Hate!

 

“O you who love the Lord, hate evil!”

 Psalm 97:10

 

Is it ok for a Christian to hate? The short answer is yes, but there is a caveat. We are to hate what God hates and God hates sin. A good place to start looking for what God hates is the book of Proverbs. In  chapter 6:16-19 we see what God hates, “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” But, the list doesn’t stop there. We should hate all sin, especially the sin in our own lives.

 

What we are not called to do is hate people. The Word of God is abundantly clear on what God thinks of those who hate other Christians. John writes, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15). But God doesn’t tell us to just not hate fellow Christians, He        includes non-believers as well. “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27).

Too much harm has been done in the name of Jesus by wolves in sheep’s clothing. Steven Anderson is the pastor of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona. He said the following about Bruce Jenner, “Listen to me, I hate him with a perfect hatred. I have no love-NO LOVE-for this Bruce freak. I hope he dies and goes to Hell. He’s disgusting, he’s filthy, he’s a reprobate”.  That any person could claim to be a Christian and hate in this manner is not a follower of Christ. Yet, the non-believing world will look at him and every Christian is painted with the broad brush of belonging to a religion that hates people.

It is ok, yes required of us, to hate evil but we are to love those who don’t know Christ as Savior. We are to be kind and loving, not hateful and meanspirited. Hatred is a    poison that destroys us from within, producing bitterness that eats away at our hearts and minds. This is why the Scriptures tell us not to let a “root of bitterness” spring   up in our hearts (Hebrews 12:15). Hatred destroys the personal witness of a Christian. In this world you            represent Christ, will people see the true Jesus in you or will they see a perverted representation of  the Son of God?

Pastor Mark