Love Not Hate
Love not hate. Students I come here and share the Gospel with you every week out of love not hate. I do not hate you. If I hated you, I would not spend my lunch hour hear pleading with you to come to Jesus Christ. If I hated you, I wouldn’t care if you died in your sins and you went on to Hell. But I do not hate you. I lift my voice up so you can hear me from several directions as you are coming and going. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God so my great desire is for you to hear God’s truth, that He will convict you over your sins and that the Lord would grant you eternal life.
I Love You
I truly do love you. Yes, I love you because God first loved me. Please listen to 1 John 4:7-10: Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
The apostle John wrote this to fellow believers, but there is truth here for believers and non-believers both. It is true that love is of God. It’s also true that God is love. It’s not love is love. God is love. The same God that gave you life. Our great God of Heaven and earth that gives you every breath that you take. The One True God is love. The God of the Bible is love.
God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
For God So Loved The World
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.
God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might have life, eternal life – through Him. Each and every one of us have a sin problem. Even though God is love, we have all rebelled against God. This is not a good thing. The soul that sins, it shall die. For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.
So even though we have all rebelled against God, we’ve all sinned against Him, while we were yet sinners, Jesus died for us. None of us have loved God with all of our heart, soul and mind every second of our life. When you sin, you sin against God. Our great Creator God cannot tolerate sin. Our sin separates us from God. We make ourselves enemies to God when we sin. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God (James 4:4).
In Spite Of Our Rebellion
In spite of our rebellion against God, He still sent His only begotten Son to take on the sins of the world (1 John 2:2). Let me tell you about this great love of God. Unrepentant sinners are the reveilers, God-mockers and God-haters. Yet Christ died for us. God sent His only Son to this world. Jesus never sinned one time. He always did the will of God the Father. Jesus never lied, stole anything, lusted nor coveted. He never blasphemed God’s Holy name.
Yet He was obedient unto death, even death on the cross. Jesus the sinless Son of God, took the punishment that you and I deserve. We did the crime, yet He paid the fine. Jesus suffered horribly at the hands of sinful men. But make no mistake, you and I put Jesus on the cross, just like the Roman soldiers and the Jewish people. We all have innocent blood on our hands.
Jesus was beaten beyond recognition. He was beaten so badly that you couldn’t tell that it was really Him. God allowed this. Jesus bore God’s wrath over our sins. He died on the cruel cross, was buried and rose from the grave three days later. Jesus defeated sin, death, Hell and Satan. God offers everlasting life to all who repent and surrender their lives to Jesus.
God’s Love
God’s love was demonstrated in the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross. The Lord’s love was demonstrated through grace and wrath. It was out of love for us that God poured out His wrath over our sins upon His own precious Son. It’s by God’s grace alone that He offers you eternal life through the shed blood of Jesus.
To understand God’s hatred toward sin, look to the bloody cross of Christ. To understand God’s love for us, look to the cross of Jesus. Christ Jesus took the punishment in our place. Now that is love! Jesus said no greater love has any man than that he would lay down his life for his friends. It’s out of love that I plead with you to get right with God and trust Jesus.
God’s Friend Instead Of His Enemy
You can turn from being God’s enemy to a friend of God today. Right here at MSU. If God is convicting you over your sins. Can you imagine if all of your family and friends were at the movie theater and the main presentation was you? Every time you’ve lied would flash upon the screen. How about every time you cursed your mother or father or best friend under your breath.
Every time you smiled and said pleasant things to someone while at the same time you were saying to yourself that you hate that person and you wish they would die? Can you imagine how embarrassed you would be if everyone saw every secret sin that you’ve committed your whole life? Every sin that you thought you got away with? We’ll my friends, it is going to happen just like this if you die in your sins. If you die without Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. It’s appointed unto men once to die, but after this the Judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The whole world will be watching when God reveals to you every single sin that you’ve thought, spoken and committed.
Oh don’t you see how much better it would be if you admitted your sins to God? He already knows what you’ve done, but He wants you to confess and forsake them. Won’t you cry out for God to save you? Won’t you repent and put your faith in Jesus Christ alone to save you? I do not hate you. It’s out of love that I plead with you to turn from your sins and turn to Jesus Christ.
Love Warns
Love warns. If a drunk driver was swerving toward you on the side walk, the most loving thing I could do is grab you by the arm and pull or you to safety. Or maybe I’d have to push you out of the way of the oncoming car. But I would do so out of love. Don’t you see that you getting mad at my because maybe your arm hurts a little from me grabbing you is better than you getting run over by a drunk driver.
Sharing God’s truth with you is the same way. You must recognize that you have sinned against our Holy and righteous God. Your sins are a stench in God’s nostrils. He cannot tolerate sin. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13 a). Sin is very grievous to God. Yet most Americans fluff everything off. Nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions. But there is judgment to come. Vengeance is mine saith the Lord. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
There is Hell to pay over your sins and you will pay the penalty for all eternity if Jesus is not your Lord and Savior. I derive no pleasure in telling you this. Most of you will not heed the warning. Most of you will continue loving your sin and rejecting God. But we will meet at the great Judgment and when God reminds you that you were warned, I will have to speak up and say yes, I shared truth with this person, but they would not listen.
Don’t Reject Such A Great Of Salvation
Don’t continue rejecting such a great of salvation. It’s out of love not hate that I warn you today. Come to Jesus Christ. Surrender your life to His Lordship. Repent and put your trust in Jesus. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Don’t continue racing through life with God’s anger over your sins abiding upon you.
Submit your life to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Jesus said that you are to deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Him daily. Will you do this today? Will you repent and believe the Gospel? Today is the day to get right with the Lord. Today is the day of salvation. Repent and submit to the Lord Jesus.
Receive Forgiveness
Receive forgiveness for your sins. Receive love like you’ve never known nor could you ever experience love like this outside of Jesus Christ alone. Salvation is of the Lord, by His grace alone. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Repent and put your trust in Jesus and receive joy unspeakable and full of glory. Oh come to Jesus today through repentance and faith. Then you will truly understand that I don’t plead with you out of hate. No, you will then understand that I plead with you out of love not hate.
(This message was proclaimed at Missouri State University on May 10, 2017)