Hatred, Anger and Vengeance – What does the Bible say about it? – Part 2
Hatred is a strong word. I have had hatred, anger and vengeful thoughts multiple times in my life. And I have had to learn what I really needed to think about and how to control these thoughts in order to get along with God, myself and others. It is still a work in progress, but a good one. The topic of hatred, anger and vengeance are used multiple times in the Bible, and by God and Christ, of all people. But there is a good purpose to God’s type of hatred, His anger and vengeance. However, our anger, hatred and vengeance do not compare with God’s and do not produce God’s righteousness (James 1:20)! This week I will talk about God’s view of hatred, anger and vengeance, using the Bible as the go to reference book of choice…cont’d.
Next, although it can be a challenge, especially as a “babe” in Christ, we ought to hate sin (Romans 12:9). I have often heard the saying, “hate the sin, but love the sinner” (Matthew 5:43, 44). Even this can be a challenge at times, but the point is that we must hate sin. There are a multitude of verse’s that I could get into, about “not judging others”, “look at the log in your own eye first”, etc. (Luke 6:37, Matthew 7:3). But there are more that suggest not keeping company with a “brother” who is unrepentant (1 Corinthians 5:11), and to allow a brother who is sinning to be “given to the devil to destroy the body, but save the soul” (1 Corinthians 5:5). All of these verses should bring a person to the same conclusion, “shun evil” (Proverbs 14:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:22). First in yourself, and then if you are having difficulties in falling back into temptation of your old ways, stay away from those who tempt you! Of course, in the world we are going to be tempted by unbelievers who are unaware of what they are even doing because of their self-deception, but we are to keep ourselves in as much as possible, “unstained from the world” (James 1:27).
More to come…
Darrell
darrellmowat.wordpress.com 