We've all heard the phrase, "God loves the sinner but hates the sin."
But is this statement true or just a trite cliché?
The answer is Yes... and No.
The Bible tells of TWO distinct groups; these are labeled... Goats or Sheep, Wicked or Righteous, Tares or Wheat, Non-elect or Elect, Dead in sin or Born-again, Vessels of wrath or Objects of mercy, Unsaved or Saved, those He never knew or those He has always known.
When Jesus walked amongst us, He declared, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword..." - Matthew 10:34
Then Jesus spoke of the DIVISION caused by His message. - Matthew 10:35-40
The culmination of this division was displayed on Golgotha, as Jesus hung on a cross between two from opposing groups. One of the men mocked Jesus as being the Messiah, while the other beseeched Jesus to remember him when entering His kingdom. - Luke 23:39-42
But what distinguishes these groups, is it simply saying, "I'm with them"?
UNDERSTANDING : ORIGINS
Are all people born on this world the same? Begin in the same fashion and live a life solely determined by their choices, actions, and environment?
For the Elect, God chose those in Christ, "Before the foundation of the world, that they would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined them for adoption to Himself as children through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will..." - Ephesians 1:4-5
For the Non-Elect, "What if God, desiring to show His wrath and to make known His power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction..." - Romans 9:22
Quite simply, God foreknew those that are His because He knows them forevermore.
The elect will exist beyond this current reality, in a restored and perfect communion with their Creator and Redeemer.
But in a kingdom which transcends TIME, to exist beyond means to exist before. So, God foreknew His own (His children... adopted as sons and daughters)
"For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He (Jesus) might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters." - Romans 8:29
The non-elect will be banished forever from His presence, thus neither existed in His presence prior to nor will after this present age. For these Jesus (God incarnate) declares, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness." - Matthew 7:21-23
God has forever loved His own (elect), shown mercy, and through His grace redeemed them unto Himself for an eternal praise to His glorious GRACE (Ephesians 1:6).
God has forever hated the wicked for the deeds that they do against Him and against those for whom He loves... "The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence His soul hates." - Psalm 11:5
But how do people get into one or the other group, being justly culpable?
UNDERSTANDING : DETERMINATION
Two brothers, actually twins born mere moments apart, with the same father and mother, from the same home and family... But eternally separate.
The Lord declares, "Jacob I have loved, Esau I have hated." - Romans 9:13
But how and why, when neither had done anything good or bad, would God make such a declaration (Romans 9:11)?
Because God is not of this realm, He does not exist within or is restrained by TIME.
A group labeled Armenians believed that God gazes into the future to see which people will turn to Him for salvation and which will unceasingly rebel throughout their lifetime.
A group labeled Calvinist derived their understanding from Saint Augustine and proclaim God's sovereign choice over who is His and who is not, prior to anything each had done.
So, is God's decree simply an arbitrary and sovereign choice?
God tells Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." - Romans 9:15
Then why were we told what the LORD said to the twin's mother Rebekah, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided..." - Genesis 25:23
And we also learn that the descendants of Esau (Edomites) were constant enemies to God's chosen people (Israelites).
Remember, LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. "Tear it down," they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!” - Psalm 137:7
As creatures within TIME, we fail to view reality from the eternal perspective; that God is before all things and God is beyond all things... simultaneously. Past, present, future are simply fingerprints of a Triune Creator, meant to grant us MERCY by instructing and teaching.
We learn, we adjust, we improve, we backslide, or we simply remain unchanged.
So, which is it?
Armenians say the mystery is in why God would even grant us a choice, while the Calvinist say the mystery is in why God chose to save any, much less a sinner like me.
The constraint is God's complete, unassailable, total sovereignty and mankind's genuine culpability; since Love without choice is not genuine nor is punishment without choice just.
What we know is that God knows us (His beloved) as much beyond this realm, as in it, and as before it. And we know that God does not know those who only existed within this realm, and which will forever hence be banished (flee) from His presence (Revelation 9:11, 20:1).
Did God see something good within someone for which He said, "I pick him and her"?
Or perhaps a people ceased to work, ceased to rebel, ceased to resist, for which the Holy Spirit begins His work... He brings spiritual rebirth which enables someone to receive His truth, which will renew them in both thought and deed. With this spiritual insight they repent from their former nonbelief and (by faith in His promises and in His faithfulness) begin to be sanctified and transformed into the image and likeness of their Savior.
Reliance upon God's love, receiving it by faith, and dispersing it to others as Jesus the Christ displayed and then commanded.
CHARACTERISTICS
Neither group can work to please or gain merit and favor with their Creator. Although all major world religions seek to do this, and although atheist perceive humanity as mostly good, even our best efforts of being right before a pure and Holy God are but "filthy rags" in His sight (Isaiah 64:6).
But does one group go around lying, cheating, stealing, while the other loves honesty, is kind, and is generous?
Or is it that one group pursues the god(s) of their mind and emotions, while the other group pursues the God revealed in creation, holy Scripture, and in Jesus the Christ?
Is that what you see transpiring within humanity... Bad people / Good people?
YES, one group embraces sin while the other is becoming less and less sinful through the work and sanctification of the Holy Spirit.
But sin is not merely lying, cheating, stealing... Many of the non-elect live wholesome and moral lives, donate time and money to charity, honor God with their lips.
Look closely at the two groups which will stand before the Lord.
Jesus foretells of His dividing the sheep from the goats at the end time. As with shepherds throughout history the sheep of their fold know the voice of who they follow and will respond to him when called. If one remains and grazes while the others move onward, then it probably belongs to another's fold.
But Jesus said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So, the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet."- Luke 14:16-24
One group actually follows the Shepherd's call as He leads them (deny self, live sacrificially, follow My example), while the other group maintains their focus on what is before them... the life that they are currently living (My new purchase, My new investment, My family).
