In the Word he exposes - reveals all we need to know about Him and His plan for us.  The Word is the source of both our understanding and appreciation of His sovereignty and love - not to mention all His other attributes.  We need to be careful however that we read with intention and purpose.  that being that we grow in our knowledge and understanding which will have a powerful effect on our trust in and faithfulness to Him.

The third disciple is giving.  OK - we need to give $ to support His work that demands $ but not all His work demands $.  So, give the $s you can.  But giving is sooooo much broader.  Giving for us is always about using His provision to us for His purposes.  he provides for us so our needs can be met - but He also gives to us so we might be meeting the needs of others as well.  This is bigger than $s.  This is time, patience, compassion, admonition, correction, comfort, encouragement, etc.

Money is "coined life."  it represents a period of our time and effort for which we are compensated.  So - giving of our time and effort is just as acceptable as giving our money.  Money is just time and effort in coin or paper.  We need to be giving what $ we can but even more so (to me) we need to be giving of our lives (time and effort) to Him.  Not an either/or but a both/and.

Why these three?  Well they are fundamentals - basics - a good starting point upon which all other duties depend.  They are the fundamental acknowledgment of the grace and mercy He has for us.  Each of them in their own way shapes and molds our minds and affections (feelings) toward Him.

As we grow in our regularity in these disciplines we will find two things.  First I believe we will find a greater discontent in sin and a greater sensitivity to temptations.  What we "do" will become more precious than serving our own desires.  Secondly, we will find a new sense of His use of us - a greater sense of our ministry - a greater confidence in doing what He puts in our hands to do.

Yes, we are to hate sin - but not to the detriment of loving God.  I believe that the more we love Him intentionally and actively the more the light of His countenance will obscure the deceitful appeal of temptation.  I believe that loving Him more and more - actively - will naturally result in a a "hating" of sin in the Spirit instead of the flesh.

Think about it -

Michael "sheepdog" Sanders
ms@tc2v1.com

Peter's Pen 1st Peter 4:14

1 Peter 4: 14  If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.   ESV

The gist of this passage is, "If you are insulted for the very name of Christ ((and you are/will be)) . . . ."

We are to expect to be insulted (reviled, upbraided, rejected) regardless of the good you do.  This is not something that may happen but something that does and will happen.  We are not to be "surprised" at it as we are not to be surprised at the fiery trial.

It's easy to see, on the grand scale, the insults aimed at Christ and His followers.  Through the justice system, corporate policies and even cultural groups, the name of Christ and His followers are insulted.

But what about on an intimate personal level?  When was the last time you were personally insulted because of your faith, because of your Lord? 

For us, in this country, it doesn't happen often.  Usually, we see it and experience it in public confrontations over some issue concerning which we climb out of our cozy safe places and make a public show or statement (en masse).  But a personal, one to one insult?  I think they are too rare in our culture.

Why?

Because we stay in our comfortable little enclaves and when we are among non-believers it's difficult, if not impossible, to tell us from them.  We "tolerate" things we know are wrong.  We stand silent - or worse, we take part - in many of the sins we consider, "just being human."  No one can tell we are His unless, for some reason, we tell them we are His - but in this culture - we're not telling them much.

We may tell them we "go to church."  We may even tell them that we are very active in church.  But we will rarely go so far as to tell them what that means in the context of the world and our lives outside of that cozy enclave we call church.

Where do "they" see His light in your life?  Where do you stand for His holiness, righteousness and/or justice?

An example of where we fail to stand plainly for Him is our attiude toward Israel (the nation state).  We may rail against the persecution of believers in Iran or Pakistan or New York City, but we are nauseatingly silent concerning the persecution of Christians in Israel.  Both Jewish and "Palestinian" believers are openly persecuted with a wink and a nod from the government.  Democracy?  Freedom?  I think not.

If anything, Israel is more socialist thaN democratic.  Freedom of speech and freedom of religion may be "technical" rights but they are not "protected" rights.  Government agencies, when they aren't working with them, turn a blind eye to those groups that harass, persecute and even do violence against the followers of Yeshua the Messiah.

And yet - for a big part - the church here proclaims it an "evil" to not support Israel regardless of the fact that it is a godless, secular state that allows - even cooperates - in the persecution of our brothers and sisters.  We have accepted what we have been told about the founding of Israel and its place (that is of the modern Israel) in the biblical big picture.  Here, where we need to stand up and cry out against the persecution of believers, we are silent - or worse, we ignore the evil and support the evil doer.

The cry against the early believers was two-fold.  They we called atheists and disturbers of the cultural/social/political order.  Like our culture, the Roman culture was pagan but that paganism was part and parcel of Rome.  You could not separate the "gods" and their worship from the political or social order.  Believers, in rejecting (let us say not tolerating) this pagan life-style were indeed opposing the empire.  (Oh, they were called atheists because they rejected all the "gods" of the empire - they were very specific mono-theists - they were --- wait for it ---- exclusive.)

Are you, in the practical living from day to day, a friend of God or a friend of the world?  Do you, "go along to get along"?  Do you stay silent when the Spirit is prompting you to speak?  Are you "apologetic" about your faith?

Want to try an experiment?  Take your Bible to work every day for a week.  At your break or lunch, take time to read it.  I suggest that once people notice, they will begin to act differently.  If you are asked if you are a believer respond with a joyous, "Oh yes, very much so!"  You will find it fascinating how people respond - and who responds how.

Certainly, we are to be gracious and kind to non-believers but that does not mandate that we tolerate or ignore, much less accept, sinful behavior in our presence.  It is, as Peter says, "the Spirit of glory and of God," that rests on us - but we have to ask, can "they" tell?  Can they discern it?  Or, have I done a good enough job of concealing it so that they think I'm one of them?  Have I hidden, covered my light so well that they don't see it?

If I am not insulted, reviled, rejected, or at least kept at a "safe" distance because of my faith - why is that?  It they are friends with the world and hence at enmity with God, why do we get along so well?  Why do I "fit in" with the enemies of my Lord and Master?

I was once fired from a job because I stood up for my faith.  It's a great feeling.  Oh, it was a tough time, but it was a great feeling.  But, I realized that experience also made me "gun shy" and hence a condition I have repented of and am seeking to correct.  What about you?  How do "they" tell you are His?  Or can they?