God hates sin!

See the Father's love for you!

Imagine a farmer rejecting a batch of millions of apples because one of the apples has a bruise that cannot even be seen with the most powerful microscope in the world. This is not even close to how seriously God views and hates sin. God hates sin to the uttermost, so much that just stumbling at one point of the Law makes one guilty of all (James 2:10). Just a tiny speck of sin in man makes him unacceptable, even if he has done a gazillion good works. According to the Law, he must be punished with death. "The wages of sin is death" and God the righteous Judge will exact judgment to the uttermost. He cannot overlook even the tiniest sin. One tiny sin ruins every good work done and every commandment kept. He hates sin that much.

We also have this trait, albeit in a far diminished capacity - if our white dress got torn or stained with palm oil as we were leaving the house to attend an important interview or meeting, we would change the entire outfit:). Man can manage the white dress if the tear or stain is not too bad or obvious but God cannot accept this standard from anyone. The tiniest stain is punishable by ALL the curses of Deuteronomy 28 and finally, death!

God saw the hopelessness of our case: our law-keeping cannot make any righteous in His sight (Romans 3:20). All of us have at least one bad apple and so our whole batch is rejected by default according to James 2:10 (stumble at one point of the law and you're guilty of all.) Most of us have several. We were all doomed for the wages of sin no matter how hard we tried to obey the Law. 

Those who think that their efforts at law-keeping and good works should count for something with God do not know how seriously He takes the issue of sin and how much He hates sin. He cannot abide an iota of sin. He cannot stand an atom of dirt in universes of white.

Because God loved us so much; because He sees what many cannot see: that all our righteousnesses (fasts, seeds, and obeying the Ten Commandments done to curry His favour or get right with Him) are like menstrual rags (Isaiah 64:6) and have been sullied because they proceed from the sin nature which all inherited from Adam by default (Romans 5:17- "For by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners...) because He saw that no one can qualify for His blessings or be saved by sheer self-will and determination to obey; because of these things, He punished all of our sins, past, present and future, in the body of His Son, our Saviour Jesus "once for all" (Hebrews 10:10.) He gave us His righteousness as a gift through Christ - "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

It is by this gift of righteousness that we have right standing with our heavenly Father - Romans 5:19 -"For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous."

Our own righteousnesses from keeping the Ten Commandments cannot give us right standing with God. It is tainted with sin and proceeds from the sin nature inherited from Adam. You are either under Law (righteous by keeping the Law) or under Grace (righteous by faith through Christ). Law and grace cannot mix.

For this righteousness to take effect the in the life of a believer, that believer has to forsake his own righteousnesses from his own efforts at law-keeping (his many excellent apples that have been made filthy and unacceptable by the presence of his bad ones, even if it's a bruise on just one.) And this we do by His grace.

Think of it as believers writing an exam for which the price of failure is death and where failing one question means our score is zero (you break one law, keep the rest and you are still guilty of all.) For us to pass (be saved from eternal damnation, sin and addiction, oppression, sickness, etc) we need a 100% score, no more, no less. But everyone has already failed at least one question (all have sinned; there is none righteous.) Christ came and righteously offered all all of us the needed 100% (the only brand of righteousness that cuts it with God.)

But many people hang on to their 99% score (human effort at keeping the law and living right) which is as good as zero because of the 1% stain (break one law and you're guilty of all,) and thus are cut off from Christ: "For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace." Galatians 5:4.

Others attempt to take some marks from Grace to complete their own score from works of the Law! These ones are not totally under Law and not totally under Grace. Neither hot nor cold! This is an abomination to the Lord. Look what Christ says of this lukewarm church in Revelation 3:

15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,[g] I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see."

These ones feel that they have some good in them, that they are still "okay." They do not know that their garments are filthy or that they need white garments (Christ's righteousness). Better to be totally under Law where you see that you can never pass by your efforts and be driven to Grace; or totally under grace, where you get to enjoy the full benefits of our Lord's goodness.

This is how seriously God hates sin: to the same degree that He loves us, so much that He gave His Son to die for our sins so that we can freely receive the righteousness that it takes to escape the wages of sin; SO THAT WE CAN STOP SINNING; so that we can produce "a harvest of good deeds for God" (Romans 7:4) and also reign in life!

When you try to obey the Law, you sin more. When you stop trying and start believing, YOU WILL NOT CONTINUE TO SIN (see Romans 7:4-5 please please please!) This is the logic of heaven and it is confusing to the man who is yet to get His revelation. Even people who shout "Lord, Lord" will be cast away at the last day!

Unless we die to the old (sin) nature inherited from Adam (a death that Christ died for all thereby fulfilling the righteous demands of the Law for all who believe and receive His gift of righteousness), those who reject Christ’s righteousness and continue to do and hold on to their 99% obedience to the Law will continue to be controlled by this old nature and sin acts will multiply according to Romans 7:5-

"When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death."

Try to keep the Ten Commandments and you will continue to sin, even at harvest levels! By contrast, receive God’s abundance of grace and of His gift of righteousness and you will reign in life according to Romans 5:17. This reign in life covers reigning over sin. You will also produce a harvest of God deeds for Him according to Romans 7:4-

 "So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.” 

The Law gives sin its power over man. 1 Corinthians 15:56 says ”For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.”

Grace stops sin. In Christ, there is no condemnation for the one who is believing. Like the woman caught in adultery, it is His "Neither do I condemn you" that makes us "Go and sin no more." YOU WILL NOT CONTINUE TO SIN AND NOT BY YOUR EFFORT BUT CHRIST IN YOU.

He said "Without Me, you can do nothing."

Believe Right and you will Live Right!