Should A Christian Hate?

Theme Scripture

“'Ye heard that it was said: Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and shalt hate thine enemy; but I -- I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those cursing you, do good to those hating you, and pray for those accusing you falsely, and persecuting you,” – Matt 5:43-44

Secular Defintion

As you contemplate the verses above, perhaps we should investigate a secular definition of ‘hate’ from the dictionary.com folks:

verb (used with object), hat·ed, hat·ing.

to dislike intensely or passionately; feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward; detest: to hate the enemy; to hate bigotry.

to be unwilling; dislike: I hate to do it.

verb (used without object), hat·ed, hat·ing.

to feel intense dislike, or extreme aversion or hostility.

noun

intense dislike; extreme aversion or hostility.

the object of extreme aversion or hostility.

The definitions whether verb or noun are redundant -- which is to say -- the definition so far as the dictionary.com folks are concerned -- is fairly narrow in scope: To dislike intensely or passionately. To feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward.

BAM! That is what it boils down to.

Merriam’s online definition has expanded the definition to include pop culture use of ‘hate’.

Biblical Examination of ‘hate’

In Young’s Literal Translation of the Bible the word hate appears 41 times in 39 verses from Genesis to Revelation.

From Strong’s the following is a list of ways the word ‘hate’ is expressed in various scriptures in the Hebrew [Old Testament] portion of the Bible and in the Greek [New Testament] portion of the Bible.

H7852	שָׂטַם	satam	hate, oppose
H8130	שָׂנֵא	sane'	hate, enemies, enemy, foes, hateful, misc
H8131	שְׂנֵא	sĕne' (Aramaic)	them that hate thee
H8135	שִׂנְאָה	sin'ah	hatred, hated, hatefully
H8146	שְׂנִיא	saniy'	hated
Strongs #	Greek	Transliterated	English Equivalent
New Testament (Greek) for "hate"
G2319	θεοστυγής	theostygēs	hater of God
G3404	μισέω	miseō	hate, hateful
G4767	στυγητός	stygētos	hateful

Now that we’ve established some definition to our discussion of the word ‘hate’ it would be great to look at Jesus’ words on just this topic.

Luke 14:26	“'If any one doth come unto me, and doth not hate his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and yet even his own life, he is not able to be my disciple;”
Rev 2:15	“so hast thou, even thou, those holding the teaching of the Nicolaitans -- which thing I hate.”
Matt 5:43-44	“'Ye heard that it was said: Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and shalt hate thine enemy; but I -- I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those cursing you, do good to those hating you, and pray for those accusing you falsely, and persecuting you,”

Jesus teachings:

It seems logical to start with what HE said in Matthew 5:43-44. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,”

Strong’s word # 3404 has this to say regarding Matt 5:43-44:

“to hate, pursue with hatred, detest; passive to be hated, detested: τινα, Matthew 5:43 and Rec. in Matthew 5:44;” 

In essence, verse 43 had the intent that when you hated your enemy it was: “to hate, pursue with hatred, detest. While in verse 44 it was “passive to be hated, detested” because others were pursuing you. In both cases it was to pursue or pursued by hatred and detest.

Hundreds of years early than Jesus’ words recorded in Matthew, the Levitical law given to Moses for the Israelites gave them this statement: “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.” Lev 19:18

Jesus, possibly referring to the Levitical law when he said ‘you have heard’, set out a policy, way of life, counsel to live in and promote ‘love; even to those who curse, hate and spitefully persecute you. That love is Strong’s word #25 -- Agapáσ  having this meaning: “To have a preference for, wish well to, regard the welfare of: Matthew 5:43”

Do you have any doubt in your mind whether you should ‘hate’ your enemies? Please understand this, we are not left to determine on our own about such things. Peter, a directly taught disciple of Jesus said this: “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” – 1 Peter 2:21 -- Refer to Jesus own words: “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,”.

