LENT 3, C – March 7, 2010

SCRIPTURES – Ezekiel 33:7-20; 1 Cor. 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9; Psalm 5 

How many of you have heard the saying, “God hates the sin but loves the sinner”? How many of you know where it is in the Bible? If you don’t know, don’t bother looking. It’s not in the Bible.

 

There are some very tough statements in our readings today. “God hates the sin but loves the sinner” – we all know and find comfort in this saying which is not in the Bible. Compare it with what Psalm 5 says:

“You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.”

So much for God loving the sinner! This says that God hates evildoers, every one of them! And, “the way of the wicked will perish.”

 

But, that’s not us, is it? We certainly think not and hope not. But, when we think this way, then there’s Jesus’ warning: “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” We are also sinners who need to repent, to learn God’s good Word and follow what He says, lest we, too, perish because of our sin!

 

Tough words. What should we do with them? Well, we can do what is most commonly done: ignore them. Hang on instead to words and ideas about God that we like, that make Him more friendly and understanding and accepting; words like “God hates the sin but loves the sinner.” “Yes,” we then think, “God understands. He knows that I’m trying my best, and that no one is perfect. He’s ok with that, and ok with me.” That is more comfortable, more how we want to think of God. He understands, and doesn’t demand that I change. This is precisely how the wicked think.

 

Yes, the wicked: they are not just those sinners out there, those evil people who steal and swear and get drunk and ignore God and would never consider darkening the door of a church. We also think and act wickedly! And God, well, His bar is high. We must be holy, like Him! He doesn’t grade on a curve. If He did, that would actually make things worse for us!

‡       Doesn’t a teacher expect more on a paper from an A student than from the student who is barely passing? Doesn’t a coach expect more from his star athlete than from the clumsy guy who barely makes the team and does little more than warm the bench?

We have all been baptized into Christ. We all eat the same spiritual food, and all drink the same spiritual drink from the spiritual Rock who is with us, namely, Christ. We have so much more than those sinners who do not have Christ as we do! How much worse it is, then, how much more wicked, when we ignore what God says to not be reminded of our sins and be comfortable with what we do! “The way of the wicked will perish!”

 

Boy, this is tough to hear. Is there any good news, any hope for us sinners? Yes! Our hope is in God, the same God who says that He hates all evildoers. If this was all He said, then we would truly have no hope and might as well just sit down to eat and drink and rise up to play. But, God has not only said that He hates those who do evil. He also says, “As I live, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die?” This is why He speaks words that make us uncomfortable: to shake us up, to make us afraid of His judgment, and to turn us away from doing wrong!

‡       Last year Geno Auriemma, the coach of the U. of Conn. women’s basketball team, saw that his star center, Tina Charles, wasn’t trying hard. So, what did he do? Was he gentle and easy with her? A coach who is easy and understanding does not make champions. Geno yelled at her and chewed her out, and then he benched her. So what if she had been one of the best players in the nation in High School and had a scholarship? She wasn’t going to be lazy and still play on his team! He sat her, and she learned well from his discipline. This year she became U-Conn’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder, and won Player of the Year honors. He won Coach of the Year honors.

God warns us of the consequences of our sins with harsh words; but, comforting and stronger by far are the words of blessing He has for those who listen and turn away from their sins and to Him for forgiveness. He says to Ezekiel:

“Though I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ yet if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right, if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him.”

How great is God’s forgiveness!: “None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him.” If God says that He will not remember your sins, they are truly gone!

 

But, how can God, who knows all things, not know our sins? Doesn’t Psalm 1 say, “The Lord knows the way of the righteous”? Yes, it does. But, this is not just referring to head knowledge, to what is known in the mind. To understand this word “know,” I’d like to take you back to one of the first uses of this word in the Bible.

 

In Genesis 4:1 we are told: “Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain.” Adam knew his wife; “know” is a word that means sexual intercourse! Yes; but it means far more than that. Recall what had happened with Adam and Eve. Eve had allowed herself to be deceived by Satan so that she ate the fruit which God had commanded them not to eat. She then gave it to Adam, and he ate. They became sinful, lost much, and suffered greatly. Now, later on Adam could have constantly been reminding Eve of this and saying:

“Look at what you did to me, and to us! We’ve been thrown out of the Garden of Eden, and now life is hard. I plant, and weeds grow. I have aches and pains I never had before. Look what you’ve done!”

In response, Eve could have said:

“Well, you were right there when the devil tempted me with the fruit. Why didn’t you say anything? When you finally did speak up, you pointed to me and told God that it was my fault! He had warned us that if we ate we would die, and you offered me up to protect yourself! What a fine husband you are!”

They knew what they had each done and could have said these things. If they had, do you think they would have known each other sexually and had a son? That wouldn’t happen in my house!

 

Yes, Adam and Eve knew each other’s sins. But, more than that, they knew God’s love and forgiveness, and how He had promised them a Savior who would save them from their sins. They knew Christ! God also gave them back to each other. So, they knew their weakness, but also the strength of God’s mercy. They knew they were the help and support for each other. That knowledge, that love, brought them together to conceive a child.

 

“The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” These are tough words. But, they are the words of Him who does not want you to die and be condemned for your sins but live. They are the words of the One who gave His Son to die in your place that you might live with Him forever. They are the words of the One who gives Himself to you as food and drink, that He might be one with you and go with you throughout this life. Listen, and repent! Turn from every sin of thought, word, and deed, and turn unto Christ for forgiveness! Learn and “walk in the statutes of life,” the tough but life-giving words of the Holy Bible. You will then not die but live, and will declare the praises of the Lord!