Exodus 34:6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty".
This passage of scripture clearly teaches us that God loves sinners, but hates the sins we commit, and this sacred truth is demonstrated by the order in which His work is outlined, beginning with mercy and grace, then ending by stating that the finally impenitent will not be cleared. In the ancient sanctuary, the ark of the covenant containing the sacred law of God, was kept in the most holy place, and the mercy seat was deliberately placed above the law, a demonstration of God's delight in mercy. But the law was located beneath as a sort of net for those who despised God's grace, and who persisted in sin. In other words, if a person cannot be saved by the mercy seat, then he or she must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and suffer the penalties stipulated.
A balanced understanding of this sacred truth is important, for the Bible is full of examples of God's grace and mercy, being preferred to His judgments. When Christ met the woman at the well, He offered her grace and mercy, but on condition that she choose to both acknowledge and forsake the sins of her past. This was no attempt to embarrass, humiliate or condemn her, but was instead the process that must be applied when the offer of salvation is given to us as sinners. Some people are super sensitive, and erroneously conclude that addressing sin head on is a sort of condemnatory work, and for this reason many end up stone-walling the entire process, because of what they view as a judgmental work.
But if we are sick, and we go to our physician, he will first need to properly diagnose what we are suffering from, before the appropriate treatment can be applied. After the various tests and scans are done, then he comes to us to let us know what our ailment really is, and if we consent, then he prescribes remedies and medicines so that we could be restored to full health. But never should we be found accusing the doctor of deliberately wanting to make us feel bad, by stating what our disease is. If we had stage two cancer, and did not know it before seeing our family physician, will we really want him to hide such sensitive and important information from us, just so that we can go on living as it were in a dream, not being cognizant of the deadly disease which will cause our demise if not dealt with promptly?
On a much larger scale is the way in which God deals with the sinner, for he hates the cancer of sin which if left untreated, will cause ruin disaster and finally death, hence the reason why His first work in our restoration is to make us aware of the sins we are suffering from, so that the remedy which is to be found in Christ alone, can be applied. This is the reason why the following passage of scripture was written, and it should be understood in the context of a patient and his doctor. Let's read:
John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
In our day there seems to be a general apathy towards the word of God, because it diagnoses the many sins and cancerous habits and practices we are suffering from, and whenever sin is called out for what it is, many people now view it as being hate speech, or intolerance for others. Now while it is true that some have caused unnecessary wounds to the soul by the way in which the gospel has been presented, yet if we value our soul's salvation, we would be more than willing to see past the human frailties in those who may not always say the right things the right way, for the issues of eternity do trump any human failings which may occur in the presentation of the gospel.
John the baptist was not the most politically correct evangelist, for when the sadducees and pharisees came to him, asking what they should do in order to be baptized, he began by addressing them as a generation of vipers, hinting that they were currently offspring of the wily serpent who tempted Eve in the garden of Eden. Let's read:
Matthew 3:5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.
Let us therefore not be strung up on the frailties of humanity, for God uses people just like me and you to carry forward the work of salvation in the presentation of the gospel to fallen humanity. God indeed loves the sinner, but hates our sins, and thus, whenever the gospel is being presented, let us therefore listen with the understanding that it is the love of God that drives Him to make desperate efforts to save us from ruin, and as such, His motives and yearnings over our souls, should be greatly appreciated, instead of being resented.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages to accept God's gracious overtures to save us from sin, for it is His desire that not one of us should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Let's read:
1st John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!