What God Hates
We have been blessed this fall to have two fine meetings with men who are capable and devoted to their work. It is rare when one who is so blessed and interested in the things that might be said comes away from such gatherings without having learned something. The sermon this evening will be based on a reference Mike Divis made in his lesson on Noah to the 26th Psalm. The article in today’s Companion, though written earlier, represents some thoughts presented by Lowell Kibler in his second sermon on Bible Hate.
The word hate is used three ways in the Bible. First, it is used to describe a malicious feeling of ill will toward someone else. Such is always wrong. Second, it is used to describe an aversion for evil or towards error. Such is right and necessary if we are going to please God. Third, hate is used to describe a relative preference for one thing over another.
There are certain things that God hates. God is a God of love who desires that all be saved (1 Tim. 2:3-4), so we are not talking about the first kind of hate. God is characterized by righteousness and justice, (“He loveth righteousness and justice: the earth is full of the lovingkindness of Jehovah” Psa. 33:5.), so we know that he is not talking about merely preferring one thing over another.
What are some of the things that God hates? I have compiled a list and will give it here with some comment.
1. Haughty Eyes (Prov. 6:17). The King James Version uses the translation “a proud look.” What is being described here is not so much the look on a person’s face as it is the attitude that puts it there. There are those who are smug, who in their behavior and treatment of others tell them, “I’m better than you.” (see Luke 18:9-14) Here is the individual who undermines the reputation of another by subtly disparaging him and his efforts (James 5:9). God hates it when we do that.
2. A Lying Tongue (Prov. 6:17). There are different ways to lie. We can make promises which we don’t intend to keep. We can tell something that is not true. We can tell the truth in such a way that it changes others’ perception of reality. When we do any of these things in order to deceive, we lie. God hates that, too. (Rev. 21:8)
3. Hands That Shed Innocent Blood (Prov. 6:17). Sometimes we are so anxious to do the “right thing,” we take no thought for those who are innocent and might be hurt in the meantime. So often, when there is a divorce, a church split, or just a disagreement among brethren, people behave as though they are the only ones involved, and others get hurt. Then there are those who set out to get their way and know that someone is going to have to get out of their way. God is not happy at all.
4. A Heart That Devises Wicked Purposes (Prov. 6:18). There are some who set out to do the evil thing. It could be that they do not know what they do is evil, but that isn’t the issue. If fact, they may be of the deceived mentioned in 2 Tim. 3:13. But they have set out to do something for which there is no authority, or there is plain condemnation in the Scripture.
5. Feet That Run Rapidly to Evil (Prov. 6:18). There is no hesitation, no shame. In fact, the evil that is done is a source of vindication (Phil. 3:18-19).
6. False Witnesses Who Utter Lies (Prov. 6:19). Accusations are easily made, but difficult to back up. Oftentimes accusations are made in such general terms with no specifics, any interpretation and evaluation must be purely subjective. A lie is a lie (John 8:44).
7. One Who Sows Discord Among Brethren (Prov. 6:19). Some just enjoy the turmoil that exists when they set people on one another. Others have a purpose, an agenda. God’s will is that we should love one another (1 John 3:18), and that we should follow after things that make for peace (Rom. 14:19). God would have us imitate him in his character, and he is a peacemaker (Matt. 5:9). Those who sow discord are fighting against God (Acts 5:39). Who will win?
8. Sacrificing To Other Gods (Jer. 44:4-5). Israel’s idolatry involved worshipping that which did not exist. They put the false pagan gods of imagination ahead of the true God of heaven. God hates idolatry. Do we have idols? Are we covetous? (Col. 3:5). Do we put the things of this world before service to God? (Matt. 6:24). Is our loyalty to some man, or to God? (1 Cor. 4:6; Gal. 1:10).
9. Hypocrisy (Isa 1:14). “Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a trouble unto me; I am weary of bearing them.” God tells the people here that he hates the very things he has commanded them to do. The reason that he hated those displays of obedient devotion is that is as far as they went. Isaiah goes on to describe the moral lassitude, the oppression of the poor, and the ignoring of God’s revelation. The warning is for us (1 Cor. 10:11). We may be right in what we believe and teach, but we must also be right in what we practice.
10. He That Covers His Garment With Violence (Mal. 2:16). Whether this violence is literal in reference to our fellowman (Psa. 11:5-7), or we are speaking figuratively in reference to the wresting some do of the Scriptures and the harm they do to the kingdom (Matt. 11:12).
11. Divorce (Mal. 2:16). “For I hate putting away, saith Jehovah, the God of Israel …” The ultimate violence done by one human to another is not murder. The faithlessness of one to promises made, the opening of one to the severest vulnerability and then taking advantage is a sin that God hates. There is not much that God says that he hates, but God hates this (Matt. 19:6).
What God hates, we must hate, too. But hating that which is evil, we must also love that which is good. “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good” (Rom. 12:9). A true love of that which is good and right demands a low opinion of the opposite. We must try to be like God in this.
