Why Does the World Say Christians are Hateful?
Christians are called to love -- love God and others. This is central to what it means to be a Christian. That's why it is concerning that the world often accuses Christians of being hateful. So why has the world come to this conclusion?
In Philippians 1:9-11, Paul prayed that the church's love would grow in knowledge. In other words, love requires knowledge. What kind of knowledge? In order to love well, you need knowledge of the Bible (you need to know what the Bible says about love). Without knowledge of God's word, you cannot truly love others.
For example, the world's definition of love is this: Don't tell anybody that their ideas are wrong, or that their behaviors are immoral. It is usually when Christians violate this idea that they are accused of hate. But is this a valid definition of love? No. It makes no sense. Nobody actually lives that way -- not even the world. This would mean affirming that every idea is right, and every behavior is moral. But that's crazy. What about the ideas and behaviors of ISIS, or Nazi Germany, or the Klu Klux Klan? If every idea is valid, what about the idea that every idea is not valid? Imagine if a parent raised his kids this way -- never correcting a child's ideas or behaviors. Imagine if a school teacher, or if a manager acted this way. Nobody actually lives this way because it doesn't make sense. Non-Christians condemn behaviors and ideas all the time ("hateful" Christians are their favorite target). However what they really mean is don't condemn their behaviors or their ideas, but they reserve the right to condemn yours. This is what happens when you try to love without Biblical knowledge. You end up with some pretty silly and even destructive ideas about love.
The reason that Christians are often labeled as hateful is that our concept of love is based on the Bible, while the world's concept of love ignores the Bible. Our concepts of love are different, and therefore our actions are often interpreted as hate rather than love.
Recently I saw a church sign that read, "Just love everybody and God will sort it out in the end." It sounds spiritual on the surface, but it's actually really stupid. Of course we should love everybody; nobody disagrees with that one. The problem is that the Biblical definition of love is different than the world's definition of love. The question is "What does it mean to love everybody?"
There are four Biblical principles about love that the world constantly ignores or rejects. And this is why the world will always accuse Christians of hate.
First, love means giving people what they need, not what they want. Your child may not want to go to church, but they need it. Gay people don't want to hear that they need to repent, but they need to hear it. Unbelievers don't want to hear that they will spend eternity in hell without Christ, but they need to hear it. Abortion supporters don't want to hear that abortion is murder, but they need to hear it.
Second, love is painful. Love does what is best for people, not what makes them feel good. Going to the dentist if often painful, but if you love your teeth then you will go. Your child will be in pain when you spank them, but that's what a loving parent does. It will be painful for a church to expel an unrepentant church member, but that's what a loving church does. It will be painful for an expecting mother to carry a child to full term rather than abort it, but that's what a loving mother does.
Third, love hates. The Bible tells us to love everyone, but not everything. We are to love our neighbor (Mt 22:39), but also to hate evil (Rm 12:9). This is reflection of the character of God. On one hand God is love (1 Jn 4:9), but on the other hand God hates evil (Prov 6:16-19). This is why it is possible for Christians to love the sinner and hate the sin at the same time. And this is completely logical. Does loving my wife and children mean that I love everything they do? Of course not. This is why it is possible to love a homosexual, but at the same time condemn the homosexual lifestyle. The Bible says that sin leads to human suffering. Therefore to hate sin is to hate the cause of suffering, which is actually an act of love.
Fourth, love is obedient to God. As Christians our aim is not only to love people, but first and foremost to love God (Mt 22:37-38). Because loving God means obeying His commands (Jn 14:23), then our attempts to love others must never involve disobeying God. This is why it is not loving for the church to stop preaching God's word in order to avoid offending people. This is why it is not loving to support a woman's choice toabort murder her unborn child. This is why it is not unloving for a Christian baker or photographer to refuse to service a gay wedding out of obedience to God.
So why does the world accuse Christians of hate? Because we disagree over the meaning of love. The world likes to cry out, "Love is love," to justify homosexual relationships. But love is only love if it conforms to the Bible. A lot of what the world calls "love" has nothing to do with love.
As Christians we are called to love. That's why we should take it seriously when people accuse us of being hateful. And surely there are times when we fall short. But we need to remember that the only way we can love well is if our love is based on the knowledge of God's word. And as long as the world rebels against God's word, it will continue to interpret our love as hate.
