Originally posted June 2013.
God is opposed to those who are opposed to Him. It is bad theology to say that God hates the sin but loves the sinner.
Does God hate anyone? The answer is yes.
- Psalm 5:5, “The boastful shall not stand before Thine eyes; Thou dost hate all who do iniquity,”
- Psalm 11:5, “The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates.”
- Lev. 20:23, “Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I shall drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them.”
- Prov. 6:16-19, “There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, 19 A false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.”
- Hosea 9:15, “All their evil is at Gilgal; indeed, I came to hate them there! Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house! I will love them no more; All their princes are rebels.”
As God honors His covenants, we must understand where those who are not part of His covenant stand—opposed to Him. Those removed from Him stand condemned by Him and in the fullness of the wrath reserved for all workers of iniquity. His love is for those whom He would not willingly see perish, but who should come to repentance (Matthew 9:13, 2 Peter 3:9). Many have termed this as God’s “general love.” General love, or general grace can be understood as God’s abiding patience for those would turn to what He predestined in Christ. For the saint to remain in God’s favor, he must remain part of the covenant. 1 John 1:9 calls every Christian to confess his sins in order that God’s faithfulness be proven in forgiveness and cleansing of unrighteousness. “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him,” (John 3:36). Hebrews 10:26 says, “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.”
Please feel free to comment.
Great post about what we should uphold. “We” is a toughy for me for multiple reasons.
The written word is clear that our forgiveness (of others’ sins) is contingent upon their repentance just as His forgiveness of our sins is contingent upon our repentance.
Church Order:
1) Worship
2) Doctrine
3) Polity (linked to 1 and 2 and leads to)
4) Discipline
The (practice) of two witnesses needs resurrected! We are blessed with directions of how the early Church hated sin and sinner. Thing is, attempts at making it stick, or convictions are few.
Turn up the heat on sin! 🙂
It was the Lord who found occasion several times to qualify his ministry on the basis of two and three witnesses (John 8:18).