Christian Ethics 3:

Lesson 5 – Hatred, Hate Speech, Hate Crimes

(Note: Please read notes)

Hatred is a failure to love.

Matthew 6:24 - No man can serve two masters; either he will hate the one and love the other, or
else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. Hatred is not just the opposite of love, but
a lack of love, the absence of love.

Love is a devotion or attachment that leads us to have a favorable view of someone or something
such that we desire to promote it, benefit it, or seek its wellbeing.

Hatred is generally hostility, animosity, or antagonism that leads us to have an unfavorable view
of someone or something such that we desire it to be harmed, destroyed, or defeated.
But in the Bible hatred sometimes refers to loving one thing less than another. You don't have to
actively oppose a thing to hate it. So long as you don't actively pursue its good or don't love it as
much as you love something else, then you hate it.

Ecclesiastes 3:8 says there is "a time to love and a time to hate." The purpose of this study is
to learn which is which.

Surely hatred is often bad, but is it always bad? Just because someone tells people they are
wrong, does that mean they are guilty of improper hatred? When we tell people what the Bible
says and they reject the teaching, which is really guilty of improper hatred? Consider:

Things We Should Not Hate

A. God and Jesus
We might think that no one would hate God, but there are several ways people are guilty.
Some people actively resent God and His authority.
Romans 1:30 - Those who are worthy of death include "haters of God." The context discusses
people who ought to believe, but reject the knowledge of God and so end up in false worship and
immorality of all kinds. These people may worship idols, etc. (vv 23,24). What they hate is the
God of the Bible, who places restrictions on them.
John 7:7 - Jesus said the world hated Him, because He testified that its works were evil. Again,
they hated Him because He made demands on their lives. Some professed to believe He was not
from God, saying He was a sinner, He did miracles by the power of Satan,etc. But the root
problem was that He proved they were in sin, and they did not want to change.
In that sense we are surrounded by haters of God: people who refuse to have God in their
knowledge and resent any effort to remind them of God.
[John 15:18,23-25; Isaiah 53:3]
Some people are indifferent to God or love something else more than God.
Matthew 6:24 - People cannot have two masters. They love one and hate the other. You cannot
serve God and mammon (riches). These people may not actively resent God, but their lives are
controlled by material interests instead of God. This is hatred, because it is a lack of love for God.
This shows that everyone hates something. It is impossible to love everything, and God does not
expect us to love everything. When two things that are antagonistic, the more you love one, the
more you hate the other.
1 John 2:15-17 - If you love God, then you must not love the world. If you love the world, then
the love of the Father is not in you. God views that as hating Him.
Some people show they hate God by disobeying Him.
Proverbs 14:2 - One who is perverse in his ways despises the Lord (maybe not intentionally).
John 14:15,24 - If we love God, we keep His commands. But he who does not love Jesus does not
keep His words. So to disobey is to lack love - God says we hate Him.
When people claim that others are guilty of hatred, simply because they warn people they are
guilty of sin, those people need to consider who really is guilty of hatred. In God's view, the
person who sins is guilty of hatred, not the person who rebukes the sinner.
Matthew 22:37-39 - The greatest command of all is to love God with all your heart, soul, and
mind. There are some things we should hate, but we must make sure we never hate God, either
deliberately, by neglect, or by disobedience.
[2 Chronicles 19:2; Romans 2:4; Psalms 139:21; Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 7:10; 32:41; 1 Samuel
2:30; 2 Samuel 12:9,10; Psalms 68:1; 81:15; Isaiah 49:7; Jeremiah 23:17]

B. Truth and God's Word

Again, we might think no one would ever hate truth or hate God's word. But there are many ways
people are guilty, including the following:
Some people actively resent the restrictions or requirements of truth.
Isaiah 5:20,24 - Some people call evil good, and good evil. They reject the law of God and despise
His word. This goes hand in hand with the people who openly hate God. They love to practice
things that God says are evil, so they not only don't want to hear the truth, but the openly resent
it.
1 Kings 22:8 - Ahab said he hated the prophet Micaiah, because he always prophesied evil
concerning him. Ahab was the most wicked king of Israel up to that time. He married Jezebel,
worshiped idols, allowed Jezebel to have a man killed so Ahab could take his vineyard, and
followed evil of all kinds. When a true prophet told him the truth, he hated it.
The problem is that people want to live to please themselves. They do not want to be restricted.
An online student once said (in effect): "Don't tell us what to believe. Don't tell us what we have
to do." But the whole purpose of the Bible is to tell us what to believe and what to do!
Society is filled with people who argue against truth and defend other views, even when shown
what the Bible says. So they choose other religions, other religious authorities, or no authority at
all except their own desires. What God says is simply not what they want to believe, so they
openly hate it.
Some people resent being rebuked by God's word.
John 3:19-21 - People who love truth will come to God's word so it can reveal truth. But some
people hate the light and refuse to come to it, because they don't want their deeds exposed.
2 Chronicles 36:15,16 - God described the sins of Judah and how He sent His messengers to warn
them. But the people mocked the messengers, despised God's words, and scoffed at His
prophets. For such people, there was no remedy. God had no other solution: He sent them into
captivity.
Hebrews 12:5,6 - The New Testament likewise warns us not to despise the chastening of the Lord.
We should realize that chastisement and rebuke from God's word is based on God's love for us.
Like the parent who corrects a disobedient child, God corrects us hoping to lead us to be
righteous (vv 7-11). [Proverbs 3:11]
Again, rebuke of sin is an act of love, not of hatred. Properly done, it is for the benefit of one in
sin to lead him to repent and be saved. When people resent it, they hate the word of God.
Some people hate truth by refusing to obey it.
Psalms 50:16-20 - God says the wicked hate instruction and cast His words behind them. They
consent with thieves and fellowship adulterers, speak evil, slandering their brothers, etc. Note
that these people claimed God's covenant and taught His word (v16). But God says they had no
right to, because their conduct showed they hated His word.
Proverbs 1:7,22,29,30 - Foolish people despise wisdom and instruction. They hate knowledge and
despise reproof, because they will not listen to His teaching (vv 25,30). Their hatred is not open,
deliberate antagonism; it is simply a failure to appreciate truth enough to obey it.
Again, note who is guilty of sinful hatred. Our society thinks that the person who seeks to correct
sinners and lead them to the light is guilty of hate. The media repeatedly characterizes people
who speak against homosexuality as full of hate. People who read our web site often accuse us
of speaking from hatred because our articles rebuke sin.
But God says the person with sinful hatred is the person who resents teaching that shows people
their error, or people who simply do not obey what God says. All such constitutes hatred of God's
word.
[Leviticus 26:14,15; 1 Thessalonians 5:20; Psalms 107:11; Leviticus 26:43; Numbers 15:31; 2
Samuel 12:9,10; Ezekiel 16:59; 17:16-19; 20:13-24; Amos 2:4; Proverbs 5:12,13; 12:1; 13:13;
15:5,10,32; 23:9; Nehemiah 2:19; Isaiah 30:1,12]

Things We Should Hate

When people accuse those who rebuke sin of being guilty of hatred, they speak as if hatred is
always bad. But is love always good and hate always bad? Do people who say such things really
love everything and hate nothing?
Is everybody guilty of an improper hatred every time they speak out against something? Do these
people never speak out against anything? If they do, are they guilty of "hate speech"? When they
speak out against hatred, does that make them guilty of a "hate crime"?
Ecclesiastes 3:8 says there is "a time to love and a time to hate." God says it is proper to hate
some things. Whether we should hate or love depends on what we are talking about. Some things
should be hated and others should be loved. In truth, everybody hates and speaks against some
things, and rightly so.
In studying for this lesson, although I did not specifically count, I found about as many passages
that list things we should hate as passages that list things we should not hate. We are
commanded to hate just about as often as we are commanded not to hate - it all depends on
what you're talking about.
Consider some things God hates and expects us to hate:

A. Violence and Murder

Proverbs 6:16-19 - Immediately we see seven things God hates and abominates (and this is not a
complete list). Included are hands that shed innocent blood.
Psalms 11:5 - God hates the one who loves violence. Note it: God hates what some men love!
Psalms 5:5,6 - He hates all workers of iniquity. He abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
So God hates all violence and shedding of blood that men commit against innocent people.
When people accuse others of hatred because they speak out against evil, ask them about
violence. Do those people hate violence and murder, or do they love it? What about terrorism?
If they speak out against it, should they be accused of "hate speech" or "hate crimes"?
And if people can understand why God hates murder and why it is proper to hate murder, then
they ought to be able to understand why Christians hate abortion: because abortion is shedding
the blood of innocent human babies - innocent human beings.
[Jeremiah 7:9,10; Ezekiel 8:17; 35:6]

B. Stealing, Greed, and Business Dishonesty

Deuteronomy 25:13-16 - Unfair measurement is a way of cheating people in business - you
measure a product so as to give people less than what they paid for. It is a form of stealing. All
who do such things, and all who behave unrighteously, are an abomination to the Lord.
Proverbs 28:16 - He who hates covetousness (greed) will prolong his days.
Proverbs 15:27 - He who is greedy for gain troubles his house, but he who hates bribes will live.
That includes government corruption.
So God says we should hate greed and bribery.
What about people who say it is hatred to speak against things other people do? Many people
who say such things are politicians. Do they hate greed, stealing, and bribery - government
corruption - or do they love such things? Whether they practice these things or don't practice
them, either way they speak against them. Does that make them guilty of improper hatred?
Should such speech be outlawed as "hate speech" or "hate crimes"?
If they don't hate stealing, greed, and bribery, they should hate them, and it would be proper if
they did. God hates such practices. Do we?
[Jeremiah 7:9,10]

C. Lying and Deceit

Proverbs 6:16-19 - The list of things God hates include a lying tongue and a false witness who
speaks lies.
Proverbs 12:22 - Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are his
delight.
Psalms 119:163 - The psalmist says, "I hate and abhor lying, but I love your law." Note: whether
we should hate or love depends on what we are talking about.
Psalms 5:6 - God will destroy those who speak falsehood. He abhors the bloodthirsty and
deceitful man.
So God teaches us to love truth but to hate lying and deceit.
What about people who say it is hatred to speak against things other people do? Do they speak
out against lying and deceit, or do they love such things? Whether they practice such things or
not, either way they profess to be against them. Does that make them guilty of improper hatred?
Should such speech be outlawed as "hate speech" or "hate crimes"?
If they don't hate lying and deceit, they should hate them, and it would be proper if they did. God
hates such practices. Do we?
[Proverbs 13:5; 8:7; Zechariah 8:17; Jeremiah 7:9,10]

D. Pride
Proverbs 6:16-19 - The first thing in God's list of abominations is a proud look.
Proverbs 8:13 - The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Pride, arrogance, and the evil way and the
perverse mouth I hate.
Proverbs 16:5 - Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord. Though they join
forces, none shall go unpunished.
God hates pride, arrogance, and haughtiness. We should too.
What about people who say it is hatred to speak against things other people do? Do they speak
out against haughtiness and arrogance, or do they love such things? In truth, many of them are
elitists who think arrogantly and haughtily; but whether they practice such things or not, either
way they profess to be against them. Does that make them guilty of improper hatred? Should
such speech be outlawed as "hate speech" or "hate crimes"?
If they don't hate pride and arrogance, they should hate them, and it would be proper if they did.
God hates such attitudes. Do we?

E. Idolatry
One of the practices toward which God most frequently states His hatred is idolatry: worship of
false gods.
Deuteronomy 7:25,26 - Carved images of gods were an abomination to the Lord. God's people
should not bring idols into their home, but must utterly detest and utterly abhor them. How can
such statements be harmonized with the concept that God's people should love everything and
hate nothing? We must utterly detest and utterly abhor images of gods.
Psalms 31:6 - I have hated those who regard vain idols; but I trust in the Lord. Note again that the
reason God's people hate the practice of idolatry is that we trust in the true God. It's what we
are for that leads us to be against the opposite.
1 Peter 4:3,4 - People of the world (Gentiles) participate in various evils, including abominable
idolatries. They think it strange that Christians do not do the same and so "speak evil of us."
God hates the worship of idols and expects us to hate it too.
What about people who say it is hatred to speak against things other people do? Do they speak
out against idolatry, or do they love it? In truth, many of them probably don't care either way. If
they did speak against it, should such speech be outlawed as "hate speech" or "hate crimes"?
But the passages help explain the real problem. People "speak evil of us" accusing us of things
like "hate," when they agree with certain practices and "think it strange" that we don't participate
in them. The problem is not that we are guilty of improper hatred because we oppose sin. The
problem is that other people agree with the practice and seek some way to defuse our opposition
to it.
But if people don't hate idolatry, they should hate it, and it would be proper if they did. God hates
idolatry. Do we?
[Leviticus 18:26-30; 26:30; Deuteronomy 27:15; 12:31; 20:18; 32:16; Jeremiah 32:34,35; 44:4,22;
13:27; 16:18; 7:9,10; 30; Ezekiel 5:11; 6:11; 7:4-9,20; 8:6-17; 14:6; 16:22-59; 20:7ff; 1 Kings
11:5,7; 21:26; 2 Kings 16:3; 21:2,11; 23:13,24; 2 Chronicles 15:8; Isaiah 44:19]

F. False Teaching and False Religion

What is true of idolatry is also true of all religious error and false practice. God hates and opposes
everything the leads people to practice religious error.
Proverbs 21:27 - The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings
it with wicked intent. Sacrifices are wicked when they are not offered in harmony with God's
teachings, or when they are offered by a person who is not serving God in his daily life, or when
they are not offered sincerely with a true desire to please and honor God. All such is false religion
and God calls it an abomination. [15:8; 28:9]
Jeremiah 7:9,10 - People steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, and worship false gods,
then think they can worship God and be delivered to commit all these abominations. Note that
nearly everything we have studied is here called an abomination. But the specific abomination
here is false teaching that deceives people into thinking they can do all these things and God will
still accept them.
Proverbs 17:15 - He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike
are an abomination to the Lord. God hates false teaching that says good people are doing wrong
or bad people are doing good.
God hates false religion and false teaching and expects us to hate them too.
What about people who say it is hatred to speak against things other people do? Do they ever
disagree with other people religiously? Again, some of them probably don't care either way. But
many of them do defend their practices on the basis of religion, including homosexuality and
abortion. When they defend their practice on the basis of religion and say people who disagree
are religiously wrong, are they guilty of "hate speech" and "hate crimes"? Why is it that only
people who oppose practices religiously are guilty of "hate speech," but those who defend them
religiously are not?
Here again we get to the real root of the problem. Some people hold to false beliefs. The real
problem is not that we are guilty of improper hatred because we oppose sin. The problem is that
other people justify sin and get upset when we teach the truth.
But God says that religious error and false teaching are abominations. Is that what we believe?
[Proverbs 24:24; Isaiah 1:13,14]
G. Sexual Immorality
Jeremiah 7:9,10 - The abominations that Judah committed included adultery.
Malachi 2:16 - God hates divorce.
Leviticus 18:22; 20:13 - If a man lies with a male as with a woman he commits an abomination.
God hates the practice of adultery and homosexuality, just as He hates all these other sins we
have listed.
What about people who say it is hatred to speak against these things? Do they view adultery and
homosexuality as abominations or do they love them? Most of them might not openly defend
adultery, but they will defend homosexuality. If they speak against adultery, are they guilty of
"hate speech" and "hate crimes"? If not, then why accuse us of improper hatred when we oppose
homosexuality?
But the passages again help explain the real root of the problem. The real problem is not that we
are guilty of improper hatred because we oppose sin. The problem is that other people justify sin
and get upset when we teach the truth.
But God says adultery and homosexuality are abominations. Is that what we believe?
[Ezekiel 22:11; 33:26; 1 Kings 14:24]

Conclusion
When people accuse others of hatred for speaking out against certain practices, the practices
being discussed usually include homosexuality and abortion - both of which were once illegal in
most places in the USA within our lifetime! Everybody spoke against them (if they spoke at all).
Nobody was accused of "hate speech" or a "hate crime" to speak against them! How can it be
that, in a single lifetime, speaking against an act changes from something everybody knew should
be done to a hate crime?
Do these people really believe that every time anybody speaks out against anything, he is guilty
of "hate speech"?
Do they think they are guilty of a "hate crime" every time they speak out against anything? Of
course not. The consequence of their view is that nobody could ever speak against anything. But
even they speak against some things. Then how do they know that everybody who speaks against
homosexuality is guilty of an improper hatred?
The truth is they know better than to say the things they do! Whether they consciously realize it
or not, they are part of a deception. When they speak against what they oppose, they defend
that as "freedom of speech." When we speak against what we oppose, they call it a "hate
crime"! They know it is not always wrong to speak against practices.
So why do they accuse us of hatred?
It's a psychological trick, a form of manipulation and intimidation. By accusing us of hate:
1) They hope to make us feel guilty and keep quiet. Christians are supposed to love, not hate
(they think). So if they can convince us that speaking against evil is hate, we will hush.
2) They hope to discredit us in the eyes of others. They believe people in general are opposed to
"hate." So if they can make it look like we are guilty of hate, people won't want to stand with us.
3) They are preparing the groundwork for persecution of those who speak against homosexuality
and other immorality. First they convince people it is "hate" just to speak against these practices.
Then they pass laws to penalize "hate speech" as a "hate crime." Then if we won't hush, we get
thrown in jail or fined. This is not imagination. It's already happening in other nations.
But this all follows if they can convince people that speaking against evil is "hate speech," even
though they must know it really is not true!
So we have learned that everyone hates.
Good people hate evil practices, and evil people hate good practices. So whose hatred is wrong?
Good people hate and speak against the practices that God hates and speaks against. They are
just imitating God and obeying His word. But evil people love what God hates, and they try to
silence and punish those who obey God's command to oppose evil. What you hate depends on
whether or not you believe in God and His word.

Guide Questions for Reflection

1. Do you hate what God hates?
2. Do you love what God loves?
3. Surely hatred is often bad, but is it always wrong or evil?
4. What should we not hate?
5. Is it ever acceptable to hate?