Psalm 97:10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
Modern Christianity, I believe, could stand to learn a lesson from Newtonian physics. Sir Isaac's third law of motion (remember that from school?) states: To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
It is clear from this passage that the same is true in a biblical sense: it is impossible to love the Lord without, in turn, hating evil. If you don't hate evil, you don't really love the Lord. You can't be FOR God without being AGAINST those that oppose Him. You can't stand for righteousness while being "tolerant" toward wickedness. Such an idea defies both scriptural and scientific logic and truth.
Consider the following passages:
Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. This verse implies that if you don't abhor evil, then your love is fake.
Amos 5:15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate.
Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
Psalm 139:21 Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
Psalm 101:3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.
Psalm 119:104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
Psalm 119:113 I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.
Psalm 119:128 Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.
Psalm 119:163 I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.
So hatred is not always a bad or ungodly thing. It's actually a natural reaction to a proper love. If you love God, you'll hate sin…because God is holy. If you love sin, you'll hate God…because God is holy. And if you don't hate sin, then you don't love God.What do you hate? And what do you love? And what does it say about the condition of your heart?
Enjoy reading your blog, i will look forward to reading it each day. I have been merely going through the motions of loving the Lord Jesus Christ but I have fail badly. I am very depressed, I have no relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. My prayers seem like brass, I am laden in sin.
ReplyDeleteA much-needed message in our day! Thank you brother! I like what Paul Washer says - "When someone says to me they have a new relationship with Jesus Christ, I ask them do you have a new relationship with sin. Because if you do not have a new relationship with sin, you do not have a new relationship with Jesus Christ." "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth." - 1 John 1:6 John 3:18-21 - "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone doing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly shown, that they have been done in God."
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. However, please note that comments containing Bible quotations not out of the Authorized Version will not be posted. You may e-mail me at dablrb@gmail.com to enquire as to why this must be so. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous #1, please see my response to a similar comment posted by Michael...
ReplyDeleteMichael, have you ever been born again? Have your sins been forgiven, has your soul been redeemed by the precious blood of the God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ? If not, then you are absolutely right. You have no relationship to God, you are under His wrath, and you have every reason to be depressed.
If you are, in fact, saved, then none of that is so. Please hear these truths on the 3 types of men in the Bible:
http://www.jamesknox.com/mp3/doctrineofthechurch/20081123pm_Personalities.mp3