Hate Evil

“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil,” Proverbs 8:13. But I thought we were supposed to love everything, and rejoice always! And didn’t Jesus say, “Love your enemies, pray for them and bless them?” How can we be told to hate evil but love our enemies? How do we rejoice in that?

My pastor says we are to hate the sin but love the sinner. Unfortunately, what people often do is tolerate the sin and give the sinner a pass, thinking they are being compassionate and merciful.

Scripture says, God is always angry with sin, and hates evil. It says, “All men are sinners, therefore all men commit sin.” But then it says, “God showed His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” Romans 5:8.

So He hates sin and the evil associated with it, but continues to love sinners. God’s hate is as strong as His love, but He has given man a way to escape the wrath of His hate, and it through Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for our sin.