Judgement and Justice, Part 4

CONCLUSION

Do we want justice? To see right exalted and evil punished? God does. Can we proclaim with the Psalmist (45:4-7): “Ride on in majesty to victory for the defense of truth and justice! Your strength will win you great victories! Your arrows are sharp, they pierce the hearts of your enemies; nations fall down at your feet. The kingdom that God has given you will last forever and ever. You rule over your people with justice; you love what is right and hate what is evil. That is why God, your God, has chosen you and has poured out more happiness on you than on any other king.” 

The price of justice is that punishment takes place. Imagine a world (this may not be hard) in which criminals are convicted but the judge frees them and says “don’t do it again”. Is this justice? Imagine a God who, when Hitler (other dictators are available) stands before Him says, “Well, you were evil, you didn’t repent, but come into Heaven anyway.” Is this justice? Does it show God hates evil? 

And yet, God doesn’t want to punish. He wants us to repent and live with Him eternally. Thus, “God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)! Thus, “Christ died for sins once and for all, a good man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

Is it just that a thief dies on a cross, repents with his last breath, and Jesus says, “See you in Paradise”? Is it just that a kind atheist is punished for not believing in Christ? Hitler, a thief, a kind man. You and me! “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The difference is only the degree of sin. We all deserve punishment for our sins. Each week in church we confess our sins trusting God is merciful to those who repent. We want justice, but it traps us, too, so we want mercy more! We need Jesus, who died for sins, a good man on behalf of sinners. “Because of our sins he was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment he suffered, made whole by the blows he received. All of us were like sheep that were lost, each of us going his own way. But the Lord made the punishment fall on him, the punishment all of us deserved” (Isaiah 53:5-6). In Christ on the cross, God punishes our sins. We are not just nodded into heaven by a lovey-dovey, dopey god. Our sins were punished. Judgement has been served on Jesus, so mercy can be granted to us. Freedom is won, for all who believe. This is our Lord. This is our God.

Judgement and Justice, Part 3

Jesus - Saviour? Judge?

We rightly speak of Jesus as Saviour. John 3:16-18 is God’s statement of intent: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its saviour. Those who believe in the Son are not judged; but those who do not believe have already been judged, because they have not believed in God's only Son.” Want to be spared God’s judgement and have eternal life? Jesus says, believe in Him. 

John 12:44-48: Jesus said in a loud voice, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in him who sent me. Whoever sees me sees also him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. If people hear my message and do not obey it, I will not judge them. I came, not to judge the world, but to save it. Those who reject me and do not accept my message have one who will judge them. The words I have spoken will be their judge on the last day!”

Jesus didn’t come to judge but to save, to free from darkness all who believe in Him. God doesn’t want to judge us. He wants to save and spare us.

But this is only half the story. This was Jesus’ first coming. Our Ephesians reading continues it. “[God] … raised Christ from death and seated him at his right side in the heavenly world. Christ rules there above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers, and lords; he has a title superior to all titles of authority in this world and in the next. God put all things under Christ's feet and gave him to the church as supreme Lord over all things. The church is Christ's body, the completion of him who himself completes all things everywhere” (Ephesians 1:19-23).

No longer suffering Saviour, He rules over all. Every knee will bow and tongue confess He is Lord. He “will come again to judge the living and the dead” (2 Timothy 4:1). Revelation 1 presents a stunning picture of Christ with “a sharp two-edged sword [coming] out of His mouth”. Remember the Last Day, when those who don’t believe Jesus will be judged by His words. And those who’ve believed? Jesus said (in John 6:40), “For what my Father wants is that all who see the Son and believe in him should have eternal life. And I will raise them to life on the last day.” The Second Coming differs radically from the first.

Last month, Naeem preached from Habbakuk (1:2-4): “O Lord, how long must I call for help before you listen, before you save us from violence? Why do you make me see such trouble? How can you stand to look on such wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are all around me, and there is fighting and quarreling everywhere. The law is weak and useless, and justice is never done. Evil people get the better of the righteous, and so justice is perverted.”

This cry has sounded throughout history. Justice has its victories, but violence, trouble, fighting, quarreling, the triumph of evil, the perversion of justice continue. 

Revelation 6:9-11: “I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed because they had proclaimed God's word and had been faithful in their witnessing. They shouted in a loud voice, “Almighty Lord, holy and true! How long will it be until you judge the people on earth and punish them for killing us?” Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer, until the complete number of other servants and believers were killed, as they had been.” Martyred believers, from Abel onwards, including St Stephen and St Paul, still cry out. How long, O Lord? Wait. Until The Last Day. Here is an abridged version of Revelation 19:11-21:

“Then I saw heaven open, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True; it is with justice that he judges and fights his battles. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and he wore many crowns on his head. He had a name written on him, but no one except himself knows what it is. The robe he wore was covered with blood. His name is “The Word of God.” The armies of heaven followed him, riding on white horses and dressed in clean white linen. Out of his mouth came a sharp sword, with which he will defeat the nations. He will rule over them with a rod of iron, and he will trample out the wine in the wine press of the furious anger of the Almighty God. On his robe and on his thigh was written the name: “King of kings and Lord of lords.” … The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. Their armies were killed by the sword that comes out of the mouth of the one who was riding the horse; and all the birds ate all they could of their flesh.”

Paul stated the church will judge the world and the angels. Is that the time?

Judgement and Justice, Part 2

The Church - To Judge or not to Judge?

You Bible-bashing, hypocritical do-gooders! You think you’re better than me, with your child-abusing priests, your Crusades, your expensive churches! What gives you the right?

Is Israel as a pattern for the Church? Israel punished the wicked sword in hand, so should the Church? We must look to the New Testament. Again, let’s look at this externally and internally.

Externally. Are we to punish unbelievers? What did the Lord Jesus say? Our Luke 6 reading shows we’re not to judge, but to forgive. Love your enemies, do them good. This makes you like God, who is good to the ungrateful and wicked. Jesus refers to injustices done to us, not injustices done to others. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28). This is hard! The instinct to retaliate is so natural! We cry, “it’s not fair!” and it isn’t! It’s really not fair, but Jesus says do it. He put His money where His mouth was. Isaiah 53:7-9: “He was treated harshly, but endured it humbly; he never said a word. Like a lamb about to be slaughtered, like a sheep about to be sheared, he never said a word. He was arrested and sentenced and led off to die, and no one cared about his fate. He was put to death for the sins of our people. He was placed in a grave with those who are evil, he was buried with the rich, even though he had never committed a crime or ever told a lie.”

Does Jesus mean we’re never ever ever to judge? Jesus often judged the Pharisees. Their hearts and actions. As the sinless one, He had the right. As God, He knew their hearts. We can judge actions. We know the difference between right and wrong. God doesn’t want us to treat good and bad deeds as equal, but as far as our “enemies” go, we’re to show a better way, seeking to save rather than condemn.

Our knowledge of right and wrong comes not from common sense, or the trends of society, or what we feel, but the word of God, which “is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword… It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). We only condemn what God condemns.

Internally. When outsiders wrong us, Jesus says accept injustice, don’t take revenge. Let God do that. What about when fellow Christians wrong us? Matthew 18:15-17 is instructive. Jesus says, “If your brother sins against you, go to him and show him his fault. But do it privately, just between yourselves. If he listens to you, you have won your brother back. But if he will not listen to you, take one or two other persons with you, so that ‘every accusation may be upheld by the testimony of two or more witnesses,’ as the scripture says. And if he will not listen to them, then tell the whole thing to the church. Finally, if he will not listen to the church, treat him as though he were a pagan or a tax collector.” This is a stunning teaching. The motive isn’t revenge, demanding forgiveness or seeking recompense. It’s not to condemn, but lead to repentance. Whether the offender wants to repent is another matter! In 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses this issue using real life cases. He is livid about it!

