August 12, 2022 -- II Samuel 13:15 -- Do you really hate sin?

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he loved her.
II Samuel 13:15 ESV

Sin is deceptive. Amnon imagined himself in love with his half-sister Tamar. He was so consumed with his lust for her that he schemed so that he could secretly rape her. The verse which is this morning’s text is Amnon’s state after the rape. He hated her. She was not the object of his love after all. He loved himself. He satisfied his primal urges. She now is disposable in his sight. And his insatiable ego has rendered her vile to himself. His lust now will seek someone or something else. That is the way of sin. It is always deceptive. Always tearing down. Always violating. Always selfish. Always rehearsing wrongs. Always defiling love as God has defined it.

Fellow believer, it is so easy to say, “at least I am not like that wicked, despicable character Amnon”. If that is your response, even it is just a quiet thought which approximates that, beware! The sin of pride is already sending tendrils, like a vine, to choke your faith. Look instead to the absolute standards of God, His holiness, which cannot bear any corruption nor the least sin. His absolute splendor is such that the sinner will be utterly destroyed. When examining how evil and disgusting sin is, look to the perfections of the Living God and you’ll see that, like Amnon, you are beyond wicked. You are deserving of the punishment of damnation and hellfire.

We were dead in our sins and trespasses. Amnon’s sin was public. So much of the time, ours is hidden. Sometimes we even nurture sins in the depths of our dark hearts. Now, the most beautiful lines of Scriptures “but God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5). First know how great your sin is. Understand how mindlessly cruel your own sins are. See how dead you are. Incapable of change. You will see, juxtaposed to this, the great brilliance and incandescent love of the Father, poured out on you in Jesus Christ and sealed in you by the Holy Spirit.

Rejoice. Give thanks to God. Then, as carefully as you examine yourself in a mirror before a date or an important job interview with a potential employer, so carefully, even more thoroughly, examine your mind, your heart and your actions so that sins, whatever they are, may be rooted out. Praise God for His mercy. Walk in the newness of life you have been given. Then, as those who have been set free, call out sin to the sinner, expose it and wherever the conscience is stricken, declare, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ!”

The prayer is from Isaiah
You will say in that day:
   I will give thanks to You, O LORD,
   for though You were angry with me,
Your anger has turned away,
   that You might comfort me.
Behold, God is my salvation:
   I will trust and not be afraid;
for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
   and He has become my salvation.
With you joy will draw water from the wells of salvation. 
And you will say in that day:
Give thanks to the LORD,
  call upon His Name,
make know His deeds among the peoples,
   proclaim that His Name is exalted
Sing praises to the LORD, for He has done gloriously;
   let this be made known in all the earth.
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitants of Zion,
   for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 12 ESV

https://youtu.be/0arouoCJ8es

Copyright © 2022 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.