Proverbs 15:9

Is your lifestyle an abomination to God? Or does He love you and your righteous living? You can see the two kinds of men, and your daily choices determine which one you are. If God hates your life, you are in trouble. If He loves you, then you are greatly favored. God liked David, and what a difference that made in his life (I Chr 28:4; Ps 18:19-26).

Most cannot imagine that God hates anything, for they have been nursed since birth on the heresy that God loves them unconditionally no matter how they might live. They have never read Solomon’s inspired warnings (Pr 6:16-19; 3:32; 11:20; 12:22; 15:8; 16:5; 17:15; 28:9). They assume, God may hate the devil, but He loves me no matter what.

Here is a priceless warning from a rich and wise king. He wrote for your prosperity and success, both of which are impossible if God is against you. When God loves a person, a boy sold into slavery can take the nation’s throne, or an orphan girl can become queen, or a neutered captive can become the king’s chief advisor. Think Joseph, Esther, and Daniel.

Examine your life. Does it please or offend God? The Bible is the only standard that counts. God does not care what you think, your parents think, your pastor thinks, or what is politically correct. Popular trends and evolving social values make Him sick. He is holy and righteous, and He will never approve of fools or their wicked lifestyles, ever.

It is your duty and privilege to confess your sins to God, for He will forgive and prosper you (Pr 28:13). You must learn to hate every thought that is contrary to His word, as David did (Ps 119:128). The world does not have a clue about right or wrong, especially in this generation (Is 8:20; I Tim 6:3-5). The choice is yours – and God sees everything.

Most say, “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.” But it is not from the Bible! Men invented this jingle to tickle the ears of fools, who want a God that will accept them no matter what. It is no truer than a tooth fairy. When this proverb is understood, it confirms the truth that God abhors and loathes wicked persons, their prayers, and their lifestyle.

Consider perverse thinking today. Sodomy is no longer an abomination to the LORD; it is gay! Adultery is no longer an abomination to the LORD; it is a love affair! Rebellious children are no longer an abomination to the LORD; they are hyperactive! But wise men accept all of God’s precepts and hate every contrary opinion (Ps 119:97-104,113,128).

The proverb has two contrasted clauses that provide the full meaning. God hates the way of the wicked, and God loves the man pursuing righteousness. By comparing “the way of the wicked” with “him that followeth after righteousness,” you can learn that God hates both the sinner and his lifestyle and loves both the righteous man and his lifestyle. Note the change from sin to sinner in Solomon’s list of seven things God hates (Pr 6:16-19).

Consider the context. The previous proverb is similar and helps reveal the hatred God has for sinful lifestyles. “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight” (Pr 15:8). God even hates the religious worship of wicked persons. But He loves the prayers of upright people. When a man chooses to sin against Him, God despises and loathes his worship (Pr 21:27; 28:9; Is 1:10-15).

The difference is great! Either God abominates your life, or He loves it. Either you follow the way of wickedness, or you follow the way of righteousness. How can you grasp the difference between God’s hatred and His love? It is very great! You cannot avoid God either despising you or favoring you. Most do not care anymore, because they have been seduced into carnal living by false teaching of God’s unconditional love for them.

Of course, the fairy tale, “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner,” is comforting. But you should prove that saying or any other before you believe it (Pr 14:15; Acts 17:11; I Thess 5:21). Let God be true, but every man a liar (Rom 3:4). The effeminate teachers that suggest such nonsense do not have a clue about the God of the Bible nor His righteous judgment of sinners. They flatter sinners to build their crowds and pad their pockets.

Are those in hell singing, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so”? Did Noah wire a neon smiley face outside the ark that read, “Smile! God loves you!”? What will Jesus Christ mean, when He says to the wicked on the Day of Judgment, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matt 7:23). Do you suppose He loves Satan as well, who is much more glorious than any man?

What else does the Bible say about the wicked? David wrote, “For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.” (Ps 5:4-6). Surprised? If you are a typical Christian today, the only psalm you likely know is Psalm 23.

David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, also wrote, “The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright” (Ps 11:4-6).

The God of heaven is holy before He is love. He cannot look approvingly on any sin (Hab 1:13). He cannot acquit the wicked (Nah 1:3). He cannot clear the guilty (Ex 34:7). He loves righteousness, and He hates iniquity (Ps 45:7; Heb 1:9). He drowned the world with a flood. He burned up the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He annihilated the seven nations of Canaan. He is angry at the wicked every day (Ps 7:11). This is the true God.

This part of God’s nature is ignored today, because men want a sugar daddy in the sky that will smile and hand them cotton candy when they sin. But consider David, who was the man after God’s own heart. He hated the enemies of God with a perfect hatred (Ps 139:21-22; 26:5; 31:6; II Sam 5:8). When his son Jehoshaphat tried to befriend a wicked man, God became angry at him for this perversion of righteousness (II Chron 19:2).

How can God love anyone, since all are sinners (Ps 14:1-3; Rom 3:23)? He chose some in Christ Jesus before the world began that they should be holy and blameless before Him in love (Eph 1:3-4). Because of that choice in Christ, He views them as perfectly holy in His sight. He predestinated them to become His sons by gracious adoption, because He had chosen by His own will to make them acceptable in Christ the Beloved (Eph 1:5-6).

God’s love is a choice, and He chooses to love some (Rom 9:14-18). It is for this very important reason that the Bible speaks of Jesus Christ loving the church (Eph 5:25), of nothing interrupting the love of God for His people (Rom 8:29-39), Jesus confirming that He would not lose a single one that God had given Him to save (John 6:38-39; 10:26-29; 17:2), and that He only lovingly chastens His children, not the bastards (Heb 12:6-8).

Of course, this doctrine is despised and hated. Men come into this world as fools, and most remain fools. Only those born again by the Spirit of God to tremble before God and His Word can see and believe the truth (John 3:3; 8:47). It is only they who can understand the things of God (I Cor 2:14; II Cor 4:3-4; II Thess 2:9-14). It is only they who will examine their lives, repent of known sins, and choose the path of righteousness.

Reader! The evidence that you are one of God’s elect and beloved in heaven is your pursuit of righteous living (II Pet 1:5-11; I Thess 1:2-4; Matt 7:21-23). Turn from the wicked ways of this world and follow the strait and narrow way He has defined for you in the Bible (Matt 7:13-14). You will be blessed and prospered in this world and the next.