Christian Hatred
1 John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 3 viewsThere are some sins which are still very taboo in Christian circles (often for good reason). Other sins seem to be completely acceptable. How should we relate to hatred and resentment as Christians today?
Notes
Transcript
In this Peanuts cartoon,
Sally says to Charlie Brown,
“I hate everything. I hate everybody. I hate the whole wide world!”
Charlie says,
“But I thought you had inner peace.”
Sally replies,
“I do have inner peace. But I still have outer obnoxiousness.”
Today we discuss
Christian hatred.
And how to evade
outer obnoxiousness.
Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.
John is sharing
something that they
should already know.
Why would you tell
someone info they
already know?
They may know it
only intellectually,
not experientially.
At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
It is not new,
but it is kind of new...
It is not a
new commandment
that makes obsolete
the old commandments.
It is a new kind
of commandment.
Not new in age
rather
quality
experience.
What is making it new?
At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
How is the
darkness passing away?
true light shining?
Present Passive Indicative
Present:
Present continuous.
“Is Passing”
Is not passed yet.
In the process of passing away.
Why
Light is already shining.
************************
Light
Light
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Day 1 God created light
Day 4
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
If light was not
sun, moon, stars
what was the light?
John answers:
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Jesus himself said:
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Jesus is the light.
When God created the world
he first gave light.
That is to say,
He gave himself!
He gave light
to create the world...
He also gives light
to re-create the soul...
John says:
At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
The light that was shining
into the world was
truth about Jesus Christ
the gospel truth.
The light of God’s love
dispels darkness.
Is Passing Away
“passive voice”
This means
action done to it.
What does that mean?
darkness is not in control!
When light comes
darkness flees.
It must flee
It has no control!
We talk about
the power of Satan.
He has some power.
But Jesus took it away
at the cross:
He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Jesus rendered Satan
and His angels
completely powerless
at the cross.
AMEN!
The darkness began
to pass away.
The final victory
has not happened yet
but the outcome is definite.
Christian Hatred
Christian Hatred
Continue key passage:
Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.
The first words
that jumped out at me
in this passage is the words:
“Whoever says...”
This teaches us,
that we can call ourselves
whatever what want,
but that does not make us
what we claim to be.
If we say,
we are in the light
but our actions prove otherwise,
then we are not
truly, in the light!
We can say,
whatever we want.
Let our actions
speak for us.
"Preach the Gospel always,
and when necessary,
use words."
The truth is
we shouldn’t have to
tell anyone that
“we are Christians”
“we have the light”
because...
they should
be able to tell.
We should be
easily identifiable
as light is
from darkness.
They don’t mix!
Valentine Nebraska
Conference Secretary:
“Do you like astronomy?”
Um… sure… why?
Star gazing parties
If you are late
drive up with headlights
people get mad.
Lights should
stand out
abruptly
in the darkness.
Question:
Do you fit in
in this world
too much?
People always
want to fit in.
Spiritually dangerous.
What way specifically
does that verse say
we will be different?
************************
Christian Hatred
Christian Hatred
Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.
Those who belong
in darkness are
those who hate.
The title of the sermon is:
“Christian Hatred”
Is that a thing?
μισέω
μισέω
It means...
hate...
Used in a variety
of way in Bible.
Question
Is it possible
to be Christian
and be a hater?
Before I answer...
tell story.
In the spring of 1894, the Baltimore Orioles came to Boston to play a routine baseball game. But what happened that day was anything but routine. The Orioles’ John McGraw got into a fight with the Boston third baseman. Within minutes all the players from both teams had joined in the brawl. The warfare quickly spread to the grandstands. Among the fans the conflict went from bad to worse. Someone set fire to the stands and the entire ballpark burned to the ground. Not only that, but the fire spread to 107 other Boston buildings as well.
The consequences of hate
are hard to measure.
Hating the other team???
Silly hatred.
Back to Question
Is it possible
to be Christian
and be a hater?
Lots over verses
about hate.
Group in categories.
First category:
Christians Must Not Hate
Christians Must Not Hate
Key Passage:
Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Those who hate
are in darkness.
Other Bible Verses:
One chapter later:
Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
Everyone who hates
is a murderer!
If you hate,
you don’t have eternal
life within you!
These are strong words.
Reminds me of story:
The story is told of a woman who was bitten by a mad dog. It looked as if she was going to die of rabies, so the doctor told her she should make her will. Taking her pen and paper she began to write; in fact she wrote and wrote. Finally the doctor said, “That is surely a long will you’re making.”
She snorted, “Will nothing! I’m making a list of all the people I’m going to bite!”
Jesus said
something similar:
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
What is the principle?
It is as much a sin
to keep anger and resentment
as to murder.
Question:
Who here has never been angry?
