Have you ever wondered what the world’s most favourite sin is? Many may think it is homosexuality. Others may think it is pornography. Yet, some may think it is fornication. Certainly, these are some of the favourite sins of the modern western society. However, there is one sin that encompasses these sins. This sin is the sin of idolatry.
Many think they are too “sophisticated” to bow down to wooden images or worship animals. However, idolatry is not just limited to that. Idolatry is to give worth to anything above God. It is to break the First of the Ten Commandment by not seeking God. Creating a false image of God is to break the Second of the Ten Commandments, whether it be thinking that God is forgiving only, and that He will not punish sin, or thinking that He does not hate sin and is not angry at the wicked every day.
The unsaved are all idolaters whether they acknowledge it or not. They are all God-haters. As it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one (Romans 3:10-12).
The unsaved find this very difficult to accept, if at all because it cuts right at the self-righteous human heart that is “desperately wicked and deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9). As humans, we may think we are good, but our own human standards are faulty and rotten in the eyes of God. All our good works are like filthy rags in the eyes of God (Isaiah 64:6). Since Adam sinned, all sinned in Adam as through one man, sin entered the world (Romans 5:12). God hates sin and, yes, He also has a holy hatred for the sinner as He is angry at the wicked everyday (Psalm 7:11). This hatred is a perfect righteous hatred, not of the human carnal mind which cannot possibly understand this.
You have heard, “hate the sin, love the sinner”. This is the most unbiblical statement because it implies that the sin can be separated from the sinner. No! The sin cannot be separated from the sinner because sin comes from the desperately wicked heart of the sinner. As Matthew 15:18-20 tells us: But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.
Yes, God is indeed rich in mercy and love. He will forgive people for their sins when they come to Him in mercy and seek repentance on HIS terms, not on their own terms. However, many people have the image of God that He, as a merciful, loving, forgiving and kind judge, cannot have wrath against the wicked. But God is angry at the wicked everyday (Psalm 7:11).
God is slow to anger, but He does get angry at the wicked. He is merciful, but He is also just. He is love, and because of this, He hates Satan who is the exact opposite of God. It is because He is love that He must hate sin, and the sinner to whom it is attached it.
However, because He is merciful He desires no one to perish in Hell (2 Peter 3:9). God does not delight in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23). It is only because of his mercy, which none of us deserve in any way, that we can even have a way to be saved. God could have let us all sink into Hell if He wanted, and that would be perfectly justifiable.
It is because idolatry is the root of all sins that it is indeed the world’s favourite sin. It is the love for self and hatred of God, manifesting itself in the sins of adultery, fornication, pornography, homosexuality, drunkenness, abortion, belief in heresies, lies, thievery, blasphemy, covetousness, witchcraft and every single other sins. A person either loves himself or herself, and hates God; or loves God, and hates himself or herself.
A person may not murder, steal or get drunk, but if he does not seek God, he is an idolatrous God-hater. A person may not be a homosexual or fornicate, but if he does not seek God, he is an idolatrous God-hater. A person may fight abortion, and not blaspheme God, but if she does not seek God, she is an idolatrous God-hater. A person may think they know God, but if she maintains that there is another way to God other than through the real Jesus, such as through Mary, or the pope, she is an idolatrous God-hater.
God is just, so He must punish guilty sinners. That punishment is an Eternity in Hell.
But God, in His great mercy, and love sent His Only Begotten Son to die for your sins on your behalf. He paid the penalty you and I deserve. We have broken God’s Law, and Jesus paid the fine for us so that we would not have to pay it. So, if you genuinely repent, that is, turn from your sins, and put your faith in Jesus alone, you shall be saved from the wrath of God to come. The moment you repent and put your faith in Jesus alone, God will grant you the gift of Everlasting Life. Check out the Book of John and Romans in the Bible. (Make sure you get a proper translation.)
See www.needgod.com and do the test with a tender conscience.
Please also see: www.onthebox.us; www.streetchurch.com.au
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