BBD 02.27.09 An Intolerant God
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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02.27.09
An Intolerant God
"Just as I determined to punish you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,"
says the Lord of hosts, "and I would not relent, so again in these days I am
determined to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear.
These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbor;
give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace; let none of you
think evil in your heart against your neighbor; and do not love a false
oath. For all these are things that I hate," says the Lord. - Zechariah
8:17.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. - John 3:16.
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall
it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and
trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is
set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a
basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and
glorify your Father in heaven. - Matthew 5:13-16.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and
let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. - Hebrews 12:1.
We hear it more and more often that we must be tolerant. We are told we
should be tolerant of alternative lifestyles and non-Christian religions. In
the United States we appear to be headed toward court orders and legislative
directives to enforce this tolerance. In Dunbar, West Virginia the First
Baptist Church was having a "Haunted Hollow" at the Wine Cellar City Park.
During a 45-minute tour short skits were performed demonstrating the hazards
of sin. The church dropped one of the skits negative to homosexuality
because of the complaints of some citizens. However, the Wiccans were still
upset threatening to go to court because of what they called a negative
portrayal of their religion (This all happened several years ago and the
environment for Christians has continued to deteriorate.). It does appear to
be proof that you cannot please everyone.
The fact is that our God is intolerant. The One True God is intolerant of
homosexuality and witchcraft. But it is unfair to single those two sins out
because our God is intolerant of all sins. Actually, God hates sin! "For all
these things I hate, says the Lord." God hates sin so much that He "spared
not His own Son (Romans 8:32)." What terrible thing caused God's Son to die
an excruciating death on that cruel, cold, Roman cross? It was sin! God
hated sin so much that He sent this One who knew no sin to become sin for
us. God knew that it was only through His Son, Jesus, that we might have
Victory over this terrible disease of sin.
Yes, God loves us (John 3:16 ) but He still hates sin. As His children we
love the sinners, but we too should hate the sin. We should hate the sin so
much that we should oppose it at every turn (Matthew 5:13). We should hate
sin so much that we tell others about God's love of sinners and hate of sin
(Matthew 5:14-16). We should hate sin so much that we "lay" it "aside"
(Hebrews 12:1). We should hate the sin so much that when we sin, we
immediately confess it to our Lord so that we may be forgiven and cleansed
of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
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