1 Corinthians 6:1-6

“If any of you have a dispute with another Christian, how dare you go before heathen judges instead of letting God's people settle the matter? Don't you know that God's people will judge the world? Well, then, if you are to judge the world, aren't you capable of judging small matters? Do you not know that we shall judge the angels? How much more, then, the things of this life! If such matters come up, are you going to take them to be settled by people who have no standing in the church? Shame on you! Surely there is at least one wise person in your fellowship who can settle a dispute between fellow Christians. Instead, one Christian goes to court against another and lets unbelievers judge the case!” As Jesus says to accept injustice from unbelievers, Paul goes on to suggest it’s better to let yourself be wronged by a fellow believer than go to court. I want to stress that we should certainly not allow this teaching to become an excuse to cover up abuse. Paul is referring to “small matters”.

Paul states the church will judge the world and the angels. Fascinating! Especially as, just before this, he wrote it’s none of his business to judge unbelievers! Is Paul contradicting himself in his anger? Here’s a possibility. Now, he had no interest in judging the world but saving it. But in the future, that will change. The church will execute judgement. I’ll come back to that.

Judgement and Justice, Part 1

This is the text of a sermon I gave on November 3rd, 2019

Readings:

Psalm 149

Ephesians 1:11-23

Luke 6:27-42

INTRODUCTION

“Who are you to judge me?” Has anyone ever said that to you? Maybe you’ve said it? It’s a question of outrage, a defensive question. How dare you! What gives you the right? Who do you think you are? It’s the opposite of humility. It avoids scrutiny. It deflects attention.

Psalm 149. How great if this ended at verse 5! A simple exhortation to praise God. We’d all get behind that, apart from the dancing. We’d see victory as victory over circumstances: triumph over the world, the flesh, the Devil. So why, oh why, did the psalmist spoil it by adding:

Let them shout aloud as they praise God,

    with their sharp swords in their hands

 to defeat the nations

    and to punish the peoples;

 to bind their kings in chains,

    their leaders in chains of iron;

to punish the nations as God has commanded.

This is the victory of God's people.

Praise the Lord!

We rightly hate war. We want peace, not war. So should we cringe as Israel praises God while fighting, taking rulers captive, punishing the nations with God leading the way? 

I want to briefly address the issue of judgement and justice.

Israel - God’s Instrument of Justice

Israel, how dare you? Who do you think you are? What gives you the right? Israel was many things; one of them was God’s instrument of justice, internally and externally.

Internally. God set a standard for what is right and just, which expresses who He is. His character is the benchmark of holiness. He expressed His character in human-sized bites when the Law was given to Moses. Directly or indirectly, the Law shows what God would or wouldn’t do (dare I say, if He were human?). He expected Israel to be like Him. Some things are easy to understand. Don’t murder. Don’t steal. Don’t mistreat widows or orphans. Some sounds weird. You may eat any land animal that has divided hoofs and also chews the cud, but you mustn’t eat camels, rock badgers, or rabbits. Don’t cut the hair on the sides of your head to mourn for the dead. Don’t wear clothes made of two kinds of material.

These laws would keep Israel holy. There were penalties for breaking them, as with any law. Those penalties were the means of executing justice, just as there are penalties for breaking UK laws.

Externally. Israel was to be holy, keeping God’s laws, a light to the nations, showing what Yahweh was like. A holy people executing His judgments on the nations. As a holy people, God would be with them, leading them. God, the judge and jury. Israel, the executioner. When He told them “destroy the Canaanites”, He was telling them to punish people who practised every sexual immorality and sacrificed their children to their idol. Leviticus 18 has the details. 

