Hate
1 John 2:9-11 (NASB)
9 The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.
10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
11 But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
The word “hate” is being used a lot lately. It seems our world is becoming more and more polarized. When others constantly accuse you of being hateful or unloving, there is a tendency to doubt yourself. You begin asking yourself, “Is it true? Do I hate other people?” The apostle John saw some of the same things in his day. His words can help us to get back to the truth, and determine if we are in the Light or darkness.
Truth
The apostle John focuses quite a bit on truth. Jesus said that the devil is a liar and the father of lies.
John 8:44 (NASB)
44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
When someone accuses of being a certain way or believing something, take a moment to stop and think about what they are saying. Is it really true? If not, then don’t receive it. In other words, don’t let it affect you.
Next, choose how you are going to respond. Remember, always act, never react. How would Jesus respond to this type of accusation? You want to let the other person know that they are mistaken, but you want to say it in love.
Love
1 John 4:7-8 (NASB)
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
John was known as the Apostle of Love. This is a major theme in his writings. We, as Christians, love others, because Jesus loved us first. He gave all that He had so that we could be forgiven of our sins and spend eternity with Him. With that kind of love as our example, of course we are going to love others.
1 John 4:9-11 (NASB)
9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Evidence
John 13:35 (NASB)
35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
These are the words of Jesus. True Christians have love for each other. Conversely, those without love are not true Christians. The apostle John said that there were people in his day who used to be among them, but they left, because they did not really believe in Christ, and they did not want to serve Him.
1 John 2:19 (NASB)
19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
Just because someone claims to be a Christian doesn’t make it so. I could say that I’m the greatest basketball player ever (I’m not), but unless I prove it to you, you probably wouldn’t believe me. If someone tells me that they are a Christian, but they are yelling at me, telling me that I hate them (when I don’t), I’m not going to believe what they are saying.
Fruit
This is where we need to know who we are and what we believe. If we are speaking the truth in love, it is not hate! Jesus always spoke the truth in love, but he constantly had people angry with Him. The religious leaders even conspired together to lie and have Jesus put to death. They convinced themselves that they were doing what was best for the people. They knew that lying and murder was wrong, but they managed to justify it to themselves.
1 John 3:10 (NASB)
10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.
Don’t tell me you love me; show me.
Matthew 7:20 (NASB)
20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits.
Confidence
Hebrews 10:19-22 (NASB)
19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
If we know that we are following Christ and love Him sincerely, we don’t need to doubt ourselves. We aren’t depending on our own good works or abilities. We are depending on His. Jesus did the work. He paid the price, made the way, showed us the way, then drew us to Himself. Look in verse 22: “having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” This is what Jesus did for us and to us. If God says that I am clean, who am I to disagree? Who is anyone else to disagree? What right does anyone else have to say that I’m not?
Romans 8:31 (NASB)
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
Humility
At the same time, we need to guard our hearts, so that we don’t become prideful and think that we are better than anyone else. That’s what starts the whole downward spiral.
Romans 12:3-5 (NASB)
3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,
5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
The Bible says that as Christians, we are all part of the body of Christ. If a part of our body is hurting, we take care of it. We don’t hurt it more.
We should always look for ways to help each other, not hurt each other.
Forgiveness
Ephesians 4:32 (NASB)
32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Without forgiveness, there is no love. Love cannot exist where there is unforgiveness. We will inevitably say or do something to offend each other, even with the best intentions. If we are willing to forgive the other person, we are showing them true love. If we say that they need to pay or suffer for what they said or did, that’s not love.
Matthew 6:14-15 (NASB)
14 “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
1 John 4:7 (NASB)
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
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