Many people
in our society today think that it is loving to simply affirm the sinner in a dangerous
way of life. This is because our word today defines love as affirmation. But
there is nothing more dangerous than affirming someone in a dangerous behaviour.
I addressed
this in a sermon recently, and here is a short excerpt from that sermon.
We need more
and more Christians to boldly love as Christ would have us love. What I did not
say in this sermon, because time did not permit, is that very first time we are
commanded to love our neighbours in the Scriptures, it is in the context of
being honest with them.
Look what
Moses wrote,
Leviticus
19:17-18, “17 You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall
reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You
shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people,
but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”
In
discussion about what love is many people have completely forgotten how the Bible itself
defines it. To not hate your brother in your heart is to seek to reason frankly
with them, so that you do not incur sin because of him. To not hate your neighbour
in your heart is to avoid seeking to avenge yourself on him, and instead seeking to convince them of their error as much as you can.
Some of the
people considered the most hateful in our society today, because they talk so
much about sin and the foolishness of our society, are doing far more to love
their neighbours than the people who are simply affirming their neighbours in a
destructive way of life. Remember this.
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