Proverbs 6:16-19. 16There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, 19a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
God hates sin. I mean he really, really hates it. Sin is an abomination to God. This is a strong word that means that you are disgusted by something, or that it makes you very, very angry. Things like child sacrifice, prostitution, and unjust scales are all things that the Old Testament calls an abomination to God. When Solomon says there are six things…no, seven, that is his way of saying that we could keep adding to this list of sins that God hates. Again, the point is that God hates sin.
Why does God hate our sin so much? There are two big reasons why God hates sin so much and why he considers it an abomination. 1) Himself, and 2) Us.
1. Himself. God hates sin because he is holy and wholly perfect, and sin violates his perfect holiness. God is a trinity, therefore God loves and respects God. God hates sin because all sin fails to love and respect God. The Father hates sin because it fails to glorify the Son. The Son hates sin because it falls short of loving the Spirit. The Spirit hates sin because it dishonors the Father and the Son, and so on… God’s hatred of our sin is not egotistic or self-protective. It is love. Trinitarian love.
2. Us. God also hates sin because he loves us. In the end our sin doesn’t harm God. He transcends all we do and could live on eternally without us. God doesn’t need us, but God wants us. However, our sin has separated us from God and requires his justice and wrath to be poured out upon it. On a more down to earth level, our sin enslaves us, blinds us, stunts us, and hardens us. Our sin makes us even more selfish and keeps us from loving God and others. Sin turns us into something less than what God intended for us – his image bearer.
The person in Christ must consider themselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ. Our union with the death of Christ on the cross has freed us from sin’s abominable power. We are no longer disgusting to God! Trusting in our union with Christ’s death is the only cure for sin’s raging force of death and sin’s daily destructive temptation in our souls. As we learn to trust in God’s great love for us more and more, we will trust less and less in our sinful habits to sustain us.
An ever increasing love for God is the only way to experience and ever increasing hatred of sin.
You: Are there any sins in your life that you struggle to hate?
You in Christ: How does focusing on God’s love for us decrease our love for sin?
Christ in you: Can you see how Christ is at work in you by the Spirit to cause you to love God and hate sin? How can you participate in that work today?
Pray: Father, I want to hate sin as much as you do. Help me to love you more and hate my sin more today. Amen.
To Live is Christ 