I HATE SIN

I hate sin! I wish I could say it more forcefully, more convincingly, but I don’t know how.I don’t have words enough to explain how much I hate sin. I hate it for numerous and good reasons.

I hate sin because of what it has done to me. Surveying my life and thinking about all my experiences I can’t help but hate sin. It has done me nothing but bad. It deceived me, defiled me, enslaved me, tormented me, and caused me to do the same to others. Sin corrupted my character, caused me grief, and condemned my soul. Words cannot explain how much I have suffered because of sin. I hate sin!

I hate sin because of what it has done to others. Every parent and spouse knows that it hurts to see your loved ones hurting. Seeing them suffer hurts us more than if we were  in their shoes. We would gladly suffer for them, but we can’t– we can only suffer with them. Seeing your loved one succumb to an illness, suffer an injustice, injured in an accident, or enslaved by a sin breaks your heart. I’ve seen sin destroy families, preachers, and churches. That’s the nature of sin– it deceives, defiles and destroys. I’ve cried my eyes out as I watched sin ruin the lives of people I love. I hate sin!

I hate sin because of what it did to Jesus. He suffered because of sin–not His own, but the sins of others. He had no sin. And it is His sinlessness that makes this all the more painful. When Jesus died on the cross He suffered beyond anything we can imagine, beyond what we can comprehend or describe. If this was the only bad thing about sin it should be enough to cause us to hate it with all our heart. It was sin that subjected Christ to cruel mocking, the lash of the whip, the crown of thorns, and the agony of the cross. It was our sins that caused Him, for the first and only time in eternity, to be separated from the Father. He suffered hell for each of us, paid our sin debt that we might be forgiven, and died that we might live. It was our sins that caused Him to be nailed to the cross and to suffer beyond our ability to understand. I hate sin!

I hate sin and I want to show it through my purity, by my preaching,in my prayers, and by my protest against it. Knowing my hatred of it protects me from it, I want to love God so much that I will utterly detest it with all my heart. Knowing it is dangerous I want to avoid the very appearance of evil. Knowing I am weak, I must be filled with the Spirit lest I be attracted to it and overcome by it. I hate sin!

But, more important than my hatred of sin is God’s hatred of it. It is not my law that has been violated, but God’s righteous standard. God hates sin and because He is holy He must deal with it and He will! God will deal with your sin, either by way of the cross or in hell. As much as you and I might hate sin it pales in comparison to God’s hatred of it. He hates it and will punish it.

God hates sin. I hate sin. You ought to hate sin! When you embrace sin it is like pulling fire into your bosom– you will get burned! When you put the cup of sin to your lips it will be as a deadly poison. When you invite sin into your life it is like inviting a lion into your home– you’re going to get hurt. When you ignore sin it is like dismissing a cancer in your body– it will consume you. When you play with temptation it is like playing Russian roulette– the danger isn’t worth the risk–you will lose. The only provision for sin and protection against sin is the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. As believers it is essential that we hide God’s Word in heart, and hate sin with all our hearts that we might avoid it. Think about it!