THE LIVING WORD TRANSCRIPT

Program Air Date - 8-31-08

LESSON TITLE: "THE THINGS WHICH GOD HATES: GOD HATES SIN, BUT HE LOVES THE SINNER"

WELCOME

Good morning and welcome to the Living Word program! Thank you for choosing to give this time to God, as we together strive to honor Him according to His will. As always, this morning, we will strive to worship God according to what we find in His Word - the Bible. May we each make our own sacrifice to Him - so that we may be pleasing in His sight! Now let's bow our heads before His throne in prayer!

(PRAYER)

It's now time to join in with the brethren as we begin our songs of praise to God. We will begin this morning with an encouraging hymn that reminds us of who is truly in control of this world. So, won't you join in song to God, as we together sing the hymn, "This Is My Father's World!"

(SONG # 1)

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

In the Old Testament, we see many examples from the prophets of those who continued to reject God. Over and over, we see these men of God rebuking His people, because of their wickedness and desire to be like other nations. The great prophet Jeremiah, also shared in this burdensome responsibility, as he speaks of the spiritual condition of Judah, prior to the days of Babylonian captivity. In chapter 8 and verse 3 of his book, we see that he predicts that "death would be chosen rather than life," by those of God. In verse 7, he declares that they did not "know the judgement of the Lord." Then in verse 9, Jeremiah indicts them for "rejecting the word of the Lord."

How sad it is to hear of those who should be the first and foremost to serve God. Yet in reality, they have turned away and forsaken Him. Sounds all to familiar doesn't it?

Now, notice with me his words in verse 20 of the same chapter, as he sums up the situation. There he said, "The harvest is past, The summer is ended, And we are not saved!" This man of God perceived that the Lord had given up on his people because of their wickedness and unrighteousness. Notice that is was not God's fault that things had gone sour. Rather it was the fault of the people, who were now choosing the evils and things of this world over their creator.

Today, you and I see a similar situation happening in the secular and religious worlds. Many continue to reject God who are outside of His fold and who want nothing to do with His promises. On the other hand, many in the religious world continue to reject God in their words and actions also, because they continue to do what they want, rather than what God commands. If we reject the word of the Lord, as they did in Jeremiah's day, what will our fate be? I can tell you, it will be the same as those in that day - "the harvest will pass, the summer will end, and we will still not be saved!" Don't let God's harvest come without being a faithful child of God. Remembering that faithfulness in God is shown by our obedience - Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments," John 14:15!

So, what type of choice will you make in your life in connection to your service for God. Will you put Him first and do all that He requires. Will you put Him in the middle of your priorities, so that you can still have your cake and eat it to? Or will you do as those in our discussion this morning, completely turn away from Him for the pleasure of sin for a season. The choice is each of ours to make, so what will your decision be.

This morning we consider our final lesson in the series entitled, "The Things Which God Hates." The specific topic today is, "God Hates Sin, But He Loves The Sinner." So stay with us and after our next song together, I will lead our lesson thoughts of the morning. Now let's join in our second song of the morning, as we glorify God our creator. The name of this hymn is "Guide Me O thou Great Jehovah."

(SONG # 2)

LESSON

By Ray Sullins

This morning we continue to look here in the book of Proverbs to understand what it is that is being spoken of in relationship to the fact that God hates. Hopefully after our many lessons together we are beginning to understand more and more why it is that God hates, what causes Him to hate and how that really certainly it is acceptable in the fact that He hates things that are contrary to righteousness or really what He is.

We might go back to the context one more time and look specifically at what was being said even in the context because really what God is dealing with here is a man who was known as a wicked man. In verse 12 of Proverbs 6 he speaks of "a worthless person, a wicked man, one who walks with a perverse mouth," it says here, "He winks with his eyes and he shuffles with his feet. He points with his finger and perversity is in his heart. He devises evil continually and he sows discord. Therefore, his calamity shall come suddenly. Suddenly he shall be broken without remedy." That's when it goes on in to the fact of verse 16 where it says, "The six things God hates actually seven abominations," it goes on to say, "such as a proud look, the lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, the heart that devises wicked plans, the feet that are swift to run to evil, those who bear false witness and speak lies, as well as those who sow discord among the brethren." So as we look at all of these things, what we're finding here is what a person's character is when they've chosen actions and words that contradict the Will of God and therefore it is God who hates these things. Then we also learn in this same passage of the destruction that is there. It says, "Sudden calamity that will come upon such an individual."

