Does God Hate Sinners? 3/2/11

Tonight in r@Nd0m we discussed the supreme courts decision in the case against Westbobro Baptist Church.  In case you’ve been living under a rock or just don’t pay attention here’s the link to the story:  

There are several questions to consider here.  Was the decision right?  Is what the church is doing right?  What would motivate them to do this?  What does it mean for me?

Is it Legal?

Westboro Baptist Church has not broken any US laws (I’m not sure they would pass the test on the whole “love your neighbor as yourself” law of God).  Legally the supreme court made the right decision, and I am immensely thankful that they did.  As crazy as it sounds this is a legal win for the Church.  They have set a precedent that free speech is protected by the first amendment – even when that speech is telling the truth about sin when it comes to things that might offend some.  We are free to teach what the Bible says and it’s protected by the first amendment right to free speech.

Is Westboro Baptist Right?

Absolutely NOT!!!  This is not what God has called us to do in fulfilling the Great Commission.  Their protest signs send a message that God hates the sinner.  I took the time to read every scripture in the KJV with the word “hate” in it.  I only found a handful of references that said God hated something.  Here are a few of them:  Proverbs 6:16-19 says that God hates a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart the deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that are swift in running to mischief, speaking lies and sowing discord.  Notice here God hates the action of the sinner, not the sinner.  Again in Zechariah 8:17 God mentions the “things” that he hates, not the people that He hates.  Finally Revelation 2:6 and 15 talks about God hating the doctrine and teaching of the Nicolaitans.  It does not say that He hates the Nicolaitans.  The key here is that we need to realize there is a difference between who I am and what I do.  When we sin God hates what we do, but he DOES NOT hate us. 

What’s the Motive?

What would motivate a church that is supposed to be serving a loving God to do something that seems so cruel.  I can’t speak for them for sure, but here is my guess on the motivation.  I think their desire is to have people come to Christ and repent of their sins.  They are trying to keep people from an everlasting torment.  I get that.  Let me illustrate it further.  I shared this in our meeting, but I think it’s worth repeating.  The other day I yelled at my two year old son and scared him to the point that he started crying.  On the surface it seems that I’m just a mean dad.  Now let me fill in the details.  I yelled across the room as I saw him reaching for an electrical outlet.  Now it makes a little more sense I hope.  In my attempt to protect him from great pain I caused temporary pain.  He didn’t quite get it and thought I was being mean.  But he also didn’t stick his finger in an electrical outlet.  The apostle Paul started off the same way.  You can read his story in Acts 7 – 9.  He was persecuting the church and even stood by while Stephen was stoned in an effort to worship God.  His motive was pure.  He was just a little misinformed.  God straightened him out on the road to Damascus.

What Does All This Mean For Us?

We need to make a stand for Christ.  We need to be honest when it comes to areas of sin.  People may not like what we say, but we still need to give them the truth.  When it comes to truth on this issue you can check out Romans 1.  God is very clear that homosexuality is a sin.  Does that mean that God hates homosexuals? 

NO WAY

!!!  He wants them to be free from that and come to Christ.  The problem here is that we have a group of people that missed the instructions in Ephesians 4:15.  We are told to speak the truth in love.  Our goal is not to beat people down and tell them God hates them.  We need to lovingly bring truth in hopes that people will turn to God and live a life free from sin.  Be honest.  Be loving.  Remember God is the judge, not us.  We are all sinners deserving of judgment.  Thankfully God is rich in mercy and sent His Son to die for us so that we could have eternal life (Eph 2:1-10; John 3:16-17).