4 August 2022 In the Year of our Lord,
the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
“These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
(PROVERBS 6:16-19; all scripture quoted if from the King James Verion)
When we consider the expressed hatred of God for Esau in Malachi 1, 2-3 and Romans 9:13, we must consider it in context that is given in Luke: “ If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26-27) Does any one of us believe that God means that we should literally hate our families while husbands are commanded to love their wives as Christ did the Church?
This hatred is not a positive hatred born of malice, but a negative hatred which would so appear in contrast with that love we should have for our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord has COMMANDED us to love one another, but our love for one another is nothing without our love for Christ. It is for this reason that we must take up our crosses daily and follow Him in all walks – in witness, in mercy, in grace, in compassion, and in suffering. Our Lord hates sinner, and His Spirit will not contend with the wicked spirit of man forever.
The Church is a family. Our very next of kin in the family bloodline is usually the one whom we reverence most. But the blood of Christ that unites the Church together as a family is far more sacred than any human bonds of relationship. If we do not put Christ first in our lives, it matters not what affection we demonstrate to others. So, our love for family fades in significance to our love for Christ. Esau denied the greatest heritage Heaven had to offer, and thereby separated himself from God.
PRIDE: There are certain sins that God hates more than others, and those are dramatically illustrated in our text from Provers. The good man, Matthew Henry, has this to say of them: “If the slothful are to be condemned, who do nothing, much more those that do all the ill they can. Observe how such a man is described. He says and does every thing artfully, and with design. His ruin shall come without warning, and without relief. Here is a list of things hateful to God. Those sins are in a special manner provoking to God, which are hurtful to the comfort of human life. These things which God hates, we must hate in ourselves; it is nothing to hate them in others. Let us shun all such practices, and watch and pray against them; and avoid, with marked disapproval, all who are guilty of them, whatever may be their rank.” —Matthew Henry Concise
It should be noted that God lists PRIDE in the leading role of hated sins. Why? Because pride leads to all other sins. Lucifer was cast down from Heaven because of his pride. Pride is even demonstrated from the pulpits of America as the store-bought preachers boast of the size of their congregations, how many souls they – not the Holy Spirit – have led to salvation, the size of their tithes and offerings, ad infinitum.
A LYING TONGUE: God hates a lying tongue, but the tongue is not the only means of lying. Sometimes silence in the face of error is a lie. We must positively assert truth and never remain silent when error is preached.
HANDS THAT SHED INNOCENT BLOOD: This is a major concern of the Lord. Cain shed innocent blood and was vanquished from home and family. But the greater fear for us today is of our country whose abortionist have butchered more than sixty million innocents in their mother’s womb. There is no one more innocent than an inborn baby. This is a national sin of our nation that must soon be repented of or suffer judgment.
AN EVIL HEART: We need only observe the decadence in the media and computer games to realize the effect it is having on our youth. And what of the politicians that imagine every conceivable means of depriving us of our liberties.
FEET THAT HURRY TO COMMIT CHAOS AND VIOLENCE: Remember the destruction of the summer of 2020 in Seattle and other large American cities. How this must anger the Mind of God in viewing this chaos.
A FALSE WITNESS THAT SPEAKS LIES: These are the lies that destroy the lives of others, or their well-being. Washington, D.C., has more than its fair share of such sinners.
SOWERS OF DISCORD: This is another grave sin that plagues our nation as radical politicians attempt to divide the country over race, gender, and religious affiliation. There is a warm spot set aside for them from which they cannot escape in the end.
If we resist not the evil, we share in its guilt.
