One of the more interesting aspects of leftist/progressivist “Christianity” is the emphasis that true Christians love people no matter what. If a person is LGBT+ for example, then true Christianity embraces that identity and loves that person, including them in the faith, affirming their identity with no judgment whatsoever. This is predicated on the idea that God is love (1 John 4:8), therefore, genuine Christianity loves a person no matter their identity.

The problem, of course, is this runs entirely in contradiction to the commands of Scripture. Yes, God is indeed love. In fact, God demonstrated His love for us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). This is the key to understanding God’s love. God loves sinners. And sinners, by definition, sin. And sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4). In other words, God loves people who, by their nature, rebel against Him and seek to seat themselves on His throne. Sinners deserve God’s wrath for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Yet, God in His love sent Christ to die in the place of sinners so that they may be redeemed (John 3:16). Therefore, it is not embracing or accepting sin that is love, but rather the sacrificial death of Christ on the part of sinners that they may be saved and made a new creation that demonstrates His love.

Furthermore, when a person is redeemed in Christ, they are made a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). They have a new heart with new desires (Ezekiel 36:26). We are freed from the shackles of sin and death, becoming slaves to Christ (Romans 6:20-22). Because of our new heart, we desire to live in such a way that we are willingly obedient to Christ. He has said that if we love Him, we will obey His commandments (John 14:15). And to us who are truly redeemed, His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:2-4). We desire to turn away from the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) and embrace the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24).

Genuine Christian love is that which calls people to Christ: to repent of the sins which put us at war with Him; to turn to Him in faith, trusting in His completed work; to be born again by the power of the Holy Spirit and be made a new creation; and to become a willing servant of our Lord and Savior, seeking to obey all that He commanded us.

To aid, grow and guide us, God has given us His revealed Word, that we might know His divine will (2 Timothy 3:16-17). We cannot, apart from His revealed Word, rightly know and practice His commandments. Our flesh, though redeemed, is being sanctified. It is not yet glorified and we must war against the very desires of our flesh (Romans 7:14-25). Therefore, it is God’s revealed Word where must spend our days prayerfully seeking to understand His commandments, renewing and washing our minds (Romans 12:1-2). And God has not left us alone in this endeavor. He has equipped brethren in our midst to be teachers and preachers that we might know and understand His Word more fully (Ephesians 4:10-16). In fact, the apostle Paul repeatedly prayed that those to whom he wrote His letters would come to a fuller knowledge of God and His Word (Ephesians 1:15-23). Thus, it is imperative in the life of a believer in Christ to seek to know and understand God’s Word so that our practice in life may come into accord with His commands.

Therefore, genuine love is that which commands Christians to reject the sinful desires of this world and to seek to become obedient to the commands of Christ (Ephesians 4 & 5). What is unloving is the paganistic idea that we can remain in our sinful identities – the very acts which define rebellion against God and invite His judgment – and call ourselves followers of Christ. Such a concept is not only antithetical to Scripture, it is blasphemous to suggest the One who died and rose Himself from the grave to pay for those sins could accept such behavior as loving or holy.

Christians, true biblical love is that which identifies sin as sin, points to the cross of Christ as the only place where those sins can be cleansed and calls those in Christ to live in loving obedience to His commandments. Anything else is simply a sinful and false teaching.