We must be clear: Israel didn’t decide what behaviour they disagreed with and look for nations to punish, like moral vigilantes. They didn’t make up the rules. God gave rules to reflect His character. Indeed, Israel often worshipped pagan gods, slept with temple prostitutes, sacrificed their own children, practised witchcraft… Rather than a light to the nations, they often joined the darkness. Rather than execute God’s justice against wickedness, they ended up on the receiving end. Israel’s history is a toing and froing between following, then abandoning God. 

Don't Giving On God (Part Two)

Conclusion of my sermon on Hebrews 12:18-29

2) DON’T GIVE UP - THE CONSEQUENCES ARE DIRE

Earlier I asked what, if not persecution, might cause Westerners to abandon Christ? There’s a website dedicated to “ex Christians” and quite a lot of testimonies of “Deconversion”. 

Here are quotes from different stories:

“I would try to pray in my room at night, but after hearing no response from God, I would feel like maybe he didn't love me, or looked down on me so much because of my sins that he couldn't even talk to me.” “Finally I was able to admit to myself that god had never been there for me, had never showed himself to me or talked to me, and any emotional response I had from praying had been self induced.” “Xtianity is a vile pestilence bent on propagating itself while destroying all forms of unbelief.” “In addition to the ugliness of Christians, I also saw how horrible Christianity is. Too many things didn't add up. The "loving" god increasingly looked to me like an abusive, sadistic, megalomaniacal, and above all, evil creature.” “The Catholic Church has been exposed as a home for pedophile priests. The Protestant Church has more than its share of sexual predators and deviants.” “About 5 years ago I developed a physical problem which caused me tremendous angst and stress. I believed in healing miracles and prayed to Jesus frequently, sometimes 10 times a day. The result: Nothing. Jesus would not heal me in the slightest. After praying for a year with no results I began getting frustrated with God and wondering after all I have done for him these past 20 years why he was ignoring me.” “I  realized that the Creation, original sin, crucifixion, salvation chain of events wouldn't work anyway I tried to comprehend it and I saw more and more examples of Christianity proudly standing up for things that were not what I was about.”

This is nothing new. If you read the Psalms, you see similar things. Psalmists asking why God has abandoned them, why the wicked prosper, why God doesn’t just show up and do something! These Psalms are real life. 

Does it matter that those people abandoned God? After all, we often chop and change our allegiances these days. Is your insurance, your broadband, utilities, supermarket, too expensive? Switch and save money! Is Christianity making you miserable, guilty, unsure, outraged? Become an atheist and enjoy life! 

Do we find this lax attitude in Hebrews? Far from it! Abandoning God is not a light thing. And maybe for those ex-Christians it wasn’t easy. But it was the wrong decision. 

Hebrews 3:12 warns: “...be careful that no one among you has a heart so evil and unbelieving as to turn away from the living God.”

Hebrews 6:4-6 is very blunt indeed: “For how can those who abandon their faith be brought back to repent again? They were once in God's light; they tasted heaven's gift and received their share of the Holy Spirit; they knew from experience that God's word is good, and they had felt the powers of the coming age. And then they abandoned their faith! It is impossible to bring them back to repent again, because they are again crucifying the Son of God and exposing him to public shame.”

Hebrews 12:25: “Be careful, then, and do not refuse to hear him who speaks. Those who refused to hear the one who gave the divine message on earth did not escape. How much less shall we escape, then, if we turn away from the one who speaks from heaven!”

See also Hebrews 2:1-3, 4:1

These warnings are strong. Some would say this is manipulation and spiritual abuse. Actually, it is love and concern. He doesn’t want them to fall under judgement. I’m closing this point with Hebrews 10:26-31. “For there is no longer any sacrifice that will take away sins if we purposely go on sinning after the truth has been made known to us. Instead, all that is left is to wait in fear for the coming Judgment and the fierce fire which will destroy those who oppose God! Anyone who disobeys the Law of Moses is put to death without any mercy when judged guilty from the evidence of two or more witnesses. What, then, of those who despise the Son of God? who treat as a cheap thing the blood of God's covenant which purified them from sin? who insult the Spirit of grace? Just think how much worse is the punishment they will deserve! For we know who said, “I will take revenge, I will repay”; and who also said, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!”

