Can God Hate Love?

Aligning with conservatism to promote a moral society is worthwhile, as far as it goes, but Christianity's concern is righteousness, not morality. What’s the difference and why does it matter? A Biblically Botanical Approach Righteousness is to morality what wheat is to tares, to borrow from a biblical metaphor. My word processor doesn’t even recognize the word “tares.” If you look up “tares” in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, it refers you to “weeds.” The weeds Jesus was likely referencing is Lolium temulentum —“a vigorous grass closely resembling wheat or rye.” The parable is found in Matthew 13:36–43 concerning God’s judgment upon the world. God will separate the wheat from the tares. He must separate them for He is the one who can perfectly distinguish between them. The wheat is the real thing, bearing fruit. Tares look the same as wheat on the outside, but are knock-offs, having no grain. We don’t have to guess what the metaphors refer to in the parable. Jesus said it plainly, “The field is the world, and the good seed (wheat) is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one.” Furthermore, he explains that he plants the wheat; the devil plants the tares. Some have argued that Jesus is talking about false believers in the church. I don’t have a problem with that interpretation practically, because in the end it still applies. Undoubtedly the church is mixed with true and false Christians. Each Christian is exhorted to examine himself to see if he is in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). Jesus’s comments were directed toward religious leaders who thought they were right with God. However, Jesus said, “the field” is “the world.” After explaining the difference between hypocrites and genuine kingdom citizens, He instructed His hearers to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.” HIS righteousness is key. Two Biblical Uses of “Righteousness” The Christian doctrine of righteousness is well established. The Old Testament scriptures present it to us in large part as a grand object lesson using the nation of Israel. God established the Mosaic Law as a tutor, to teach us the holy character of God, the Lawgiver. He gave the nation 633 laws to govern their combined civil and religious life. If a faithful Jew could be characterized as following the law, he was described as “righteous.” That is, he was a law-abiding citizen. For instance, Jesus’s earthly father, Joseph, is described as “just” or “righteous.” The NIV (not a word-for-word translation) accurately captures the concept by translating the word as “faithful to the law.” The Apostle Paul described his former, Pharisee self this way: “as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (Philippians 3:6). In today’s world, where God’s people are under the New Covenant and God’s word has gone out to the whole world, we have a segment of society that may fit that broader definition of “righteous.” They largely believe in, promote, and follow biblical morality. Many would likely count on their morality to be sufficient to get them into Heaven. They would consider themselves righteous. This is how I am using the term “morality.” Morality is the common denominator among political conservatives and liberals of the recent past and Christians. They may even be indistinguishable on the outside. They are good, decent, law-abiding people. We would even say they are people who have “American values.” But the Bible refers to another righteousness, an impeccable type of righteousness. The same Bible that refers to righteous men and women on one hand, also says none are righteous on the other (Romans 3:10 quoting Psalm 14:3 and Psalm 53:3.) This second type of righteousness pertains to utter righteousness, that which is truly blameless in deed, word, thought, and motive. It is perfect, holy, without a moral blemish. For a human to be this kind of righteous, he would be operating within the sphere of God himself—that is, every aspect would be with an eye to God, as it were. All his deeds, words, thoughts, and motives are actively engaged for the glory and purposes of God alone, in every way consistent with the character of God. The Righteousness of Christ Christianity teaches that the Son of God, God incarnate, the God-man, Jesus is the only righteous human. This type of righteousness is the “righteousness of God.” The doctrine goes further to say that in salvation Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us. But how? Do we attain to a certain level of righteousness first, so that God will complete the process and grant perfect righteousness to us? Or are we without hope? Paul says, “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:22 NIV). Faith in Christ is the means through which our transgressions of the Law of God are forgiven and the righteousness of Christ is credited to us. But we aren’t transformed into perfection this side of Heaven. It is progressive, but it is actual. This righteousness must characterize the Christian. Hebrews 12:14 says “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” It is an effect, the fruit of the indwelling Spirit of God. Herein lies the distinction between the genuine and the fake. Conservative Morality vs. Righteousness Righteousness is to morality what wheat is to tares. There is no argument that the broader use of biblical morality (which is redundant by the way) is good for our nation. Christians can, and should, join with Catholics, Jews, and other types of moralists to promote a better society. We share values such as fighting abortion, good work ethics, personal responsibility, helping our neighbor, parenting, adopting, serving at food banks, volunteering at animal shelters, restoring neighborhoods, etc. All of which make life better for everyone. But moralism is not true righteousness. In fact, these good deeds—performed outside of the realm of being done unto God with saving faith in Christ alone—God says are “filthy rags.” The concept is far worse than “icky” or dirty. This is the language of being “unclean;” that is, they are unholy, unfit for God’s acceptance. They are not righteous at all. They are unrighteous. Moralism vs. Righteousness Applied I am glad for the conservative push for morality in our culture. I think it is good for us. I also benefit from the insightful perspectives of prominent Catholic, Jewish, and agnostic pundits. Nevertheless Christian, do not be deceived. God’s purposes are not to make us or our nation moral. Stay on task and seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. What does this have to do with biblical counseling? It is very easy to slip into moralism within our own Christian homes and churches. We can learn to conduct ourselves well and teach our children to be moral. We can attend orderly churches that teach us how to be better husbands, wives, and workers. We think, “What a great world it would be if America turned into Mayberry.” The problem is, we would in the end be found out to be tares and not wheat. Biblical Counseling addresses our problems with a goal of Spirit-wrought righteousness, not pragmatic moralism. Are you seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness or are you merely living a moral life?