Our world is full of\u00a0 contradictions.\u00a0 We all see them and do them to some degree.\u00a0 What was once called free love was no more than unrestrained lust.\u00a0 What is called pro-choice is really a horrid restriction on another person\u2019s chance to live.\u00a0 What one person insists is his right to marry the same sex prohibits another person\u2019s right to free enterprise.\u00a0 What some athletes claim is their right to protest becomes a contradictory protest against the thing that gives them the right to protest.\u00a0 A person wants the right to do as he pleases but does not want the consequences that come with what he pleases to do.\u00a0 A man will pick up a gun and shoot people and it\u2019s the gun\u2019s fault so we want to ban it, but thousands of people die each year of drugs and alcohol and it\u2019s never the substance\u2019s fault, in fact, we want to legalize it.\u00a0 Even as a country we want to take and take without giving and expect all things to come out even.<\/p>\n
Yet these things that are obviously large contradictions have their likenesses in each of us in smaller contradictions.\u00a0 That is why Jesus said that lust is the same thing as adultery (Matt. 5:28), and John said hate is the same thing as murder (1 John 3:15), and Paul said covetousness is the same thing as idolatry (Eph. 5:5), and James said we pray to a holy God to give us the things that can be consumed on our own sinful lusts (Jas. 4:2).\u00a0 Adam\u2019s sin is in all of us, whether in large quantity or small.<\/p>\n
All of these things are opposite of Who God is.\u00a0 \u201cGod is light and in him is no darkness at all\u201d (1 John 1:5).\u00a0 \u201cFor thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place\u201d (Isa. 57:15).\u00a0 \u201cAnd one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory\u201d (Isa. 6:3).\u00a0 But God has also said, \u201cFor my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD\u201d (Isa. 55:8).\u00a0 God desires this, \u201cYe that love the LORD, hate evil\u201d (Psa. 97:10).\u00a0 Yet we find that outside of Christ we do not love the Lord nor do we hate evil, and even in Christ we continue to struggle with the command to \u201cLove not the world, neither the things that are in the world\u201d (John 2:15).<\/p>\n
The beginning<\/span><\/p>\n Where did it all begin?\u00a0 Where did we stop loving righteousness?\u00a0 How can the apostle Paul conclude of the whole human race that \u201cThere is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.\u00a0 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.\u201d (Rom. 3:10)?\u00a0 It began in two places that we know well.\u00a0 It began first in the heavens with the anointed cherub Lucifer:\u00a0 \u201cThou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee\u201d (Ezek. 28:15).\u00a0 Isaiah seems to indicate that Lucifer was jealous of God\u2019s holiness and said, \u201cI will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High\u201d (Isa. 14:14).\u00a0 But, secondly, sin began in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve succumbed to Satan\u2019s bidding and disobeyed God with him.\u00a0 \u201cAnd the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked\u201d (Gen. 3:7).\u00a0 Paul said, \u201cBut I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ\u201d (2 Cor. 11:3).<\/p>\n Adam and Eve\u2019s sin has been passed on to all their posterity through birth.\u00a0 Death is the proof.\u00a0 \u201cWherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned\u201d (Rom. 5:12).\u00a0 An antipathy was born in Adam\u2019s sin, an antipathy displayed in the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman.\u00a0 God said to the serpent,\u00a0 \u201cAnd I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed\u201d (Gen. 3:15).\u00a0 All of Adam\u2019s posterity are born in sin and are spiritually the seed of disobedience, or of the serpent.\u00a0 \u201cYe are of your father\u00a0 the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do\u201d (John 8:44).\u00a0 \u201cIn this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil\u201d (1 John 3:10).\u00a0 The only way out of this lineage is to be born again.\u00a0 \u201cThat which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.\u00a0 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again\u201d (John 3:6-7).<\/p>\n The first fruits<\/span><\/p>\n We find the first overt fruits of Adam and Eve\u2019s sin in their child, Cain as Moses described it in Genesis 4. God gave Cain and Abel instructions on how to approach Him.\u00a0 Abel was righteous in his approach as the book of Hebrews records, \u201cAbel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts\u201d (Heb. 11:4).\u00a0 It seems reasonable to conclude that Abel\u2019s offering included blood sacrifice which had been pictured before when God made animal clothing for his parents Adam and Eve.\u00a0 But Moses records that God did not accept Cain\u2019s offering because, though it was from honest and hard work, it was not a blood offering.\u00a0 \u201cAnd Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell . . . . And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him\u201d (Gen. 4:5, 8).<\/p>\n Now we are closer to the real hate crime.\u00a0 This selfish murder by Cain is truly amazing.\u00a0 There were only four people on the whole earth and Cain killed one of them, a fourth of the population (Adam and Eve had other children but not at this time, Gen. 5:4)!\u00a0 Though sin had entered God\u2019s creation, it had not fallen to the low ebb that it quickly would in Noah\u2019s day.\u00a0 Abel had the whole world to be a hunter and Cain had the whole world to cultivate.\u00a0 Even in a sinful world things could hardly be better.\u00a0 Because of their different professions they would not even get in one another\u2019s way.\u00a0 But God had come to them both and made a request and Cain was thereby embarrassed due to his own disobedience.<\/p>\n The lack of love<\/span><\/p>\n The apostle John gives a helpful account of this first murder in 1 John 3:11-13, \u201cFor this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.\u00a0 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother.\u00a0 And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother\u2019s righteous.\u00a0 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.\u201d<\/p>\n Cain did not love his brother, he hated him.\u00a0 And why?\u00a0 Because to the sinful soul, righteousness has a way of creating envy, strife, and hate.\u00a0 Righteousness cannot be obtained by the sinful soul itself.\u00a0 It needs shed blood to please God.\u00a0 \u201cWithout shedding of blood is no remission\u201d (Heb. 9:22).\u00a0 So the sinner is left with himself.\u00a0 He is left with the good work from his creative hand but he is told that this is not acceptable with a righteous God.\u00a0 It is for this exact reason that John tells us that Cain killed Abel.\u00a0 He was envious of Abel, but his fallen countenance showed that he was angry, even with God, that he was not accepted.<\/p>\n Sinners reject the agape <\/i>love of God for this same reason.\u00a0 They could accept a philos <\/i>love from God easier.\u00a0 Philos<\/i> is more of a give-and-take kind of love, a friendship.\u00a0 But agape <\/i>is an all-giving love.\u00a0 It asks nothing in return.\u00a0 If God had loved us with a philos <\/i>kind of love, it would bolster our ego because we would have something to add to our own acceptance.\u00a0 But when God loves us with an agape <\/i>kind of love, it says to us that we have nothing good enough to give in return that would add any merit.\u00a0 God doesn\u2019t need our righteousness in order to love us or save us.\u00a0 Agape <\/i>says to us that we are sinners through and through and our sacrifices are not acceptable with God.\u00a0 The sinner hates this as Cain hated Abel.\u00a0 The love that faith produces is what overcomes this dilemma.\u00a0 Had Cain had the faith of Abel, he would have come God\u2019s way.\u00a0 \u201cIf thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?\u201d (Gen. 4:7).\u00a0 Sinners can only come to God by the righteousness of Christ, by His shed blood and His death, burial, and resurrection.\u00a0 \u201cNothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling,\u201d wrote Augustus Toplady.\u00a0 We see in Cain the hatred for God\u2019s standard of righteousness.<\/p>\n The cross<\/span><\/p>\n Though the Roman cross of crucifixion was a horrible and ugly thing, that in itself does not cause sinners to hate it.\u00a0 In fact, the cross has become an ornament to be worn in a stylish way.\u00a0 To believers it may have a unique meaning, but to the world the cross itself brings no shame or embarrassment.\u00a0 Even in many religious circles, the cross only signifies an example of giving and sacrifice that the sinner can also fulfill.\u00a0 That is basic liberal theology.\u00a0 But if the cross stands for the demands of a holy God which sinners cannot fulfill, it is accused of being hateful.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because it is also telling the sinner that he cannot save himself, that his self-made sacrifice is unacceptable to God.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it ironic how the sinner who is not righteous is always angry at God for being righteous!<\/p>\n The rise of the \u201chate crime\u201d in America has created the real possibility that Christianity itself will be accused of being hateful and therefore being a Christian could become a hate crime.\u00a0 In the post-Christian, post-modern era, to tell someone that he\/she is wrong, bad, or inferior becomes hateful.\u00a0 You are setting yourself up as superior and saying that the other person is inferior.\u00a0 If you say that homosexuality is wrong you have become hateful because you have said that such a person does not have the ability to know right and wrong.\u00a0 So thinks the post-modern person.<\/p>\n Christianity says that people are sinners.\u00a0 The ten commandments condemn peoples\u2019 actions.\u00a0 Anything religious in government has become a violation of the separation of church and state.\u00a0 Sinners, like Cain, do not want to be told that they are not accepted with God.\u00a0 They accomplish this by removing all reminders of what God has actually said.\u00a0 Any reminder of their sin becomes hate.<\/p>\n The real hate crime<\/span><\/p>\n So what is the real hate that is in the world?\u00a0 The world accuses Christians of being hateful.\u00a0 But do Christians hate sinners because they preach about their sin?\u00a0 It makes no sense.\u00a0 If that were the case, the Christian would cease with evangelism and let the sinner go to hell without hope.\u00a0 The mother that insists the child take the medicine even when the child kicks and screams is the mother who loves, not hates.\u00a0 Evangelism is no easy task.\u00a0 The social gospel is much easier because it promotes the sinner\u2019s good works and soothes his conscience.\u00a0 The Christian is fully aware that the sinner doesn\u2019t want to hear about his sin.