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Driving along the backroads of the Diocese of Upper South Carolina, there are nostalgic moments that put me back in the South of my childhood. Old bridges, farms, and rolling hills. Elementary schoolyards in summer, empty but for the weeds. Small gas stations and stores at the crossroads remind me of push-up orange cream pops and boiled peanuts.
I particularly love those roadside salvation signs that tell us in clever phrases that God hates sin, but you can be saved if you turn to Jesus. I grew up with these signs, now often in well-designed fonts on freeway billboards, but the best ones are still hand painted and nailed to pine trees on backroads.
This revival version of the Gospel of Jesus is so familiar that for many people, it simply is the Gospel. The problem is not really the individual sentences but rather the important parts that are left out.
As we think about how to share the good news about Jesus, these roadside signs are one way, but while good-intentioned, they might be a little problematic.
For example, the Bible does not actually say that this is the Gospel. See the opening of Mark for what Jesus does proclaim as Gospel. The Gospel that Jesus proclaims is, “The Reign of God is at hand! Change your mind and believe this good news.”
But let us see if we can redeem the sentences on one of my favorite roadside signs, which covers the usual message. “God hates sin. Repent. Turn to Jesus and believe.”
These three sentences will take us a couple of weeks to drive by.
“God hates sin.” This actual sentence is not in the Bible. I checked. God hates wickedness, evil, and dishonesty, but it never says “God hates sin.” There is truth in this sentence, though, if we look at what the Bible says about what sin is and what God does hate.
Sin, in biblical use, covers several different kinds of transgressions. Some sins merely cause the sinner to fall out of the ritual purity that allows one to participate in communal and religious life. Other sins are abominations that are objectionable or, as my kids might say, “gross.” Other sins destroy the works of God. These incur greater guilt. This only covers a couple of useful distinctions in how the law deals with these and various sins, but let’s take a more general definition for a moment.
Sin is not doing what God wills.
I suspect our discomfort with sin is that we have a problematic view of God. We think of God as a controlling boss. This is revealed when we say, “That guy thinks he is god.” Do we mean they want the best for others? Do we mean they are constantly providing for other people’s lives? That they offer mercy, grace, or peace?
No. We mean, they are egotistical. They believe too highly in their own power or control. Someone like this may be easily offended or wronged. If these describe your view of God, you need a little more Jesus.
God is good. God is love in the first letter of John. Jesus’s use of “father” conveys a better image than your father or mine, and I have a good father. God loves the world. God loves human beings. God’s will is that we would bring that goodness into the world in how we care for ourselves, our neighbors, and each other.
Therefore. [You can always tell when trouble is coming in the letters of Paul when he puts in a “therefore.”] Therefore, God hates what destroys or hurts the world or human beings. God hates wickedness and evil.
As a young adult just beginning to teach the faith, I would limit the reach of what was evil. For example, I might say, “God hates war,” and in my mind, I would add, “but not me watching Rambo.” This justification was to get away from the uncomfortable places where Paul’s letters and the book of Leviticus meddle in my own life or others I loved.
As an older man and a father myself, my list of things that destroy lives and relationships is necessarily longer. My love for my children increases my desire to protect them. My will is that they flourish, and I detest anything that would keep them from being their best, and I hate anything that might harm them.
Anything that takes us away from God’s will and purpose to redeem humanity is sin. That is why we can easily affirm that we are born into a world of sin even if we are not actively being evil. We have wandered away from God’s purpose; check the news. This seems like terrible news, but sin is not the end of the story.
God forgives sin. That is the nature of a loving God. God not only forgives us to set us free from sin, but God seeks to bring us back into the life of love, to be a part of his redeeming of all humanity and all the world. That is why Jesus came to us from God. That is the arc of the story and the very center of our understanding of Jesus as the Christ and our Lord.
When you see that “God hates sin” sign in a field or along a freeway, say “amen.” God hates that which takes us away from God’s loving presence and life, destroys the world, and keeps us in cycles of hatred, death, and destruction. God loves you and hates evil.
We have to do more than simply not be evil, but that is a pretty good place to start. Next week we will see how Jesus opens the way for us to enter God’s rule of Love and offers hope to us and to the world. How does our turning to Jesus make a difference in the world?
Driving the small highways around the diocese this year, I have seen those signs on billboards and placards. My favorites are nailed sentence by sentence to pine trees. (Bonus points for hand-painted flames.) They remind me that we live in a culture that is still trying to say something about Jesus. Those signs rarely seem loving, but they attempt to offer grace to those driving by.
What would you put on your sign?
How do we share the Gospel as Episcopalians? How do we share the grace of God?
Grace is a tricky word. It means “a gift” and is used to talk about the unearned acceptance of God, but it shares the same root as “charism,” which is “character” or an “attribute of personality.” If we are to accept the grace of God as a gift, we are also to accept the character of God as our own.
This week, Queen Elizabeth II died as the longest reigning monarch in British history. She was the Queen of England and the “Defender and Governor” of the Church of England. She was a faithful Christian who asked her nation to “Pray for me … that God may give me wisdom and strength to carry out the solemn promises I shall be making, and that I may faithfully serve Him and you, all the days of my life.” I encourage you to read her Christmas messages over the years for a beautiful example of faith in leadership.
We regularly mourn those close to us who bear the image of God in particular ways. Let us celebrate the ways that Queen Elizabeth carried the image as monarch and woman of God as we remember those women and men who carry God’s image in our lives.
Dear Clergy,
Over the past 20 years, our diocese has supported work throughout Ecuador through our partnership with Education Equals Hope (E=H). In 2002, Cameron Graham Vivanco, who previously served as youth pastor of the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Spartanburg, S.C., was called to full-time mission work in Ecuador.
Together with Education Equals Hope, we have helped transform students’ lives in Ecuador by providing educational opportunities and building relationships with Christ and each other. Today, I am offering you a chance to travel to Ecuador with our diocese to see the work done personally.
From October 20-25, 2022, some of our diocesan clergy will participate in Education Equals Hope’s Vision Experience in Quito, Ecuador. We have space for ten clergypersons to join them in this opportunity to see God’s work and the great mission of HOPE we are a part of in Ecuador. The attached flier has more information; please note that airfare to Ecuador usually costs $1,000, and E=H’s travel agent will coordinate our travel.
We sent a team to Quito this summer, and the precautions taken for Covid-19 make this opportunity extremely safe. As of right now, each team member would need ONE of the following:
- Proof of vaccination
- A negative Covid test before entering Ecuador.
We would like to have a firm commitment no later than Thursday, September 15.
Please contact Celeste Bundy, Executive Director of Education Equals Hope, if you have any questions or sign up for this life-giving opportunity to experience the HOPE occurring in Ecuador.
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