by: Dr. Bruce Goddard
Romans 12:9, “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.”
Everyone likes preaching on love. We all are sure that loving, kind words are right next to godliness. But it appears that a love that is not fake, a love “without dissimulation” is tied directly to some things rarely mentioned in Christian circles today. Things that make us uncomfortable.
Yes, I am headed for some hard-nosed, narrow ideas here. Do you remember what Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:9, “But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.”
We all know we ought to be loving towards the brethren. We don’t need to write about that. What we need instruction on is staying right! So look at these three phrases together.
Love without dissimulation
Abhor evil
Cleave to good
These are connected to one another. You cannot love right and act as though wrong is acceptable. It is difficult to keep the balance between kindness, grace and abhorring evil, but it must be sought after. If we do not know what to abhor, we will love what we should not love. Likewise, if we do not cleave to good, we will not be able to stand properly against evil. Paul said in another passage that we are to “overcome evil with good.” We must so fill our lives with good that we are able to overcome evil. We must abhor evil in order to love right without accepting wrong. If we do not abhor evil, wrong will move into our life and change our values and lifestyle.
Abhor that which is evil. We are not to be tolerant of evil. We are not to be gracious toward sinful things. Sin brings death and sorrow. We need not exercise charity towards that which causes death.
Psalm 36:4 says, “He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way [that is] not good; he abhorreth not evil.”
Psalm 45:7 says, “Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.”
Psalm 97:10 says, “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil…”
Psalm 119:104 says, “Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.”
Psalm 119:163 says, “I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.”
Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”
Nothing in these verses indicate a patient, understanding view of sin. We all know that without some passion for good, we will slowly drift into evil. But likewise, without a passion against evil, we will tolerate wrong and live in compromise.
God clearly directs His people to hate wrong and love right, and to do so as a pair of emotions intimately tied together. For only when these two are intimate will we have proper judgment in life. Notice the connection made by the Lord in Amos 5:15, “Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.”
Without a proper hatred for evil and a strong love for right, we will misjudge things and fall prey to all kinds of foolishness (Just look at the compromise in churches everywhere). Also, national deliverance is tied to a passion for right and hatred of evil.
“…it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.” (Notice our nation’s steady move into bondage.)
The best way to win any fight is to be passionate. Any great athlete is passionate on the field. So we, as preachers, are not to simply avoid bad things, we are to hate them. Pulpits today express an abhorrence for nothing. Modern preaching is so kind and delicate; no offense or passion is shown toward sin or shame. God says to abhor wrong! Make it exceeding sinful!
With all of our heart we ought to fight against that which would draw us from the will of God. Then with every similar emotion, we should tightly cling to good. We should be as passionate against internet within reach of our teenagers as we would be against a deadly spider in a baby bed. Be as passionate and unkind toward TV or porn in your own life, as you would be if a whore approached your junior high boy.
Some people may think Jesus overreacted when he told Peter, “…get thee behind me Satan.” In fact, this kind of abruptness is the only way humans can stay straight in this crooked world. Everyone around us ought to know that we will get real loud, real passionate and real pushy about right and wrong.
We need love without dissimulation, but in order to do so we must abhor evil and cling to good!
Dr. Bruce Goddard
Pastor
Faith Baptist Church
Wildomar, CA