I’m writing this post with full knowledge that many will heavily disagree with its contents. But I write these words because they need to be said. After all, they’re words that are scarcely administered in the Christian world. So what is this post about? As the title states, it’s about the place of hate in our lives. While most people, Christians and non-Christians alike, are brought up to believe we should always love and never hate, this is not biblically accurate. While we are always to love people, it’s not true that we should love every behavior and ideology. In fact, as followers of Christ, there are actions and beliefs we should hate.
Hate is a word we really don’t like to use. Most of us have grown up hearing messages about the dangers of hate. We teach our children not to hate and we firmly believe that hate is a sin. But what if we’ve only focused on half of the message? Before I type on, let me re-iterate: As stated a few sentences ago, we are to always love people. Every single person on the planet is created by God in His image. God’s word commands us to love one another! But God’s word is also crystal clear that there is a place for hate. “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9). So where does this leave us? What does it look like to biblically hate evil?
Let’s start by looking at a definition of hate along with its history. Hate can be defined as “an intense and passionate dislike.” To hate is to abhor, loathe, detest, and despise. Interestingly, before Adam’s sin, there was nothing to hate. Everything God made He declared to be good. Before the fall of man only righteousness and unbroken fellowship with God existed on the earth. But Adam’s disobedience- his sin- broke man’s relationship with God and placed all people (as well as the earth) under a curse (Genesis 3, Romans 8:20-22). In Genesis 4, the chapter immediately following sin’s entrance into the world, we see Cain murder his brother Abel out of jealousy. And guess what? God hated this. We know he hated this because His word tells us so:
“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” (Proverbs 6:16-19).
Make no mistake: God hates sin. He hates anything that is contrary to His design, His Word, and His character. But lest we think of God as some egotistical tyrant who simply wants His way, let us not lose sight of who He truly is! He is the Creator God who is perfectly holy, righteous and just. As Psalm 89:14 says, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.” While many people correctly state that God is love (1 John 4:8) we must remember that true love necessitates justice- which is why God both hates and punishes evil. This is clear in the Old Testament and the New. Consider the following:
Psalm 11:5- “His soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.”
Zachariah 8:17- “Do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”
Proverbs 11:21- “Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished.”
Hebrews 1:9- “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness,” (quoting Psalm 45:7, this verse speaks of Christ).
Knowing this is how God thinks and feels about evil, it’s no surprise that we’re commanded to hate evil as well! In fact, Proverbs 8:13 tells us that to fear the Lord is to hate evil. Moreover, twice in Scripture we’re told to “hate evil and love good” (Amos 5:15, Romans 12:9). In Revelation 2:6, Jesus spoke to the church at Ephesus commending them for hating the work of the Nicolatians, which he also hated. From Scripture, it’s clear we’re to hate evil which means hating all sin- everything from murder to gossip, from adultery to every kind of sexual immorality, from lying and theft to loving anything more than God. There’s simply no escaping it: we are to hate sin- both the sin of others and our own.
But what is the aim of this hatred of sin? We can be sure it’s not to take vengeance on others, for the Lord has said that vengeance is His and He will repay (Deuteronomy 32:35, Romans 12:19). No, far from acts of violence or retaining a hateful, bitter disposition toward others, our hatred of sin should move us to a different kind of action. It should move us to call out evil when we see it and to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. We live in a world that calls evil good and good evil, a world where the mercy of the wicked is cruel (Isaiah 5:20, Proverbs 12:10). As followers of Christ, we cannot stay silent when the world approves of and promotes sin! Rather, we are to name it for what it is and call people to repent and believe the gospel. In short, we are to speak the truth in love. Boldly, to be sure! But always in love. The same is true when it comes to our own sin: we are to confess it to the Lord and continuously abide in Him so that we may grow in sanctification and holiness (which will include growing in the hatred of our own sin!).
So far, we’ve addressed sin in the form of thought, word, and deed. But as I said in the opening paragraph, there are also sinful ideologies and belief systems we should hate as well. Because of our love for Christ and the truth of the gospel we are to hate any ideology/belief that draws people away from him! So yes, we should hate Islam, Buddhism, new-ageism, and every other religion because they lead people away from Christ and into damnation. Please hear me: we should never hate the people who believe and practice these things! Rather, we should have love, care, and concern for their souls. We are, however, to hate the lies and deception of the Enemy. The lies that say Jesus was merely a good teacher but not truly God; the lies that say all paths lead to God; the lies that say there’s no need for a Savior because God loves and accepts you for you.
The Apostles warned multiple times over about false teachers and false gospels. In his letter to the Galatians the Apostle Paul stated, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8). Those are strong words! The one who preaches a false gospel should be damned. The Apostle Peter wrote, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1). Again, Paul warned the elders in Ephesus about fierce wolves, men who will speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after them (Acts 20:29-30). Finally, Jesus himself spoke on this topic: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15).
Again, what is the aim of this hate? As discussed earlier, it should lead us to love others by proclaiming the truth of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Word made flesh who came to atone for our sin and destroy the works of the devil. It should lead us to tell others they are sinners in need of a Savior- because nobody can save themselves from the wrath of God or reconcile themselves to Him. Not with their good works, not with manifestation and energy, and not with adherence to a strict religious code. We are to preach the only means of salvation, the only name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). We are to preach Christ crucified, risen, and coming again. As Jude instructs us, we are to contend for the faith.
Friends, our hatred of sin and false religions should move us to this action! To be sure, hate has a place. Without it, we’re merely apathetic Christians unmoved to share the gospel. I pray we will all grow in our hatred of sin and evil ideologies that conceal the truth of the Gospel. I pray we will hate what is evil and cling to what is good as we relentlessly make Christ known in a fallen world.
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