Hateful Love

“Silence in the face of evil, is itself evil; God will not hold us guiltless.  Not to speak, is to speak, not to act, is to act.”

~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Your city has an abortion clinic. Down the street from your church stands a place that makes money on the death of tiny human beings. You drive by it everyday and never give it a second thought. The citizens in your city live in peace with the destruction of your neighbors because YOU live in peace with it. What does your “pro-life” opinion mean without Christian action to follow it? Is not faith without works dead? Are you a hearer only and not a doer?

You may be thinking, “But my town doesn’t have a abortion clinic in it.” Are you sure? Take a moment to stop and think. Your local grocery store has become the abortion clinic, the killing center. You can buy the murder of your unborn child for under $50.00 at the place where you buy food. Shouldn’t this be abhorrent to us? My town sells abortions at Walmart, Safeway, Super 1 and Sandpoint Super drug. If you don’t believe me, read this: http://ahanorthidaho.com/AbolitionArticles_02152015.html

Whatever happened to living in the land of the free? What happened to the unalienable rights that the conservative Christians in our nation tout so loudly?

What does pure religion look like in a town that sells abortions at the local pharmacies? Death is being sold freely around you at the whim and convenience of the murderer. As Christians, what do we do about it? Is there anything we can do?

We stand outside of Sandpoint’s abortion clinics and plead with people to follow Christ. We plead with them to stop worshiping death, to stop sacrificing their children on the alters of convenience, pride and selfishness. We plead with the Christians to love their neighbor as themselves. We plead with moms and dads to care about their unborn children. While we were there, I had a Christian youth pastor tell me that, “You should go where people are actually getting abortions. Go to a bigger city. You know, 90% of everyone here agrees with you guys.” The statement was appallingly ironic. We had this discussion in the parking lot of a place that sells abortifacient pills. I told him that he should stand with us and see for himself how the majority of those coming in and out of this place are actually haters of God. Our culture is in love with death.

A Christian minister that has a church in the area pulled up in his car and without even taking the time to get out began to argue with me about the message I was preaching. He said I was judging and that I had a bad spirit. I urged him to consider the verse in Proverbs 6:17 that tells us that God hates the hands that shed innocent blood. He didn’t want to hear it. No matter how much I shared with him the Word of God he refused to listen. He fails to hate murder as much as God hates it.This leads me to the question that I asked earlier. What does pure religion look like in a town that sells abortions at the local pharmacies?

The answer to this question lies in Psalm 97:10. These two Christian men failed to understand this. “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil.” This is a small verse with huge implications for the Christian today. The greatest commandment ever given is that we love the LORD with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We all already know that we are to love the LORD but what does that love actually look like in a culture that loves evil and hates good? If you truly love God you will hate evil. How couldn’t we when it was evil that separated us from God? Evil is why Christ had to submit to the death on the cross. Evil is rebellion against our holy God and Savior.

As Christians, we already know that we are to love. We know that love is long suffering, kind, does not envy, is not arrogant and proud, in not unseemly, does not seek its own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil, rejoices not in iniquity but rejoices in truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things and never fails. Love is by no means just a feeling. Love is the character of God flowing out of us through actions. Real love acts.

James 2:15 says, “If a sister or brother be naked, and destitute of daily food,

And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?”

This is hollow faith and empty love. Acts don’t automatically mean you have God’s love because in 1 Corinthians 13 the Bible tells us that, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”

But when we truly have the love of God in us we WILL act accordingly. Love is evidenced by action. God became man because of love.

Isaiah 53:4-5 tells us that, “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

That is love. A love that took Him to the cross. A love that acted accordingly. This is sacrificial love. He gave His life for the lives of lowly man. His love was hateful. Jesus loved us so much that He hated the evil that separated ourselves from Him. Is that the kind of love you have, Christian?

As love is an action so is hate. We are commanded to hate evil. Do you? David is a perfect example of a man of God that hated evil. 1 Samuel 17:26 states, “And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” David asks, “Is there not a cause?” That question rings through the centuries. Is there not a cause today? Do not wicked men and women defy the soldiers of God today? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by whom we are called? Is not the image of God being defiled right now in your city? David was young and inexperienced but this didn’t matter in light of Who his God was. David told Goliath in verse 45, “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.” That is my God. That is your God. David loved the Lord enough to hate the wickedness of this Philistine. He stood when no one else would.

Verse 46, “This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” What evil is the Lord waiting to deliver into the hands of His faithful servant? What evil must we behead in God’s name? Could God be waiting for a David? Could He be waiting for men and women that hate the evil God hates? Stand against the evil in your city. If you really love God you will hate evil and act on it. You will want to stand against those that defy the name of your God.

When you stand against evil people will say that you are hateful. Tell them that they are right. We hate evil because we love God.