Holy Hatred

"The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride 
and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverted
mouth, I [God] hate" (Prov. 8:13)


After spending time exploring fifteen characteristics of godly love in my first blog post, it might seem odd to shift suddenly to the topic of hatred. As I was studying this portion of the Scripture, I thought that it might be the wrong time to talk about this topic due to the nature of this language. Yet, the Holy Spirit confirms in my heart that He is God and I need to share the right message to follow in the footprint of Christ. Jesus hated evil and loved doing good to his community. He was crucified because he was different to the scholars and aristocrats of his time. He only obeyed his Father.

So what does it mean? 

The title of my message: "holy hatred" sounds like a contradiction in terms of those who view all hatred as evil. But love and hate are inseparable. You cannot truly love something and be complacent about the things that oppose or threaten it.

If you love your spouse, you hate anything that would defile or injure them. If you love your children, you hate anything that would harm them. If you love good, you hate evil. If you love unity, you hate discord. If you love God, you hate Satan.

"Hate evil, you who love the Lord" (Ps. 97:10), as the Scripture highlights.

Unquestionably God is a God of love.

First John 4: 7-8, 11, 16 says;

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him"


How are we to respond to that love? 

The psalmist wrote; "From Thy precepts I get understanding; therefore, I hate every false way. I hate those who are double-minded, but I love Thy law. I esteem right all Thy precepts concerning everything, I hate every false way. I hate and despise falsehood, but I love Thy law" (Ps. 119:104, 113, 128, 163).

So, there you are – the kindness but also the sternness of God. One does not work without the other. It is very important that you and I understand these two aspects of God's nature, His kindness, but also His severity ‑ that He is a Saviour but also a Judge. And the reason why it is important is that God expects you and me to have the same attitude in the things that He has.

As an adopted child of God, we must learn to know the ways of God and be like Him. 

Notice again, there are two strong words here ‑ love and hate. The psalmist says, if you claim to love the Lord, there's a corresponding attitude that must be manifested in you which is hating evil; so in your character, there must be the two opposite sides of the coin ‑ loving the Lord but hating evil. 

If you love the Lord, you cannot compromise with evil. It is impossible. It is inconsistent. We must never assume that God's mercy sets aside His judgement. So many people are making that mistake today ‑ Christian theologians, ministers and others. We must ask ourselves: do I hate evil? This will measure the depth of our love for God. In my previous blog post, King Solomon said in Proverbs 14:27 that the fear of the Lord will bring life to its fullest and will remove all anxieties.

When I love somebody, I want to refrain from upsetting that person and gradually adopting the ways to align to the thoughts of that person and gradually be like that person.

That is my interpretation on how I fear God: 

1.     to have reverence for Him (Psalm 89:7)1
2.     obey Him (2 John 1:6)2
3.     serve Him with all my heart and with all my soul (Deuteronomy 10:12)3
4.     love Him with all my heart and with all my soul (Matt 22:37)4

Apostle Paul told the Corinthians that fearing God is to be set apart.5 Here fearing God is connected to holiness.
Fearing God means that we keep in line with His will and are kept from grave sins. It gives direction to your life.
Is that your prayer today? Do you hate the things that oppose God? Are you offended by what offends Him? Remember, holy hatred is as much a part of godly love as any of its other characteristics. If you love God, you must necessarily hate evil.


Suggestions for Prayer:

Ask God to increase your love for Him and your hatred for evil.

Lord, give me that balance in the way I know You so that I love You, but just as You, I will hate evil. I decide to eliminate any compromise with evil out of my life because I love You with all my heart. I praise You that by the sacrifice of Jesus I get the grace for this. Amen.

Meditate on Psalm 119:101-104 and commit it to memory: 


101 I have kept my feet from every evil path
    so that I might obey your word.
102 I have not departed from your laws,
    for you yourself have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
    sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 I gain understanding from your precepts;
    therefore I hate every wrong path.


1.     God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. (Psalm 89:7)

2.     And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. (2 John 1:6)

3.     And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul (Deuteronomy 10:12).”

4.     Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Matt 22:37)

5.     Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1

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