Friday, September 14, 2012

No Condemation, All Forgiveness, No Reason to Hate

"Always remember others may hate you but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them." --Richard Nixon

In Christ, we can rejoiced in the knowledge that God is not angry with us:

"Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever." (Jeremiah 3: 12)

and

"And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 10: 17)

Instead, God took out all of His holy wrath for our sins on His Son, that we could be received back to Him.

"Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,

"Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father" (Galatians 1: 3-4)

and

"Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." (Romans 4: 25)

God does not hate us, therefore, because He has forgiven us all our sins:

"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

"Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:" (Ephesians 2: 1-2)

Because we have received His love, of which we are called to grow in grace and knowledge (2 Peter 3: 18), we can then forgive others:

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." (Ephesians 4: 32)

If anyone hates us, we have no reason to fear or worry:

"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." (Mark 13: 13)

In fact, we can find reason to rejoice:

"Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake." (Luke 6: 22)

In Christ. we have no reason to be hated by God, to hate others, or to fear if we are hated by others!

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