John 5:42 and Luke 6:32, “But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.“ ... “For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.”
I have heard no less than three preachers in the past month say that God
doesn't love everybody. One pastor said in his sermon that God loves 99% of
the unsaved heathen, but not homosexuals, pedophiles and murderers. Kindly,
that is unbiblical. We tend to categorize which sins we think are worse than
others, but God views all sin as being equally wrong. James 2:10, “For
whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point,
he is guilty of all.”
In God's eyes, you're as wicked as the next guy (and so am I). I heard another preacher say that it is ridiculous to say that God loves unrepentant sinners. I also heard an evangelist say that God hates sinners as much as He hates the sin. That is totally unbiblical.
May I say, as a born-again Christian and a fundamental preacher, I simply don't understand the kind of unbiblical thinking that encourages hatred for sinners. If the truth be known, we are all woeful sinners deserving of eternal damnation. The Bible teaches that God loves everyone equally, being no respecter of persons. There is no biased favoritism with God. God invites all mankind to be freely saved through the cross. John 3:16, “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 is not a respecter of persons (Romans 2:11). Romans 2:11, “For there is no respect of persons with God.” Acts 10:34, “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.” If God loves one sinner, then He loves all sinners. Since all mankind is sinful, then God must love everyone, because we are all horrible guilty sinners.
If a person compares them self to the worst of criminals and evil people, then it is possible to form a false high-minded image of one's self. 2nd Corinthians 10:12, “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” Biblically, Jesus defines a “hypocrite” in Matthew 7:1-5 as someone who views another person as being a bigger sinner than them self. When we point a finger in condemnation at someone else, there are three fingers pointing back at us.
When I hear a
preacher saying that God doesn't love the worst of sinners, then I know that
he doesn't fully grasp how sinful he is himself. I also know that he fails to
understand the unconditional love of God. I say this kindly, with no intent to
stir ill feelings. I sincerely want to help my brethren and sisters in the
Lord. The Holy Bible plainly teaches that it was God's unconditional love
TOWARD ALL MEN that nailed Jesus to the cross for OUR SINS. 1st Timothy
4:10, “For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in
the living God, who is the SAVIOUR OF ALL MEN, specially of
those that believe.” I love this Bible verse from 1st Timothy
4:10, which says that Jesus... IS THE SAVIOUR OF ALL MEN!!!
Hatred of People is Often Rooted in Calvinism
Pastor Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) got caught up into the heresy of Limited Atonement, which teaches that Jesus only died on the cross for Christians (and not for all men as the Bible plainly teaches). Limited Atonement is one of the five major heresies as taught by reprobate John Calvin (1509-1564). Thus, Spurgeon was a one-point Calvinist, because he believed in one of Calvin's major teachings. Dr. John MacArthur is admittedly a devout 5-point Calvinist, which is where he gets his basis for the Lordship Salvation heresy. The entire basis of John Calvin's corrupt beliefs is effectively rooted in human effort. Case in point, his heresy of the Perseverance of the Saints (i.e., if you are really saved you will persevere in holy living). This is where Paul Washer and others, who are alumnus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, get their false theology concerning Lordship Salvation. Calvinism is the major culprit behind the false doctrine of Lordship Salvation.
There are numerous pastors who are not Calvinists at all, but still they have been influenced by the Calvinistic hatred of sinners. Few people know that Pastor Fred Phelps (1929-2014) of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, was a devout Calvinist—the controversial Kansas preacher who frequently sent his congregation to hold up offensive signs at funerals reading, “Thank God for dead soldiers!” or “Thank God for 911!” or “Thank God for dead coal minors.” Mr. Phelps openly taught that “God hates fags,” even naming his website by that phrase. Such open hatred against sinners is unbiblical. The Holy Bible teaches in Psalms 97:10a, “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil...” We are not commanded to hate evildoers; but rather, evil.
Please don't
misunderstand, God hates iniquity. Jesus hated iniquity (Hebrews 1:9). God
hates all sin. Sin is the doing of wrong (sins of commission), or not doing
what is right (sins of omission). Evil is premeditated sin, or planned sin. To
see an indecently clothed woman or a dirty image and lust upon it is a sin,
but to go buy a dirty magazine is evil (because you planned to look at lewd
images). Likewise, it is evil to decide to hate sinners. John Calvin was an
unsaved heretic, who unfortunately is still influencing millions of Bible
students today through his writings, teaching them to earn Heaven and hate
unrepentant sinners. God only saves those who are trusting to be saved, not
those who are trying to be saved.
The Bible Commands Believers to Love Everyone
To claim that God hates unrepentant sinners is to say that God only loves those who love Him first. Such a philosophy goes totally against the plain teachings of the Holy Scripture. God commands us to love everyone, because even the heathen world will love those who love them back. Matthew 5:46: “For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?” The Bible teaches that God revealed His love to mankind FIRST, and not the other way around. 1st John 3:16, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” The idea that God hates those who hate Him is childish. God is much bigger than that my friend.
Again, we read in the Holy Scriptures in Luke 6:32, “For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.” Would God tell us to love our enemies, while hating His? Does God live by a double standard, telling us to love while He hates? No, God commands us to love our neighbour as our self, and to also love our enemies and love those who do not love us, because God is love. God loves His enemies. Luke 6:35, “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” What an awesome God!!! The Lord is kind to the unthankful and to the evil.
We ought to love everybody, because God loves everybody. Every believer should have God's love shed abroad in their heart. The Bible teaches in Luke 6:32 that to only love them that love us is selfish and not the unconditional love of God. Even reprobate sinners love those that love them. It is human nature to despise those who hate or dislike us, but that is NOT God's way. God's love is unconditional and requires nothing to receive. It should be the same with us as Christians. I love you and there is nothing that you can do about it. I say that in Christ's love, because I do care about others.
This is not to say that God is fond of unrepentant sinners. John 3:36 warns that the WRATH OF GOD abideth upon all Christ-rejecters, but this does not mean that God hates them. Psalms 7:11 warns that God is ANGRY with the wicked every day, but that does not mean that God hates them. Luke 6:35 plainly teaches that God is KIND to the evil and unthankful. Clearly, this is not hatred of sinners. God can be angry with a person while also being kind to them, being longsuffering as 2nd Peter 3:9 teaches, and loving them unconditionally as the object of His love. You can be angry at your neighbours without hating them. God is the same. This is not so difficult to understand. END
