Living Love 4:
REAL
CHRISTIANS
LOVE SINNERS
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Living Love 4:
REAL CHRISTIANS LOVE SINNERS
Oct. 23, 2011
Sermon in a sentence: Jesus hates sin, but loves sinners.
Real Christians also hate sin, but love sinners.
Scriptures: Rom. 5:1-11 (*8); John 3:14-17; Luke 7:34
Romans 5:1-11 (NASB) Therefore, having been justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our
introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand;
and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only
this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that
tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and
perseverance, proven character; and proven character,
hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love
of God has been poured out within our hearts through
the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 6 For while we were
still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the
ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man;
though perhaps for the good man someone would dare
even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love
toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been
justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath
of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we
were reconciled to God through the death of His Son,
much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by
His life. 11 And not only this, but we also exult in God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have
now received the reconciliation.
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John 3:14-17 (NASB) "As Moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
16 "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. 17 "For God did not send the
Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world
might be saved through Him.
Luke 7:34 (NASB) "The Son of Man has come eating and
drinking, and you say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a
drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'
Main points: There are some who have an immediate and
negative reaction to the word “sinner”. It’s not the kind of
adjective we would use to describe someone we’re trying
to endear ourselves to: “You know, what I really admire
about you is you’re such a low down, rotten sinner”.
Others – (the minority of course) – would freely admit:
“Yes you’re absolutely right, I really am a rotten sinner and
I need God’s help.
This is indeed a very descriptive word that speaks of a
person’s spiritual status before conversion, as they live in
a state of habitual disobedience to the word of God. Even a
man like the apostle Paul used this word to refer to
himself:
1 Timothy 1:15 (NASB) It is a trustworthy statement,
deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.
So why do Christians love sinners? Because, that’s what
we were – for some of us, not that long ago – but now we’ve
passed from spiritual death to spiritual life, and we want
to share this good news with you.
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1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NASB) Or do you not know that the
unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not
be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor
thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers,
nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 *Such
were some of you*; but you were washed, but you were
sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
Christians hate sin, but love sinners.
We are like the lost sheep Jesus spoke about in one of His
parables (Luke 15:4-7). The shepherd left all the other
sheep to seek after the one that was lost.
As He said: “there [is] more joy in heaven over one sinner
who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who
need no repentance” (15:7).
Please keep in mind that Christians are no better than
sinners, in and of themselves. It is Jesus who makes us
what we are – children of God who have received the gift of
eternal life, through His sacrifice for us at Calvary.
When we think about loving sinners, we often think and
speak of those who are “in the world”: (“the world”
referring to people, institutions, cultural or societal
systems that are not in harmony with a biblical lifestyle
and beliefs).
You may have heard someone make the statement that we
fight against “the world, the flesh and the devil”, derived
from the apostle John’s statement in his 1st epistle:
1 John 2:15-16 (NASB) Do not love the world nor the
things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of
the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world,
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the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the
boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from
the world.
The ‘lust of the eye’, (the world): the things we see and
desire; ‘the lust of the flesh’ (the flesh): the physical
pleasures we crave; ‘the boastful pride of life’ (the devil):
the ways in which we “think more highly of ourselves than
we aught to think” (Rom, 12:3.
As Christians, we definitely live in the midst of all that’s
happening in ‘the world’, but we are not a part of the
world’s systems of thought, motivations and actions.
John 15:19 (NASB) If you were of the world, the world
would love its own; but because you are not of the world,
but I chose you out of the world, because of this the
world hates you.
John 17:14-16 (NASB) 14 "I have given them Your word;
and the world has hated them, because they are not of
the world, even as I am not of the world. 16 "They are not
of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Obviously, we must associate with sinners and unbelievers
around us, unless we plan to leave the world (1 Cor. 5:10).
What then are the parameters for our interactions with
sinners? Love, love, love!
When we look at the life of Jesus, the only good and
righteous One, we see something about Him that shocked
the religious elites of His day. He routinely ate with
“publicans and sinners”, frequently and gladly accepting
invitations into their homes. This was so much a part of
His modus operandi that the Pharisees sarcastically called
Him “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Luke 7:34).
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He had no problem dealing with sin and hypocrisy
whenever and wherever He saw it, but it was clear from
His actions that He loved sinners.
More than that, He identified with them in a way that said
“I love you and accept you as a person of great value to
God”. He did not say: “I have to stay clear of people like
you”.
In the society of His day, the cultural norm was that “likes
should eat with likes”1, so for Jesus to act as He did was
striking. The Pharisees around Him thought: ‘He must be a
sinner to enjoy the company of sinners that much’. But no,
He was not a sinner; He just loved sinners, showing us by
example the way He wants us to live.
So I say again: Christians hate sin, but love sinners!