These ex-Christians are truly to be pitied. Let’s do all we can to avoid becoming like them.

CONCLUSION

Hebrews contains encouragements and warnings. This good things/bad things approach is totally biblical. Deuteronomy 28 is a list of blessings for obeying God and curses for disobeying Him. Two chapters later, Moses tells the Israelites: “I am now giving you the choice between life and death, between God's blessing and God's curse, and I call heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Choose life.” God told Adam, “You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. You must not eat the fruit of that tree; if you do, you will die the same day.” Jesus stated, “So then, anyone who hears these words of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain poured down, the rivers flooded over, and the wind blew hard against that house. But it did not fall, because it was built on rock. But anyone who hears these words of mine and does not obey them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain poured down, the rivers flooded over, the wind blew hard against that house, and it fell. And what a terrible fall that was!”

The choice of the Hebrews, the choice of Israel, the choice of Adam - this is our choice. In the words of John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not have life, but will remain under God's punishment.” Is God a tyrant? No. “He is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.” (2 Peter 3:9) “I, the Sovereign Lord, am the living God, I do not enjoy seeing sinners die. I would rather see them stop sinning and live.” (Ezekiel 33:11)

Hebrews 11 recalls Old Testament men and women of faith to whom God had made great promises. The writer concludes with truly shocking words: “What a record all of these have won by their faith! Yet they did not receive what God had promised…” Wait! What! God made promises to these people and they didn’t get what He promised them! Maybe the atheists are right? Can you trust this God? Well, the writer continues, “because God had decided on an even better plan for us. His purpose was that only in company with us would they be made perfect.” God delayed fulfilling His promises because of the better, New Covenant plan. We are one people with Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and so on. As you and I are brothers and sisters in Christ, so you and Moses and all the other Old Testament believers are brothers and sisters in Christ.

What does God have in store for us all? A Ford Fiesta, or a Porsche (metaphorically speaking)? God made promises of earthly land to Old Testament believers (the Ford Fiesta), all the time intending to give them a heavenly city (the Porsche). It’s not a case of Earth for the Old Testament Jews, Heaven for the Christians. It’s a new Heaven and a new Earth for both. We enter the ultimate promise together, hand in hand, one people in Christ. The Bible gives us glimpses of this new world. Past events will be completely forgotten. It is a place of righteousness. A place of God’s presence, with no more death, grief, crying or pain. We will see Jesus. This is our home. Choose life.

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Don't Give Up On God (Part One)

This is a sermon I preached on 25th August, 2019
It is based on Hebrews 12:18-29

INTRO 1

Imagine you’re 16 years old. Your parents sit you down and you think, “what have I done now!” But, no. They tell you that, on your 18th birthday, they’re going to buy you a car - a second hand Ford Fiesta. You are shocked. You can’t wait to get a car! So you try being extra-good. You do the chores you’ve been asked to, and some others besides. You devour the Highway Code. You take lessons and you love it. Your 18th birthday creeps closer and you’re getting excited. You read lots of articles on the Internet about Ford Fiestas. You feel like an expert. Then it comes - the night before! You are so pumped up you can hardly sleep! Your parents call you. They drive you to the car lot. They tell you to close your eyes. They guide you along and tell you to open them. You are standing next to a Porsche! You don’t understand. “Where’s my Ford Fiesta?” you ask, puzzled. Your parents tell you they love you so much they’ve bought you this Porsche. This was always their plan. But your heart was set on the Ford.

INTRO 2

There was a problem amongst the original recipients of the letter to the “Hebrews”. Some were close to giving up their Christian faith. They had turned to Jesus as Messiah - and were getting trouble in return. Being disowned by family; having the authorities on their backs; having their goods confiscated; being thrown out of their homes. Was faith in Jesus worth it?

The writer encourages them repeatedly not to give up. 

