“ . . . . which thing I hate,” Revelation 2:15.
It is all too commonly believed that such is the character of the Lord that there is nothing that He hates!
Such a notion is the offspring of the witness and ministry of those who claim to serve the Lord and preach His Word but who are in fact usurpers and deceivers misrepresenting the Lord in a most reprehensible way.
One day they will learn that they could not have been more wrong!
There cannot be LOVE without HATE. When the heart’s affections are set upon something, they will react most strongly when that which is diametrically opposed to that loved is presented to them. That which stirs up love, when replaced by that which is its antithesis, creates animosity and loathing!
The God of Holiness cannot love sin. Rather, it generates a hatred of it in the very being of God, which in turn produces wrath and judgment. God has reserved a most awful penalty for that which He hates.
Christians, being “partakers of the heavenly calling,” (Hebrews 3:1) and “partakers of the divine nature,” (2 Peter 1:4) will share in this hatred of sin. “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil,” Psalm 97:10. Please note that the child of God is directed by Him to HATE EVIL! Such a hatred is fuelled by the Word of God. “Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way,” Psalm 119:104. “I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love,” Psalm 119:163. Such a hatred is entirely intrinsic and integral to the heart that loves the Lord. “Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies,” Psalm 139:21-22.
What now for all those fools who say that we should never HATE anything? (more…)