I guess we have
a church full of murderers!
In one group of passages
Bible is clear.
You cannot be
a committed follower of Christ
and continue to harbor resentment.
Those who do,
are not on the path
of righteousness!
That brings a whole
new meaning to the phrase:
“Forgive to Live.”
Number of people here
know a guy named Tim.
Involved in road rage
got shot.
Hatred causes so much
hurt in our world.
But did you know,
there is another
group of passages
where God commands us
to Hate!!!
Christians Must Hate!
Christians Must Hate!
Look at these passages:
O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
God commands those
who love Him
to hate!
HATE EVIL!
The Bible also talks
repeatedly about
not loving the world.
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
According to James
if we are friends with the world
God is not happy!
This is a balancing act.
God wants us to
be a soul winner
Reach the lost.
To do that,
you must have friends
in the world.
But we must be careful.
Not to be a friend
of the world itself.
We must hate the world.
Speaking of hating the world.
A young mother and her little boy were driving down the street. The little boy asked, “Mommy, why do the idiots only come out when Daddy drives?”
Some of us
hate the world
the wrong way...
(Like Sally, in Peanuts cartoon)
We must hate the world
the right way!
This extends beyond,
no substance abuse
no adultery.
Don’t make this place
an idol to worship.
We must not,
be a citizen of earth
but of heaven.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Other Good Types of Hate
Other Good Types of Hate
There are many more
verses about hate:
Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
The church of Ephesus
is commended for hating
particular form of evil
prevalent in their day.
Gnostic heretical teachings.
(Discussed in future sermon).
Here is another
passage about hate:
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
Matt writes it in
bite less harsh way:
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
If we love anyone
(even spouse or children)
more than God
they are idols.
To prevent this,
Jesus uses hyperbole:
You must “hate them”.
Finally,
There is another type of hate
that effects Christians:
If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
Good Christians
not only hate the world
but are also
hated by the world!
So I ask again:
Can good Christians
be haters?
Yes,
in fact,
we must be haters
to have eternal life.
You must know what to hate:
sin
world
idolatry
And what not to hate:
your brother
your neighbor
even your enemy.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
I guess the old cliche
is actually true:
“Love the Sinner.”
“Hate the Sin.”
Forgiveness
Forgiveness
If you struggle with hate
God has given us a solution
It is called: FORGIVENESS!
(future sermon).
Steve Tran of Westminster, California, wanted to kill the cockroaches in his apartment once and for all. So, he activated 25 bug bombs (even though the label said 2 should do the trick) and closed the door. The fumes reached the pilot light of his stove and created an explosion that sent his screen door across the street, broke all his windows, and caused $10,000 dollars worth of damage.
Steve said, “I really wanted to kill all of them. I thought if I used a lot more, it would last longer.” By the way, Steve said he saw cockroaches again within a week.
What did his
hatred for the bug
succeed in doing?
Only hurting himself
didn’t solve the problem.
Holding resentment,
refusing to forgive
only hurts ourselves.
When a rattlesnake is cornered, sometimes it becomes so angry that it bites itself.
When a man harbors hatred or bitterness in his heart he is poisoning himself just like the rattlesnake that bites itself.
Source: Reader’s Digest, May 1985
Back to key passage:
Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.
If you love your brother
this is evidence
you are in the light.
But what does love mean
in this context?
We already saw
previous verse
must hate family.
What is this love?
Does it mean:
friendship
empathy
active service.
Simple
give to others
what God gave you...
Simple idea
Hard to live.
God gave us
Forgiveness
Hope
Compassion
Purpose
Love.
Final verse in pericope:
But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Look at this verse.
It says:
“darkness” 3 times.
“the darkness”
“in the darkness”
“walk in darkness”
Synonymous phrases:
“doesn’t know where he is going”
“blinded his eyes”
Darkness = blindness.
Blindness = confusion.
= lack of direction.
Main Ideas
Light = truth.
You might assume
learn light,
I’m in truth.
I’m good...
(got the information)
(heard the gospel)
Nope.
We see here
if you are in light
your actions follow it.
(You love your brother!)
Once again,
being in the light
is not
intellectual
academic
head knowledge.
It is
experiential
character building
faith in action.
Living Love.
While checking his bags at the airport, a man became indignant with the employee who handled luggage. For several minutes he belittled the young man and criticized his every move. Surprisingly, the curbside porter didn’t seem troubled by this man’s verbal abuse. After the angry man entered the airport, a woman approached the luggage handler and asked, “How do you put up with such injustice?”
The young man said, “It’s easy. That guy’s going to New York, but I’m sending his bags to Brazil.”
Appeal
Appeal
Don’t be like that guy.
Experience Forgiveness
Grant Forgiveness
Love Your Brother
