Sincere Love

In the world these days, a general thought running around is that one must love one’s neighbor because this is the “gospel of impartial love” which Jesus Christ came to exemplify. According to some, this is the sole reason for Jesus Christ to have come to Earth. But what is this so-called “love” that the world preaches? Is it real love?

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9, NIV).

Some people say that to love one another, one must be willing to tolerate their actions. After all, how can one possibly separate one from one’s actions? One’s personality is made up of the decisions one makes and the actions one takes. But is this really “love” to stand idly by and watch someone make decisions that will destroy their life?

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9, NIV).

Let me borrow from the already overused example in this area of Christianity; think of a child who is about to put his hand on a hot stove. Would you stand idly by and allow the child to burn his hand and not attempt to persuade him that it is not such a good idea to do this? If you are a parent, you would automatically want to warn him of the danger, would you not? But then again would you? See, the type of “love” that is being indoctrinated by the world is one in which would allow the child to burn his hand because he wishes to touch it. After all, if the child sees something he wants, we should love him enough to let him have it, right? We should not care about the safety of the child or the consequences that may occur because we are more concerned for the happiness of the child. That is the “impartial love” of the world. That’s ridiculous!

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9, NIV).

Or how about the other well-used example of the child about to run out in front of a car? A “truly loving” parent would allow their child to play wherever and whenever he wished—even if that meant he wanted to play in rush-hour traffic. That’s outrageous!

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9, NIV).

What does the Bible have to say about impartial love? There are so many verses dealing with this subject of love that it would take too long for this essay to discuss all of them in enough detail. However, the message that I feel must be proclaimed is simple enough to be encompassed in two verses: one that has already been quoted and one that will be mentioned later.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9, NIV).

Obviously, one can foresee the consequences of allowing a child to touch the stove or run out in front of traffic: he will get burned or hit. But what does this issue of “impartial love” mean to the average person? Think about the very words you hear on the news, at work, or even at school; some of you may even be the ones saying them. “That Christian over there just told someone he is going to Hell because he doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ! How unloving!” Or, “How dare you tell me what the Bible says about homosexuality! How judgmental!” These actions performed by Christians are condemned their fellow students and professors because they are not seen as showing “impartial love.”

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9, NIV).

Love needs to be sincere. This means that it cannot be wishy-washy like some people tend to believe. (Just observe how quickly someone can fall in and out of “love” around campus.)

Love has to be sincere. This means it needs to last the hard times that life will bring. It cannot run out the door when it sees trouble coming; true love needs to stick by and stick through.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9, NIV).

We must hate what is evil and hold onto what is good. These are sub-qualities of the most sincere love. One must despise evil because it causes strife, torment, and pain; all of the experiences that people abhor. What is evil in the eyes of God? Sin.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9, NIV).

Once again, what does this mean for the average person? It means we must hate that which is evil. We must hate sin. We must hate homosexuality (because it is a disease that brainwashes the mind), lies that tell us everyone is going to Heaven whether or not they accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, witchcraft (because it is Satan’s imitation of God’s miracles and therefore dangerous; it is not just for fun or a hobby), and all other evil/sins. (If you will notice, I did not say we must hate homosexuals. On the contrary, we must love them!)

With these evils and sins in our lives, we are not able to have a sincere love for God. This is because God despises all evil. If He despises all evil, then how is it that we can think we are able to get away with tolerating evil in our lives and still claim that we love God sincerely? We cannot.

And yet, we all sin. How then is it possible for us to love God sincerely? We must be willing to let Jesus Christ into our lives and let Him work in us to make us a new person. It is only with His help that we are able to defeat sin in our lives. We cannot do it on our own. Just think about how much trouble you’ve been in and how much sin you’ve committed recently in your own life. You cannot get out of the muck and mire. You must have Someone to pull you out of the mess that you’ve accumulated around you. That Someone is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. He is the only way to Heaven (John 14:6) and He is the firm foundation on which we will not sink!

You ask, “How dare this ‘Christian’ tell me that I’m a sinner and that I am evil?” I’ll tell you (yet it is not I that tells you, it is the Word of God): “for all have sinned [myself included, because I am only a human being] and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, NIV). We cannot make it through life on our own. God has told us this from the beginning of time. Yet, He desires all of us to come to Him so that we may one day live with Him in Heaven forever. But, being the supreme example of “sincere love,” He will not force anyone to come to Him. It is up to the individual to make that step. When the individual sees the need that he has in his life, he should go to Jesus Christ and ask Him to be his Savior. Only then will you be able to spend eternity with God.

I truly believe that it is possible to love the person and despise what he is doing. And with this love, we must let them know that they are heading toward trouble which only Jesus Christ can get them out of. We cannot force them to see the light of Jesus Christ. However, once we have told them this, we can pray for them and offer assistance if they so desire. If they are so deep in the darkness of sin that we cannot reach them personally, then we must continue to pray for our neighbors who don’t see the light. Likewise, if we see a fellow Christian struggling with sin, we must offer assistance in the same loving manner.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9 NIV).