Let us, then, hold firmly to the faith we profess. Hebrews 4:14 GNB and 10:23

Our great desire is that each of you keep up your eagerness to the end. Hebrews 6:11 GNB

Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Hebrews 10:25 GNB

Do not lose your courage. Hebrews 10:35 GNB

We are not people who turn back and are lost. Hebrews 10:39 GNB

(Jesus) did not give up because of the cross! Hebrews 12:2 GNB

Guard against turning back from the grace of God… Let no one become immoral or unspiritual. Hebrews 12:15-16 GNB

See also Hebrews 3:6, 13:9

And here are the reasons the writer gives:

Don’t give up - Christ is faithful and is in charge of us. Christ is our High Priest who is in God’s presence.

Don’t give up - because what we hope for in Christ WILL happen; we can trust God to keep His promises.

Don’t give up - there is a great reward waiting for us.

Don’t give up - we have faith and we are saved. Look to Jesus as our example. He went to the cross and now He’s seated at God’s right hand. Keep trusting in God’s grace.

Some of you here have experienced the kind of persecution which puts your life or livelihood at risk. I haven’t. I can’t imagine how awful it must be, living with the possibility of being imprisoned, assaulted, killed, just because I’m a Christian. The worst that has happened to me is being laughed at or disagreed with or blocked on Twitter. Most Westerners won’t have suffered such persecution. In my second point I’ll consider what might cause Westerners to abandon Christ. 

1) DON’T GIVE UP - WHAT WE HAVE IN CHRIST IS BETTER

Here’s another set of reasons why the writer says not to abandon the faith. What they have now in Christ is far better than what they had before. Here’s a summary of the relevant verses:

Christ is greater than the angels.

Christ is better than Moses, the Law of Moses and guarantees a better covenant.

Christ is a better priest than the old covenant priests; a High Priest serving in the better, heavenly temple, of which the earthly temple was a copy.

Christ’s sacrifice is better than animal sacrifices.

In Christ, we possess heavenly things, which are better than earthly things.

In Christ, we inherit something better than the old covenant promised.

Christ’s blood provides for God’s mercy.

Hebrews 1:4,Hebrews 3:3,Hebrews 7:19,22,Hebrews 8:6,Hebrews 9:11,14,23,Hebrews 10:34,Hebrews 11:40,Hebrews 12:24

For a Jewish Christian, it was crystal clear - it would be crazy to turn your back on Jesus. You would be losing out big time. It’s like what the apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:5-8: “I was circumcised when I was a week old. I am an Israelite by birth, of the tribe of Benjamin, a pure-blooded Hebrew. As far as keeping the Jewish Law is concerned, I was a Pharisee, and I was so zealous that I persecuted the church. As far as a person can be righteous by obeying the commands of the Law, I was without fault. But all those things that I might count as profit I now reckon as loss for Christ's sake. Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ”. This is what the writer of Hebrews is trying to get across.

Our reading from Hebrews 12 showcases a stark contrast between the Old Covenant and the New:

“You have not come, as the people of Israel came, to what you can feel, to Mount Sinai with its blazing fire, the darkness and the gloom, the storm, the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of a voice. When the people heard the voice, they begged not to hear another word, because they could not bear the order which said, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling and afraid!”

Instead, you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, with its thousands of angels. You have come to the joyful gathering of God's first-born, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, who is the judge of all people, and to the spirits of good people made perfect. You have come to Jesus, who arranged the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that promises much better things than does the blood of Abel.”

