(they abandoned God)
The source of the problem here is people's misconception about
Love [esp. where God is concerned].
People think they know what love is, and then impose their
understanding of it onto God as if God has to fit their ideal -
the minute He uses His justice or allows anything outside their little
box that seems contrary to their perception of "love", then
God get's questioned - and worse, scripture gets maligned in order
to fit their ideal.
*instead of letting God define His love for us so that we
can understand His fullness - His attributes and how they
all work in harmony*
Have you read these verses?
Psalm 5:4-6
4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;
No evil dwells with You.
5 The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes;
You hate all who do iniquity.
6 You destroy those who speak falsehood;
The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
Psalm 11:4-6
4The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD'S throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will rain snares;
Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.
-------------
Revelation 20:10
The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Revelation 20:9-11 (in Context) Revelation 20 (Whole Chapter) - Revelation 21:8
But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
------
Proverbs 3:32
32 For the devious are an abomination to the LORD;
But He is intimate with the upright.
Proverbs 11:20
20 The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD,
But the blameless in their walk are His delight.
Proverbs 16:5
5 Everyone proud in heart
is an abomination to the LORD;
Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.
Proverbs 12:22
22 Lying lips
are an abomination to the LORD,
But those who deal truthfully
are His delight.
Proverbs 17:15
15 He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just,
Both of them alike
are an abomination to the LORD.
(other bible versions use "He detests" in place of abomination)
15 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent
the LORD detests them both.
These verses speak of Gods dislike of PEOPLE, not just their
actions; "
love the sinner hate the sin".
Here's what David (the apple of God's eye) said:
Psalm 139:19-22
19 Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
20 For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take
Your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
--------------
* Paul taught that jealousy was carnal - but he also
taught there was a Godly type of jealousy:
1 Corinthians 13:4
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous;
love does not brag and is not arrogant,
Galatians 5:20
idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger,
disputes, dissensions, factions,
2 Corinthians 11:2
For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy;
for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ
I might present you as a pure virgin.
There is an evil and pure jealousy - I believe the
same is true of hatred as well since we do feel it
within us as an emotion. It is who it is aimed at
and why and what we do with it that makes all
the difference.
--------------
The following segment is from a Pastor who taught on God's hatred
of the wicked - and how it seems to contrast with Christ's
message in the NT:
Matthew 5:43-44
Love Your Enemies
43 You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
44 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,
*
commentary by Pastor*
[SIZE=+1]Now how do Psalm 139 and Matthew 5 jibe? Didn't Jesus say that YOU HAVE HEARD to hate your enemies, BUT I SAY to love your enemies? [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Let's think about this. Where had the crowd heard to hate their enemies? [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Look over at verse 27:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Matthew 5: (27) You have heard that it was said to the ancients: "Do not commit adultery."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Where had the crowd heard to not commit adultery? From the Bible! [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Jesus said, YOU HAVE HEARD to not commit adultery, BUT I SAY. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Was Jesus contradicting the law not to commit adultery? Was He saying that it was no longer a law that was to be kept? No. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]He was saying that they had misinterpreted and misused this law. The same goes for hating one's enemy. They had misused it. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]They had used it to justify doing harm or not doing good to their enemies. But Jesus said that they are to LOVE their enemies. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Let's go back to Psalm 139:22:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Psalm 139: (22) I hate them [with] a perfect hatred; they have become my enemies.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]What does it mean to hate in the first part of this verse? God gives us the answer in the second part of the verse. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]It means to count someone as an enemy. Are Christians to count the God-haters as their enemies? Of course they are. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Now back to Matthew 5:44:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Matthew 5: (44) but I say to you, Love your enemies; [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Jesus says "enemies," doesn't he? [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]So he is confirming that we are to count them as our enemies, which is the same as hating them in Psalm 139. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]And how are we to behave towards our enemies, towards those we hate? We are to love them. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]And, as we have seen before in love toward the unregenerate, this means that we are to have their well-being in mind and to act accordingly. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]We are not to harm them or wish to harm them; we are not to seek revenge. We are to bless them, and do well to them, and to pray for them. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]They are still our enemies, and we are to hate them as such. But our hatred of them does NOT mean that we are to seek to harm them. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]We are to love them by doing good to them and praying for them. And one of the ways in which we do good to them is to tell them that they are lost and their deeds are evil. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]We do not tell them this out of malice, but out of love, because we seek the best for them. I hope that helps.[/SIZE]
Again, what we find is that there's no contradiction going on
in God's hatred of people who do horrible things.
And this makes sense why God can and will send them to
an eternal separation from Him when they choose to continue
to live in their sin and rebellion.
He is perfect love and perfect justice and perfect in grace/mercy.
