Gospel - Love the Sinner Hate the Sin

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"And keep in step with God’s love, as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to show how kind he is by giving you eternal life. Be helpful to all who may have doubts. Rescue any who need to be saved, as you would rescue someone from a fire. Then with fear in your own hearts, have mercy on everyone who needs it. But hate even the clothes of those who have been made dirty by their filthy deeds."

Jude 1:21-23 in the Contemporary English Version

[This is the 7th and last message in this series]

In the previous messages of this series we talked about the letters of John. In this lesson, we will read and end with the excerpt above, taken from the letter of Jude.

We are still talking about the Gospel. The writer of the letter is, as stated on the letter, is Jude, brother of James. This James is a different James from the Apostle James, brother of John.

Jude is the brother of James who also wrote letters to the early church in the 1st century). They were both brothers of Jesus. (Mark 6:3)

Gospel

John the Apostle wrote in his first letter that God is love
(1 John 4:16).

He is. The Gospel is God's love in action.

So just because God is love, it doesn't mean that he does not hate anything. He does.

He hates sin. (But because He is love), He loves the sinner. Jesus demonstrated this all throughout His earthly ministry.

Love in Action Not just Words

Jesus loves the Samaritan woman, the one who was by the well who was married five times and living with a sixth who wasn't her husband.

He loves the woman caught in adultery, the one the teachers of the law brought to Him to trap Him.

Jesus loves the lepers, the crippled, the lame, the blind, the deaf, the mute, the sick, beggars and all those considered scum of the earth. He ate with sinners.

Self-Exaltation

The only people Jesus despised were those who exalt themselves over others, lording  over God's people by priding about their self-righteousness. For these are offsprings of the fallen angel who brought down a third of the angels and who have been through the ages trying to bring down this world.

Jesus loves sinners, except those who have the same nature as Satan (the fallen angel) -- acknowledging God but willfully showing Him contempt, self-sufficiency, self-righteousness and self-exaltation.

The Difference

Jesus shows the contrast between a sinner and a self-exalting person in The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

This is also the message of the Parable of the Great Banquet.


2 Halves of the Gospel

God loves sinners. This is the 1st half of the Gospel message. This speaks of God's grace and mercy.

The other half of the Gospel is God's justice. 

Just like when we come before any judge in contempt of court, meaning fully recognizing but willfully challenging and ignoring the court's authority then the judge will hold us in contempt. This is the same way when we stand before the great white throne.

Revelations 20:11-15

"I saw a great white throne with someone sitting on it. Earth and heaven tried to run away, but there was no place for them to go. I also saw all the dead people standing in front of that throne. Every one of them was there, no matter who they had once been. Several books were opened, and then the book of life was opened. The dead were judged by what those books said they had done.

The sea gave up the dead people who were in it, and death and its kingdom also gave up their dead. Then everyone was judged by what they had done. Afterwards, death and its kingdom were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Anyone whose name wasn’t written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."

God is God, whether we believe Him or not.






Image Credit: An Informed Faith
johntsquires.com

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