my life and my doctrine

Last Sunday I preached on Psalm 139 about God’s intimately personal knowledge of every single one of us. What struck me as I prepared and obviously struck a number of evening church people is David’s plea in verse 19-22.

19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!

20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain!

21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.

My challenge was that we ought to align ourselves with God, to long for his justice to be made known, to not dismiss those who take God’s name in vain. I asked,

Do you count them your enemies? Do you hate them? Do you loathe them?

Why not?
Is it because you’re not totally aligned with God?
Is it because you don’t think God would notice or care?

This raised a number of questions:

• Aren’t we as Christians to hate the sin but not the sinner?
• Aren’t we as Christians to love those who hate us and pray for those who persecute us?
• Aren’t we commanded not to judge others?
• Isn’t it hypocritical to hate those who hate God since it is only by grace that we have been saved?

Here are some thoughts for us to reflect further.

1. Where in the Bible do we find the concept of hating the sin but loving the sinner?
   Psalm 51.5 says, ‘Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.’ This suggests that our sinfulness is part of our nature since before birth. (cf Rom 5.12-21) I think it is both hard and dangerous to attempt to distinguish what we do from who we are. We aren’t to think of God’s character independently to his actions toward us or creation. So, why would it be appropriate for us?

2. What are the consequences if we do separate character from actions?
   There are two consequences I’m not comfortable with, if we push this idea. Firstly, it could suggest that we can be a sinner with no responsibility for our sinful actions. Secondly, if God loves the sinner and hates only their sin, what does this mean for his coming judgment (Heb 9.27)? Is it against sin only, in which case every sinner is loved and welcomed into heaven? I don’t think the Bible teaches that everyone will end up in heaven, because of passages like John 3.36: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

3. Is it impossible to love and hate at the same time?
   One thing that seems assumed in some of these questions is that love and hate are opposites. Yet, to love someone is to care for them, to want what is best for them, to be self less. Our supreme definition of love is found in 1 John 3:16: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” I’ve heard it said and agree with the idea that the opposite of love is not hate, but apathy – a total disregard and lack of care.

4. So, how should we treat a non Christian now?

   1. This question assumes that we judge others and assess whether or not they are Christians. The Psalm describes the wicked as ‘those who hate you, O Lord’ and ‘those who rise up against you’ (Ps 139.21). It suggests those who are against God and presumably therefore it is possible to tell from their way of life.
   2. As many pointed out, we are to love our enemies. In the light of God’s judgment what better way to do this than to hold out the word of life (Php 2.15-16)? Jude captures the urgency of this when he writes, “to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.” (Jude 1:23) It reflects love shown in mercy and hate.
   3. As Amy pointed out we must never forget that we have been saved by God’s grace. Therefore we are in no position to be judgmental of others by some internal, personal standard. Rather our goal must be to be aligned with God, to think his thoughts after him.

We are confident that God is love (1 John 4.7-8). This love isn’t just an abstract characteristic of God. Rather, as John continues, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:9. Cf John 3.16). God’s love is shown in action. It is shown in God’s actions to save us from judgment that we might live. It is shown in mercy to save because of a hatred of sinners.

I’m sure there is plenty more to say, but would love your comments, thoughts, further questions or feedback.

I tried something different last night in my sermon on Psalm 137. The purpose of the sermon was to help us feel the emotion of the Psalmist as he laments being in exile (v1-4), as he pledges himself to Jerusalem (v5-6) and as he longs for God to bring justice to avenge His name (v7-9).

I spoke in the first person, as though I was the author/composer of the Psalm. In preparation it seemed like a great way to communicate more strongly the feelings, the inspiration and the desire of the Psalmist as he expresses himself in song. While this is all achieveable, and there a few other differences which contributed to this as well, I still had a few concerns before the night.

How much poetic license do I have as a preacher as I step into the shoes of the Psalmist? There’s a quite a bit we can determine about the context of this particular Psalm. I think it’s written just after the return from exile in Babylon, reflecting on their time there (v1).

Most of all, I was wondering whether a different means of communication would overshadow the message communicated. It was easier to try funny lines as an Old Testament character observing the world today. It was easier to make the experience for those in church more ‘fun’. Yet, would it be a help or a hindrance for those listening to hear God’s word and the challenge for them today?

In the end, I ran the idea by a few people beforehand – other preachers from other churches, a few of the more mature members of evening church and even gave a practise to Jo and a friend in the afternoon.

If you’re a preacher, would you do it? More importantly, if you were there, what did you think of it?

I recently mentioned in a sermon on Psalm 1 that the Bible is an incredibly vivid book. I was encouraging us at Evening Church to read our Bible more than we listen to other people’s sermons. I referred to a video of Ryan Ferguson’s dramatic reading of Hebrews 10-11. Here’s the link if you’re interested.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8919399424910324675

The Bible well read speaks for itself.