Hate Sin? Love Sinners?
By Barry James Moore
February 17, 2006
I have often heard from church leaders and laity that they "hate sin, but love sinners." But that is something that is not usually demonstrated in the actions of those same people.
One prime example is the Baptist preacher Fred Phelps from Topeka, Kansas who hosts the website GodHatesFags.com and whose church members picket even the funerals of gay men and women who have gone on to eternity. While no one but God knows for sure the eternal fate of the gay individuals who have passed on, one thing is certain. Jesus said in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (emphasis mine). The last time I checked, "whosoever" included everyone, including gay persons. The evidence that Fred Phelps and his followers, and many other so-called christians, are not behaving in a Christian manner is in the words of Jesus in the very next verse. John 3:17 reads, "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved" (emphasis mine).
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Psalm 1:1-3 (KJV)
"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper" (emphasis mine).
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How can it be considered "love" toward the people group when the emphasis is primarily delivered in words and attitudes of disgust and intolerance toward what many think those people do, instead of reaching out in love to bring these same people to the Father. While there are certainly those who have done the deeds that many find abhorrent, there are many gay men and women who are attracted to members of their same gender that have never acted on those desires and have never done the deeds. Where is the concern for the spiritual well-being of those same people? Where is the compassion for those who need that love? Where is the desire to understand the hearts and minds of these men and women?
In the book of James, James tell us that if someone says he has faith but he has no works, that faith cannot save him (James 2:14). James goes on to say in the same chapter that "faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself … a man is justified by works and not by faith alone … for just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead" (see James 2:17, 24 and 26).
When we host anti-gay websites, picket funerals and abortion clinics, support discriminatory laws and amendments, or just harbor prejudicial attitudes of disgust and intolerance, and don't
"go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" (emphasis mine) (Mark 16:15) we are disobeying the God who we say that we serve. Instead of concerning ourselves judgmentally about others who may be sinning, let's "go" and "do" the will of God. Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter" (emphasis mine) (Matthew 7:21).
Person – More Than Human Biology
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, "human" is a member of the species homosapien. Although we often interchange words such as person and individual, etc. and could easily refer to a human as a person or vice versa, to be a "person" requires much more than the biology of a species. We cannot refer to canines, felines, equines, pachyderms or even other primates as "persons". It takes something else for us to be persons. What is that something else? Many would likely say that it's simply that we have higher intelligence and reason, but I submit that it is even more than that. To be a person requires a soul.
But what is the soul? Among the definitions for "soul" in The American Heritage Dictionary, the top two are "animating and vital principle in humans, credited with the faculties of thought, action, and emotion and often conceived as an immaterial entity" and "the spiritual nature of humans, regarded as immortal, separable from the body at death, and susceptible to happiness or misery in a future state" (emphasis mine).
We all have a soul and a spirit. It is the spirit that added to the biology of a human that makes one a person. Our spirit does not leave when we invite the Holy Spirit to take up residence in our lives. When we accept Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes in and unites with our spirit. Our souls encompass our senses, memories, thoughts, will, emotions, and intellect all resulting from a lifetime of experiences. When we are submitted to the Holy Spirit, it is He that feeds our minds and emotions — saving our soul — the healing of our emotions shaping our thoughts and our will. The Holy Spirit works through the Word of God, but also through His people. It is the feeding of our souls, or lack thereof, that shapes our feelings and desires — indeed, our desires to please God or to ignore Him.
Harsh judgments from church leaders and laity only serve to turn gay men and women away from the church. When we cannot find Love in the church, and only find rhetoric and scorn, we lose our desire to be among those who judge us. Without the Love from those who are supposed to be supportive and give guidance, we may try to maintain the Christian life on our own, but often we tend to look elsewhere for love and companionship.
Salt And Light
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:13-16), Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (emphasis mine).
In Philippians 4:9, Paul writes, "the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you" (emphasis mine). The words of Paul and James, in the passages quoted above, speak of action that is repetitious or continuous, as a style or pattern of life, not merely participating in a one-time or occasional event.
Do you season your world with your saltiness? Are you light to those around you? When is the last time that you witnessed to a gay man, not only in words about salvation, but in deed giving your life away in agapé Love? 1 John 4:7-8 says that if you don't Love with that type of Love, then you do not know God.
We are called to be the hands of God extended. Before launching out against others examine your own
conscience, and then ask yourself, "What Would Jesus Do?"
"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things" (Philippians 4:8). Paul instructs us to think on things above. Let the God above direct your actions toward others. Pray for them. Let God guide your thoughts and actions. The best way to find feelings of love for someone, yielding actions of love, is to pray for them, allowing the Love of God — the God of Love — to permeate those prayers and His answers.
