Did you ever wonder why the world hates Christianity, and by extension, Christ so much? The world doesn’t care if you’re a Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu, but a Christian? That’s unacceptable. Years ago, Matthew Henry wrote, “Christ is hated because sin is loved.” Deep down, we all know that’s true. We love sin (John 3:19). Even those of us who follow Christ and reject sin know that our affection for it never goes away (Romans 7:15-20).
Our natural desire from birth is to sin, to follow the patterns of this world, and to resist anything that would restrict our freedom to pursue sin (Ephesians 2:1-3). I’m uncomfortable with even the thought that I might love sin, and it’s difficult to write it in such a public place. But if we didn’t love sin, we would not struggle to follow the commands of God (Romans 7:21-24).
From the very beginning, God declared that those who follow Satan would be at war with those who follow God (Genesis 3:15). Sin permeates our world and has endless ways of tempting us. Remember, anything that is not of God is from Satan (John 8:44; James 4:4). There isn’t a neutral ground in this battle. We either side with God and obey His commands, or we give in and pursue the ways of the Devil and this world (Matthew 6:24). We say that we love God, but we live like we love sin (1 John 2:15-17).
The more you mature in the faith, the more subtle the temptations become. People growing in their faith become less likely over time to fall for the obvious sins because we recognize them for what they are. The frontal assault that may have worked when we were baby Christians is no longer a useful strategy, so Satan uses more Cold War-type tactics. He tries to erode our convictions and soften our repulsion to sin just a very little at a time. The devil is playing the long game because he knows He cannot ever defeat someone with Christ inside, but he can destroy their effectiveness in battle (1 Peter 5:8-9; Ephesians 6:11-12).
How can you determine if you love sin more than you love God? Look at the little choices you make in life. How do you spend your free time? Is it more enjoyable to watch the latest Hollywood production or study your Bible? Would you rather listen to music that promotes behavior contrary to God’s Word, or songs that edify your soul? If you spend more time scrolling through social media, email, and news feeds than you do in prayer, you have proven my point. We love sin. Sin is breaking the law of God (1 John 3:4), and the first commandment is we are to not put anything before or above Him (Exodus 20:3-5).
They say the first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem. So, let’s all admit it together: we love sin. Now, what are we going to do about it? Each of us, every day, must repent of our sin, turn away from it, pick up our cross, and follow Jesus (Acts 3:19-20; Luke 9:23; Hebrews 12:1). One day, we are going to face Christ and look Him in the eye (2 Corinthians 5:10). What if we have spent our whole lives proving that we love sin? How will we face Him? Brothers and sisters, we can’t live this way. This decision is black or white: we love Jesus or we love sin. What changes must we make today? How now shall we live?