What about today? Does God still hate such things? Certainly He does! As we have said from the beginning, I believe that we need to understand that He hates sin in general. Why? Sin is lawlessness and therefore again, as we have learned, everything that is contrary to His Will.

Therefore, if we go over into the New Testament there are many passages we consider. One that stands out to me is in Galatians chapter 5 where we have the discussion of the fruit of the flesh or works of the flesh as it is also referred to here. It is being given in contrast to these works of the Spirit or the Fruit again of the Spirit. So you can be a good tree bearing good fruit or a bad tree bearing bad fruit. Certainly again, that is something Jesus spoke of often.

In verse 19, He mentions the works of the flesh. He says, "Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness," verse 20, "Idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissentions, heresies," verse 21, "Envy, murderers, drunkenness, revelries, and the like." But then before He ends, He says, "And of which I tell you beforehand just as I have also told you in times past that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." What does that say to you? Well it says the same thing that we have been discussing from the Old Testament and bringing over to the New Testament, those who sin will not enter the kingdom of God for sin has no place among the kingdom of God, Heaven where righteousness and purity alone can reign. And so therefore, when we go to for instance, Revelations 20:21 and it speaks there like in chapter 21 and verse 8 that "liars will be cast into the lake of fire." How clear then it is to understand that those who sin will be rejected by God, not because of God's problem, but because God had warned them and they have chosen what? Sin which God hates. They have chosen to sin and do those things again that are wrong in the sight of God.

How can a God of love (1 John chapter 4), God who is love, the very essence of love, take part or like evil? Why? Because back in 1 John chapter 1, it says, "In God there is no darkness at all, no sin." So you've got sin. You've got righteousness. You've got wickedness. You've got God. The two cannot go together. Therefore, God hates that which would keep someone from Him which is sin again and unrighteousness.

Another verse that I thought was very interesting is just a few chapters over in Proverbs there in chapter 8 or Proverbs and verse 13. Here again the wise man, as he wrote this wonderful text, tells us, "The fear of the Lord is to (guess what) hate evil." You know many of the writers of the Bible sum up the concept of "the fear of the Lord" equals this or is the beginning of all things. Here, Solomon says, "The fear of the Lord..." If you're going to fear God and you're going to obey Him and respect Him and give homage to Him, it says, "We must..." What? "Hate evil." Now isn't that interesting because we have learned that God hates what? Sin, wickedness and evil. Now we read that those who fear God and respect Him... In other words, if I'm on God's side, what must I do? As well, I hate or I dislike and will not take part in evil for I must strive to be like God. I must strive to act in ways that certainly will be in glory and honor to His name.

However, as we've considered all of this about sin and knowing that God hates sin, we've tried from the first lesson through to show that God does not hate His creation, man. He loves even the sinner. What does that mean? It means God hates it when we do evil and wicked things and sinful things, but He still loves the soul, the creation, the man. Therefore, what has He done? How do we know that this could be true? How do we know that this could be the case?

If you'll go over to the book of Romans with me, we're going to look together at Romans chapter 5 at several verses to see exactly what it is that God was willing to do for the sinner. What was He willing to do there in chapter 5 beginning in verse 6? The Bible says, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man would one die and perhaps a good man would even dare to die, but God demonstrated His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." What did Jesus do for you and me? He died for us even knowing that someday we would be sinners as those of His day were also sinners in putting Him on the cross and in doing things contrary to the Will of the Father. So what does it say God did? He loved us enough and still yet to die for us. Jesus Christ shedding His blood.

The next verse there, verse 9, goes on to say, "Much more then having now been justified by His blood we shall be saved from wrath through Him." How do we be saved from the things God hates and this wickedness and Hell? We are saved through the blood of Jesus Christ. Oh what a beautiful thought that is to know that a God who hates evil provided an opportunity, a plan and even sent something to be redeemed much more precious than any of us could ever be, much more valuable than we could ever pay back, but yet God did it in order that we might do what? Overcome sin. In order that we might not be guilty of those things that God hates. In order that we might be born of God (1 John chapter 3) and as those born of God, we cannot sin. It is a mindset. It doesn't mean that we will never sin. It means that our desire as those born of God is we do not, we cannot and we will not practice sin.

