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Old 07-18-2009, 04:04 AM
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PaulB PaulB is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: The Northwest of England
Posts: 158
Default God hates the sin

If there’s one thing that I get extremely uncomfortable with it is the volatile and aggressive nature of the street preachers who come across like Christian terrorist. They rant at people in a manner that gives the impression that they are in the mood for a fight with them.

As much as I admire their enthusiasm to face the public and not hold back I do question whether their evangelism is being driven by God’s love for the lost or (like Tony correctly put it) by their own inner condemnation of hidden sins.

I personally do not believe that God hates sinners but I do believe that He gets very angry with them! But one of my greatest concerns with the modern day gospel (that is, “Say a prayer and you’re in” Rick Warren/Brian McClaren type salvation) gives the impression that sin isn’t an issue and that God isn’t what He used to be.

Now before I go on I would like to say that I am neither a Calvinist nor an Armenian, but one thing that I will do is look for any opportunity to present the gospel of Christ to sinners.

Personally I think that Jack Chick is a good basis to build upon as he always starts with the seriousness of sin and then leads to the cross. I do believe that God is angry with sinners and it is His long suffering that is holding back their due condemnation.

Love doesn’t avoid the truth about their state and the seriousness of that before a holy God, but wisdom should be applied to the situation – not an attitude of madness like some do and leave themselves looking like a man possessed.

In a gospel presentation I believe that we must be careful not to lose site of truth of the sinners stance before a holy God. Yes God loves sinners and Christ died for them but that is not the entire gospel message – it is part of it.

I honestly believe that it is the misrepresentation of the gospel message today that is producing the Christians that we are producing today. The fear of God is a clear evidence that a person has believed the God of the Bible and this is a fundamental element that has gone missing in 21st Century Christendom and gospel preaching.

The message today is more about acceptance and the individual than it is about the person and work of Christ. People come away thinking about their own importance rather than the authority of the Christ who seeks to purchase them.

If the seriousness of sin is overlooked or watered down in order to make the gopsel more acceptable - then the work of the cross is substituted for another gospel. The cross of Christ shows the whole of creation just how serious an issue sin truly is - If God could unleash all of His wrath, anger, judgement and hatred of sin upon His Only Begotten Son to save us - then should we avoid that truth?

To stand before God (as a sinner) before the cross was serious enough - but to stand there afterwards on the day of judgement (knowing that you had rejected salvation) then I would go as far as to say that the love of God for that individual is over!

1 Pt.15-17 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: