Socially speaking, everyone has a master status.  This is what immediately comes to mind when a person’s name is mentioned or the person is seen or heard.  For example, when Michael Jordan’s name is mentioned or he or his picture is seen, the first thing that comes to mind is basketball.  Basketball is his master status.  Spiritually speaking, the master status of church people is God-hater.  We will now allow Him to explain why He is hated by the very people who claim to love Him and want to spend eternity with Him.

Hatred toward God began in the Garden of Eden when it was openly demonstrated by Adam and Eve when they rejected His Words and embraced the words of His enemy–the Serpent, aka Satan the devil.  Their first son, not having learned from their mistake, carried on the family tradition by disobeying God., thereby proving that he hated Him.  Then there was “righteous Abel” (Mat. 23:35) who obeyed God, thereby proving that he loved Him.  His strict, uncompromising obedience to God’s Words forever destroyed the “Adam made sinners of us all” excuse churchman uses to justify his sins.  Obviously, Abel was not infected with Adam’s sin curse.

Cain killed Abel, buried him in the ground, then claimed to know nothing about Abel’s disappearance.  Churchman killed the Truth relative to the “Original Sin” theory, then claimed that God’s Word on the subject plays no part in professing Christendom.  Cain killed Abel because he hated him.  Church people killed God’s Truth because they hate it, thereby proving that they hate God. How do we know that church people hate God’s Word and thereby Hate Him as well as His Son?  He tells us.

In Deuteronomy 5:7-10 we find Him speaking to those who call themselves by His name. both anciently and today.  In verse seven God warns us against having other gods before (other than) Him.  He calls such god’s “idols.”  In verse eight He warns us not to use any man-made or natural item in our worship of and service to Him because, in His eyes, that item is an idol–another god which automatically comes between Him and the idol possessor.  Examples of such idols are crosses, fish symbols, statues, pictures, carvings, etchings, etc.  In verse nine He warns against having anything at all to do with such things, regardless of one’s good intentions relative to their use.  He makes clear the Truth that one’s intentions or thoughts concerning the idol are irrelevant.  His “No” is “No.”  Period.  Why is God against man-made objects relative to worship of Him?  He tells us.

Because He is “a jealous God,” so jealous that He will punish every generation of those who, as He says, “HATE ME.”  How do those who profess Him reveal that they hate Him?  He tells us in verse 10 that church people prove their hatred toward Him by FAILING TO KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, which He calls His LAW, THE BREAKING OF WHICH HE DEFINES AS SIN.

To fully understand the Lord’s attitude toward man’s hatred toward Him and how it relates to His Law we need to define our terms.  First, we must determine His definition of sin: “SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION (BREAKING) OF THE LAW; FOR SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW” (1 Jn. 3:4).  The Law is comprised of the entire Holy Bible from Genesis to Revelation.  The Lord condensed the Scriptures (Law) into Ten Commandments which cover every aspect of the Bible.  The Holy Bible is His rule book relative to His relationship with man.  To have such a relationship with Him one must know, believe and obey that rule book.

In verse 10 He (the Word Who became Jesus of Nazareth–Jn. 1:1-4,14) EQUATED MAN’S OBEDIENCE TO HIS LAW TO MAN’S LOVE FOR HIM.  Later, as Jesus of Nazareth, He emphasized this Truth, saying to His disciples: “IF YOU LOVE ME, KEEP (OBEY) MY COMMANDMENTS” (Jn. 14:15).  Then in verse 23 He said: “IF A MAN LOVES ME HE WILL KEEP MY WORDS.”  Every Word Jesus spoke (the entire Bible) is a commandment.  Note that He did not exclude one single word.  In Deuteronomy 5:9 He stated that for one not to keep His commandments proves that one hates him.  Then in verse 10 He reinforces the love for Him–obedience to His Words connection.  He tells us that love for Him and obedience to Him are one and the same.  Note that three Words are automatically and repeatedly connected: LOVE, OBEY AND COMMANDMENTS.  He says that those who fail to connect those words prove that they HATE HIM and that those who connect them prove that they LOVE HIM.  

The connection goes deeper than man showing his love for the Lord by obeying Him.  Jesus bases His love for man on man’s obedience.  In John 15:10 He says to His disciples: “If you keep My commandments you will ABIDE (REMAIN) IN MY LOVE.”  Note that in order to remain in Christ’s love we must obey His Law (stop sinning–1 Jn. 3:4).  Now finish verse 10: “… even as I have kept My Father’s commandments and (therefore) abide in His love.”  Note it: IN ORDER FOR JESUS CHRIST TO REMAIN IN GOD’S LOVE HE HAD TO KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS.  Are we better than Jesus Christ?  If Jesus was required to obey God’s Word in order to be loved by Him, how can we believe that we only need to believe in Him in order to remain in His love?  Isaiah 59:2 tells us that SIN SEPARATES US FROM GOD.  Being in God’s love means that we are one with Him.  WE CANOT BE ONE WITH GOD WHILE SEPARATED FROM HIM.  The church’s perpetual sin-repent, sin-repent, sin-repent cycle which characterizes the so-called “Christian life” is a roadmap to the Lake of Fire.  For proof, let us examine Christ’s Words found in Matthew 19:17 where He is talking to a man who has asked Him how to receive eternal life.  Jesus says to him: “IF you want to enter into (eternal) life, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS.”  The man refused to obey one of the commandments and was denied eternal life (Mk. 10:21).  The “one thing” that prevented him from being saved–He lusted for things.