To abandon Christ is to abandon what is better. Do you ever wonder if Christianity is worth it? The Israelites in the desert wondered whether following God was worth it. They grumbled and moaned that they would have been better off in Egypt. How quickly had they forgotten the slavery they underwent there. Remember what they had witnessed. Ten plagues which God sent on Egypt. The miraculous parting of the Red Sea. The miraculous provision of manna and quails in the desert. God leading them in a pillar of cloud and of fire. If we had seen such miracles, would we have trusted God? We have a better covenant. And don’t we still moan and complain? At least a little bit? Sometimes? Does anyone look back to the time before they became Christians and think, “ah, the good old days. It was easier then”? If the answer is “no, we don’t”, that is great. But it may be a temptation now, as it was back then. Think of what you have now and where you are heading. We can’t see the heavenly Jerusalem, and angels, the faithful departed rejoicing in God’s presence. We can’t see Jesus standing before the Father, interceding on our behalf. But we live this Christian life by faith. We need to keep encouraging one another to look to Jesus, because life on Earth can be grim, tough and nasty, and can drag you into a downward spiral of misery and doubt. 

In our Psalm reading (103:1-8), we see King David encouraging himself. Maybe there was nobody around to help him? “Praise the Lord, oh my soul! All my being, praise His holy name!” David has a chat with himself, reminding himself of all God had done for him. Forgiveness, healing, protection, blessing, all manner of good things. If we feel like giving up, or that God doesn’t love us, or we feel like throwing a tantrum at God, or we start moaning, we could sit ourselves down, praise God, and recall what He has done for us.

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Hating Jesus, Hating God - Part Two

A sermon I preached on Palm Sunday evening - continued

My second point, considering today’s readings, is to ask this question:

2 - What does it mean to hate God now, and can a Christian hate God?

Is this all just theology but, ultimately, should be preached to those who don’t know God rather than those who do? Ideally, yes. Every bit of my theological being wants to shout, “Don’t be stupid! Of course a Christian can’t hate God! That makes no sense!” And it’s true. It makes no sense. We need to bear in mind that hate means a strong dislike of something or someone. And not all hate is equal. You can “hate” fish (i.e. you dislike the taste). You can “hate” your job (you find no pleasure in it). You can “hate” the actions of other people (burglars, murderers, politicians). You can “hate” people themselves (sometimes this is rational and often not).

Hate towards God can also take these forms: a dislike of “religion” can transfer itself to God; you can find that you lose interest in God and the things of God; you can hate what you perceive to be God’s actions (oh, God, why did you let this happen to me - I don’t want anything to do with you now); you can irrationally hate the person of God because you don’t know Him or understand Him properly.

I’d suggest the most obvious form of “hate” the Christian might show towards God is expressed through the Hebrew idiom of “I love x but I hate y”. Take Luke 14:26 in the NIV: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” That is, “I love x (Jesus), but I hate y (family/myself). To think that God intends us to hate our families goes against Bible teaching which Jesus Himself endorsed/quoted, not least the commandment to honour your father and mother, and “if you curse your father or your mother, you are to be put to death”. Good News Bible dodges the word “hate” altogether but explains the meaning for us: “Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well.” It’s an expression of preference. Who are we going to prize higher when there is a conflict of interest? Whose side are we going to take? Jesus’, our own, our families? To prioritise Jesus, would be to “hate” our families. To prioritise our families would be to “hate” Jesus. The parable of the sower maybe gives us a practical insight into this preference. If we give up on God because we come to think Bible is nonsense, or we give up at the first sign of trouble, or the worries of life and the riches of the world stifle our love for God, then we are effectively “hating” Him because we prefer those things to Him.

On another occasion, while speaking to the disciples, Jesus was clearly having a swipe at the Pharisees who seemed to have been earwigging, when He said: “No servant can be the slave of two masters; such a slave will hate one and love the other or will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” The plain meaning is that if we love money we will hate God. It’s a very real danger in our society. “The worries about this life and the love for riches choke the message, and they don't bear fruit.” Paul wrote to Timothy: “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows.”