\u00a0 Neither did he before he was converted.\u00a0 But the Christian knows from experience that repenting of sin and believing in Christ changes everything.\u00a0 It takes away the hate of Cain for the believing brother and grants acceptance with God.\u00a0 The world is seen as a different place.<\/p>\n The real hate crime is the age-old hate for God\u2019s standard of righteousness.\u00a0 When sinners are told that their own righteousness is not acceptable with God, their countenance falls and they turn their anger toward what is condemning them.\u00a0 It has ever been so.\u00a0 Religions of the world are acceptable to the sinner because they teach he can work enough to be accepted by God.\u00a0 Suicide bombers and mass murderers can kill in the name of Islam and yet Islam is an acceptable religion to the world.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because it does not condemn the sinner.\u00a0 It provides a way for his good works to be acceptable with God.\u00a0 Catholicism is acceptable because it forms a partnership with the sinner\u2019s good works and promotes his goodness.\u00a0 Mormonism is acceptable because it provides multiple avenues to work one\u2019s way to the top of the temple and the celestial reward.<\/p>\n But real Christianity is not acceptable.\u00a0 It condemns the sinner.\u00a0 It preaches repentance and the need of a Savior.\u00a0 There is no redemption in a works religion.\u00a0 All righteousness comes from within the sinner himself.\u00a0 But Christianity alone provides a Redeemer, a Substitute Who was punished on behalf of the sinner and in his place.\u00a0 It preaches the need of believing, that is, of applying the righteousness of Jesus Christ in one\u2019s place.\u00a0 \u201cFor he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him\u201d (2 Cor. 5:21).<\/p>\n And so . . . <\/b><\/p>\n Things will not get better.\u00a0 Jesus said that in the end times, \u201cbecause iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold\u201d (Matt. 24:12).\u00a0 Paul told Timothy,\u00a0 \u201cYea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution\u201d (2 Tim. 3:12).\u00a0 America has used up its moral capital and the Christian understanding of sin has waned away.\u00a0 For a time the rule of law was seen as necessary because of man\u2019s sinful nature.\u00a0 Punishment was right because it was consistent with the crime.\u00a0 But that was when human beings could take an honest look at themselves and see their needy condition in light of a holy God.\u00a0 For a time public prayer was acceptable and thought necessary because of the need of God\u2019s intervention in our sinful lives.\u00a0 America was blessed and a blessing to the world because of our belief in the gospel, \u201cgiving of our sons to spread the message glorious, and giving of our wealth to speed them on their way.\u201d\u00a0 But times have changed.\u00a0 God has no grandchildren.\u00a0 The Christianity of our forebears is gone.<\/p>\n We are now like Cain.\u00a0 We hate those things that tell us \u201cno.\u201d\u00a0 We hate those people who preach repentance.\u00a0 We hate those things that limit our desires.\u00a0 We hate a religion that tells us we cannot save ourselves, that we must have redemption through Christ\u2019s blood.\u00a0 It is time for the church of Jesus Christ to understand the world in which it lives.\u00a0 We cannot make a compromise with it in an attempt to win it.\u00a0 The compromise with good works is a final loss.\u00a0 We must let the Holy Spirit use the Word of God to bring true conviction of sin and rejoicing in Christ.\u00a0 We must learn again how to witness and preach with the Holy Spirit\u2019s power even in times of opposition.\u00a0 We must learn again how to walk with God.\u00a0 This is the hope for the church, for our children and grandchildren.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tell me the old, old story of unseen things above,<\/i><\/p>\n Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.<\/i><\/p>\n Tell me the story simply, as to a little child,<\/i><\/p>\n For I am weak and weary, and helpless and defiled.<\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n Tell me the story slowly, that I may take it in\u2014<\/i><\/p>\n That wonderful redemption, God\u2019s remedy for sin.<\/i><\/p>\n Tell me the story often, for I forget so soon;<\/i><\/p>\n The \u201cearly dew\u201d of morning has passed away at noon.<\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n Tell me the story softly, with earnest tones and grave;<\/i><\/p>\n Remember, I\u2019m the sinner whom Jesus came to save.<\/i><\/p>\n Tell me the story always, if you would really be, in any time of trouble a comforter to me.<\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n Tell me the old, old story,<\/i><\/p>\n Tell me the old, old story,<\/i><\/p>\n Tell me the old, old story<\/i><\/p>\n Of Jesus and His love.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Our world is full of\u00a0 contradictions.\u00a0 We all see them and do them to some degree.\u00a0 What was once called free love was no more than unrestrained lust.\u00a0 What is called pro-choice is really a horrid restriction on another person\u2019s chance to live.\u00a0 What one person insists is his right to marry the same sex […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[167,178],"class_list":["post-7258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-christian-living-cross-discipleship","tag-sin-world-evil"],"yoast_head":"\n