Hate Evil, Love God

Psalm 97:10 says, "Hate evil, you who love the Lord..."

You can get an simpler than that. The dominating view of Scripture towards evil is to hate it. Hate it in all it forms and deceptions. Don't rationalize with it. Don't debate with it. Run from it. Whether it be immorality, anger or slander. 1 Peter 2:1 says to lay "aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander." This is to be put off once and for all! Romans 12:9 says we are to "abhor what is evil." We can say "amen" to such Scripture but each time we give in to evil, we are loving it rather than the Lord. The remedy to such is to "walk by the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the desires of the flesh" (Gal.5:16). Let's live that way today!

God takes pleasure in holiness

Psalms 5:4 - For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You. (NASBEC - CadreBible)

I am so thankful when I read a verse like this. God is so unlike us. His pleasure is righteousness not evil as the context reveals. David knew that and called on God to rescue him from his enemies. No evil dwells with God. What about you? What are you taking pleasure in?

Grieved...

I recently learned that some former members of my church have now taken up social drinking. They say they are happy now in their Christian life because the restraints have been removed. I fear where this is heading. Sure we have liberty but what about those brothers or sisters who stumble with this? Romans 14 teaches that my liberty is limited if it causes another Christian to stumble. That means I am not at liberty to live any way I choose. Paul says in Ephesians 4 that I am to preserve or maintain the unity of the fellowship. I can't do that if I am not careful with the questionable things I pursue.

Can we live any way we choose?

After spending a week teaching on practical holiness, I am even more convinced that we are to pursue holiness at all costs. God commands us to be holy. That mean we are refuse to give our affections or devotion to the world in any way. In the words of Ephesians 4:1 we are to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. In other words, our behavior and lifestyle is to be consistent or balanced with our calling.