I mentioned earlier there was another verse that I felt needed to be proclaimed. It is: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). THAT, my readers, is sincere love!

Was Jesus Tolerant? and Should Christians Be?

Tolerance in today’s society is hyped up in the news and nearly every school. “You need to tolerate others and their beliefs” seems to be the current status quo. But what is tolerance? Better yet, for those people arguing that Christianity is the epitome of non-tolerance: Was Jesus tolerant? to function in society’s atmosphere, one needs to determine where one stands in such an issue as tolerance in order to prevent being trampled in the wake of others’ opinions and accusations.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, to “tolerate” means “to allow or permit; to treat with forbearance; to put up with; to allow religious freedom to” and “toleration” means “act of tolerating; allowance given to that which in not wholly approved; recognition of the right of private judgment in religion.” With this definition, there is an added twist that floats around in some circles. This attitude that one’s religion or belief is equally as valid as one’s neighbor’s seems to be spreading like wildfire. So what’s wrong with that idea? After all, it has been said by the author of Case for Faith, Lee Strobel, that “many people consider it arrogant, narrow-minded, and bigoted for Christians to contend that the only path to God must go through Jesus of Nazareth. In a day of religious pluralism and tolerance, the exclusivity claim is politically incorrect, a verbal slap in the face of other belief systems” (p204).

However, we are told in the Bible that Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). So how is a Christian to handle himself in this light? Does the Christian just not say anything and in doing so, appear to accept this generation’s definition of tolerance? If this is the case, then what does the Christian do with what’s been labeled as the “Great Commission” found in Mark 16:15? “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Does he just ignore what Jesus commands? If this Christian does that, what is to stop him from choosing bits and pieces from the Bible and tossing them aside, claiming they are not “en vogue” or “in style with today’s society”? People cannot just pick and choose what they want to follow out of the Bible. There should not be any “fence-walkers” when it comes to obeying God’s Word! One is either with Him or is against Him. The Bible says that you cannot serve two masters. While this verse in Matthew is referring to serving God and money at the same time, the idea can be applied to this essay. There is no possible way to serve both society and Jesus whole-heartedly and with all one’s devotion. If one tries to do this, along the way one will need to compromise one devotion or the other.

One more point to make before getting back to the topic of this essay. As a Christian, shouldn’t I strive to become like Christ? If I attempt that, then I need to learn all I can about the characteristics of my LORD in order to put them in my own life.

So, was Jesus tolerant? If one takes the modern-day definition of considering His belief and desires equally valid to anyone else’s, the answer is a resounding NO! Consequently, the reader may ask himself, “Did Jesus shout at people that they were wrong in what they were doing?” That answer must be a “yes”. Consider the scene in the Temple found in Matthew 21:12-13. “Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ‘It is written,’ He said to them, ‘ “My house will be called a house of prayer,” but you are making it a “den of robbers.”’” The reader can plainly see anger in Jesus’ voice; and rightly so. These men were selling items in the house of God and cheating people out of their money with the exorbitant taxes on those items. Notice, Jesus was angry, not hateful. There is a difference; a major one.

Jesus was not hateful towards the prostitutes and “common sinners” either. He wasn’t happy with them being in their condition (If He was, why would He call them “sick” and refer to himself as the “Doctor” in Matthew 9:12?), but He was not hateful. We Christians need to realize that difference sometimes. Especially when someone is in sin and won’t attempt to get out or haven’t asked Jesus to help them. Examples are not that hard to imagine here on campus. These same people are exactly the ones reading this essay. Another person that sins is the author. We are the people referred to as “all” in Romans 3:23, “For all­ have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (underline added).

If Jesus were tolerant, He would not have minded that we, the human race, are sick. He would not have cared about us. He would have used the mentality of “everything is ok if that’s the way you want to be.” He would not have believed it necessary to die for us if He was tolerant. The Great Physician cannot afford to be tolerant of our actions and us if He is to heal our sins and us! Neither can we, as Christians who wish to be more like Christ, do so.

Notice though, there is a side to this Physician only briefly mentioned: love. We Christians must be intolerant while practicing love at the same time. Impossible? While we are still struggling with sin, maybe, but we must strive for this balance; just like Jesus calls us to love one another as ourselves and to practice intolerance with this emotion; not hate, like so many people believe. As Christians, we must stand against the flow when it goes against what Jesus teaches and leads us to do. We cannot be tolerant of sin anymore! Our part is not to play the role of God and judge people, but to “preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2). Love is key to doing this as we follow Christ’s example in intolerance against sin.

In conclusion, Jesus was not tolerant and neither should we be! We should go out and help, encourage, and most of all love our neighbor—Christian or nonChristian—just like Christ loved and continues to love us; for “greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).