“The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”

-Jesus of Nazareth

It is the most common stereotype for those that do not partake in The Alternative. More often the gun is aimed at those of The Way. This, aside from scriptural ignorance, is why The Church is daily becoming more divided on the issue. Who wants to be threatened? Who wants to be attacked? It is best to remain silent or comply. Wave your rainbow flag Christian! However, for the dwindling few that still stand facing the storm, with wind beating upon their breast, they choose to wear the label. “Hater!”. This word can stretch into many directions. From “homophobe”, to “bigot”. Eventually they break in compliance, or go down with the ship.

But the question is this: Do Christians hate Homosexuals? The answer is “Yes”. Shocking, isn’t it? At least according to The Alternative and its supporters. However, the only way to successfully make this claim one needs to redefine the word “Hate”. As they have.

The classic definition is to have a “strong disliking or disdain towards something or someone”. My workplace gets to 100 degrees in the summer. Therefore I hate summer. However, those of The Way that remain faithful to the truth of The Father simply disagree with The Alternative. The lifestyle. The beliefs. They are at odds with each other. What we have is a belief in disagreement with a belief. Disagreeing with one does not mean that you hate them. So to successfully label The Way as “haters” or a “hate group”, you need to redefine hate from “having a strong dislike or disdain for…” to “to disagree with”. I imagine since so many cling to this new definition that this is the reason why people of one ethnic group, political party, and class have grown to “hate” those of the opposite. There is a lot of hatred pouring over the world right now. All rooted in “disagreement”.

I realize that there are some that profess the name of Christ who also profess to hate homosexuals and others of The Alternative. I have spoken with them. They live by the definition of “dislike”. I have also noticed one thing when speaking with them: they are not Redeemed. They know nothing of Christ. Their church attendance is seldom if at all. Their living proves that they have never experienced anything Christ outside of the occasional Easter service, or bowing their head before Grandma serves the biscuits. Their faith is rooted in agreeing with Christianity, but not actually becoming it. Their hatred is rooted in prejudices based on the “It’s a sin. God said so” argument mentioned in Part I of this series, without even knowing the why. 

For the true believer there is truth found in the statement “Love the sinner, hate the sin”. There are a few “Christians” out there that say that this is unbiblical. That God hates sinners and desires their destruction. These are of the aforementioned group. They belong to the Westboro Baptist crowd. The Word explicitly teaches that foolishness and ignorance is the basis for their lack of understanding and compassion (Ephesians 4:17-29). The statement “Love the sinner, hate the sin” is not found in scripture. No. It is found by example.

After the call of the shrewd tax collector Matthew, Jesus came to the table in his home. Soon after, other tax collectors joined in. The religious elite assumed that The Savior was partaking in their sin. However He said to them “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Matthew 9:10-13). If Jesus truly hated sinners then He would have turned from their presence and cursed them. He never would have crossed the threshold of Matthew’s home. He stood, however, in their midst. Surrounded by the stench of sin and broken men. “Sick” He called them. “Well” He sought to make them through “repentance”. “Mercy” He desires for the broken. Mercy from Him. From us.

Believers cannot show the love of God through the Gospel if they condemn those of The Alternative. If they curse them to hellfire without showing them The Cross. To allow the sick to drown in the mire is not part of the commission. It is the duty of The Believer to reflect Christ to the broken. To shed His light into The Alternative. However, this is a near impossible feat. Why? Because many of The Alternative define themselves by their lifestyle. It is who they are. It is much easier to divide man from bad choices and habits than it is from their actual identity. Sadly their love and passion for this has run so deep that it courses through their veins. It is in their lungs.

Because it is their identity they are not willing to let it go. Who am “I” if you strip away the “me”? Understood. But to identify with the distortion of God’s design does not justify it. Because you are fooling with an identity when you stand in opposition, you will face the wrath of a fierce storm. Whereas a true believer does not agree with The Alternative and seeks to rectify the distortion with the Crimson, a homosexual (and by extension the entire LGBTQ community) does not agree with this infringement. Neither does their supporters. This is why they have redefined “hate”. To vilify The Redeemed. To play the victim where there are no victimizers. 

In truth Believers do not hate those of The Alternative, but The Alternative itself. I have previously displayed why it is a sin. However, like all sins, it can be forgiven through the sacrifice of The Lamb. Christ. To turn from The Alternative is difficult. Relationships have to end and hearts must be broken in the name of Repentance. Breaking is the essential first step for everyone. But the relationship with The Father, The Son, and The Spirit is worth such. As well as Eternity. The hatred that Christians have for any sin is rooted in their desire to see the broken ones repaired by Salvation. This is why you do not see Believers beating, berating, or killing those shattered and desolate. However, sin prevents this. Sin mocks God. And unfortunately those of The Alternative love their sin so much that they take offense to the notion of being broken. They view this proclamation as hatred because it goes against the desires of the flesh. They are unwilling to accept their sin. Unwilling to watch it die. Unwilling to die to live.

Those of The Alternative view those of The Way as unloving and full of hate. However, they are the ones intolerant because many want The Way silenced. Why can they not just lend a deaf ear to the proclamation of sin? Why can they not just ignore The Way and walk on? After all, no one is preventing their relationship. Laws now allow and protect The Alternative. The reason why they have so much animosity for The Way and want it’s end is simple: They know that The Way is the voice of God. Even though they profess otherwise with their lips, they know deep within the caverns that their sin binds them. Heavy is the guilt that they wear. The only way to free them of their guilt is reassurance. Reassurance that God approves. The Voice within them, implanted by the Holy One, repeats to them what history has proclaimed (Romans 2:14-15). A history rooted in The Word. This is why they condemn the Believers that have not bent. That stand by The Truth. This is why they condemn the true God as a figment of our imaginations. This is why they tune their ears to Christians that support them. To churches that condone and partake in The Alternative. To a god that is so loving that he supports the very things that slaughtered him on The Cross. So those that do not bend to them are the unloving ones. The hateful ones. The ones that deserve silence. That deserve destruction.

But I ask this: If someone believes that you are going to drive off of a cliff, is it unloving to try to stop you? If you are running into a burning house, would one be hateful if they warned you? Only if you desire the cliff and flames. Or simply deny its existence.

I leave you with this: Before my wife and I grew as a family and moved into a more serene life, we lived in the city. In an apartment complex. There were numerous couples from The Alternative. One couple, of the “L” faction, lived diagonally from us. At some point we became friends. We took meals to them. They helped improve my wife’s chili technique and taught us that Lorna Doone cookies go better in banana pudding than Nilla Wafers. We cared for their dogs when they were away. They cared for ours. When our first born joined this earth, they visited us in the hospital and took a picture of him, dressed it up real nice, and framed it for us. We still have it in the original frame. However, when they invited us to a double date, we politely declined. Because to do so would give credence to their lifestyle. When they invited us to attend church with them, we politely declined. They attended the Metropolitan Church, which basically rewrites The Word and redesigns God into accepting The Alternative. We would have given credence to their church that uses the name of Jesus to mock God. We treated them like neighbors. Like equals. Like humans. But we did not support their sin. To have hated them would have birthed silence and scowls from our doorstep.

Love the sinner. Hate the sin.