It is possible to become so twisted that we make ourselves God’s enemies. Consider James 4:1-6. “Where do all the fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your desires for pleasure, which are constantly fighting within you. You want things, but you cannot have them, so you are ready to kill; you strongly desire things, but you cannot get them, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it. And when you ask, you do not receive it, because your motives are bad; you ask for things to use for your own pleasures. Unfaithful people! Don't you know that to be the world's friend means to be God's enemy? If you want to be the world's friend, you make yourself God's enemy.” I don’t know if James is being deliberately over the top in his language. Fights, quarrels, ready to kill. It’s not pretty reading. Christians can, it seems, make themselves God’s enemies. The antidote to this is: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble… So then, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you. Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners! Purify your hearts, you hypocrites! Be sorrowful, cry, and weep; change your laughter into crying, your joy into gloom! Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

We recently studied the book of Malachi in our house group and this is a real case of how you can sleepwalk into hating God. Either religion has become so routine that cutting corners and showing disdain for God had crept upon them, or else they knew they were doing wrong and, like Cain, pretended they didn’t know why He was making such a fuss. They doubted God’s love for them. They disrespected Him by bringing stolen, lame and sick animals to sacrifice. Worship had become a burden. The priests turned away from the right path and taught the people to do wrong. They broke promises to God and to one another. Men divorced their wives to take up with younger foreign women who worshiped other gods. They cheated God by withholding the full tithes and offerings. They thought it was pointless serving God because God helped the wicked to prosper. I missed out some things but the picture is clear - Israel had a grievance with God. As with the Pharisees, religion was no protection from hating God. In Isaiah 29:13 we see God’s view of those who do religion for its own sake. The Lord said, “These people claim to worship me, but their words are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized.” Jesus Himself picks up this verse and hurls it at the Pharisees and teachers of the law. We have to guard ourselves from this. We can’t let our worship become just a meaningless round of church services, reading words from an overhead projector or a book, giving as little as we can to keep the church going, waiting anxiously for the service to end so we can chat with our friends.

OK, so this has been a heavy preach. I’ll end this point with a bit of humour, before going on to a positive conclusion.

Soap operas. I don’t watch them any more but I’ve often wondered - when there’s a bad character, everyone shouts at the tv or posts angrily on social media. But I wonder, are there people who actually side with the bad guy? Do they cheer him on? Picture the scene: a wicked man and a kind woman in a room. She goes out, leaving her opened handbag temptingly on the table. He looks at it. Most of us would shout for her to come quickly back into the room. But are there people who shout, “go on my son, nick the silly old bat’s purse”. Or a happy couple in the pub and the jealous, nasty, drunk ex-boyfriend who walks up to them. Most people would shout, “watch out! He’s behind you!” But are there people shouting at the screen, “She should be yours, drunky. Go on, smash his smiley face in!”

So, what has this to do with anything? Well, when it comes to the Gospels, I wonder if there are people who side with the Pharisees when they are conflict with Jesus? Well, that would be hating God if they did. And I don’t think I need to pursue this thought, except to suggest that, if we read what God says in the Bible and tell Him we don’t agree with Him, or we read what He did and tell Him He was wrong to do it, then we are on dangerous ground.

Conclusion

So, to conclude, what happens if you find you’re in conflict with God, that you are “hating” Him, that you are doing things which are making Him your enemy? What do you do if you find you are preferring family or your own will when they conflict with what God tells you to do? What do you do when you find yourself in power struggles with other Christians, quarreling and fighting with them instead of loving them? What do you do if you find you have become obsessed with money and it is getting in the way of your relationship with God? What do you do when you are bored with God, can’t be bothered with Him, are disillusioned? What do you do when you find you are so wrapped up in worries that you no longer trust God to look after you? There are various things you can do to tackle these situations, but the one overarching spiritual thing is to repent. All is not lost. You are not in a hopeless situation. God stands ready to forgive. “If we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing” (1 John 1:9). “Now, let's settle the matter. You are stained red with sin, but I will wash you as clean as snow. Although your stains are deep red, you will be as white as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” answered Jesus, “but seventy times seven…” If Jesus requires this level of forgiveness from Peter, how much more would we expect forgiveness from Jesus Himself?