We now address Luke 14:26:” “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” Is this a conflict with Matthew? If you are supposed to love your enemies why hate your family members? Did Jesus hate his mother? No. He loved her so much he asked John, his disciple, to care for him after Jesus’ death. [John 19:26]

What does it mean then? Part of the answer is in the following verses. To follow Jesus meant each of his disciples must bear their own cross. They could not be HIS disciples otherwise. HE even logically states you should  count the costs before you build something. If you do not have the resources to complete the job do not start it. Disciples who wanted to follow Jesus had to be willing to die for HIM. No hesitation. In this respect, it is all about our loyalty to Jesus. Our absolute loyalty must be for HIM and all others are subject to our allegiance to Christ. The point is made by one Pastor, that no prophets or apostles required such devotion because it would be idolatry. Because Jesus is GOD’s son HE could require such. And Revelation bears this out: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” – Rev 5:12

Lastly, we have Jesus words to the Church in Pergamum: ““so hast thou, even thou, those holding the teaching of the Nicolaitans -- which thing I hate.”” Notice, it is not the Church Jesus hates. It is the teaching of Nicolaitans; it is the tolerance of a false doctrine; it is the underlying routine in the Church of some who allowed different doctrines [Balaam and Nicolaitans] like some ecumenical unity within the Christ’s Church. HE loved HIS Church, but HE would not tolerate the false doctrines. He gave them fair warning. [Rev 2:16]

Summation:

The question: Should a Christian hate is answered in 1 Peter 2:21. We are to follow the example of Jesus who told us to love our enemies, to pursue them in love and in prayer regardless of the persecution they bring upon the Christian. We leave Jesus, the HEAD of the Church to clean out any false doctrine; we remember we must be absolutely loyal to HIM above all other relationships and we remember HIS words “'Judge not, that ye may not be judged, 2 “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Matt 7:1,2

The delicate balance of the Christ follower to divorce out their emotions like hate from the person vs their behavior while remembering we cannot judge them is a tedious one. We remember too, the loving of those hating us because of our faith is one thing. There is no counsel to abide someone who lives a provably debauched or wicked life and who does not impact your life at all. There are world leaders through out history who have been despicable characters in their rule. The Apostle Paul said in Romans 13 they are appointed by GOD to their position and we are to be obedient. HE will deal with them.

Self-defense is another topic and is not based on hate but on self defense or the defense of our family, neighbors, etc. Self-Defense has its place in the Bible. Just prior to Jesus’ arrest HE tells the disciples if they do not have a sword to sell a garment and buy one in Luke 22:36. Therefore, it is understood there may be times when we, or our appointed leaders engage in an act of self-defense, which may result in the death of someone. Again, the person isn’t killed because they are hated. They might die because they posed a clear and deadly danger to others. You may hate what they did but that is not the rationale for taking their life.     

NOTICE: If you are feeling inclined or feeling led to want Jesus as your Savior, your leader, your King, your source of Peace and Joy but are feeling woefully inadequate, uninformed on how best to get to know HIM, or find yourself at wit’s end because you believe yourself trapped and in need of GOD, please know Jesus stands ready to welcome you with HIS Holy Spirit. Believe these words: “¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. “—John 3:16

^“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, ²⁰ and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, ²¹ whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” – Acts 3:19-20

“Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” – John 3:3-8

If you need help, please feel free to leave a comment and I will respond.  †

DISCLAIMER: The thoughts published on this blog, in total, are the opinions, thoughts and considerations of the writer/author of every post published. It is assumed that research by the reader will lead the reader to their own conclusions. It is not the writer’s intent to make a judgment of anyone but to allow GOD’s Word to do what it does. “For the word of GOD is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from GOD’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” – Hebrews 4:12 [NIV]

>>>>>>All artwork contained on this blog entry as well as archived/historical entries belongs to ©Lightwritingmatters 2015<<< permission must be requested and approved by the author to reproduce in any format and for any reason.√† 

NOTE: Artwork not copyrighted by Lightwritingmatters 2015 stands with this statement: “no copyright infringement is intended” or is otherwise attributed.

©Lightwritingmatters 2015