What Should We Hate?

What is your attitude regarding things that the Bible tells us are sinful and evil? Do you have different standards depending on whether it is you or somebody else doing what is contrary to God will?

Do you sometimes make excuses or overlook behavior, writings, or speech that you know offends God? Do acknowledge that we, especially Christians, should try to do better and hope that someday we will?

Surely we should want to sin less than we do. If you think you don't sin, then take a look at 1 John 1:8-11.
That passage lets us know that if we confess our sins, Jesus will forgive and cleanse us. But should we be content knowing that His sacrifice is sufficient to pay for any sin we have done or will do?

Yes, it's wonderful that Jesus paid the price for our sins and gives us the faith to believe it.  However does the wonderful grace of our Lord in forgiving us of sin give us permission to be unconcerned about things that are evil? What sort of an attitude should we have in regard to what is evil?

Psalms 97:10  O you who love the LORD, hate evil!  ESV

Now that is an interesting command. If we love the Lord we are not just to dislike and avoid evil, we are told to hate it. Oh, but that verse of Scripture is in the Old Testament. Now that the grace of our Lord Jesus has come do we have to be that passionate against evil?

Romans 12:9  Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ESV

Again we see the right kind of love being written about and then followed by the command to hate evil. Abhor it. The Greek word used for abhor in this verse is very strong, and is the only time it is used in the New Testament. We are to detest evil, be revolted by it. Love honors God and people. Evil offends God and condemns people to hell.

Satan and the world wants people to think that those things the Bible identifies as "evil" are just the opinions of those who wrote the Bible a long time ago. But God divinely inspired all of Scripture, and God is altogether holy and therefore hates evil. If we love God we are also to hate evil.

Although it may be fairly easy to hate some things that are evil because they are so obviously hurtful to ourselves or people we care about, it is not so easy to hate other things that offend God. Just as we need God given grace and faith to love God and our neighbor, we also need the same to abhor evil the way He wants us to hate it.

God uses His Holy Spirit along with the hearing of the Word of God to bring us to salvation, and to grow us in faith, understanding, and obedience to His will. He does the same thing in regards to our coming to hating whatever goes against Him and His will.

Psalms 119:104  Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. ESV

Let's not be indifferent regarding what is evil or false (what is false leads people to believe and do what God knows is evil).  Let's be in prayer about our attitude to what God says is contrary to what is righteous and holy. Let's pray that God gives us and others the faith to believe and to be obedient in both loving God and others and also hating evil the way He wants us to hate it.

Outdo One Another In This...

In what should we try to outdo one another?

Many people try to outdo other people in one thing or another. Sibling rivalry is exceedingly common in families. Students at school try to get ahead by getting better grades, excelling in sports, or becoming more popular. Workers compete to get promotions. Politicians seek to get more votes to get elected.

However in the Body of Christ there is (or should be) more emphasis on loving and serving one another than competing with one another. Just like in a human body, things go much better when both eyes look in the same direction and when neither foot tries to get too far ahead of the other.

Nevertheless there is a benefit for members of the Body of Christ to compete with one another in one area. Paul wrote about it in the second half of Romans 12:10:

Romans 12:10  ...Outdo one another in showing honor.  ESV

Outdo one another in showing honor. The NIV translation renders it "Honor one another above yourselves." The Greek conveys the meaning of taking the lead in honoring others. Doing so isn't easy for us, but that never stops God from requiring it because it is what is right. It is humbling to honor others rather than seek to get others to honor us. As it happens, that is a good thing because "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)

If a person is to excel in any activity he or she needs become committed to it. For believers that should mean praying for God's help, and giving thought to what God has said in Scripture that can assist them to do what is required. God doesn't expect us to depend on our own strength and determination. He knows how weak we are and knows we need Him to accomplish what He commands us to do. He even gives us the faith to believe and do what He says is true and right.

So let's give thought to God wanting us to outdo each other in showing honor. Let's think about how doing so will please our Lord. Let's consider what it will be like when the Holy Spirit enables us to do better at honoring others. Then let's do it. Then do it again. And again.

How shall we honor others in ways that please God? Well, doing things for them and with them in a humble manner. Checking Scripture for instructions on both our attitudes and actions, and not getting ourselves all puffed up when we do a few things Biblically.

Honoring others does not mean always agreeing with others about everything they say and do, but it does mean that when correcting or rebuking is necessary that it be done without a "I'm better than you are" kind of attitude.

I hope all of us in the Body of Christ will seek God's help in obeying the call to outdo one another in showing honor. Let's go to it!

Christian Unity -- God's Way to Become One

How should we seek to have Christian unity? Should Christians stop making a fuss about what this preacher or that preacher teaches? Should we overlook what the Bible says about controversial issues? Should we simply agree to disagree?  Is that the way we should become one?

Let's look at part of a prayer that Jesus made regarding being one.

John 17:17-21  Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (18)  As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. (19)  And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. (20)  I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, (21)  that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ESV

This prayer that Jesus made to His Father lets us know how important the Word of God is. Jesus prays that His apostles would be sanctified, set apart, in truth, and that it was His Word, God's Word, that was truth. He also prayed this for those who would believe in Christ through the word that they received from those apostles.

In the Bible we have the truth God used to set apart those He chose as His apostles to send out, and what He continues to use to set apart those He has called to be His. He didn't just pray this for those who would lead and teach the Church after He returned to Heaven. Jesus wants all who believe in Him to be sanctified by the truth that is in God's Word.

Let's not be content with snip-its of Scripture knowledge. Let's not tolerate a mixture of Bible truth and teachings that sound good but are merely the clever concoctions of men. God uses truth, His truth, to sanctify us. He uses the truth that is in His Word. Indeed, His Word is truth.

That is why expository preaching can be so effective at helping believers become more set apart for God. Expository preaching when done by those who believe God's word is truth can explain and expound upon Scripture by using Scripture to understand Scripture, along with information about the meaning of words, phrases, and the history of the people and places of the Bible.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?  Then God has called you to be sanctified by the truth that is His Word. Read Scripture. Study it. Listen to teachers and preachers who believe all of Scripture is true and seek to grow in understanding it and living it out obediently. Also pray for me that I can do the same. This is the way God wants for us to be one. There are teachings that tell of other ways we can become one but those are inventions of men. If God has called us to be His, then He wants us to do things His way, not any other way, no matter how appealing any of them may sound.

When we become one God's way, that is when the world will know Jesus was indeed sent by the Father, and therefore what Jesus taught is true.  Whatever is contrary to what Jesus and His apostles taught is false, and those who teach them are false teachers whether they know it or not. True Christian unity can only come one way. Let's seek to have that unity, become one, God's way.