This also illuminates the next attribute which distinguishes between the TWO groups.
Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."- Matthew 25:34-40
To those on His right (sheep) He lauded their attributes of compassion and sacrificial love.
To those on His left (goats) He rebuked for their selfishness and apathy towards those in need.
NOTE: Goats and tares are introverted, stubborn, and consume. While sheep and wheat are both extroverted, yielding, and providing for others.
Yet how did each group become like this?
The answer is that BOTH groups (all peoples) began as self-seeking rebels to God and His decrees for His creation. But God, in His mercy, granted time for His own (those on His right) to repent and turn back to Him through the knowledge of His salvation... GRACE.
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all people, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works." - Titus 2:11-14
But those on His left (goats) were the ones that resisted His grace and pursued their own lives.
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you." - Acts 7:51
The Holy Spirit brings to humanity what we needed most, the knowledge of a loving God and His act of redemption through Christ the Lord. And once we cease to resist (work), the Holy Spirit transforms our heart and mind, so that we may mirror the image of our Savior in both thought and deed.
This is why Jesus proclaimed, "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the unpardonable sin." Because without embracing His (Holy Spirit) truth, we've denied or distorted it.
"How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" - Hebrews 2:3
Again, we see an others focused and a self (me, my, mine) focused.
God's elect not only relinquished prioritizing their personal lives, but actually sought out and prioritized others who were in need.
While the wicked continued to prioritize themselves above others.
Jesus modeled both these attributes (compassion and complete selflessness) for His own to learn from and to imitate. His life was devoted to sacrificially loving others... with His treasures and His time that the Father had loved (blessed) Him with.
And His disciples heed His call to followed His example, while the un-righteous continued in pursuing their own interests to the neglect of others.
So... Does God "Love the sinner but hate their sin"???
Does God hate all sinners?
Does a Holy, Holy, Holy God hate ALL the non-believers?
Jesus declared, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!"- Mark 1:15
Jesus taught us, "Greater love has no one than this, that one should lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13
"But God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!" - Romans 5:8
Although chosen in Him before all things were created, we all enter this world equally as fallen sinners. But remember that for those who will abide in His presence after this present age, they also exist within His presence prior to this age.
So, Christ came to, "seek and save those who are lost" (Luke 19:10).
Both groups, all unbelievers, are sinners. Yet while the elect were still sinners... Christ loved them and gave Himself for them (Romans 5:8).
And henceforth, Jesus calls them to REPENT of what He hates... SIN.
Once Jesus had atoned for the sin of His beloved, the Father sent the Holy Spirit as a down payment to indwell them and begin the work of sanctification. And now a 3rd group formed...
Let us never forget that picture...
We must never forget that our Lord commands us to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44), to proclaim a message of hope and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19), and to teach others of God's amazing mercy and love to an underserving people.
Proclaim the good news (gospel) of Christ's sacrifice and atoning death (love) for the remission of our sins! Proclaim this to ALL unbelievers, because we don't know who is ultimately the elect or non-elect.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."- John 3:16-17
"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." - John 3:18
And to the non-elect our consciences will be clear (Acts 20:26).
While we were yet sinners, just like most of those around us, God loved us and proved this love by providing a way of our redemption (salvation), but our sins (which God hates) continued to separate us from Him... until we repented from self (self-reliance, self-autonomy, self-determination, selfishness).
Jesus commands to "Deny self" and to "Hate self" (Luke 9:23 & 14:26).
Jesus came and displayed true RIGHTEOUSNESS, then He (as the True Shepherd) called for His own to "follow Him" in obedient love for others.
As the rich (those with means and possessions) continue prioritizing (loving) themselves with the vast majority of time, talents, and treasures that God has blessed them with, the elect are called out to live and spread the message of the Kingdom. We are to proclaim and demonstrate the superior love of Christ and His way (the Kingdom way) of denying self-love to the benefit of loving others.
Like Christ, we use God's provision to meet the needs (not greeds) of our self, our family, our neighbors for the service of God (John 13:9-10).
For us (self)... we maintain and improve our ability to serve our Master.
For family... we instruct and prepare them for service to the Lord.
For neighbors... we show the love of Christ by prioritizing their needs above our own.
All of humanity becomes polarized by Christ.
One group loves; they give themselves away as living sacrifices not for pay or benefit, not from compulsion or obligation, but because of Christ-like supernatural sacrificial "others focused" love. (Read both Chapters, Romans 12: and 1 Corinthians 12:)
While the other group persists in managing their standard of living to one degree or another, prioritizing self to the neglect of others (apathy).
We are to no longer look for ourselves in the mirror, or through our possessions...
But instead, we long to see our self reflected in the face of someone in need. We rejoice with those rejoicing, we mourn with those who mourn... we follow Jesus's example in thought and deed.
We pursue joy instead of happiness.
As Americans, in the span of our lifetime, we will have over 2 million dollars pass through our hands. What percentage of that do we keep for self and what percentage do we bless others with? When our current life is over, the question may very well be, "Why did you keep what you kept?". Did we not trust God's promise to provide? Did we think we deserved more of what we worked for? Did we compare and base our standard of living to those around us? Did we conclude that God wants us extra happy, even to the neglect of the poor in this world (Matthew 26:11)?
Is life about self-indulgence as long as we thank Him for it? Is a tithe being "good and faithful" or merely just a good beginning as we move towards becoming increasingly like Christ?
Sobering questions to those that Jesus calls and commands to, "Deny self, take us your cross daily, and follow Me." - Luke 9:23
Yet the world's motto remains, "You deserve..." and "Just do it".
Which are we listening to? Or a little of one and more of the other??
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be?" - 2 Peter 3:10-11
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