The refrain so often heard among church people is that Jesus died to take man’s sins upon Himself.  Which is true.  But this refers to man’s PAST SINS (Rom. 3:25).  Justification (the removal of man’s past sins) renders him holy, sinless and pure.  Christ’s death also made available “the promise” of the Holy Spirit which gives believers the power to resist sin (Acts 1:4,5,8).  This man must do in order to receive salvation (Rom. 5:21; 6:22/Mat. 10:22).  Now let us delve into some of the Lord’s “fine print” relative to the subject.

In John 15:13,14 we find Jesus talking to His disciples who would later spread His Gospel throughout the world while healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead and performing other signs, wonders and miracles.  He said to those disciples whom God had specifically chosen for Him (Jn. 17:24): “Greater love has no man than this, that He lay down His life for His friends.  You (disciples) are My friends IF YOU DO WHATSOEVER I COMMAND YOU.”  He commanded them to obey every Word in the Law/commandments, with the exception of the sacrificial law–the “handwriting of ordinances” which God “nailed to the cross.”  Recall that Jesus announced at the Last Supper that henceforth His blood would serve as the only sacrifice needed for the forgiveness of sins.  The gift of the Holy Spirit baptism at conversion empowers the convert to resist Satan’s temptations to sin.

The Lord makes it abundantly clear that He did not give His life for everyone.  HE DIED ONLY FOR THOSE WHO WOULD “… DO WHATSOEVER I COMMAND YOU.”  He did not die for those who repeatedly and willingly separate themselves from Him by sinning, then repenting as a perpetual activity.  This Truth, stated by Jesus Himself, is hated, despised and rejected by the whole of Catholicism/Protestantism, which proves that those within that institution HATE GOD.  Though they do not believe that they hate God, He says that they do.  Why would He lie about it?  Whose word do we take as our truth? church word or God’s Word.

The Hebrew Word “hate” is sane, meaning to hate, to despise, to loathe, to reject, to not choose.  It is the same word used in Psalm 5:5 where David, writing under the power of the Holy Spirit, says about God: “You hate (sane) all workers of iniquity.”  The Word “iniquity” in Hebrew is awen, meaning evil, wickedness–LAWLESSNESS (sin–the breaking of the Law).  The Almighty and those who disobey His Law have a mutual hate relationship.  By hating His Law the sinner proves that he hates God.  God in turn hates those who hate him.  If not, why did David lie about it?  And more importantly, why did God lie about it?

The Lord loves mankind.  However, He hates sin.  Sin takes place in the mind (heart)–Jam. 1:15.  Man becomes what he thinks about, whether good or bad.  “As a man thinks in his heart (mind), SO HE IS” (Prov. 23:7).  When a man thinks about sin–man becomes sin.  Sin separates man from God.  By sinning, man rejects atonement (at one ment) with God.  Sin is a choice.  We choose to be one with God or separated from Him.  We choose to love Him or hate Him.  We choose to be loved by God or hated by Him.  Contrary to popular opinion, God is not, as a famous evangelist stated: “The hound of heaven” Who go to any extreme to save a sinner.  Recall that the father of the prodigal son did not go looking for him because he (the son) had deliberately chosen to separate himself from his father.  If the son had not repented and returned ON HIS OWN ACCORD, he would have died as he had lived–separated from his loving father.  God loves man and keeps the pathway leading to Him (God) open.  However, Christ died ONLY for those who CHOOSE to trod the ONLY path that leads to Him.  Few, He prophesied, choose to follow that path (Mat. 7:13,14).  Many are called to do so but few are chosen for answering the call (Mat. 22:14).

Those in the Institutional Church are far worse than those who do not believe that God exists.  Atheists do not hate God.  One cannot hate what does not exist.  Church people are inferior to atheists in God’s eyes in that they know He exists, have His Instruction Book, read it, join with others on Satan’s Sabbath to worship, etc., but in actuality hate Him.  Speaking about such people, Jesus said in Matthew 15:9: “In vain do they worship Me” because they do not believe and obey His Words/Law/commandments.  Instead they believe and obey church doctrine.  Their religiosity is meaningless.  As the Lord said in Amos 5:21, He hates their religious activities because, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME” (Mat. 15:8).  As verse nine proclaims, their worship, service, praying, studying, gathering, etc. is all in vain BECAUSE THEY DO NOT OBEY HIS WORD, THEREBY PROVING THAT THEY HATE HIM.

In summary: God demands only one thing: OBEDIENCE TO HIS LAW, WHICH INCLUDES COMMANDMENT #4,  The Sabbath commandment is the church’s primary sin, her Master Status.  James tells us that to break one commandment is to break the entire Law (2:10), making one a worker of iniquity and separating us from the Writer of the Law.  We proclaim our love for Him by obeying His Law.  Contrarily, we proclaim our hatred toward Him by disobeying His Law, which is His definition of sin, the wages of which is death.  Those in the church’s sin-repent, mode are, as Peter tells us, like the sow that, having been washed, returns to her mire and the dog that, having been healed, returns to his vomit (2 Pet. 2:22).

In the social realm a person’s “master status” is what comes to mind when that person’s name is mentioned or when he/she is seen.  For example, athletes are known for their athletic ability; musicians are known for their musical talent; liars are known for their lying and actors are known for their ability to pretend.  Question: what is the professing Christian’s master status?  Answer: hatred of God.  Ask anyone on the street what is THE characteristic that identifies a Christian and the answer will be that he/she goes to church on Sunday.  Ask that person what day God declares is His Sabbath.  They will reply “Saturday.”  THE CHURCH’S MASTER STATUS IS HATRED TOWARD ALL THAT IS HOLY.   L.J.

Memory verse: Isaiah 59:2–“Sin has separated you from your God.”  Enough said.