God has no complacent love for the sinner at all. He has a perfect hatred of
him, “I hate them with a perfect hatred.” (Psalm 139:22)
Why does God do so much good for those He perfectly hates and as soon as
they die impenitent send them immediately to hell and never in all eternity
does them one solitary favor more? It is to show His willingness to forgive
the sinner if only he will repent. It shows the sincerity of God’s
willingness to pardon the greatest sinner that, even while He hates him with
a perfect hatred, He showers him with constant daily blessings.
As I mentioned in Chapter 1, there is no “problem of pain.” The only problem
is the “problem of pleasure.” Dreadful as it is, it is not surprising that
God sends sinners to hell. The problem is why He does not do it sooner. Why
does God let a hell-deserving sinner live a minute and then let him prosper
like the green bay tree (Psalms 37:35), as well? It is obvious that God can
destroy the ungrateful. Why doesn’t He? That is the problem.
Yes, the sinner suffers, too. But so little. It is a gentle reminder: though
the sinner receives many divine favors, that does not mean that God is
pleased with him. It is in spite of the fact that God hates him with a
perfect hatred.
Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and
patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
(Romans 2:4)
Our text also shows that the one reason a sinner is permitted to be born
into and enjoy this world rather than wake up as an infant in hell is that
God, with His love of benevolence, is determined to give the sinner a
“chance,” an opportunity to repent. Alas, most sinners use it as a chance to
sin! They make God’s blessed love of benevolence into a curse.
In this world the sinner enjoys nothing but the benevolent love of God.
Every experience of pain as well as pleasure is from God’s love — of
benevolence. Even pain is from love because it tends to wake the sinner to
his danger. God indeed loves the sinner, whom He hates with a perfect
hatred, with a perfect love of benevolence.
The sinner, as I said, makes every divine blessing into a curse including
God’s love of benevolence. This he does by construing a love of benevolence
as a love of complacency.
Construing God’s love of benevolence as a love of complacency is fatal.
Instead of the divine forbearance leading to repentance, it is used as an
excuse for non-repentance. Thus the sinner is not saved but damned by God’s
love of benevolence.
God “loves” the sinner benevolently and hates the sinner displacently. If
the sinner dies impenitent, God removes His love of benevolence and pours
out the full wrath of his displacent love.
As far as “hatred of sins” is concerned, sins do not exist apart from the
sinner. God does hate sinning, killing, stealing, lying, lusting, etc., but
this alludes to the perpetrator of these crimes.
God never hates the redeemed even when they sin. Is He an unfair respecter
of persons? No! (Act. 10:34) God hates the unredeemed sinner but loves the
redeemed even when they sin for a good and just reason. God loves the
redeemed even when they sin because His Son, in whom God is always
well-pleased, ever lives to make intercession for them. (Rom.8:27, 34)
Christ died to atone for the guilt of His people’s sins. When they sin,
these are atoned-for sins. They are sins with their guilt removed. In one
sense, they are not sins at all. God does not hate His people when they sin
because they are in His Son, Christ Jesus. And they are made acceptable in
His Son. He “has made us accepted in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:6)
Divine nepotism? No, His Son died for these people and paid the price for
their sins past, present, and future. They are cancelled before they are
committed. That is truth, not fiction. Righteousness, not nepotistic
favoritism. In fact, it is not their original relationship to Christ which
makes their sins guiltless, but Christ’s making satisfaction for their sins
that created the relationship as children adopted into the family of God.
God, in hot displeasure, chastens His people when they sin (Psalms 6: 1;
38:1). It is not hatred but complacent love in Christ Jesus. “Whom the Lord
loves He chastens.” (Hebrews 12:6,7) God loves His people even when He
afflicts them and hates the impenitent even when He befriends them.
Why the chastening when there is love? God blessed the wicked when there was
holy hatred. Now He chastens His people when there is holy love. This is
because true moral behavior must be perfected. No sin can be tolerated in
those for whom Christ died. He died to purchase a “peculiar people zealous
of good works.” (Titus 2:14) Being redeemed, so far from tolerating their
sinning, precludes it. Anyone who persists in sinning proves thereby that he
is not a child of God. God punishes His own especially because they are His
children. “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth:
Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” (Amos 3:2)
“Upright” man was promised and warned. A holy, just, and perfect God would
promise and warn. Eternal life — if obedient. Instant death — the moment of
disobedience. (Genesis 3:5; Ecclesiastes 7:29)
When man sinned, he died spiritually and was rejected from communion with
God his maker and friend. (Genesis 3; Romans 5:12ff) The wrath of God was
upon him; labor was his lot; suffering in childbirth; alienation and death,
as threatened. God is holy; of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. (Habakkuk
1:13)
Yet mortal man “lived” on (though to live in pleasure is death, 1 Tim. 5:6),
and so did promise. When the angels sinned they perished without delay,
without promise, without hope.
Man’s fate was better and worse than the fallen angels’ lot. It was a day of
possible salvation but also of possible greater damnation, greater damnation
for sinning away the day of possible salvation. God in His wrath; God in His
mercy; at the same time.
This was a terrible but holy wrath. God was using His omnipotent power but
according to His perfect justice. Man was affected but he deserved it. It
was no more, no less, than he deserved. God is no more powerful than holy;
no more holy than powerful.
As man continued to sin, God continued to increase His fury. His wrath is in
no hurry. The record is kept, all accounts receivable. Every idle word will
be brought into judgment (Matthew 12:36). The cup of iniquity must be
filled. Then wrath to the uttermost. (1 Thessalonians 2:16) God’s glory
shines in the perfection of His work.
But — God decreed the sin, (Proverbs 16:4). Yes, for good and for glory. Man
did it for evil and for shame.
A little sin and infinite wrath? A little sin against an infinite God is
infinite. Wrath is in perfect proportion to the guilt. But even if the
punishment were finite it would go in “infinitely,” unendingly, because the
sinner continues to sin in resenting it.
All glory to God for His holy anger. (John 17:3; Romans 9:17f)
by John H. Gerstner (1914-1996)
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