Chris' Christian Blog

Bigots or Friends?

"Bigots or Friends?" 

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Over the past few days we have been studying the Bible's teachings on love. One thing Christians often hear is that we are hate filled people because we hate sin. All too often people confuse our hating the behavior (sin) with hating the person committing the behavior (the sinner). This simply isn't the case. The Christian life is a life of modeling our lives after God's word. God is love. Therefore God loves everybody. However God has characteristics that simply will not allow Him to tolerate sin. Therefore while He loves the sinner He hates their behavior. What parent has never caught their child up in a behavior that the parent absolutely hated? Did it make the parents love the child any less? Of course not! However they hated the behavior did they not? God is the same way with sin? Since God maintains a zero tolerance for sin, Christians must also maintain a zero tolerance to sin.

It is also one of the most loving things a Christian can do when we stand against sin. Those who say Christians are intolerant bigorts should ask themselves which they would prefer. Would they prefer that somebody see them doing something that they may not realize is destructive and simply ignore it while it destroys them or would they prefer the person to speak up? They may not see sin as destructive but in the eyes of God and in the eyes of His followers sin is very destructive. Therefore it is love that compels us to speak out against sin, not hatred.