Hate the Sin, not the Person

I think it was Justin McKitterick who said this, but I was reminded and convicted while reading Luke that we have no reason or ground to hate the people who put Jesus down. We are exactly like them. We are, as CJ says, the ones in the crowd who are mocking Jesus as the King of the Jews. It is painful to see the way our savior was treated, that they would mock, spit on, and ridicule Him, but are we any different when we sin? Are we not the same? This is what makes our salvation so wonderful, yet so humbling as well. We have nothing to boast in. We ARE those sinners, but God has chosen to save us. For that reason, we have no grounds to hate the person. We stand humbled by the presence of God, that HE chose us, and that He can choose anyone else to be saved as well. Like Jesus says, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). It is truly so painful to see Jesus put down so much, but we see that Jesus knew everything that was to happen. We know that Jesus came to bear everything for us, and for us He has gone through so much. As we can see in Jesus' quote, though, He still had a compassion for the people. Forgive them. He loved us so much that he would continually ask for our forgiveness. Jesus didn't hate us, he hated the sin that existed in us. I am reminded of Justin Lau's sermon as well, that we need to show everyone love and compassion because we have no right to judge who will be saved and who will not. Consequently, hate the sin, and not the person. Hate the pride that exists in ALL of us to say GOD you aren't enough. Hate the fleshly desires of ourselves, and cling so hard to our salvation because that is what frees us from the eternal separation. It is what frees us from our fleshly desires, and it is what frees us from our sin. Think about that the next time you say, "how dare you," or "he is so evil," for we are those people. Ask, like Jesus asks, to forgive them. Love them, and be reminded of how much evil there is in sin and how we must continue to fight the good fight, to press on towards the goal. Hate the sin, not the person.