God Hates Evil
As we continue to look at Psalm 97 this week, let’s go to verse 7, which says this: “All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols—worship Him, all you gods!” (Psalm 97:7) Then verse 10 says: “Let those who love the Lord hate evil.” (Psalm 97:10)
The Old Testament often says to ‘purge the evil from among you.’ And of course, in those days they were talking about evil people. In the Old Testament often God’s people would take out sinful people, to try and to preserve the sense of holiness.
But that’s not the system anymore. The New Testament is very clear that we don’t fight against flesh and blood, but against spirits, principalities, and powers of darkness.
What Idolatry Really Is
I think it’s important for us to notice, as we read this, that God does hate sin, as we should. The psalmist says that those who worship idols are put to shame. And as one commentary said, the Bible makes clear that people are idol worshippers because they give their highest loyalty to something other than God.
It’s not just about standing in front of a statue and worshipping it. It’s about your priorities. Idolatry is putting anything else before God in your life. And God can’t stand it. Not because He’s an egomaniac, but because that’s not how He designed us to live. And He can’t stand seeing us live in a way that we aren’t supposed to live. Our lives are supposed to be dedicated to the worship of God.
Hating Sin
Yes, know today that God loves His people, but He hates their sin.
Now in the book of Revelation, Jesus warns those who are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. He says that He will spit them out of His mouth.
Francis Chan, in his great book Crazy Love, says this about lukewarm people: “They don’t really want to be saved from sin. They want only to be saved from the penalty of sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it. They’re merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Lukewarm people don’t really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one.”
But remember Jesus said that He has come to give us life to the full (John 10:10). And so yes, we need to hate sin. Hate what it does in us. Hate what it does in others. And long for people to come to God where they can be freed from the effects of it.
Stand Up Against Sin
Join with God in hating sin. Don’t hate people. Never hate people! Love people with all your heart. But oh, let’s stand up against sin in this world. Stand for the goodness and righteousness of God, as we said yesterday.
Let’s spend some time looking within today, and see if there’s anything in our hearts that God would hate.
Knowing that He loves us. Let’s cleanse ourselves from those sins and believe that He gives us the power to live without them. Friends, He does. Jesus broke the power of sin on the cross. And so you don’t have to live that way anymore. You can be free from the sin that God hates, and love righteousness.
I pray that He will do that today in your life, and every day.
Paul's ultimate prayer was that his people would live holy and blameless lives, free from sin and devoted to God's will. This week, pray that God will make you and your church community increasingly holy and Christlike.