Today I want to ask, and answer, the question, Are we, as Christians, instructed to hate? Some derivative of the word “hate” is found more than 170 times in the Bible.

Commands Not To Hate

• Le 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart:
• Ga 5:19-20 Now the works of the flesh are…..  – Htred is listed as one of them, and we are to walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh.
• 1Jo 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.. – Jesus said “Thou shalt not murder  (kill), and He called hatred murder in the heart.
• 1Jo 2:9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.

 Clearly the Bible commands us not to hate.

Other Scriptures On Hate

• Pr 10:12 Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
• Ec 3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

The Bible does say that there is a time to hate, but what does that mean?

As Christians, We Should Expect Hate Against Us

• Joh 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
• 1Jo 3:3 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

Ture Christianity will not be liked by the ungodly world.

Don’t return Hate for Hate

• Mt 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
• Job 31:29 If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him: 30 Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul.
• Lu 6:22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.
• Lu 6:27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

We are not to return hatred for hatred. We are not to rejoice when those who hate us are destroyed. We are actually blessed when we are hated for the Lord’s sake. We are to love  our enemies and do good to those who hate us.

God will AEVENGE you for your sorrow

• Ps 34:21 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
• Ro 12:17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.   18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.   19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.   20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.   21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

We need to remember that God will avenge our suffering, and He will take vengeance upon our enemies.

Some things God Hates!

• De 16:22 Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth.
• Ps 119:104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way…..vs 128 and I hate every false way…… vs 163  I hate and abhor lying:
• Pr 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:  17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,  18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,  19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
• Isa 61:8 I hate robbery for burnt offering
• Ho 9:15 All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house,
• Am 5:21  I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.
• Mal 2:16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away:
• Re 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

This is where it gets a little tricky. If God hates something, are we to hate it also? God hates idolatry, should we hate it also? He hates every false way, lying, and many other things, should we hate them also? We find in Hosea 9:15 that God not only hates the act, he also hates the person. In Revelation 2:6, the Lord commends a church for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans.

Exhortation to HATE

• Ps 97:10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil:
• Pr 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil:
• Pr 13:5 A righteous man hateth lying
• Ps 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.
• Ps 139:21 Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?    22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
• Am 5:15 Hate the evil, and love the good,

We are to hate evil and the works of those who do evil. This is where we get the swaying “Hate the sin, but love the sinner.” From our point of view, the hate goes toward the act of sin, but not toward the person who sins. This is one of the differences between Christianity and Islam. Christians are taught to hate evil and the things that God hates. God, because of His holiness, can go further and hate the person, and will reward them for their action.

God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry [with the wicked] every day. (Psalms 7:11)

As far as I cant tell in my study, there is only one passage that seems to contradict this. It is Psalm 139:21-22. The Psalmist says, “Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee?” I verse 22, he qualifies this with “I hate them with perfect hatred.” It is not a hatred that causes violence, but it is a perfect hatred. It is a measured hatred.

The answer to our question, Are we, as Christians, instructed to hate? is, in our hearts, if we have hate, and if we are righteous, we cannot help but hate the things that God hates. We are to hate the acts done by the wicked. We are not to return hostility or evil for evil. When people do us wrong, we are to love them, not just in word, but also in deed. We are to do good to them.

It is this attitude that separates us from from Islam. In the Qur’an and the teachings of Muhammad, they instructed to not only hate the evil actions, to hate the people as well. They are called upon to destroy those that they see as evil.

Christians are not only to love and do good to those who do evil, they are to share the message of how God can rescue them from their sin. Aren’t you glad that someone showed you how you could be rescued from your sin?