So therefore, it is in the book of Revelation chapter 1 that we find again the same concept of this blood that was shed and the purpose of the blood. Why did Jesus die? Why did He shed His blood? As Paul said, we also see John says in verse 5, "and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth, to Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood." Think about that picture. It is a beautiful picture that is presented by those prophets of old as we read of our sins, the scarlet of sins being made as white as snow. How? By the blood of Christ. That's what Jesus did that we might overcome the burden of evil and wickedness and sin, that we might no longer serve Satan (1 John chapter 3) but that we might serve God and as those born of God, that we might strive daily to stay away from sin and to do those things that are righteous in His sight.

So how do I contact the blood of Christ? That's certainly a good question because there is something that God has asked us to do in order that we might get to a point of finding ourselves in Christ with the blood of Christ. What did they do on the Day of Pentecost? They said, "What shall we do?" What had they just done? They had crucified Jesus in Acts chapter 2 and now they cried out, "Men and brethren, what must we do?" There in verse 38, he says, "Repent and be baptized." Do you know what it says after that? It says, "Repent and be baptized and let everyone of you do these things for (what?) the remission of sins and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." You see why they were being baptized? For remission of sins.

The eunuch, interestingly enough, was being preached to by Philip in Acts chapter 8 about Jesus there in verse 35. As they were going along learning about Jesus, he saw water and he says, "What hinders me from being baptized?" Then he asked him the question; "Do you believe?" He said, "I believe Jesus is the Christ." And they both went down in the water and he baptized him. So as they were told at Pentecost to repent and be baptized for (what?) the remission of sins, here Philip taught the eunuch the same and the eunuch seemed to understand and do the same.

In chapter 9 of Acts, Paul there was told the very same thing by Ananias and we find there, "After the scales had fallen from his eyes," verse 18, that "he arose and was baptized." Cornelius, the devout man of Acts 10.

Also after being taught the things of God in verse 48, it says, "And they were commanded to be baptized in the name of the Lord." And what did they do? Certainly again, it confirms that they were baptized in the name of the Lord.

In chapter 16 and verse 15, we find there the story of a lady called Lydia, the seller of purple. When she heard truth, verse 15 says that, "She and her household were all baptized."

Then also in the same text the Philippian jailer, if you might note with me there in verse 33, it says, "And the same hour as they were taught of the night that they were taken to (do what?) wash their stripes." What would that indicate? Wash their stripes in the blood of Christ. How? By being (verse 33) baptized.

What does all this tell us? It tells us what Galatians 3:27 tells us. "As many of us have been baptized into Christ have put Him on." It tells us what we learn in 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 21, there the concept of as Noah was saved by water, it says that we have an anti-type, a like figure today that saves us. Guess what that verse says it is. Baptism! Well, what is it that we must do? We must do the same thing they did. We must believe in that same Jesus. We must make the confession with our mouth (Romans chapter 10:9-10) because confession is made with the mouth unto salvation. We must be buried in baptism for it is in baptism that we meet that blood of Christ, the figurative concept of a washing of the spiritual soul, the death (Romans chapter 6) of dying to an old man and leaving the old man in the watery grave of baptism. But what does it also say in those verses? Jesus rose or was resurrected, and we are likewise in baptism are resurrected from the grave of baptism. Therefore, as new creatures, new creations of God, wholesome individuals that are now striving to do what God had commanded. There's no chance or strange thing or weirdness that should be seen in the fact that God has always used water as a significant part of salvation. From the days of Noah to the days of John the Baptist when he came preaching the baptism of what? Repentance and salvation. There is no difference in the days that Jesus was baptizing or when Jesus Himself told John, "You must baptize Me even to fulfill all righteousness and set the example." (Matthew 3:13 beginning)

Therefore, we learn what we can do today, immediately as soon as they learned just like Lydia and the jailer, immediately that hour the household went and they were baptized. Why? They understood the significance of the obedience in the act proving faith, that when one did these things... Again, confess Jesus in belief and was baptized after repenting, then certainly the Lord would add them to the church (Acts 2:47). Those that were being saved were added to the body of Christ and therefore you and I today have that same privilege and opportunity.

Won't you today live for God and do what it takes to be a child of God as He commands?

(SONG # 3 - "Standing On The Promises!")

CLOSING COMMENTS

Thank you again for choosing to be with us today, in giving this time to God. I hope it has been an encouragement and blessing to all of us. We invite you back every Sunday morning at 7:30, as we commit ourselves to this service of God!

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How wonderful it is to know that God has not given up on any of us. Thus, thanks be to God that Jesus was willing to die for our sins, that through obedience we might have eternal life in Him.

(Program closing)