Our LoveHate Relationship with God
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
“As warm as His love is to sinners, so hot is His hatred of sin; as perfect as is His righteousness, so complete shall be the destruction of every form of wickedness.” – C.H. Spurgeon
God is love.
Hopefully, we hear that simple message from our pulpits every Sunday because it is true. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” I John 4:7-8 (NKJV)
That same sentiment – and that same truth – is repeated just eight verses later. “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” I John 4:16 (NKJV)
However, God is also H-O-L-Y. Close your eyes and listen to the cries of the cherubim above God’s throne in Isaiah 6:3, “And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!’”
Because God is holy, He cannot tolerate sin. In fact, His holiness requires – and outright demands – that sin be punished. However, because He is also equal parts L-O-V-E, He devised a plan by which He could punish sin while still loving the sinner.
Enter the Lord Jesus Christ, our sin payment, the Lamb of God who was slain from the foundation of the world (see Revelation 13:8). At Calvary’s cross, God’s holiness and His love met… and both were fully satisfied.
My friend, please don’t take God’s unconditional love for granted. Remember He is just as holy as He is loving, so learn to hate the things He hates with a passion.
“There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to evil, a false witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up discord among brothers.” Proverbs 6:16-19 (BSB)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
