If any person does not love the Lord, may a curse come upon him. You heard me. If a person does not love the Lord for any reason, whether it is because he is a non-Christian, or someone who claims to be a Christian but does not love the Lord, so that he is not really a Christian – a curse be on him! This is my theology. This is my statement of faith. And this is my message to you today.

Right now you may not be very pleased with me. Imagine, how many Christian leaders, preachers, theologians, churches, seminaries, denominations, parents, teachers, politicians, and people from all spheres of life, would denounce me for this utterly unchristian statement and attitude? How many people would pick up their Bibles to quote passages against me? How many people would complain that my faith is completely contrary to the religion of Jesus Christ and his apostles?

And this would tell me how many people are far from God and out of touch with the Christian faith, because I am merely repeating what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 16:22. In fact, verse 21 indicates that he took the pen away from the amanuensis so that he could write this by his own hand: “I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. If anyone does not love the Lord — a curse be on him.” I, Vincent Cheung, also put my name on this statement. It has my full endorsement. My challenge to you is whether you will take up a pen and sign your name to it. Or is the Christian faith not “Christian” enough for you?

As much as the Christian faith is about a revelation of God’s love for sinners, its chief concern is always the honor of God and not the welfare and comfort of men. Once you reverse this, you no longer have Christianity. My initial statement is a test of authentic religion, a test of orthodoxy and reverence. And as many as those who would reject it or criticize me for saying it, that is how many people who would fail this test.

If you were offended or embarrassed by that statement, if you even thought that I was a non-Christian because of it, and that it is wholly against the spirit of Christ, then there is something very, very wrong with you. You are out of touch with what the Christian faith really is, and what it really teaches. You are the one who is out of alignment with the spirit of Christ and the religion of the New Testament.

At a time when most of the Church has in mind the affairs of men and not the affairs of God, this is one way to draw the line and clarify the faith. Yes, God so loved the world that he sent his Son, so that whoever would believe on him shall be saved. Yes, he who loves the Son loves the Father also, and they will make their abode with him. Yet, if we are Christians we will also say, if anyone does not love the Lord, a curse be on him!