People Who Hate God

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And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God,... Romans 1:28-30

Hate God? Whether you define “hatred” as “loving less” or a deep-seated animosity towards someone, what must characterize people who are “haters of God”? A number of passages give us a character profile of the God-hater and some of them may surprise us.

Those who will not acknowledge God hate Him

Look again at the context of Romans 1:28-30. Paul speaks of some who did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer and then mentioned “haters of God.” In this context, Paul spoke of those who had examined the abundant evidence for God but refused to acknowledge Him and His will as that which would govern their lives. A cause and effect relationship is involved here. The effect of hating God is caused by a refusal to acknowledge Him. It is only a matter of time that a refusal to give God His proper place in our thinking results in our hating him.

Haters of God reject the miraculous signs that Jesus performed

If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before {it hated} you….He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But (this cometh to pass), that the word may be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. John 15:18, 23-25

It is not unusual in some religious circles to hear of certain “intellectual” theologians who reject most, if not all, of the miracles done by Jesus and actively teach this unbelief to others. They scoff at the idea that someone could actually walk on water, calm stormy seas, restore sight to the blind, or raise the dead. They hated Jesus two-thousand years ago who rejected His miracles and they hate God today who do this. It is no insignificant matter to reject the miracles of the Lord.

To dislike the condemnation of evil is to hate God
The world cannot hate you; but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil. John 7:7

Considered to be just as unfashionable as a belief in the miraculous is any preaching and teaching that mentions “sin” and “sinners” and that condemn both. Such is allegedly “judgmental” and “insensitive” and should be avoided at all cost, some will tell us. However, Jesus didn’t remain aloof from such and neither should we. Part of the Holy Spirit’s work through the preaching, teaching, and writing of the apostles was to convict the world concerning sin…, John 17:8, and we should not shun the use of the inspired scriptures to do this very thing

God-haters give allegiance to someone (thing) other than, or in addition to, Him

You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. Exodus 20:5-6

God knew that idolatry would be a problem when the Jews crossed the Jordan into Canaan and issued stern warnings against it. It was the sin that brought about both the Babylonian and Assyrian captivities. It was no less a problem in the first century (Little children, guard yourselves from idols, 1 John 5:21) and still plagues Christians today. Tangible figurines don’t have to be made and erected in our homes in order for us to become idolaters. Simply allowing any thing, or any one, to have first place in our lives makes us guilty.

Conclusion

A person doesn’t have to live a hedonistic lifestyle or be an atheist in order to be a hater of God. Whether I hate Him as described in the above passages or in some other way, I need to be sobered by the realization that God will not tolerate it and there will be a price to pay: when I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me. Deuteronomy 32:41.

David Smitherman

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People Who Hate God