As a Christian, don't let the world judge your actions as loving or hateful. Otherwise you will abandon true love for pseudo-love. Instead, base your actions on the knowledge of God's word, and then you can know for sure that your love is true.
In Philippians 1:9-11, Paul prayed that the church's love would grow in knowledge. In other words, love requires knowledge. What kind of knowledge? In order to love well, you need knowledge of the Bible (you need to know what the Bible says about love). Without knowledge of God's word, you cannot truly love others.
For example, the world's definition of love is this: Don't tell anybody that their ideas are wrong, or that their behaviors are immoral. It is usually when Christians violate this idea that they are accused of hate. But is this a valid definition of love? No. It makes no sense. Nobody actually lives that way -- not even the world. This would mean affirming that every idea is right, and every behavior is moral. But that's crazy. What about the ideas and behaviors of ISIS, or Nazi Germany, or the Klu Klux Klan? If every idea is valid, what about the idea that every idea is not valid? Imagine if a parent raised his kids this way -- never correcting a child's ideas or behaviors. Imagine if a school teacher, or if a manager acted this way. Nobody actually lives this way because it doesn't make sense. Non-Christians condemn behaviors and ideas all the time ("hateful" Christians are their favorite target). However what they really mean is don't condemn their behaviors or their ideas, but they reserve the right to condemn yours. This is what happens when you try to love without Biblical knowledge. You end up with some pretty silly and even destructive ideas about love.
The reason that Christians are often labeled as hateful is that our concept of love is based on the Bible, while the world's concept of love ignores the Bible. Our concepts of love are different, and therefore our actions are often interpreted as hate rather than love.
Recently I saw a church sign that read, "Just love everybody and God will sort it out in the end." It sounds spiritual on the surface, but it's actually really stupid. Of course we should love everybody; nobody disagrees with that one. The problem is that the Biblical definition of love is different than the world's definition of love. The question is "What does it mean to love everybody?"
There are four Biblical principles about love that the world constantly ignores or rejects. And this is why the world will always accuse Christians of hate.
First, love means giving people what they need, not what they want. Your child may not want to go to church, but they need it. Gay people don't want to hear that they need to repent, but they need to hear it. Unbelievers don't want to hear that they will spend eternity in hell without Christ, but they need to hear it. Abortion supporters don't want to hear that abortion is murder, but they need to hear it.
Second, love is painful. Love does what is best for people, not what makes them feel good. Going to the dentist if often painful, but if you love your teeth then you will go. Your child will be in pain when you spank them, but that's what a loving parent does. It will be painful for a church to expel an unrepentant church member, but that's what a loving church does. It will be painful for an expecting mother to carry a child to full term rather than abort it, but that's what a loving mother does.
Third, love hates. The Bible tells us to love everyone, but not everything. We are to love our neighbor (Mt 22:39), but also to hate evil (Rm 12:9). This is reflection of the character of God. On one hand God is love (1 Jn 4:9), but on the other hand God hates evil (Prov 6:16-19). This is why it is possible for Christians to love the sinner and hate the sin at the same time. And this is completely logical. Does loving my wife and children mean that I love everything they do? Of course not. This is why it is possible to love a homosexual, but at the same time condemn the homosexual lifestyle. The Bible says that sin leads to human suffering. Therefore to hate sin is to hate the cause of suffering, which is actually an act of love.
Fourth, love is obedient to God. As Christians our aim is not only to love people, but first and foremost to love God (Mt 22:37-38). Because loving God means obeying His commands (Jn 14:23), then our attempts to love others must never involve disobeying God. This is why it is not loving for the church to stop preaching God's word in order to avoid offending people. This is why it is not loving to support a woman's choice to
So why does the world accuse Christians of hate? Because we disagree over the meaning of love. The world likes to cry out, "Love is love," to justify homosexual relationships. But love is only love if it conforms to the Bible. A lot of what the world calls "love" has nothing to do with love.
As Christians we are called to love. That's why we should take it seriously when people accuse us of being hateful. And surely there are times when we fall short. But we need to remember that the only way we can love well is if our love is based on the knowledge of God's word. And as long as the world rebels against God's word, it will continue to interpret our love as hate.
As a Christian, don't let the world judge your actions as loving or hateful. Otherwise you will abandon true love for pseudo-love. Instead, base your actions on the knowledge of God's word, and then you can know for sure that your love is true.
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