In our last article, we focused on Romans
1:28-32, in which the Apostle Paul included a rather extensive list of sins and
actions that are manifested through the rejection of God. There are a lot of rather distasteful
activities associated with such a rejection; fornication, envy, murder, strife,
inventors of evil things, and the list goes on.
Sadly, a brief look at modern culture proves that the words of Paul are
true and applicable throughout every time period and culture. We see hatred being spewed by those who have
rejected God and many of the actions that Paul describes in Romans 1 are easily
seen simply by watching the news each evening.
The foundation for Paul’s description of society is the rejection of
God, which can often come through one of the problems that is contained in Paul’s
list: “haters of God” (1:30). In our own
culture, we’ve seen this concept at work; society has come to hate God and
therefore reject Him, His commands/word, and His followers. But what does it mean to hate God? How does
one come to hate God?
Recently, there was a video online in which an
individual was offered a Bible for free and was told that she could do with it
as she chose. Her response was to take
the Bible (multiple Bibles, actually) and then say that she would burn them. Instead of burning them, however, she
proceeded to walk outside and start throwing the Bibles against the outside of
the building. Where does such hatred
come from? Does she even understand what she purports to hate? Often, “haters
of God” become such simply because they do not understand Him, nor do they care
to understand Him. Many reject the Bible
and argue against the principles set forth in it without ever actually
considering it; there are many “articles” out there condemning the Bible, but
they arrive at their conclusions not through the careful preponderance of
evidence, but rather through the twisting of the Scriptures into what they are
not (2 Peter 3:16). Through many of the
arguments this particular individual stated, it was clear that she lacked any
actual knowledge concerning what she so vehemently hated. Some things never change; remember that many
were extremely angry with Paul in Ephesus and were rioting, but most of them
had no idea why they were so mad (see Acts 19:21-41).
On this same concept, King Solomon wrote that “it
is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, And he sins who hastens with
his feet. The foolishness of a man
twists his way, And his heart frets against the Lord” (Proverbs 19:2-3). Too many arrive at the conclusion that
society suffers because of God and religion (“without knowledge”) and therefore
support outright wickedness (“hastens with his feet”). In a list of what God hates, Solomon included
a “heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil”
(Proverbs 6:18). The principle is that
those who hate God and all that He represents will hasten to do the exact opposite. While the NKJV version of Proverbs 19:3
states the people described “frets” against the Lord, the NASB translates it as
“And his heart rages against the Lord.”
How else could “haters of God” be perceived? The wicked of the world
rage against the righteousness of the Lord and support the wicked deeds
described by the Apostle Paul in Romans 1.
Frequently, coming to hate God is a gradual
digression; many do not start out with hatred for Him, but the world will
happily teach this hatred. In Matthew
6:24, Jesus said that no “one can serve two masters; for either he will hate
the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and
mammon.” In the context, Jesus spoke of
obedience to God and aligning our priorities correctly (such as directing what
we see appropriately, laying up our treasures in heaven, etc.). If our focus is primarily on the things of
this world and pleasures of sin, then we will come to hate God and everything
that He stands for. Where we align
ourselves will direct our perspective towards God; do we seek this worlds
treasures to the detriment of our obedience to God? Then we will come to
despise God and love materialistic things.
In the context of our original passage, Paul wrote that those who reject
God in favor of sin seek to “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” and will
exchange “the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature
rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:18-32).
Why would truth be rejected in favor of an ungodly lie?
Jesus expressed the principle that those who love
darkness (wickedness/lawlessness) will hate the light, the deeds of the light,
and those who practice the light. In
John 3:19-21, Jesus stated that “this is the condemnation, that the light has
come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their
deeds were evil. For everyone practicing
evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be
exposed. But he who does the truth comes
to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in
God.” Interestingly enough, Jesus also
stated that “it [the world] hates Me because I testify of it that its works are
evil” (John 7:7). Not only do many hate
God, but that hatred extends to His followers.
In John 15:18-20, Jesus said that “If the world hates you, you know that
it hated Me before it hated you. If you
were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I
chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A
servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also
persecute you. If they kept My word,
they will keep yours also.”
There is a clear connection between loving this
present world and the hating of God. The
point is clearly made by Jesus who said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments”
(John 14:15). The alternative is clearly
true – if we love the things of this world, and refuse to do His will, then we
become haters of God.
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