“God hates all workers of iniquity” (Psalm 5:5). “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (Romans 9:13). These are strong words from a God whom we understand to be a God of love. They are not mild or gentle statements. They confront us with the sobering holiness of God. And yet, we also confess that God is love. So how do we hold these truths together without watering either one down? Is Scripture contradicting itself, or is it revealing something deeper about the very nature of God?
Many Christians attempt to resolve this tension with the familiar phrase, “God hates the sin but loves the sinner.” While that statement contains an element of truth, it can be overly simplistic. After all, sinners themselves go to Hell, not just their sins. The deeper issue is not a slogan, it’s how we understand God’s holiness, justice, mercy, and grace. Where you land on the Calvinist–Arminian spectrum will largely be determined by how you understand these Scriptures. Still, the call to wrestle with both divine love and divine wrath is a part of every Christian’s spiritual growth.
The Shocking Language of Jesus
Jesus Himself used startling language when calling people to discipleship:
If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else… even your own life. (Luke 14:26, NLT)
Of course, Jesus was speaking hyperbolically here. This was not a call to literal hatred (which would violate His instructions in other areas). “Hate” is a call to supreme allegiance. Jesus was teaching that nothing, not even the most sacred relationships, can rival our devotion to Him. Following Christ demands absolute surrender. In other words, we are to.love God so strongly that, by comparison, we hate everything else. At the same time, He also commanded radical love:
You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. (Matthew 5:43–45, NLT)
Here we see the heart of the Father reflected in the Son. God will not call us to do what He will not do Himself. Even those who rebel against God still receive daily mercies: sun, rain, breath, food, life itself. The theological term for this is Common Grace.
The Mercy Everyone Experiences
Commenting on these verses, Pastor Neil Silverberg explains:
God bestows a level of grace on all of his creation…That means that both wicked farmers who curse God and righteous farmers who worship him partake of the blessings of sun and rain. ¹
Scripture affirms this truth again and again:
- John 3:16: God loved the world, meaning humanity in general.
- Romans 5:8: Christ died for us while we were still sinners.
- 1 Timothy 2:3–4: God desires all people to be saved.
- 2 Peter 3:9: God is not willing that any should perish.
So yes, there is a real, genuine sense in which God’s love extends to all people. Every heartbeat is a mercy. Every sunrise is patience. Every breath is an undeserved gift.
But There Is Also a Greater, Saving Love
Yet Scripture also makes an unmistakable distinction. While God’s general love sustains the world, His saving love is experienced fully only by those who respond to Him through faith in Christ:
He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. (John 14:21)
Here is the tension we must not ignore: God is both merciful and holy. His love is real, but so is His wrath against sin. His hatred of evil is not a flaw in His character; it is a necessary expression of His perfect goodness. A God who does not hate what destroys His creation is not truly loving at all. Sin cannot survive in the presence of perfect holiness-unless grace intervenes.
Where Justice and Mercy Meet
That intervention is found in one place alone: The Cross.
In Christ, the justice of God and the mercy of God collide. Sin is judged fully. Love is displayed fully. Wrath is satisfied. Grace is unleashed. The cross is not God choosing between justice and love-it is God displaying both at the same time, without compromise.
This is reflected in the bold preaching of Jesus’s disciples. Their message was not a tepid “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” Humanity’s rebellion against God and the reality of His wrath was key to their presentation of the Gospel:
- Peter at Pentecost: “You crucified and killed Him” (Acts 2:23)
- Stephen before the Sanhedrin: “You stiff-necked people, resisting the Spirit” (Acts 7:51)
- Paul at Athens: “He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world” (Acts 17:31)
However, judgment was never the final word:
- Peter: “Repent… for the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 2:38)
- Peter at Cornelius’ house: “Everyone who believes receives forgiveness” (Acts 10:43)
- Paul: “By Him everyone who believes is justified” (Acts 13:39)
The same message echoes through every generation: Judgment is real-but so is mercy. Wrath is deserved-but grace is offered.
So does God hate? Yes, He hates wickedness, rebellion, pride, violence, and everything that destroys what He made good. Does God love? Yes, He loves so deeply that He gave His Son for His enemies.And at the center of it all stands Jesus Christ-the living resolution of divine justice and divine mercy.
The real question is not whether God is loving or holy. The real question is this:
What will you do with Jesus?
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
You cannot remain neutral. To reject Christ is to remain under judgment. To receive Him is to move from wrath into mercy, from darkness into light, from death into life.
God’s patience right now is not permission to delay. Rather, it is an invitation to repent.
If you have trusted in your own goodness, lay it down.
If you have hidden behind religious language without true repentance, come honestly to the cross.
If you have wandered far, the door of mercy is still open, but it will not remain open forever.
Turn to Christ. Trust Him. Follow Him. Love Him above all else. Because in Him alone, the God who hates evil and the God who loves sinners meets you with forgiving, transforming, saving grace.
Keep It Real,
James
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Silverberg, Neil. The Blessings of Common Grace. September 5, 2017.
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