As Christians, it is very important for us to remember
where we’re coming from and what God has done for us in
transforming us from sinners to saints. If we forget, we
can think and say some incredibly hurtful and hateful
things.
(E.g. Simon the leper from Bethany (Luke 7:36-50; Matt.
26:6-13) who was unthankful and cruel enough to criticize
an immoral sinner woman who was showing her love to
Jesus. He himself had obviously been healed of leprosy!)
There are very many sins people commit, and immorality
is certainly very high on the list. The Bible is clear in its
condemnation of all sins, including fornication and
adultery, but unfortunately, our society celebrates
immorality, whether it is heterosexual or homosexual.
Jerome H. Neyrey, ed., The Social World of Luke-Acts, Peabody,
Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1991, pg. 378
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Many have asked me what our response should be to
homosexuality. My answer is that our response is no
different than our response to any other sexual activity
outside of marriage, (or to any other sin for that matter).
NT scriptures that speak specifically
homosexuality: Rom. 1:24,26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9-10.
against
Some have cited scientific studies to substantiate the “fact”
that some people are born homosexual and therefore are
simply living out their inherent, genetic sexual
orientation.
The Christian response to this statement is simply based
on the Word of God and the character of God. God calls
homosexual fornication sin, just as he calls heterosexual
fornication sin (1 Cor. 6:9-10).
Most importantly, God never demands that we do
something that is outside of our power to do. We know
our basic human nature is sinful, and we acknowledge that
we were conceived in sin and “brought forth in iniquity”
(Ps. 51:5). However, whatever part of our inherent sin
nature is really bothering us, whether it be a negative
character trait or a disoriented sexual orientation, God
gives us power to overcome it, through His Holy Spirit.
No homosexual is locked into that lifestyle by genetics.
Many have adopted this lifestyle through the constant
barrage of positive portrayals of homosexuality and
fornication in our media, but the Lord is calling on anyone
involved in these activities to stop immediately and allow
the Spirit of God to change them into His image and
likeness.
Biblically speaking, any sexual activity outside of marriage
is sin – man with woman, man with man, woman with
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woman, human with animal. Marriage is the only biblical
context for sexual expression.
Hebrews 13:4 (NASB) Marriage is to be held in honor
among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for
fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
And when speaking of marriage, biblical marriage is
exclusively between a man and a woman (Gen. 2:23-24;
Matt. 19:3-6; Rom. 7:2; 1 Tim. 3:12; Eph. 5:28; Rev. 21:9).
Jesus hates sin, but loves sinners. This must be true for all
Christians also. As the children of God, we must be ready
and willing to deal with sin and hypocrisy wherever we
find it, but it must be equally clear in our lives, as it was in
His life that we hate sin, not sinners.
There is an unfortunate fiction circulating in our popular
culture that says Christians hate sinners. If Christians
confront certain sins and speak out against them, it’s
deemed hate. Nothing could be further from the truth.
E.g.: On Oct. 12, 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada
began hearing an appeal involving the Saskatchewan
Human Rights Tribunal vs. William Whatcott, a man who
made his opposition to homosexuality public and was
charged and convicted of hatred towards individuals
because of their sexual orientation. His initial conviction
was overturned on appeal to the Saskatchewan Court of
Appeal and the Human Rights Tribunal appealed to the
Supreme Court.
Yes, we cry out against sin, out of love for sinners, knowing
that unless they repent, they will perish. This is like a
parent, sibling or friend taking strong action to stop a
loved one from going astray or unintentionally hurting
themselves.
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Confronting wrong action is not a sign of hatred – it is a
sure sign of love. We don’t take strong action with people
we don’t know or don’t care about.
Real Christians love sinners, therefore they confront sin.
Let’s show sinners our true, deep, committed love for them
by “speaking the truth in love” to them (Eph. 4:15).
Appendix:
The Supreme Court is about to hear the most challenging
case to our religious freedom. On October 12 the Court will
be asked to decide whether it is permissible in Canada to
express religious convictions that others find offensive. Do
we have the freedom to proclaim biblical truth in the
public square or will our speech be restricted to that
which no one finds troubling? In Canada, do we have true
religious freedom or only the freedom to believe but not to
speak about our beliefs if theses beliefs do not offend
others?
The case is about flyers distributed by William Whatcott
that were found by a Saskatchewan Human Rights
Tribunal to promote “hatred towards individuals because
of their sexual orientation.” He was fined $17,500.00. The
flyers contained vehement comments about the sexual
practices of same-sex couples. They also expressed his
views on morality, sexual behaviour and public policy that
reflected his religious beliefs. The Court of Queen’s Bench
upheld the decision and the Court of Appeal overturned it.
The Human Rights Commission appealed the decision to
the Supreme Court of Canada.2
Excerpt of email from Bruce Clemenger, President, The
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, Oct 4, 2011.
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