THE BIBLE IS HATE SPEECH!
Those were the words of an atheistic, radical, Marxist progressive, deep within the democratic party who has an aggressive hatred for the Bible, for Christianity and for all Christians. The Bible, says this radical – atheist should be banned in every public place, including and especially schools, libraries and especially kept away from the young.
The Bible spews hate especially when it refers to the sinful nature of mankind, the need for forgiveness and redemption, the inability of the individual to live morally and lovingly on his or her own without the forgiveness, companionship and relationship of Jesus Christ. The Bible, says he, is exclusionary, fails to recognize true diversity (other religions), has for far too long dominated culture in America and must be excised from the public square completely and permanently. Thousands, perhaps millions agree. If any of us who believe need motivation to fight the fight of faith, we have it now full-bore.
But the Bible is not a compilation of ancient stories, parables and sermons. It is not mythology, magic, but rather morality at its highest.
The primary theme of the 66 Books of our Holy Bible is:
LOVE.
It is the Old Testament testimony to the great God Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the father of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible is not hate speech but love speech. The Bible presents the message not of condemnation but redemption. It provides the framework and structure for faith, and for hope and it provides the foundation for love, real love, in the form of:
THE GREATEST LOVE STORY EVER TOLD.
It attracts men and women who need something much beyond themselves. They come to the realization that they cannot live a moral life on their own and they require a helping hand, a divine helping hand. They encounter in 27 books of the New Testament the living Christ, the son of the living God and the remedies and relationships He provides. These seekers want what the Christ of Glory alone can offer. Every page of that New Testament and the prophecies of the old point to this Messiah, this savior of the world in an absolutely compelling way, personally and theologically. The Bible message of the New Testaments is not a message of HATE. It is the highest and best form of love available to mankind. It is in the Greek language:
AGAPE,
which is the very highest and most noble definition of love unconditional, powerful, never ending, never failing. It is in fact the exact opposite of HATE and that perhaps is why the Bible and the message of Jesus Christ is so hated by those who accuse this precious book of HATE SPEECH and want it banned from the public square. Whether or not that happens, it could never be banned from the heads and hearts of believers, never.
There comes their command from the great God Jehovah that his people, the Jews and Israelites and consequently all believing gentiles should as a matter of first moral priority:
LOVE THE LORD THY GOD
WITH ALL MY HEART, SOUL, MIND AND STRENGTH
AND THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF
That is the great commandment fully endorsed by Jesus Christ. The love of God constrains, is greater than all our sins and is the hope for all humankind. We learn early on as young Christians that:
GOD IS LOVE.
Indeed, God is just that, love. He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to a saving knowledge of his son. Have you had that personal encounter with Jesus Christ?
This love of God permeates everything. It is everywhere. It is immediately available, ours for the asking, love without end. It is says scripture an unspeakable love, that is there are no adequate words to describe the breadth, length, height and depth of this love, no words at all. This love motivates us, frees us, inspires and energizes us to live this life with the highest and finest relationship mankind could have. This God of love sent his son to die for us, so that we might be redeemed, forgiven and enter into a new loving relationship with Him. The message for us was that God hates sin but loves the sinner. There is that marked separation between the thing (sin) and the person, the sinner. We are upon acceptance born again, on the way to maturing as a new child, experiencing love like we have never experienced before. It is impossible to explain fully, no words are adequate, nor can we understand this spiritual process in its entirety. It is to the atheist foolishness, mythological, perhaps neurotic even psychotic. But to the believer, it is the most real thing in life, on this earth. This love of Christ at Calvary is the most lasting, enduring thing on this earth which will someday pass away. It won’t and we won’t.
It is easy to love this God, in fact even wonderful. And the love of God allows us to love our neighbors no matter who they are and what they are, even if they are enemies. It allows us to put aside differences, hatreds and provides a loving opportunity for new fellowship, for witness and testimony. It is not mythological, hypocritical, phony but the most real force on the face of the earth. It is the love of the Bible, of Jesus Christ which transforms, does away with HATE and makes the precious scriptures, the Bible, come alive in every single way.
We not only learn to love God, and our neighbor but we learn to love ourselves in this brand new, personally respectful, regenerated and redeemed way. We come to see our true worth and value. We begin to understand our uniqueness. We sense our place in a divine order, why we are here, what really is right living, how we are supposed to interact with our fellow man so as to have maximum human fulfillment. The love of Christ is the pathway to truth, real truth and to the deepest understanding of what life is all about. We are born again with this love, new creations, redeemed by the blood of the lamb. This love of Christ is the exact opposite of HATE, a love which the natural man can never know.
It is the only lasting force which allows us to triumph, conquer and stand tall. When all else fails, and it will, when faith has run its course, and hope turns into face to face reality, all that will remain is:
LOVE.
The apostle Paul has stated so clearly that:
NOW ABIDES FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE
BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE
There is nothing like it. The Christian life is a heartfelt journey into the depths of love. It brings out the very best of the potential natural attributes of mankind and not the hateful response to life of the natural man, the atheist, the radical, the destroyer. It seeks to preserve life and all of it, the young (abortion) and the old (euthanasia). The Bible, the inspiration of the living God is not hate speech but love. It even shows us the way to love our enemies if we are willing, perhaps one of life’s most difficult tasks.
Life is not about religion, church, ritual, but about relationship, a lifechanging confrontation and personal encounter with Jesus Christ. That happened to the apostle Paul and from that experience with the Lord on the Damascus Road, Paul was never the same, never. He was radically transformed by a power he could not initially understand. But when he did, after three years in foreign lands, learning and being taught by the spirit of God, he Paul became one of the most fiery, passionate, loving witnesses of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of Glory who encountered him, commissioned him and made him perhaps the most influential apostle of all time.
Most of us have never experienced an encounter with Christ which is like that of the Damascus Road, salvation experience of Paul. No matter, however we came to saving, redemptive knowledge of Jesus Christ, we are His and He is ours. I pray that relationship for you. We who believe are not radicals and we will not be removed from the public square. We will fight the fight of faith with spiritual weapons and we will defend our faith, our Lord, our salvation experience and our Bible, a precious compilation of LOVE SPEECH with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength as the Lord commands. May you have the courage to do that for this fight is on. In that fight, we who believe have the greatest weapon of any:
THE LOVE AND STRENGTH OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.
May you walk with Him and grow deeper daily in His love. There just simply is no better way to live, none at all.