Hate Him of Love Him

You either love Jesus or you hate him. To say anything else proves you have not encountered Him. Everywhere Jesus went they either loved Him or they hated Him. That is why some left everything to follow Him and others brought weapons to arrest and crucify Him.

This fact continues through church history. In the first acts of the Church we see 5000 men being pierced to the heart as the Holy Spirit convicts them when Peter preached Jesus, the crucified and risen messiah. Only a few chapters later we see Stephen being stoned to death for doing the exact same thing Peter did. Was Peter a success and Stephen a failure? Absolutely not! There job was not to save but to preach the gospel and as they did so with boldness, the Holy Spirit was convicting the hearers of their sins. Only two reactions were possible: turn to God in repentance or throw a stone in anger.

“Reaction” as it was then remains the same today. For when Jesus is clearly and rightly preached and Holy Spirit brings illumination we see that people’s reaction to Him really hasn’t changed. Humanity is more consistent then we think.

Why must this be you say? Because the message of Jesus demands our personal attention. By it we are confronted with the claim that we are guilty sinners in need of a savior. Jesus is the Savior and we are the sinners.

Only two legitimate responses: you either admit to being a sinner who needs a savior and thus receive the message of Jesus (the person of Jesus) with joy, or you are enraged by the fact that someone would question your integrity, goodness, or morality and you reject the message (Jesus) in anger.

If you are under the impression that a third response exists that is simply because you are confusing ignorance with honesty. There are only two honest responses, the third is illegitimate. To claim neutrality is what Scripture first refers to as double-mindedness and ultimately as enmity.