“Ye that love the Lord, hate evil.” - Psalm 97:10
The word, “hate,” is a strong word that's condemned by our society today. In this generation, we've coined phrases like, “a hate group,” “hate speech,” and “hate crimes.” In all fairness, hatred does exist in our culture. There are people who have hatred in their hearts. Yet some of the most hate-filled people are those who preach against hatred.
As a Bible-believing Christian, let me restate what God has said. It is wrong to hate other people. Although I may disagree with the lifestyle of many, it does not mean that I despise them. I may disagree politically with others, but my disagreement does not come from a heart of hatred. Many seek to silence the Christian voice in America. Although I strongly oppose their efforts, I do not hate them. Yes, it is possible to strongly disagree with someone without hating them.
Yet there is something that Christians should hate. We should hate sin. The Psalmist wrote, “Ye that love the Lord, hate evil.” Also, Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”
There are three powerful reasons why we should hate sin. First of all, we should hate sin because of the destruction it brings on ourselves and others. Secondly, we should hate sin because God hates sin and commands us to do the same. Third, we should hate sin because it cost Jesus His life. Think about it. If you did something foolish or careless that cost someone his life, it would haunt you the rest of your life.
A while back I was watching a Youtube video about a horrific plane crash that cost several people their lives. The cause of the crash was determined to be a mistake by the air traffic controller. The air traffic controller never returned to her job. I assume that the guilt of her mistake made it impossible to return.
You and I are guilty of sin. We are responsible for the death of Jesus. He died because of our sin. When we contemplate this, it should cause us to hate sin more and more.
We should hate sin. The degree of our hatred is closely related to the level of love we have for Jesus. We hate everything that contributed to the death of the One who loves us so much. Furthermore, our hatred of sin is a reflection of the degree of repentance that we are experiencing. Genuine repentance includes a hatred of sin.
Most Christians have an inaccurate view of repentance. We believe that unbelievers need to repent, which is true. But we tend to forget that the Christian life consists of ongoing repentance. Our level of spiritual maturity is often demonstrated by deeper levels of repentance. As we grow in the Lord, we tend to be more selective of the things we permit in our lives. We hate even the speck of sin.
It is one thing to hate the sins of others, but God is calling us to honestly and humbly hate our own sins, to the extent that we never wish to commit them again. That's the work of sanctification that God is doing in our lives.
Yes, it is easy to condemn the sins of others, but we aren't responsible for their sins. We are responsible for our sins. The very sins Jesus died for should never be celebrated, enjoyed or condoned by us.
Quoting from the book of Psalms, the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews referred to Jesus as he wrote, “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” Jesus loved righteousness and hated sin.
We should do the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment