I
think the answer to the question is frightening. Someone who says he or
she abides in Christ and does not hate evil is not a Christian. And,
the first thing, the VERY first thing many immediately jump to is that I
am “expecting sinless perfection.”
Let
me go on record: I am not talking about sinless perfection. First of
all, that false doctrine is not biblical, and secondly, the sinless
perfection accusation seems to always be the last ditch effort of
someone unable to handle the argument. In fact, when Jesus taught His
disciples to pray, he told them to pray to the Father: “Lead us not into
temptation but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:14 NKJV).
Christ and evil do not mix, do not go hand in hand, and those who do not
reject evil as a way of life are not Christians!
If
you are truly regenerated, born again, by the Spirit of God then the
inclination or bent of your life should be one that hates evil. That is
how Christ walked. He hated evil. He died to conquer evil. What's your
excuse?
Think
of what evil did to you when you were born into this world. You were
not only born with an evil, sinful nature but you were also conceived in
sin (Psalms 51:5). Your innate evil nature made you unable to hear,
understand, or respond to the claims of Jesus Christ revealed in the
Gospel (Romans 3:10-18; Ephesians 2:1-10; Romans 8:7; Colossians 1:21;
James 1:14, 15; Matthew 15:19).
"But
the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for
they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14)
Note
the phrase: “...nor can he know them...” the man born into evil has not
even the ability, to exercise himself Godward. This is what evil has
done to the human race.
So
evil were we, in fact, that in order for God to get through to us with
His Gospel, the Son of God had to become the God-Man, die on a cross for
sin, resurrect, and ascend to His royal place at the right hand of the
Throne of God (Ephesians 1:19-22). Then, while we were yet dead in our
sins and could not—unable to know the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14), God had to draw us to the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (John 6:44). We could not
come otherwise. Then God had to, while we were still dead and unable to
come to Christ, make us alive in Christ, saving us by His Grace:
“And
you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you
once walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of
disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the
lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who
is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even
when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by
grace you have been saved),” (Ephesians 2:1-5)
Tell me, is this not reason enough to hate evil?
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