Does God Love Those You Hate?
Satan thrives on half-truths because half-truths are not truth. Jesus Christ is the truth (Jn 14:6) because God is true (Rom 3:4), and He has given us His Word (Jn 1:14). His Word is truth (Ps 119:160; Jn 17:17).
Theologians study God, and everyone is a theologian, even the fool who says, “There is no God (Ps 14:1; 53:1).” We need a true source for knowing the truth about God. That source is the Holy Spirit-inspired Scriptures (2 Tim 3:16; 1 Pet 1:20–21).
Is it possible to be a theologian without the Bible? Of course, you just won’t be a very good one. We obviously want to be right about what we believe. Therefore, everything must be tested against the Scriptures.
The problem with communicating a statement, when a Bible proof text is misused to validate a false proposition, is that it misrepresents God and misleads people. For instance, if one were to say, “God loves those you hate.” Ok, I hate abortionists because they slaughter children in the womb. According to the claim, God loves the abortionist. The Universalist would agree because he says that God loves everyone.
The Arminian says, “Well, God loves everyone, but He hates sin.” The Bible corrects both the Universalist and the Arminian, “You (God) hate all who do iniquity (Ps 5:5).” The one who does violence His (God’s) soul hates (Ps 11:5) because God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day (Ps 7:11).
The general consensus among today’s Christians is that God is only love, and all He can do is love. Therefore, biblical Christianity is a scandalous affront to much of the church. Again, the deficiency is found in the lack of knowledge of the Bible; or, it is a twisting of truth, using proof texts that may or may not even pertain to the doctrine in question.
God loves…and hates. The Bible is clear about both attitudes/actions. When God poured out His wrath on Noah’s generation and on the entire cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, it was not for love of those people. Even a child can understand that fact, but this also highlights the extent of the delusion at work to distort man’s view of God.
Whereas, the Universalist is embarrassed by the God of the Bible, the Christian fears the God of the Bible for what is revealed about Him. God judges and punishes sin. Because sin is in every man (Rom 3:23; 5:12), every sinner has the wrath of God directed against him (Rom 1:18). The actual execution of God’s wrath is the manifestation of God’s hatred for someone doing something (trespass).
The Bible does not encourage Christians to hate because we cannot hate with the same righteousness as God. For Christians to hate, may be justified because our God hates, and we are to follow in His steps, but our imperfection in that act will only cause us to sin more. We must leave hating to God, who says, “Vengeance is Mine…I will repay (Dt 32:35; Rom 12:19; Heb 10:30).”
There is a very high probability you have hatred for someone in this world. The devil and the children of the devil are prime candidates. You know what they are and what they do. Therefore, it is wise to not mimic their behavior, especially their being haters of God (Rom 1:30), hateful and hating one another (Titus 3:3).
In our conclusion, we pose the question, “Does God love those you hate?” The answer is mixed. The truth is that God does love some people, and He hates others. This is stated very clearly in the case of Jacob and Esau (Rom 9:13). We can agree that some people warrant hatred, but we acknowledge the Bible teaches Christians to avoid this attitude.
Therefore, the proposition, “God loves those you hate,” is misleading because it does not incorporate the fact that God hates those who do iniquity (that’s everyone!), save for the remnant of those He set his love upon (the elect, redeemed, regenerate, believer).
In doing theology, we must be sure that we are communicating a sufficient statement of truth, so to avoid misrepresenting God. Even taking a verse of the Bible, ripping it out of its context, adding no correlation of other passages, is one potentially dangerous exercise. The Universalist and Arminian both love John 3:16 for this reason. They do so without proper exegesis to their hurt and the hurt of others.
Christian, you are an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor 5:20), in a world of lies that presents half-truths in order to deceive others. Therefore, be vigilant to communicate the truth of God with sufficient explanation, in order to avoid misrepresentation.
Bad theology will always be a problem for the church in this fallen world, but our remedy for that is ever before us on the pages of Scripture. Memes, short quotes, and proof texts, being communicated by novice theologians, easily mislead people. This must be addressed. Zeal without knowledge is a dangerous way to propagate unsound doctrine, as has been done by Universalists and Arminians for centuries.
Let us work out our communication of salvation with fear and trembling, that we might not have our lot with the psychologists and philosophers, whose foolish speculations can only lead to man-centered theology.
Does God love those you hate? This is affirmed in some cases, and it is denied in other cases. It is a half-truth about a whole God. Further explanation is required, and the expounded exposition must fully align with the whole counsel of God from the Bible.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
October 10, 2022
